December 28, 2007 
Free Agents claims awarded
FRANKFORT, IN - The following 5 free agents, released by West Warwick mid week, have been claimed, as follows:

Minneapolis (67) claims P Bill Smith.
Southport (68) claims SS Bobby Henrich.
Goshen (69) claims OF Jim Pisoni.
Salzburg (95) claims 3B Don Eaddy.
Southport (68) claims PH Dusty Rhodes.

Frankfort and Rossville lost their claims, and South River withdrew their claim. No one else participated. One free agent PH Ossie Alvarez went unclaimed and has been removed from the SPB II files.

December 20, 2007 
Free Agents for the picking, and further instructions
FRANKFORT, IN - The West Warwick Monarchs today announced they are cutting ties with the following six 1959 players, and releasing them from their roster. So this means if anyone would like to put a claim on any of these players to let me know ASAP. Manager Tim Johnson said he would not be using any of these players and no longer wishes to have them. Here is the list: 

Ossie Alvarez, ph
Dusty Rhodes, ph
Don Eaddy, 3b
Bobby Henrich, ss
Bill Smith, p
Jim Pisoni, of

There have been many claims on the six players released yesterday by Monarch. So I will give everyone a more detailed look at what is going on, and how this will be handled. 

Since so many teams have put in claims, I will handle this as a mini draft. The team with the lowest record, making a claim, will get his # 1 rated player off the list, then we will move through the draft in the same manner with the next lowest team making a claim getting the 2nd pick, etc. Teams 1958 records will be the determining factor. So, will the claiming managers please list the players in the order you would like to have them. If you have sent a list to me of more than one player, please resend in order you want to claim players.

If you have not yet claimed any players, and wish to, I am moving the deadline for doing so UP to noon Saturday for you to let me know. I had originally said Sunday evening was the deadline, expecting much less interest. This deadline also goes for your listing orders. Both the claims and your list need to reach me by noon tomorrow. 

Wow, I never thought these players would be so popular. We have claims on 4 of the six players so far. Pitcher Bill Smith has had 6 teams claim him. OF Jim Pisoni has 4 claims in, SS Bobby Henrich has 3, and 3B Don Eaddy has 2. There are 7 managers so far, making a claim. The only two not claimed so far are Ossie Alvarez, who can make 2 PH AB's in '59. He did record a hit in real life. He also was used 6 times as a pinch runner in real life. Dusty Rhodes, a classic LH pinch batter in the 50's, also has not received a claim. He can come off the bench for 123 Ph appearances in 1959. So if you need someone to PH for your team, though not real effectively, Dusty is looking for one last shot. ;)

October 28, 2007 
Six 59 Players Dropped from Rosters due to New Rule
FRANKFORT, IN - There were six players dropped from the 1959 rosters due to the newest SPB rule allowing only 38 players on a roster heading into the drafts. Five players were dropped by the Saints, and one by the Beavers to get to 38 players. Both managers, Dave Lauer & Rich Applegate, decided to cut ahead of time, rather than risk extra players being taken from their teams during Phase II. 

Here are the details on the dropped players:

Herb Moford, a pitcher was dropped by Portland. Bobo Osborne 1B, and Jack Urban P, were dropped by the Saints. These 3 players will go into the 1959 rookie draft.

Darrell Johnson catcher, and Bob Tiefenauer & Mel Wright, pitchers were also dropped by the Saints. Since these players had no 1959 stats they will be in future rookie drafts, when they appear enough (15 G, 15 AB, or 15 IP - the rookie qualifications). Wright will return in 1960, Johnson in 1961, and Tiefenauer in 1962. Tiefenauer will be an expansion eligible player then.

October 24, 2007 
Call for Phase 2 rosters 
FRANKFORT, IN - Now is the time to submit your protected rosters for preparing for the Phase II drafts. Your roster is due by Sunday, Oct. 28th, (8PM EST). Here is the number of players each team will protect:

18 Players 
L. A. Surfers (D. Zminda)
Salzburg Bishops (C. Williams)
South River Gladiators (J. DeZarlo)
Evanston Elephants (J. Ungashick)

19 Players
West Warwick Monarchs (T. Johnson)
Rossville Hornets (R. Ryan)
Route 66 Hot Rods (M. See)
Frankfort Fortress (G. Plunkitt)
Goshen Aces (L. Miller)
Hampton Road Cruisers (T. Baxter)

20 Players
Portland Beavers (R. Applegate)
Minneapolis Lakers (G. Henning)
Dayton Flyers (J. Wheeler)
Southport Saints (D. Lauer)

Any protected rosters not received by the deadline time will be submitted by the Commish, so be on time. Updated files will then be sent out Sunday evening. Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter. 

September 16, 2007 
1959 Rookie draft date set 
FRANKFORT, IN - The date is now set for our 1959 Rookie & Phase II drafts. These will be held in Frankfort, In., at my place on Saturday November 3rd. Rookie draft will start promptly at 11AM Eastern time. Please let me know ASAP, if you will be attending in person. Also, if it works out you have to use a list for this draft, please have it to the league office no later than Thursday, Nov. 1st. Also let me know if your going to be sending a draft list. I hope to see several of you in attendance. 
Thanks to all for getting your votes in on which weekend to hold the draft. Oct. 20th was a close 2nd, there was little support for the other dates.

August 21, 2007 
Change to Phase 2 draft procedures 
FRANKFORT, IN - There will be a new twist to the Phase II drafts starting with the SPB II draft in November. When protected rosters are called for, all teams with over 38 rostered players (including both protected and unprotected) will have the option of .....MORE

July 19, 2007 
1958 End of Season awards announced
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II Managers, Thanks for getting your votes in for the Award Winners of our recently completed 1958 season! It is my pleasure to announce the following players who have received their due. 

Congratulations to our Winners!

In the A.L., slugging thirdsacker Frank Thomas of the South River Gladiators took the MVP award with his monster year. Even at that, he barely outdistanced the Say Hey Kid, as CF Willie Mays his own teammate took a very close 2nd in the voting. Thomas outdistanced Mays by a scant 5 points at 45-40. In the N.L., the L.A. Surfers brilliant young CF Mickey Mantle easily captured honors in the Senior Circuit.

Back to the A.L., Vern Law captured the Cy Young Award as the top starter. Law dazzled his opposition while throwing his slants for the Southport Saints. In the National, we have Whitey Ford, the brilliant LH of the Hampton Road Cruisers, taking home all the marbles as the top starter.

Other Award winners were the A.L. Don Elston of the West Warwick Monarchs taking home the Fireman of the year. Young slugger Orlando Cepeda of the Route 66 Hot Rods was the top hitting rookie, and Joey Jay, of the Gladiators took the rookie pitching award. Joe DeZarlo, of the top notch Gladiators won the Manager of the year nod.

Other N.L. winners were Tom Morgan, Evanston Elephants taking Fireman honors. Jim Marshall, hard hitting firstsacker of the Minneapolis Lakers took rookie hitting honors when he barely edging the Dayton Flyers CF Curt Flood by a scant 46-42 score. The Elephants young phenom hurler, Ray Semproch captured the rookie pitching title. Don Zminda, our W.S. winner, easily won the N.L. Manager of the year.

For the total voting breakdown, check the Voting Booth results soon on the SPB webpage.  Every player who received a vote for any award is mentioned in these totals. Enjoy!

July 19, 2007 
1958 All-Stars announced
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II Managers, Again, thanks to all of your for getting your votes in promptly! Here are the 1958 All Star Teams as voted by you, our managers:

NATIONAL League All Stars:
C - Sherm Lollar, Salzburg Bishops
1B - Bill Skowron, Hampton Road Cruisers
2B - Frank Bolling, Hampton Road Cruisers
3B - Eddie Mathews, Salzburg Bishops
SS - Dick Groat, Evanston Elephants
LF - Ted Williams, Salzburg Bishops
CF - Mickey Mantle, L.A. Surfers
RF - Jackie Jensen, Salzburg Bishops
SP - Whitey Ford, Hampton Road Cruisers
RP - Tom Morgan, Evanston Elephants

There were 2 really close races for the N.L. team: Skowron edged the Dayton Flyers Frank Torre by five points winning 42-37, and Bolling got strong competition from the Bishops, Jim "Junior" Gilliam by 10 points at 46-36.

AMERICAN League All Stars:
C - Del Crandall, Rossville Hornets
1B - Orlando Cepeda, Route 66 Hot Rods
2B - Pete Runnels, Southport Saints
3B - Frank Thomas, South River Gladiators
SS - Ernie Banks, Rossville Hornets
LF - Bob Skinner, West Warwick Monarchs
CF- Willie Mays, South River Gladiators
RF - Rocky Colavito, Frankfort Fortress
SP - Vern Law, Southport Saints
RP - Don Elston, West Warwick Monarchs

There was one hotly contested A.L. spot, and that one saw the Monarchs flutterball reliever Elston edge out the Gladiators Dick Hyde by ONE single vote at 54-53.

Congratulations to these players on accomplishing their ratings as # 1 at their positions during the 1958 season. For a total look at the voting; to check on every vote cast be sure to check the SPB Voting Booth results on the main page of the SPB webpage. (Click on Voting Booth, then check on the RH side, and click SPB poll results. ENJOY!

July 17, 2007 
1958 End of season recaps
DAYTON, OH - Thanks to SPB-2 beat writer John Ungashick for penning a few more extracurricular  articles.  The Standings Summary, and the Post-Season Summary are now available for viewing.  Thanks John!

July 9, 2007 
Surfers repeat as SPB-2 Champs!
FRANKFORT, IN - My congratulations goes out to Don Zminda, manager of the Surfers who wins another World Championship with his victory over the tough South River team. Joe DeZarlo deserves a pat on the back too, for a well fought series!  Complete write-ups and box scores can be found on the left menu.

June 28, 2007 
1958 End of year reports
DAYTON, OH - As is the custom at the end of the year, we now bring to you the overusage, and 50% use or lose reports. 

June 27, 2007 
1958 Final stats posted
DAYTON, OH - The final stats and power rankings for the 1958 season are now posted.  The Gladiators and the Surfers will meet for a repeat performance of last seasons' fall classic. Good luck to both managers!

April 18, 2007 
1958 July stats posted
DAYTON, OH - The stats and power rankings for July 1958 season are now posted.  Thanks to everyone for getting their stats in early.  It makes my job easier too!  The July Newsletter is also available. 

March 27, 2007 
1958 June newsletter published
DAYTON, OH - SPB-2 beat writer John Ungashick has come out with his June newsletter.  Thanks John! 

February 21, 2007 
1958 May stats posted
DAYTON, OH - The stats and power rankings for May 1958 season are now posted.  Ryne Duren and Dick Hyde repeat their reliever of the month excellence. You can also read this months newsletter, by John Ungashick.

January 24, 2007 
1958 April newsletter published
DAYTON, OH - SPB-2 beat writer John Ungashick has come out with his April newsletter.  Thanks John! 

December 30, 2006 
1958 Pre-season prognosis
DAYTON, OH - The following article was written by a professional....please do not try this at home.  All seeing south-sayer John Ungashick has put together once again his pre-season predictions for the upcoming season.  You can view them HERE.

October 17, 2006 
Protected roster numbers
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II 1958 Managers, Now is the time to send me your protected rosters, so that I can ready the files for the 1958 Phase II Draft, which will immediately follow the rookie draft on Saturday, October 28th. Here are the number of players each team can protect:

18 Protected Players
L.A. Surfers (Zminda)
Salzburg Bishops (Williams)
Evanston Elephants (Ungashick)
South River Gladiators (DeZarlo)

19 Protected Players
Minneapolis Lakers (Henning)
West Warwick Monarchs (Johnson)
Frankfort Fortress (Plunkitt)
Dayton Flyers (Wheeler)
Rossville Hornets (Ryan)
Hampton Road Cruisers (Baxter)

20 Protected Players
Route 66 Hot Rods (See)
Southport Saints (Lauer)
Goshen Aces (Miller)
Portland Beavers (Applegate)

Please send these protected lists in ASAP guys! I would like to have all of them in by Saturday October 14th at the latest. I will send out the updated files as soon as all are received. Thanks for being prompt. 

September 17, 2006 
Park Change
FRANKFORT, IN - Terry Baxter has pulled the Hampton Road Cruisers out of the L.A. Coliseum, and will make K.C. Memorial Stadium the new home for his team. This leaves the Coliseum (L.A.) and Milwaukee's County Stadium as the open parks in SPB II.

September 17, 2006 
1958 Stats and Extra stats
FRANKFORT, IN - The first 1958 database has been sent.  Click HERE for more info about which players had extra stats added .

August 27, 2006 
Stadium Change
FRANKFORT, IN - The Goshen Aces are leaving County Stadium for the cozier confines of Seals Stadium in S.F. So now the available parks in SPB II are County Stadium (Milwaukee) and K.C. Municipal Stadium (Kansas City). 

August 22, 2006 
1958 Draft date announced
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II 1958 Managers, All managers have voted on their preferences for the 1958 rookie and Phase II drafts. It will be held on Saturday October 28th, starting at 11AM EST.

The voting went as follows for the most preferred weekend

Oct. 28th - 8 votes
Nov. 4th - 1 vote
Nov. 11th 4 votes
1 vote for any (no difference at all)

August 13, 2006 
Voting results announced
FRANKFORT, IN - It is my privilege to announce that Stan Musial, hard hitting first baseman of the South River Gladiators, and LH dazzler, Warren Spahn, also of South River have captured the top two Awards in the American League for 1957. In the N.L. hitting king Ted Williams, the leftfielder for the Salzburg Bishops, and Jim Bunning, erstwhile ace of the L.A. Surfers captured the prizes in the N.L.
To see the total voting breakdown for these awards, and also the Fireman, top rookies, and Managers of the year, be sure to check out the voting results from the SPB II webpage! See where your players placed. My thanks to Lynn Miller and John Turnbull for all the hard work they put out on creating the ballots and tallying the votes, and getting them on the webpage. For total list of voting, check out the results in the Voting Booth.

Also, be sure to check out the A.L. and N.L. All Stars for 1957. Some mighty close voting on several of these positions!

August 1, 2006 
Ballpark Change
FRANKFORT, IN - Manager Joe DeZarlo has decided to have the South River Gladiators vacate his park in S.F. (this was the former Polo Grounds in 1957). He is giving up the 1958 S.F. park and moving into Philly's Connie Mack Stadium. (This was the former Shibe Park NL). This leaves Seals Stadium (SF) and K.C. Municipal Stadium (formerly Shibe AL) as the vacant parks for 1958.

July 20, 2006 
1957 Overusage report
DAYTON, OH - The Overusage report....son of use or lose.  You can view the report by clicking here. 

July 20, 2006 
1957 Use or Lose  report
DAYTON, OH - With the end of each season comes the annual use'em or lose'em report.  You can view the report by clicking here. 

July 20, 2006 
1957 Final season wrapup by John Ungashick
DAYTON, OH - This article by SPB-2 beat writer John Ungashick, puts a lid on the 1957 season.  A good read indeed!

June 19, 2006 
1957 Final stats posted
DAYTON, OH - The final set of stats and power rankings for 1957 have been posted.  Congratulations to the South River Gladiators and the LA Surfers for winning their respective pennants.  The playoff page will be posted shortly.

April 22, 2006 
1957 July highlights, by beat writer John Ungashick
SCHAUMBURG, IL - Both pennant races heated up considerably in July, the first month of intra-league play. We still have the unusual situation in that the fifth place team in the National League, the Hampton Road Cruisers, would be leading the American.... Continued.

December 30, 2005 
1957 Season about to unwind
DAYTON, OH - With a new year comes a new season for SPB-2.  And to help spice up the beginning of the season, John Ungashick has once again graced us with his pre-season prognosis for the upcoming season.  Thanks John for your work on this!  Click HERE to see what John has written about your team.

December 11, 2005 
New manager in the fold
FRANKFORT, IN - Veteran manager Greg Henning will step right in as the new manager for the SPB II former Mackinac Bridge team for the coming 1957 season. He will be renaming the team the Minneapolis Lakers, and they will remain in Sportsmans Park. Thanks Greg for stepping right up for this team! Welcome to SPB II.

November 7, 2005 
Phase 2 protected players called for
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II 1957 Managers, I am now asking that you submit your protected rosters for the coming Phase II draft. Here are the number of players each team may protect:

20 Players
Goshen Aces - Lynn Miller
Portland Beavers - Rich Applegate
Frankfort Fortress - Gary Plunkitt
Hampton Roads Cruisers - Terry Baxter

19 Players
Rossville Hornets - Rick Ryan
Dayton Flyers - Jim Wheeler
Route 66 Hot Rods - Mike See
L. A. Surfers - Don Zminda
Mackinac Bridge - Greg Stillwagon
Evanston Elephants - John Ungashick

18 Players
South River Gladiators - Joe DeZarlo
Southport Saints - Dave Lauer
Salzburg Bishops - Chris Williams
West Warwick Monarchs - Tim Johnson

Please have these into me no later than Wednesday, November 9th by 8:00 PM EST. If you cannot meet this deadline for any reason, let me know right away. 

October 26, 2005 
New manager joins the ranks
FRANKFORT, IN - Just a few short lines to announce that Mike See has been appointed as an SPB II manager immediately. He will be taking over the former Lafayette Colts team. He has renamed the team as the Route 66 Hot Rods. He will be leaving Shibe Park and taking up residence in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Welcome to SPB II Mike!

October 15, 2005 
1957 Draft date set
FRANKFORT, IN - As always, I have managed to come up with a draft date thanks to the input from all of you guys! The 1957 rookie and Phase II drafts will be held at the home of Rick Ryan on Saturday, November 19th. Given the choice of 3 weekends, this one turned out to be the one where the most managers would be willing to attend and all others except for one could be in the chat room for draft day.  

August 31, 2005
1957 Team name Changes
DAYTON, OH - Greg Stillwagon has changed his team name from the North Michigan Comets to the Mackinac Bridge.  Now that the 1956 Season is over, Dave Lauer has renamed the Brooklyn Bridge (allowing Greg to take the Bridge nickname) to the Southport Saints. 

July 11, 2005
1957 Divisional realignment
FRANKFORT, IN - Due to the fact that for the 2nd year in a row, one league had almost all teams with a record over .500 and the other league was almost totally under .500, there has been another realignment scheduled for the coming 1957 season. I want to thank John Ungashick for his input as stat on getting this new setup in place. Here is how the teams will stack up for 1957:

American League
South River Gladiators (J. DeZarlo)
Southport Saints (D. Lauer)
Lafayette Colts (S. Ehresman)
Frankfort Fortress (G. Plunkitt)
West Warwick Monarchs (T. Johnson)
Rossville Hornets (R. Ryan)
Goshen Aces (L. Miller)

National League
Salzburg Bishops (C. Williams)
North Michigan Comets (G. Stillwagon)
Evanston Elephants (J. Ungashick)
L.A. Surfers (D. Zminda)
Dayton Flyers (J. Wheeler)
Portland Beavers (R. Applegate)
Hampton Road Cruisers (T. Baxter)

This should make our SPB II Leagues a bit more competive. (Hopefully!) 

June 26, 2005
1957 Draft order announced
DAYTON, OH - The draft order for 1957 is now posted.  Thanks goes out to Jim Wheeler for having them figured out so quickly!   The draft order also contains all traded draft picks.

June 24, 2005
1956 Comparisons in review
EVANSTON, IL - Enclosed is a comparison of the actual wins & expected wins according to the runs created formula and then comparing those numbers one through seven for each division with the preseason forecasts of both me and Tim Johnson. 

The Bishops should have won the American division in a tight three way race with the Monarchs and Bridge, which in fact happened but with the Monarchs coming out on top, albeit by only one game over the Bishops and two over the Bridge. Tim picked the Monarchs to win & I picked the Bishops although I must say my write up did say that any of six teams had a chance to win. The rest of the division was pretty cut and dried in all the categories. 

In the National, my Elephants significantly underachieved according the expected wins formula and should have had a much easier time. The actual, runs created and my own forecast all agreed on who was number one while Tim picked me for third. The position of the teams one through seven was almost identical in the actual and runs created columns. The pre-season forecast were both way off on the Dayton Flyers and Tim was a little off on the Cruisers final finish while I was too high on the Aces. Otherwise all the columns were pretty much in line. 

Congratulations once again to Tim and the Monarchs for a thrilling World series win. 

June 23, 2005
Monarchs come back to capture 56 crown
DAYTON, OH - Congratulations to  Tim Johnson's West Warwick Monarchs for winning a thrilling 7 game series from the Evanston Elephants.   

June 16, 2005
1956 Overusage report
FRANKFORT, IN - My hats of to each of you as we have had hardly any players overused during the just completed 1956 season!! Only 4 teams with any overuse at all. A truly great job guys!! HERE is the list:

June 16, 2005
1956 50% Use or lose report
FRANKFORT, IN - HERE is a total list of all players who did not make 50% of their required SPB playing time during the 1956 season. A great job on this, as no significant players are involved!! 

June 16, 2005
1956 Season Complete
EVANSTON, IL - Both pennant races were close and congratulations to the West Warwick Monarchs and whomever is the Manger of the Evanston Elephants! To my knowledge this is Tim Johnson's first pennant in SPB II (accept my apologies if this is incorrect) and the first pennant for me since way back in 1946 (ten years ago for those of you who are mathematically challenged). The only guy still on my roster from 1946 is swing man Steve Gromek. 

The Elephants would have finished fourth in the American League but that's the way it goes. All the teams in the American League finished over .500 as opposed to only two in the National. 

I'd like to once again thank all the managers for being so prompt in getting in your stats, not only this month but all year long. You have made my job very easy. 

June 12, 2005
1956 Pennant Race update-2
EVANSTON, IL - Still have a few teams to report but the pennant races are coming down to the wire, at least in the American League. In the National my Elephants need only to win one of the seven home games I have left with the Hornets to eliminate the Flyers and give the pennant to the "good guys". 

In The American the Monarchs are done with their season and have 93 wins. The Brooklyn Bridge have 90 wins and an away series with the Bishops. If Brooklyn wins four of the seven games they will win the pennant outright; three will give them a tie and less will send them home empty. Technically the Bishops are still alive but need to win 16 of their last 19 which includes 7 at home versus the Bridge and another 7 with the Aces and 7 away versus the Gladiators. It seems as if the Bridge/Bishops series is the key. If the Bridge win four that will eliminate both the Monarchs and Bishops and if the Bishops do very well (6 or 7 wins) the Bridge are out and the Bishops still technically alive. 

Stay tuned for late developments.

June 3, 2005
1956 Pennant Race update
EVANSTON, IL - I will be on vacation from June 6th through the 12th and pretty much out of the loop when it comes to email, etc, so I am giving everyone an update on the 1956 pennant races. 

Several teams (Monarchs, Flyers, Fortress, Beavers & Cruisers) have finished their seasons. In the American League the Monarchs currently have a half game lead over the Bridge but cannot improve as they have played all their games. If the Bridge go 12-9 in their last three series they will be able to grab the pennant but they have a bruising schedule and this will be no mean feat. The Bishops can win if they go 21-5 in their remaining games but one series is against the Bridge and I suspect one or the other teams will knock the other out or at least make it much more difficult for the other. Technically the Surfers and Gladiators are still alive but each needs to sweep all remaining games which is very unlikely to occur. 

In the National League my Elephants are in good shape as I have 78 wins with a seven-game series remaining against the Hornets. The Flyers finished the season with 78 wins so one more victory by the Pachyderms will send them home empty. The Hornets have 19 games remaining and they need to go at least 13-6 to reach 79 wins but that will be very difficult unless they win six or seven against the Elephants and any fewer victories means they will need to do that much better against everyone else. 

Good luck to everyone in their remaining games. 

May 21, 2005
Mantle 8 RBI off Triple-crown pace
DAYTON, OH - Mickey Mantle is still going strong, and making a hard push for the triple crown.  He leads by .005 over Ted Williams for the batting title, has a comfortable 9-HR lead over Eddie Mathews, but is third in RBI behind Eddie Mathews' 111 and Jackie Jensen's 110.  His teammates will have to get on base to give him a chance.  

April 30, 2005
New Manager on board
FRANKFORT, IN - Just a quick note to let you know that we will have a new manager in SPB II taking over the Brooklyn Bridge for play of the month of August for the 1956 season. 
Welcome to Dave Lauer, an established SPB manager who will step right in with this team. He will be taking over and sending out the MP's this month. My thanks goes out to former manager Peter Reoch for the many years he was the manager of this franchise. *Edited 31 Aug 05:  Dave has renamed his team the Southport Saints.

January 19, 2005
1956 Win Share Predictions
DAYTON, OH - Thanks to Tim Johnson, you can click HERE for the 1956 Win-Share predictions for the 1956 season to see where your team stacks up against the competition.  Don't know who to play your weaker starters/lineups against? This may help some!

December 28, 2004
1956 Free Agents claimed
FRANKFORT, IN - The deadline has been reached and six of the 15 free agents have been claimed. In order they were taken as follows:

Dick Marlowe, p by Goshen Aces
Lino Donoso, p by Lafayette Colts
Tom Alston, 1b by Salzburg Bishops
Chick King, of by Goshen Aces
Pete Wojey, p by Salzburg Bishops
Jim Mangan, c by Goshen Aces 

The other free agents went unclaimed and have been released from the 1956 files. They were:
Cal Abrams
Joe Astroth
Matt Batts
Gil Coan
George Freese (61)
Owen Friend
Frank Smith
Bill Tremel
Wally Westlake

Thanks for your participation in getting your claims in promptly. 

December 27, 2004
1956 Pre-Season Prognosis
DAYTON, OH - Thanks as always goes out to John Ungashick for his keen insight into the 1956 season.  Read what John has to say about your team by clicking HERE. 

December 27, 2004
1956 Free Agents
FRANKFORT, IN - Thanks for getting your lists in well ahead of time for the players who were marked for release. There were at least 4 additional players added that were not on my original list. The following players are now free agents and can be drafted by any manager who makes a claim on them:

Cal Abrams, of
Tom Alston, 1b
Joe Astroth, c
Matt Batts, ph
Gil Coan, ph
Lino Donoso, p
Owen Friend, ph
Chick King, of
Jim Mangan, c
Dick Marlowe, p
Frank Smith, p
Bill Tremel, p
Wally Westlake, ph
Pete Wojey, p

If you would like to put a claim on any of these players, please let me know ASAP. Deadline to claim player is by tomorrow (Tuesday) by noon. No need to drag this out any longer than that. In case of dual claims for a player, he will be awarded to team with least wins during 1955 season. All players not claimed will be released from 1956 files. Pickings are very slim, so be sure you need players you claim. George Freese, 3b (1961) was also released but since he is a future player only he cannot be claimed. 

Thanks,
Gary

December 27, 2004
1956 Players approved for release
FRANKFORT, IN - Click HERE for a listing of players that are approved for deletion from the 1956 player database. 

December 1, 2004
1956 Trading deadline set
FRANKFORT, IN - The final trading deadline is now set for Sunday, December 26th. On that date at 8 P.M., CST trading will come to an abrupt halt for the 1956 season. so be sure your team is set for the season in at bats for each position, complete with 154 starts and a fair number of relief appearances from your pitchers. You certainly do not want to neglect any shortages that may cause you team over usage problems.

I will then send out a list of players approved for release at that time. Then I will send out the official 1956 files ASAP, once the released players (free agents) are either claimed or released from the league.

October 25, 2004
1956 Protected roster allowances
FRANKFORT, IN - Just for your knowledge, here is the number of players each team will be able to protect prior to the 1956 drafts on November 13th.

20 Players
Hampton Road Cruisers (Baxter)
West Warwick Monarchs (Johnson)
Goshen Aces (Miller)
Rossville Hornets (Ryan)

19 Players
Dayton Flyers (Wheeler)
Evanston Elephants (Ungashick)
Portland Beavers (Applegate)
North Michigan Comets (Stillwagon)
Frankfort Fortress (Plunkitt)
Brooklyn Bridge (Reoch)

18 Players 
South River Gladiators (DeZarlo)
Los Angeles Surfers (Zminda)
Salzburg Bishops (Williams)
Lafayette Colts (Ehresman)

Deadline for protected rosters due to league office will be Wednesday, November 3rd. Have your lists to me by the announced time.

October 3, 2004
1956 Draft date set
FRANKFORT, IN - It is now official, the weekend of Nov. 12-14 will be our drafts this year. I know some of you requested the 1st weekend, but there was close to a 2-1 preference for the 2nd weekend. Again, this draft will be held at my place and I urge each of you to give serious thoughts of attending and making this a real fun time. So far, those who say they will attend are Rick Ryan, Steve Ehresman, Terry Baxter, first timer Greg Stillwagon. Indicating an interest in attending is Don Zminda, but it all depends on his schedule. I would like to see all of you give it a serious shot, and make this our final BIG get together of 2004. Hope to see you in Nov!

August 23, 2004
1955 Voting booth deadline set
FRANKFORT, IN - The voting booth is loaded and ready to vote for the Award winners and for the All Stars from the recently completed 1955 season. Please log onto the SPB webpage and click on the Voting Booth to cast your ballots. Remember you have to log in twice (once for Awards & then a 2nd time for the All Stars) to finish your votes. Please read the directions and don't forget your name and team name when casting your votes.

Deadline for voting is September 3rd. PLEASE KEEP THIS IS MIND AND TAKE CARE OF THIS ON TIME. Thanks to all of you for helping to make SPB a solid experience!

July 1, 2004
1955 Standings comparison
EVANSTON, IL - Enclosed is a comparison of the actual 1955 results, the expected wins results and the pre season predictions from myself (JU) using a semi-scientific formula and Tim Johnson (TJ) who used Bill James Win Share method. 

In the American League the difference between actual and expected wins wasn't that great in terms of the final finish but the Surfers suffered from the worst negative expected wins by far and should have run away with the pennant. The Gladiators (eventual winners by one game) exceeded the expected wins by a considerable margin and the Bishops (finished two games out) slightly less. However the pre season predictions completely ignored the Surfers and had them pegged for the second division which was way off the mark. The Colts were a consensus pick for the pennant but finished a disappointing 4th. For some reason the Monarchs were picked third in the Win Share formula but at or close to the cellar in all other areas. 

In the National League the Elephants were also a consensus pre season pick but didn't have what it took when the real shooting started. The Fortress were reasonably close in both pre season polls but finished first in both real life and expected wins. The Beavers were the NL equivalent of the Surfers; no respect in the preseason but finished the season only three games out. The Hornets were another underachiever when compared to the preseason while the other teams were generally in line.

Like they always say, you have to play the game no matter what it looks like on paper! Good luck in all future seasons. 

You can view the Comparisons HERE.

June 25, 2004
1955 Use or lose players
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II Managers, Thanks to everyone for getting their final months stats in on time! Now that I have these I have figured out all the players that will be lost due to not being used 50%. Not to many surprises here as you will see. Here is the total list of players who did not make their 50%. If player has an asterik, it means he does not play in any future seasons and would have been dropped from teams anyway. Other player listed have years left that they play in parenthesis. All players are listed by team.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE (P. REOCH)
BILL MILLER - P*

DAYTON FLYERS (J. WHEELER)
DON LEPPERT - 2B *
BILLY COX - 3B*
TONY ROIG - INF (1956)
SONNY DIXON - P (1956)

EVANSTON ELEPHANTS (J. UNGASHICK)
JIM FANNING - C (1956 - 57)
MILT BOLLING - SS (1956 - 58)
EDDIE JOOST - SS*
SAM MELE - OF (1956)
BOB HOOPER - P*

GOSHEN ACES (L. MILLER)
JIM BOLGER - OF (1957-59)
TOM SAFFELL - OF*
PEANUTS LOWREY - OF*

HAMPTON ROAD CRUISERS (T. BAXTER)
MICKEY GRASSO - C*
JOHN MACKINSON - P*

LAFAYETTE COLTS (S. EHRESMAN)
JUAN DELIS - INF*
JACK LITTRELL - SS (1957)
BOBBY STEPHENSON - SS*
BOB BORKOWSKI - OF*
STAN PALYS - OF (1956)
JERRY SCHOONMAKER (1957)
GORDON JONES - P (1956-65)
JOE COLEMAN - P*

L.A. SURFERS (D. ZMINDA)
ED MCGHEE - OF*
JOHN GRAY - P (1957-58)
MIKE KUME - P*
JERRY LANE - P*
JOHNNY SAIN - P*
BUNKY STEWART - P (1956)

N. MICHIGAN COMETS (G. STILLWAGON)
CLYDE MCCULLOUGH - C*
JACK DITTMER - 2B (1956-57)
HANK MAJESKI - INF*

PORTLAND BEAVERS (R. APPLEGATE)
GUS NIARHOS - C*
CURT ROBERTS - 2B (1956)

ROSSVILLE HORNETS (R. RYAN)
JIM PYBURN - 3B (1956-57)

SOUTH RIVER GLADIATORS (J. DEZARLO)
JOE ASTROTH - C (1956)
DICK RAND - C (1957)
MILT SMITH - 3B*
ROBERTO VARGAS - P*

WEST WARWICK MONARCHS (T. JOHNSON)
CORKY VALENTINE - P*

Every one else was used their 50% and will be retained. The players above will reappear in the rookie drafts of the first season listed.
I will have the overused list out soon, so stay tuned!

June 21, 2004
1955 Final stats posted in Version 9 format
DAYTON, OH - The final stats for the 1955 season are now posted.  Cnngratulations to Joe DeZarlo and Gary Plunkitt for winning their respective divisions.  Joe will get a chance to defend his crown against a grizzled SPB Veteran!

January 4, 2004
1955 Preseason prognosis
DAYTON, OH - Thanks goes out to John Ungashick for putting this together.  You can read John's written article HERE.  Tim Johnson has added his WINSHARES predictions.  Click the bolded word for his predictions.

December 31, 2003
1955 Players claimed
FRANKFORT, IN - The following players have been claimed off the waiver list of recently released players. The claimed players and the teams that signed them are as follows:

Phil Cavarretta, 1b Bridges (Reoch)
Fred Baczewski, p Bishops (Williams)
Floyd Baker, 3b Bishops (Williams)
Jim Robertson, c Fortress (Plunkitt)
Tom Gastall, c Cruisers (Baxter)
Bruce Edwards, c Beavers (Applegate)
Lee Wheat, p Beavers (Applegate)
Dave Koslo, p Beavers (Applegate)

The following players went unclaimed and have been released from SPB 1955 files:

Jake Thies, p
Jim Pearce, p
Tom Wright, of
Bob Greenwood, p
Steve Souchock, of

I will be sending out the officials SPB 1955 files this evening to everyone.

December 29, 2003
1955 Players release list
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II Managers, The following players were released by their 1955 teams:

Fred Baczewski*, RP (2 games)
Floyd Baker *, 3B (58 at bats)
Phil Cavarretta *, 1B (54 at bats)
Bruce Edwards, C (107 at bats)
Tom Gastall, C (77 at bats)
Bob Greenwood, RP (2 games)
Dave Koslo*, RP (2 games)
Jim Pearce, SP (4 games, 2 starts)
Jim Robertson, C (8 at bats)
Steve Souchock, PH (1 at bat)
Jake Thies, SP (2 starts)
Lee Wheat, RP (6 games)
Tom Wright, PH (57 at bats)

These players are listed with their maximum number of allowable appearances in 1955 SPB. As always, these players are pretty awful. The only ones who play again are Wright, who has 51 at bats possible in 1956, as a PH, Edwards who has 55 at bats in 56 as a catcher, and Gastall who has 106 at bats in '56 as a catcher. Everyone else is at the end of his career in '55.

If you wish to put a waiver claim on them, please notify me within 24 hours, and list them in the order your would need them. Tuesday morning at 9:00A.M. (24 hours) will be the deadline to claim these free agents. In cases of multiple claims on the same players,they will be awarded to the lower W-L record attained by the claiming teams during 1954 SPB play. 

A new twist will allow one team to make only one player pick per position. This eliminates one team getting all the players at a certain position, or all SP or RP, which has happened in the past. So be sure to list them in the order you want them, by position. Doing it this way, will prevent one team from wiping out all players at a certain position and will allow the "talent" to be spread around a bit.

Thanks,
Gary

December 28, 2003
1955 Players approved for release
FRANKFORT, IN - Now that the trading deadline has passed with no last minute trades taking place, it is time to ask for you to review the following players approved for release. As you know, you can release any players or pitchers that you do not need or want on your team. Every year I go through and find players that have little or no value at all, and with no futures, most of whom have just a few games, or stats. But remember you are not limited to releasing JUST these players. If your knee deep in at bats, starts, or relief appearances, and have players on your roster you know you will not use, you can release them. Here is the list I have come up with as "players approved for release in 1955":

Bill Miller, p Brooklyn Bridegrooms
Jake Thies, p Dayton Flyers
Fred Baczewski, p Dayton Flyers
Floyd Baker, 3b Evanston Elephants
Jim Pearce, p Frankfort Fortress
Jim Fridley (58), of Goshen Aces
Vern Morgan, 3b Goshen Aces
Tom Wright, ph Goshen Aces
Bob Greenwood, p Goshen Aces
Mickey Grasso, c Hampton Road Cruisers
Steve Souchock, ph Lafayette Colts
Danny Schell, ph L. A. Surfers
Gus Niarhos, c Portland Beavers
Dick Smith, ss Portland Beavers
Phil Cavarretta, 1b Rossville Hornets
Ozzie Van Brabant, p Salzburg Bishops
Dave Koslo, p South River Gladiators
Lee Wheat, p South River Gladiators
Tom Alston, 1b West Warwick Monarchs
Pete Wojey (56), p West Warwick Monarchs

That is my list. If you have a player listed here, please respond by Monday, Dec. 28th at 8 P. M. (actually, the sooner the better) as to whether you want to keep these players or release them. Also send any other players that you will not use in 1955, that have no futures to speak of, that can be released as well. 

I will then publish the full list of released players, and allow a couple of days for claims to be made if another manager wants to sign them. All released players not resigned will be dropped from SPB II. Thanks for you attention to this matter. Please be prompt with your replies.

November 9, 2003
1955 Draft completed
FRANKFORT, IN - A hearty thanks for everyone on a great draft!  The trading season is now open. I will announce a deadline shortly. 

October 24, 2003
Call for protected lists
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II Managers, At this time I would like to request that you begin sending your protected rosters to me. As soon as possible would be a nice figure to shoot for. But I will set a deadline date of Thursday, October 30th for these lists.

The following teams can protect 20 players:

West Warwick Monarchs (T. Johnson)
L. A. Surfers (D. Zminda)
Hampton Roads Cruisers (T. Baxter)
Portland Beavers (R. Applegate)

The following teams can protect 19 players:

Dayton Flyers (J. Wheeler)
N. Michigan Comets (G. Stillwagon)
Goshen Aces (L. Miller)
Evanston Elephants (J. Ungashick)
Lafayette Colts (S. Ehresman)
Salzburg Bishops (C. Williams)

The following teams can protect 18 players:

South River Gladiators (J. DeZarlo)
Rossville Hornets (R. Ryan)
Brooklyn Bridge (P. Reoch)
Frankfort Fortress (G. Plunkitt)

Please have your lists to me ASAP, and no later than Thursday, October 30th.

October 6, 2003
SPB-2 1955 Draft date set
FRANKFORT, IN - The 1955 rookie draft will be held on Saturday, November 8th. It will take place at the home of Rick Ryan who lives just 10 miles north of my place in a purely rural setting.

Those indicating they will be here at that time are: Gary Plunkitt, Rick Ryan, Steve Ehresman, Rich Applegate, Terry Baxter, and Lynn Miller. In addition, others who might attend are Jim Wheeler and Chris Williams. An outside shot of John Ungashick attending is also in the works. Hopefully we will see all of you in just about 5 weeks or so.

Those managers not attending are Greg Stillwagon, Joe DeZarlo, Tim Johnson, Peter Reoch, and Don Zminda. They will participate either in the chat room or with a list.

August 16, 2003
SPB-2 Realignment
FRANKFORT, IN - As was done in SPB IV, and will continue to be done in each SPB league as they start their next season, there has been a random realignment of the teams. All names were assigned a random number and distributed in the manner much like that used in figuring the random rounds of our rookie drafts. Then the numbers were printed into the SPB II N.L. & A.L. Leagues.

This breaks up the continuity a bit, and allows for more play against others. We had not changed the setup in SPB II for several seasons. Here is how the new leagues for SPB II will be split:

American League
Northern Michigan Comets (Greg Stillwagon)
Brooklyn Bridge (Peter Reoch)
South River Gladiators (Joe DeZarlo)
L. A. Surfers (Don Zminda)
Chicago Whales (Steve Ehresman)
Salzburg Bishops (Chris Williams)
West Warwick Monarchs (Tim Johnson)

National League
Rossville Hornets (Rick Ryan)
Frankfort Fortress (Gary Plunkitt)
Dayton Flyers (Jim Wheeler)
Goshen Aces (Lynn Miller)
Hampton Roads Cruisers (Terry Baxter)
Evanston Elephants (John Ungashick)
Portland Beavers (Rich Applegate)

This new alignment will go into effect with the 1955 season.   

August 14, 2003
1954 All-Star game posted
DAYTON, OH - Using the voting results, Greg Stillwagon played the 1954 All-Star game.  The home team AL cruised to an 11-2 victory.  Ray Boone was named game MVP.  You can see the boxscore and scoresheet on the left under SPB-2 links. 

July 19, 2003
New President crowned in SPB-2
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB 1955 Managers, We are now making a change by my appointing long time SPB - II manager Tim Johnson to the office of President of SPB - II. Tim is a long time manager, having been aboard since the 1945 season. Thanks Tim for accepting this appointment. 

Former League President Rick Ryan is stepping down from the position at his own request, to concentrate more fully on managing his SPB teams, and of course to allow a little more time to make those trades. :)

Congratulations to Rick on a job well done during his many years as the SPB - II Prez's spot. And at the same time congrats to Tim on his new position!

June 18, 2003
1954 World Series Matchups
FAIRBORN, OH - Using the SCORE program, I have come up with the season matchups between the Bridge and the Gladiators.  Click HERE to see the data.    

January 19, 2003
New Manager for Chicago Whales
FRANKFORT, IN - Steve Ehresman will be taking over as manager for the Chicago Whales replacing long time SPB manager Tom Falduto, who passed away suddenly on Friday night. Thanks to Steve for speaking up promptly and taking over this team.

Be sure to send all May manager profiles for the Whales to Steve at: sdehresman@aol.com. Be sure to make this change for May's play.

January 4, 2003
1954 Win Shares Prognosis
FAIRBORN, OH - Thanks to Tim Johnson for compiling this interesting spreadsheet, with winshare predictions for the upcoming season.  Click HERE for the information. 

December 29, 2002
1954 Pre-Season Prognosis
TUCSON, AZ - Thanks to John Ungashick for making the 1954 Pre-season prognosis.  The article can be accessed HERE, and his spreadsheet can be accessed HERE. Thanks again John! 

December 21, 2002
1954 Team name change
FRANKFORT, IN - Manager Joe DeZarlo has decided to change his team name from the South River Rams to the South River Gladiators.  This is effective immediately.

November 17, 2002
1954 Free Agent signings
FRANKFORT, IN - Free agent catcher Gus Niarhos proved to be a popular man and was claimed by 4 clubs. The Hornets (70 W), Aces (68 W), Bishops (66 W) and Beavers (64 W) had claims in for the veteran backstop. He has been awarded to the Portland Beavers who had the worst record during the 1953 season. 

Also,pitcher Ken Raffensberger was claimed and awarded to the Salzburg Bishops. 

All other agents have been given the pink slip from SPB - II. The following players have been unconditionally released: former catcher Ralph Houk, former infielders Sibby Sisti, Pete Castiglione, Connie Ryan, former firstbasemen Ben Taylor, Luke Easter, former outfielders George Wilson, Bud Stewart, and former hurlers Bob Cain, Carl Scheib, Vern Bickford, and Joe Dobson. All except outfielder Wilson announced they will retire from pro baseball. Wilson signed with the triple AAA Minneapolis Millers to try and work his way back to SPB in the future.

November 11, 2002
1954 Players elegible for release
FRANKFORT, IN - Now is the time to call for a release of several players on rosters, since both our drafts for '54 are now history, and who are just cluttering your rosters up. Let's set a deadline for Nov. 15th for this.

I suggest you review your rosters, with these particular players in mind, and notify me ASAP if you want to release them. Of course, you can release any other players on your team that you will not need. But be sure of their future play before doing so. 

Keep in mind, we will be using the 50% use 'em or loose 'em rule this season for the first time in SPB - II. This can certainly be used to influence your decision on players you consider for release as well.

The following players have little or no value, hardly any usage, and in general no reason to hang around. Here is the recomended list of players to release:

Sibby Sisti, pr Flyers
Carl Scheib, p Elephants
Ralph Houk, ph Fortress
Bob Cain, pr Fortress
Luke Easter, ph Cruisers
Vern Bickford, p Cruisers
Ben Taylor, 1b Comets
Pete Castiglione, 3b Bishops
Johnny Lindell, ph Bishops
Hal White, p Bishops
Gus Niarhos, c Rams
Joe Dobson, p Rams
Neil Berry, ss Monarchs
Johnny Lipon, ph Bridge
Bill Miller, p Bridge
Dick Rozek, p Bridge
Connie Ryan, pr Whales
Ken Raffensberger, p Whales

So send me your decisions on these players and ANY others you decide to dispose of. As always a list will be published, and if for some strange reason you wish to sign any released player, contracts will be awarded to the team with the worst record in 1953. 

October 31, 2002
1954 Protected roster numbers
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB 1954 Managers, Since we are only slightly more than a week away from the 1954 rookie draft, I think it is time to call for the protected rosters for your teams. The receipt of all these protected lists will allow us to have a few days to see what players will be available in the Phase II draft which starts immediately following the rookie draft on Saturday, the 9th. 

The deadline date for you to have these protected lists to me will be Wednesday Nov. 6th at 9:00 P.M. EST. 

Here are how many players each team can protect:

Comets, Bridge, Surfers, and Fortress - 18 Players

Rams, Cruisers, Flyers, Hornets, Aces, and Whales - 19 Players

Monarchs, Beavers, Bishops, and Elephants - 20 Players

October 31, 2002
1954 Protected rosters
TUCSON, AZ - Thanks to Jim Wheeler, click HERE for a listing of those players whose last year was 1954.   

October 22, 2002
1954 Actual lineups
FRANKFORT, IN - I am forwarding this to all as a favor to Jim Wheeler. My thanks to him and to Lynn Miller for making theses great contributions for all of us to use. Best, Gary

SPB Managers,

I have recently completed my research on the actual starting lineups and transactions for the 1954 season. My source is the baseball bible of the era, THE SPORTING NEWS.

With editing help from Lynn Miller, I have compiled a CSV file that lists the starting lineups for each AL and NL game. These files can be found at Lynn's web site: www.lemiller.com

Please feel free to download this file along with the 1953 and 1965 season lineups and pass the link onto anyone else who may want to use the information. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jim

September 7, 2002
1954 Draft date announced
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB II Managers,  In a rather close vote, the draft day for the 1954 rookie draft will happen on Saturday, November 9th.  The official starting tiime will be 11:00 A.M. Votes were received from 12 managers and the 9th edged out the 16th by a 7-5 margin.  

August 19, 2002
Stadium change
FRANKFORT, IN - Manager Greg Stillwagon of the North Michigan Comets has decided to move on to a new park. He is giving up Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and moving into Sportsmans Park (NL version). So the available parks in 1954 are now War Memorial in Baltimore and Phllys Shibe Park (NL).

July 31, 2002
53 World Series MVP announced
FRANKFORT, IN - Mickey McDermott who authored 2 beautifully pitched CG's in the 1953 W.S. has been announced as the MVP of the Series. In the first game of the Series, McDermott stifled the Comets with a nice 7 hitter, while beating the Comets by a handy 5-2
margin to score an important first game win for the Tigers, while on the road. He came back even stronger in the 5th contest in Frankfort, while scoring a shutout over Northern Michigan, on a fine 3 hitter. All 3 hits were singles. His fastball and curve were working well, and the Comets did not muster their first hit untill 2 were out in the 5th inning.
This gave the Fortress a 3-2 edge, and Frankfort nailed down an upset win over the Comets in the 6 game set.

Overall McDermott put up the following stats: only 10 hits in 18 innings allowing just 2 runs for a fantastic ERA of 1.00. He walked 7 and struck out 7 during his mastery over the mighty Comet hitters. 

There were several others in contention for this award including, Sid Gordon, Jackie Jensen, and Ed Yost of the Fortress, along with the Comets Ralph Kiner who led all sluggers with 3 W.S. homers. But in the final balloting McDermott nailed down the prize!