United League of American Base B

Meal of Veale Seals the Deal
West Wins with Fifth Inning Touchdown
1966 ALL-STAR GAME: WEST 7, EAST 6 · BOX · LOG
ST. LOUIS (June 22) -- Depending on how you slice your veal, it was a good night for the East Division in Wednesday's 4th UL Midsummer Classic. The Beasts from the East pitched eight innings of shutout ball -- the first four and the last four. Unfortunately, the middle inning was a gamey feast, as the West helped themselves to seven servings of tender Veale -- Washington's Bob Veale, that is. Well okay, technically only six runs were charged to the baby cow, but he will still go down in the history books as the day's biggest goat.

The visitors struck first with three runs off hometown rookie phenom Don Sutton (12-5, 3.17), who became the first rookie to start the All-Star game. After Ron Santo flied out to deep center and Granny Hamner grounded out, "Black and Decker" walked Joe Torre on four pitches, then gave up four straight hits to Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Jim Gentile, and Ted Lepcio. The East's starter, Washington's Don Larsen, had no such issues, allowing just two hits and a walk through three innings. Sutton likewise settled down after the shaky start, allowing just a Mickey Mantle double in the next seven batters faced.

In the fourth inning, Chicago's Rusty Kemmerer and Brooklyn's Tom Acker exchanged perfect frames. Impressively, Acker needed just seven pitches to dispose of Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, and Roger Maris. Chicago's Chet Nichols got Mantle to hit into a double play, but not before loading the bases, and Santo scored on the twin killing to make it 4-0 East. But the turning point was the bottom of the fifth, when the East called room service and ordered up some rare Veale.

Bob Veale was the 7th overall pick in 1964, and had an impressive rookie campaign (14-16, 3.31, 1.32 WHIP) before suffering a sophomore slump (5-16, 4.06, 1.48 WHIP). But in his third pro season, Veale has been shredding the UL opposition, posting 3.24 ERA and 8-1 record in 18 starts. His strong start is a big reason the Monuments find themselves in the thick of the East Division race at the halfway point. But this late June afternoon in St. Louis is one the 30-year-old southpaw from Birmingham, Alabama would rather forget. The inning began well enough, with a Harmon Killebrew lineout and a called strike on Lou Clinton, but starting with his third pitch, the inning slowly began to careen out of control. Veale beaned Clinton, but then jumped ahead 0-2 on Ed Bailey, who worked the count to reach on a walk. The next batter, Bob Allison, reached on third baseman Ron Santo's fielding error, loading the bases. Atlanta's Joe Morgan then ripped the next pitch into the gap in left-center for a bases-clearing two-bagger, then stole third and scored on a wild pitch, tying the game 4-4. Trying to shake off his misfortune (and surely still cursing at teammate Santo under his breath), Veale walked both Norm Cash and Frank Robinson. Cash scored on Aaron's groundout, after which East Division chef-manager Charlie Qualls realized that Veale was overcooked. Cleveland's Terry Fox came in, and promptly gave up a 437-foot blast to right field, the game's only home run, giving the West a 7-4 lead. Two batters later, Lou Clinton, whose bean dish was the appetizer, ended the feast with a groundout to shortstop.

In the top of the sixth, Jim Gentile took George Brunet to the warning track and the next two batters singled, but the East could not score. They got a run back in the seventh, however, when Joe Torre tripled with one out and scored on Bill Freehan's groundout, and pulled within a run in the eighth on Ron Santo's RBI single off San Francisco's Tug McGraw. But Dallas's Ray Narleski, the winning pitcher in last year's game, closed the door in the ninth for the save.

The win was the second in a row for the West, and levels the all-time series at two games apiece.

Game notes:
-- Atlanta's Joe Morgan (1-2, 2B, 3 RBI, SB) was named Most Valuable Player. Previous MVPs were Brooklyn's Mickey Mantle (1963), St. Louis' Joe Torre (1964), and Atlanta's Harmon Killebrew (1965).
-- Joe Torre tripled, walked twice, and scored twice
-- West Division pitchers only struck out two batters.
-- The East outhit the West 13-9. The West had only 3 hits in the 7-run 5th inning (plus an HBP, WP, error, and three walks).

Commissioner Gives "State of the League" Address
Strong Markets, Balanced Finances, Growing Attendance
ST. LOUIS (July 1) -- Making a major speech on the eve of the fifth Founder's Cup, commissioner Timothy J. Smith told the assembled press that the United League had overcome its most serious issues and was heading into a "golden age." Smith said that recent rule changes had stabilized the league's finances and improved competitive balance. He cited the reduction of the cash maximum and the introduction of a $75 million salary cap as "great equalizers" that forced wealthy clubs to spend, rather than horde, money. "Two years ago, 75% of the league's cash on hand was held by just four teams. Thanks to rule changes that owners endorsed, club finances are more balanced today and we are seeing more parity on the field." The commissioner cited the first real pennant race in years last season, and the first potential three-way race in more than a decade this year in the East Division. "On any given day, any team -- well, any team except Atlanta -- can beat any other team," the Commish said, directing a light-hearted jab at his former college roommate.

As a result of the recent string of relocations, all 12 UL franchises were in a strong, growing markets with good ballparks, and Smith emphasized that the league for the first time had a long-term commitment to every UL city. League attendance is up, averaging better than 25,000 per game for just the second time, which should help fill the coffers of every club, especially the poorer ones, and thus further improve competitive balance.

Second Minor League on Drawing Board, No Expansion "Anytime Soon"
In response to several questions about how the league would accommodate the influx of new players, the Commissioner repeatedly ruled out expansion "anytime soon", but unveiled a proposal for a small developmental league at the Double-A level. "The growing pool of players is raising the quality of the International League every year, but soon there will be more players than there are slots." The Commissioner said that the new league would be a home for players struggling at the Triple-A level and would consist of unsigned players and independent teams, adding "we will need to work out how the players are claimed and signed." When pressed to elaborate on what he meant by "anytime soon", Smith replied, "We will know when the league is bursting with players and expansion is necessary. By our projections this won't happen until the early 70's."

The Commissioner concluded his press conference by heaping praise on "the excellent cadre" of UL owners, which he called the backbone of the league.

Ernie-ing A Place In UL History
Chicago’s Slugging Shortstop Third To Join 400HR Club
by Lance Mueller
CHICAGO (June 16) – With a sweet swing of his perennially powerful bat, Mr. Colt joined an elite club of three today by blasting a Jim Bunning pitch 428 feet into Comiskey’s leftfield bleachers. After gaining admission to the 2,000 hit club (making it a six pack) during the second game of the ’66 season, Banks’ 400th ding-dong will forever link him with the two other great hitters of his generation – Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays – as the first three players to reach both the 2,000 hit and 400 homerun plateaus. While some would argue that Granny Hamner is the greatest hitting shortstop in UL history for his sheer ability to make contact, get hits, and get on base, others would claim that all of that is trumped by the fact that Ernie is in the top three in six career batting categories (slugging percentage, homeruns, RBIs, runs scored, doubles, and total bases). If you’re a UL historian willing to overlook Ted Williams’ very short career, Ernie would join the top three in a seventh category (OPS) and would be #1 in slugging. Add that to eight turns on the ALL-UL Team, three Gold Gloves, two MVP awards, and 10 consecutive seasons with 30+ homeruns and 100+ RBIS, and one could argue that Ernie has had a greater overall impact on the league than any other player in UL history. Whatever your thinking, one can not argue that the quiet, unassuming gentleman-shortstop from Dallas deserves ever ounce of the accolades he has received during his career. So, on this momentous day, the entire city of Chicago and the fans around the league tip their caps to Mr. Colt and say a simple “thank you” for a wonderful career.