United League of American Base B

1965 FOUNDER'S CUP
Last Place Griffins Unbeaten in Group Stage
Ramos Throws 2 CGs, Spiders Top Group A, Brooklyn Eliminated
WASHINGTON (July 6) – The cellar-dwelling Detroit Griffins sliced through their Group B opposition like a hot knife through butter, using a combination of power and pitching dominance to run the table with five straight wins. Pedro Ramos, freshly recovered from a nasty flu that sidelined him for two weeks in June, pitched complete game wins over Cleveland and Manhattan, allowing just one earned run, and Sandy Koufax shut down Atlanta for only his third win in 18 starts. Woodie Held homered in the first two games and Joe Cunningham homered twice in a 9-7 win over Boston.
   Detroit finished one win ahead of the Barons, who rattled off four wins after their opening loss to the Griffins. Cleveland's heroes included Dick Groat, who hit a game-winning pinch-hit single to beat Boston, Ernie Portocarrero, who struck out eight and held Atlanta to one earned run in a 4-3 win, Rusty Staub, who was 3-for-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs in a 4-1 win over Manhattan. and Eddie Mathews, who hit two longballs in a 7-2 win over Chicago.
   Elsewhere in Group B, the Atlanta Hilltoppers advanced with an 8-5win over the Boston Federals, who were winless in five games. Don Pavletich homered and drove in three runs and Ron Hunt homered. And the Chicago Colts eked in by run differential after going 2-3. Don Mossi pitched a 2-0 shutout against Boston, which Don Demeter won with a 2-run homer, and Bud Daley was strong in a 6-2 win over Atlanta in the opener, but otherwise the Colts were unimpressive.
   Group A began with a thriller, as Dallas spoiled the home team's tournament-opening festivities with a 5-4 win in 12 innings. The Texans' Steve Bilko drove in the winning run with his third hit of the game. Washington also lost its second game in extra innings after Danny McDevitt blew a 2-1 lead in the 13th. The Monuments vindicated themselves, however, with a 14-1 blowout of Brooklyn, which featured a 14-strikeout complete game by ex-Ba Whitey Ford, and won their next two games to finish second behind San Francisco. The Spiders overcame an early 3-0 deficit to edge Brooklyn 4-3 in their opener, as Jack Kralick and two relievers shut out the Bas for eight innings, and late heroics by Fred Whitfield and Willie McCovey downed Los Angeles and Dallas.
   Dallas clinched a quarterfinal spot with a 5-4 win over Brooklyn. Curt "Clank" Blefary's two-run homer off Johnny Kucks proved to be the game-winner. It was Clank's first UL round-tripper. St. Louis backed into fourth place with two losses. Frank Torre had four hits in the Maroons' 10-6 win over the Spiders.
   The biggest disappointments of the tournament were Boston and Brooklyn, who both landed in last place in their respective groups. Boston, who won the Cup in 1963, failed to muster a single win, while the Bas lost their first four, including a humiliating 14-1 blowout loss to the hosts, before finally winning their meaningless final game. Last year's hosts Los Angeles also failed to qualify for the knockout stage, despite the hot bat of Frank Robinson, who hit four homers and slugged .947.

TOP PERFORMERS
-- Granny Hamner, BRO (.476, 10-24)
-- Frank Robinson, LA (4 HR .947 SLG)
-- Johnny Edwards, DET (.550 OBP)
-- Pedro Ramos, DET (2-0, 1.00 ERA, 2 CG)
-- Bob Friend, CLE (17 K)
-- Fred Newman, SF (0.84 WHIP)
-- Whitey Ford, WAS (14 K, 1 W)
-- Don Elston, CLE (2 saves, 2.0, 0 H)

FOUNDER'S CUP: GROUP STAGE

GROUP A

GROUP B

July 1

Dallas 5, Washington 4, 12 inn.
Steve Bilko 3-6 with HR and GWRBI in 12th
San Francisco 4, Brooklyn 3
Kralick & Co. pitch 8 shutout innings after 3-run BRO 1st
St. Louis 6, Los Angeles 2
Maris 3-4, Sarni 2 RBI as Sadowski tops Ken Johnson

Chicago 6, Atlanta 2
Bud Daley anchors five-hitter and drives in a run
Detroit 6, Cleveland 1
Ramos 3-hit CG; Held, Brown, and Bouchee homer
Manhattan 8, Boston 6
Pinson homers in matchup of last two FC winners

July 2

San Francisco 3, Washington 2, 13 inn.
McDevitt blows 2-1 lead in 13th for 2nd extra-inn. loss
Los Angeles 9, Brooklyn 3
Aaron, Mantilla each 3-5 with HR; Burdette L (11-4)
Dallas 6, St. Louis 1
Post 3-4, HR, 4 RBI; Ceccarelli 8.0, 6 H, 1 R, 9 K

Detroit 4, Chicago 3
Allen, Edwards, and Held homer; Drysdale 2.0, 4 R, L
Atlanta 9, Manhattan 2
Pavletich 4-5, Hart HR, 3 RBI; M Alou 3-5
Cleveland 3, Boston 1
Dick Groat GW PH RBI in 9th, Dick Williams 3-4

July 3

Los Angeles 5, Dallas 4, 10 inn.
Frank Robinson 2 HR, including GWHR off Crone in 10th
St. Louis 10, San Francisco 6
Frank Torre 4-5, 3 R; B Williams 2 HR; Cheney L (1-14)
Washington 14, Brooklyn 1
Mays 2 HR, including GS off Conley; Ford CG, 14 K

Manhattan 5, Chicago 0
Dean Chance 4-hit shutout, Torre 3-3, 2B
Detroit 9, Boston 7
Jim Cunningham 2 HR, 4 RBI, Hershberger 2-4, 2 RBI
Cleveland 4, Atlanta 3
Portocarrero 8.0, 5 H, 1 ER, 8 K, Elston 15th save

July 4

July 5

San Francisco 8, Los Angeles 7
Fred Whitfield GW 2-run 2B in 9th, Brock 4-6, 2 SB (47)
Washington 2, St. Louis 1
Bob Veale 3-hit CG, 6 K; Mays 2-5, 2 RBI
*Dallas 5, Brooklyn 4
"Clank" Blefary GW 2-run HR in 6th (1st UL HR)

*Cleveland 4, Manhattan 1
Rusty Staub 3-3, HR, 3 RBI; Podres 7.1, 6 H, 1 R, W (12-3)
*Detroit 9, Atlanta 2
Koufax 8.0, 5 H, 1 R; Johnny Edwards 2-3, 3 RBI
Chicago 2, Boston 0
Mossi (14-3) 9-hit SHO, 7 K; Demeter 2-run HR in 2nd

July 6

*San Francisco 6, Dallas 4
McCovey 2 HR, GW HR in 8th; Brock 3-5; C Boyer HR
*Washington 4, Los Angeles 2
Don Larsen W (9-6) 7.2, 2 R, 2-2, 2 RBI
Brooklyn 5, *St. Louis 2
Mantle 2 HR, 3 RBI, Jim Perry 6.1, 9 H, 1 R

Group A	W	L	R-RA
*San Francisco	4	1	+7
*Washington	3	2	+14
*Dallas	3	2	+4
*St. Louis	2	3	-1
Los Angeles	2	3	-6
Brooklyn	1	4	-18

Detroit 4, Manhattan 1
Ramos 5-hit CG, Frank Howard 2-run 2B in 6th
Cleveland 7, *Chicago 2
Eddie Mathews 3-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Friend 7.0, 5 H, 0 R
*Atlanta 8, Boston 5
Pavletich 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Hunt 2-4, HR, 2 RBI

Group B	W	L	R-RA
*Detroit	5	0	+18
*Cleveland	4	1	+6
*Atlanta	2	3	-2
*Chicago	2	3	-5
Manhattan	2	3	-6
Boston	0	5	-11

FOUNDER'S CUP: QUARTERFINALS

	San Francisco

	Chicago

	Washington

	Atlanta

	Detroit

	St. Louis

	Cleveland

	Dallas

Peter Vays
Los Angeles Outlaws GM
The Sporting News Interview

Peter Vays has been at the helm at Arroyo Seco Stadium since 1960 and lifted the team out of last place to their first two winning seasons. In 1963, the Outlaws finished second for the first time, with a club record 89 wins. Last year, the club smashed box office records after a stadium renovation and contended until July, but slumped after ace Art Mahaffey was injured. Vays spoke with TSN's Frederick Campbell in Los Angeles.

TSN: A year ago, the Outlaws were just a couple games behind Chicago and making a run for the pennant. Since then the club is 66-94 and briefly dipped into fifth place. To what do you attribute the club's sudden collapse?
PV: I hate to put it on one guy but Mahaffey's injury started the wild ride down. He was the best pitcher on the club by far with the potential to win 20+ games. You replace that with a guy that can only win 10 or so and you have a different team. This year I have little to blame but I can't see how my lineup accounts for the second fewest runs in the league. I figure this will turn around.

TSN: LA's lineup features Hank Aaron, the recently-crowned single-season home run king, and Frank Robinson, who has hit at least 30 HR and 90 RBIs for the last four seasons, yet ranks last or next to last in nearly every offensive category. Do you think Felix Mantilla alone can turn the offense around?
PV: I think Felix makes the lineup even more deadly and I hope his hot start continues. I think without Felix this team would have turned it around on the offensive side as I felt that Hall was an upgrade over Pinson and Haller has been an upgrade over Schmidt so slowly over the last few years the team has made multiple upgrades with Mantilla just being the latest. With Aaron/
Robinson/Mantilla/Hall their is no doubt in my mind that eventually we will score runs. Each of these guys can hit 30 in any given season. Our
question mark is always pitching.

TSN: Al Kaline broke his elbow on May 3 and will be out for a year. In addition, he is eligible for free agency at the end of the year. How does Al fit into the team's future plans? Have you spoken to Al about his expected role in the team?
PV: We really hope to sign Al to another contract. He has not arrived yet so talks have not begun but we have opened cap space for him with Lepcio leaving so the money is available. His role, first and foremost, is as a leader. We love to bring in guys with a good attitude from winning clubs. Next, the man is still very dangerous against lefty pitching so he will definitely be in the lineup against lefties. Third, he is the best defensive corner outfielder on the team sohe will have an additional role there as well. If he can heal and get his swing back against righties then he will win the everyday right fielder job with Frank Robinson moving to first.

TSN: Is this club officially rebuilding? If so, how long before you expect the Outlaws to become a serious contender?
PV: The Outlaws have always had a short term and long term plan. Aaron was brought in for instant credibility which he achieved but we continue to draft guys to build the team. Tom Tresh was an amazing player but got hurt for a year. Mahaffey was an amazing player but got hurt for a year.
With these two guys, we feel we would be a contender right now especially after showing what we could do last year before Art got hurt. Now we have brought in Mantilla and rushed Dierker to the majors so we are serious about winning now. But realistically, we need one to two more years, mainly for Chicago to age their way out of first and for Dierker to mature into an ace. So am I rebuilding? Yes, we brought in Dierker, Swoboda,
Levebvre and have two first rounders this year.
Am I serious about competing? Yes, we brought in Mantilla, and Aaron before him, to win now. Not sure I answered the question but I guess we want our cake and we want to eat it to. Basically build and win, not rebuild but build.

Rick Magar
Brooklyn Superbas GM
The Sporting News Interview

First-year Brooklyn manager Rick Magar has perhaps the hardest job in the history of the UL: following in the footsteps of dynasty-builder Glen Reed. The Superbas appear to be on the glideslope toward their ninth straight East Division title, but die-hard fans of the Screaming Bats aren't convinced that the rookie skipper won't muck things up. Magar answers his critics in a discussion with TSN's Leonard Koppett.

TSN: Coming into this season, your bullpen was a glaring weakness, albeit perhaps the only weakness of any kind in several years. With closer Dick Sisler out for the year, the bullpen got even weaker. Was Sisler's injury a wake-up call to the Brooklyn front office to shore up the bullpen?
RM: Actually, despite the lack of any big names, the bullpen has held its own this season. Sisler, Ellis, and Segui have all performed extremely well - as well as any 1-2-3 punch in the United League in '65. In addition, Sonny Siebert did "yeoman's work" filling in for Gene Conley when he went down and has now shifted back into the pen which will help us out in the second half as well. Bob Lee has struggled a bit, but he is the #5 man in the bullpen so I'm not losing any sleep over it right now.

TSN: Is Ray Narleski the closer that will lead Brooklyn to their sixth straight title? Will you try to retain his services and do you expect him to sign or will Ray test the free market waters?
RM: I think Ray will perform quite well in Brooklyn. Our offense will provide him with a lot of leads to protect, but we'll also have our fair share of blowouts so that he can rest that valuable right arm of his when he needs to. I expect Brooklyn to be in the thick of things for a sixth straight title and Ray will be a key componant. We will open negotiations to extend his contract beyond 1965, but as this trade has shown, we are shifting this organization's focus a bit to the future and we will not be mortgaging the future in attempts to stay at the top. Ray will have to come down in his expectations a bit if we'll be able to agree on a new deal. After all, the doctor insists that Sisler will be right as rain in '66.

TSN: Do you plan to further bolster the bullpen, or are you satisfied with the likes of Bob "Moose" Lee filling out your pitching staff?
RM: Sure, we'd like to improve the pen if we can, but I'm OK with Lee as the #5 man for now. We're probably talking about another 20 innings or so from that role for the balance of the season - any improvement there will not likely have a huge impact anyway. However, any additional major injuries would be very hard to absorb and the Superbas have already had their belly-full of them in the first half of this season (Conley, Mantle, Kaline, Sisler, etc.).

TSN: You've taken a lot of heat in the New York press for dealing Felix Mantilla, who was one of the most beloved Superbas. Some fans are interpreting this trade as the first salvo of a fire sale. Players like Hamner, Mantle, and Conley have fan clubs that number greater than some team's average attendance. Are the rumors true? Do you plan to tear down this storied franchise and rebuild it in your own image? Do you fear a fan backlash?
RM: I have chuckled when I read those reports, but I can put the fan's fears to rest. We will not be having a fire sale in Brooklyn. Does that mean additional deals to improve the future of this ball club will not happen? I won't guarantee that and the fans should demand my resignation if I did. My job is to have the big picture in mind, not just this season. Mantilla was a bit of a special case though. First of all, he's in his prime and at the peak of his value right now. However, he'll be turning 31 in less than a month and he'll be a free agent in a couple of seasons - the very time this ball club will be dealing with significant age and salary issues without some changes. What I wanted to avoid was a situation where a nearly 34 year old declining superstar (on a team of declining, well-paid superstars) was demanding a multi-year deal in excess of $10 million per year or walking. As a result, I saw a unique opportunity to deal him and get the closer (Narleski) I needed for this season, a reasonable replacement for Mantilla (Ted Lepcio) to continue the championship chase into the next couple of seasons, and provide an infusion of youth (Johnson and three draft picks) that this club will desperately need in a season or two. Mantle, Hamner, and Conley are all signed for what amounts to the balance of their useful careers. That means I won't have any salary surprises and also means it will be quite difficult to deal them for youngsters with each passing day. I would be very surprised if any of those three did not end their careers as Superbas.

Glen Says “When” – “Ink” Thinks It Stinks
by Charlie Qualls
Another E-Z Flow type season is helping Superba faithful to turn the page after Glen Reed moved on to yellower pastures. However, the one man who boasted the boldest type in Brooklyn’s Reed chapter seems to have finally lined put.
Sports gossip columnist Will “Ink” Adoo has been erased from his post at the “Brooklyn Blabloid.” The details of Will Adoo’s rubbing out are still penciled in mystery, but most will tell you his obsession with Reed got the better of him, leading to penned up anger and ending in insult. As a result, “Ink” has lost his credibility as a tabloid journalist and ultimately his job.
You can judge for yourself if you think he went too far. Here’s a sampling of some of his more
controversial headlines and by-lines (which he always insisted on writing himself):

GLEN TO LION’S DEN
Mr. Allen’s A Christian, What’s Your Excuse?

LOSERVILLE GIRDLES
Look’s Like A Bad Fit

EVERY COLONEL POPS
Don’t Expect To Win In A Jiffy

BROOKLYN TO BROKELYN
Empty Pockets Mean Limp Rockets

FORGETTING TO REED
“Deep” South Anything But

MYLANTA PILLPOPPERS?
Heartburn Ahead (We Hope)

SLIPPERY SLOPENOSE
Try Not To Blow It

“Ink” composes that he’s been typecast as a villain, that he’s only tracing fan sentiment. But so far, the deposed despot has drawn no support. Nothing about Adoo’s future is etched in stone, but one source recently placed him padding around the HR department of the “Atlanta Daily Dish...”

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