[AZTarHeel]

JAX - You're the man -- the graphics look great ... I can't remember, do you have a team you're pulling for?? There's a strong Tucson contingent that has checked in so far, alas they Saguaros aren't doing so well...

[jaxmagicman]

No team really. I just wanted to use your team names in my Dynasty and figured I might as well make you some logos if I was going to. I will probably make Circle logos for my teams though.

[Vris]

Glad to see Tucson doing well. At this rate, they might win 90 games by 1990!

[AZTarHeel]

1904 Award Winners

Top Hurler Awards
The Northern League Top Hurler Award went to Grand Canyon rookie right-hander Frank Smith. He certainly earned it, striking fear into hitters all year long. Frank had a record of 29-12 this season, with a stingy ERA of 2.05. In 374 innings he was able to strike out 125 batters. He had 40 complete games and 5 shutouts. He's 1st in the Northern in ERA and 1st in wins!

All the hard work finally paid off for Nogales' Happy Townsend as well. The right-hander was named the Top Hurler Award winner in the Southern. This season Townsend compiled an ERA of 2.25, going 25-11 in 40 starts. He fanned 114 while giving up 291 hits in 360.2 innings. Happy pitched 3 shutouts and 36 complete games. He's 4th in the Southern in ERA and 2nd in wins...

Big Stick Awards
In what is getting to be commonplace in the Arizona League, the Northern honor went to Flagstaff's rightfielder Sam Crawford! Sam hit .323 this year, with 185 hits in 573 at bats. He drove in 90 runs, slugging .539. He was 1st in the Northern in batting, 1st in homeruns and 2nd in RBI! Crawford earned the award for the 3rd time in his 4-year career.

The Southern Big Stick Award went to a familiar face as well, Ed Delahanty. He had an extraordinary season as well, though is sometimes overshadowed by Crawford's continued success. Delahunty went 189 for 582 (.325) this season, hitting 13 longballs and driving in 80 runs. He scored 87 runs on his own. He was 1st in the Southern in batting, 2nd in homeruns and 4th in RBI! Delahanty wins the award for the 2nd time in his 16-year career.

Rookie of the Year Awards
Grand Canyon's Frank Smith was almost in tears when he heard the news. The 24 year old pitcher was named the Rookie of the Year winner in the Northern today as well as the league's top pitcher. What a way to begin a career! As stated above, Frank was 29-12 this season, with an ERA of 2.05.

Tombstone's pitcher Nick Altrock worked hard to reach the big leagues. His work paid off as the Southern named him the Rookie of the Year winner! His ERA of 2.24 helped him to a 23-17 record this year. He struck out 67 and walked 47 in 349 innings. Nick pitched 5 shutouts and 37 complete games. He was 3rd in the Southern in ERA and 6th in wins!

[AZTarHeel]

As a side note, what a great year for Frank "The Piano Mover" Smith ... He was Rookie of the Year, Top Hurler and he threw a no-hitter (IRL, he threw two in his career). He was named Player of the Week five times and Pitcher of the Month once ... At the plate, he batted .229 (getting his first hit off Noodles Hahn) and even hit three home runs ...

"I could retire now and be happy," he said. Could be the beginning of a great career and should lift Grand Canyon's fortunes...

His only downfall -- a 1-3 record in the post-season. Some attribute his poorer performances in the playoffs to cracking under pressure and "going hard at the bottle" the night before games ...

[quill]

Az --
Cool league. If you're going for historical accuracy, though, Lake Havasu wasn't created until 1938 when Parker Dam was completed.

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by quill

Az --
Cool league. If you're going for historical accuracy, though, Lake Havasu wasn't created until 1938 when Parker Dam was completed.

Yeah, I realized that after I started ... That may play into the future of the franchise, however... Not sure yet how I'm going to handle it ... I'm not a terrible stickler for historical accuracy on this one as you can probably tell...

[AZTarHeel]

Forgot to include these with the Award winners in an earlier post.

1904 Field General Award Winners

Northern League:
Pitcher: Barney Wolfe (FLG)
Catcher: Zaza Harvey (GCA)
First Base: Candy Lachance (PAY)
Second Base: Miller Huggins (GCA)
Third Base: Fred Hartman (LAK)
Shortstop: Honus Wagner (KAY)
Leftfield: Steve Brodie (JER)
Centerfield: Roy Thomas (LAK)
Rightfield: Socks Seybold (JER)

Southern League:
Pitcher: Frank Owen (BIS)
Catcher: Ed Mcfarland (TUC)
First Base: John Ganzel (TOM)
Second Base: Bobby Lowe (TEM)
Third Base: Bert Conn (TOM)
Shortstop: Charlie Babb (PHX)
Leftfield: Homer Smoot (YUM)
Centerfield: Hugh Duffy (TUC)
Rightfield: Fred Ketchum (TUC)

** a nice haul for Tucson this season in the awards department...

[AZTarHeel]

1904 Notable Performances

Season Leaderboard

Another fine year for Wahoo Sam, plus a nice year in Kayenta for Mike Donlin and Honus Wagner...

TOP 5 in BATTING AVG :
.325 Ed Delahanty(PHX,SL)
.323 Sam Crawford(FLG,NL)
.322 Honus Wagner(KAY,NL)
.314 Joe Kelley(PHX,SL)
.312 Mike Donlin(KAY,NL)

TOP 5 in HOMERUNS :
26 Sam Crawford(FLG,NL) - too high for this era, eh?
14 Mike Donlin(KAY,NL)
14 Elmer Flick(LAK,NL)
14 John Dobbs(LAK,NL)
14 Frank Foutz(TUC)

TOP 5 in RBI :
100 Mike Donlin(KAY,NL)
90 Sam Crawford(FLG,NL)
90 Kid Elberfeld(BIS,SL)
84 Zaza Harvey(GCA,NL)
83 Patsy Dougherty(FLG)

TOP 5 in ERA :
2.05 Frank Smith (GCA,NL)
2.09 Frank Corridon( PAY NOG)
2.16 Roger Denzer(CTW,NL)
2.19 Henry Thielman(JER)
2.21 James Callahan(TEM,SL)

TOP 5 in WINS :
29 Frank Smith (GCA,NL)
26 Carl Lundgren(GCA,NL)
26 Jack Chesbro(GCA) - nice pitching staff for Grand Canyon!
26 Deacon Phillippe(PRE,SL)
25 Happy Townsend(NOG,SL)

TOP 5 in SAVES :
8 Bucky Veil(KAY,NL)
6 Gene Wright(SED)
5 John Mcmakin(PHX)
4 Wiley Piatt(TUC)
4 Cy Vorhees(JER)


Single-Game Standouts

• Tucson's Win Kellum pitched a five-hitter -- over THIRTEEN innings in a win over Tempe ... There's something to cheer about in Saguaro country... He didn't walk a soul and had 10 Ks ... Tempe didn't score a run...
  
• Tombstone's Amos Rusie gets the Iron Pitcher Award. His manager left him out there for 15.1 innings!! He only gave up one earned runs and 10 hits, with four walks ... Sadly enough, he didn't last 2/3 inning longer or he would have gotten the win. Instead that honor went to teammate Jerry Nops when the Epitaphs scored a run in the bottom of the 16th for a 2-1 triumph...
  
• Yuma's Joe McGinnity threw a 14 inning game against Tempe, giving up only one earned run. That game also went 16 innings, and Tempe won 4-3. McGinnity got a ND, a no decision...
  
• Wahoo Sam Crawford went 4-for-4 with three homers and six RBIs in an early season match-up between his Flagstaff Lumberjacks and the Cottonwood Monsoon...
  
• Grand Canyon's Dick Padden had seven RBIs in a game against Lake Havasu ... No one managed more than five hits in a game this season ... Only two in AZ League history have enjoyed six ...
  
• Nogales, Flagstaff and Grand Canyon were considered to have the top three farm systems in the AZL ... Tucson was sixth, so maybe the future is bright for the Saguaros ...
  
• Flagstaff pitcher Wish Egan is considered the top prospect in the league at season's end. He's been in the league three years, starting with Nogales in 1902 but has has seen very limited action (23 IP)

Next up: The 1904 Winter Meetings!! And then the player draft for 1905!!

[AZTarHeel]

1904 Winter Meetings!

Once again, Prescott's Whiskey Row saw plenty of business as owners and team officials from the 16 Arizona League franchises held their winter meetings. It was a festive affair, and in between all of the drinking and carrying on (and a few arrests by local marshals) some baseball business did get discussed...

• League officials exercised the roll-over year on Phinieus Victory's five-year contract as AZ League commissioner. He's now 45 and will be the commish until at least 50 (the 1909 season)... "He may be a bit dogmatic in some of his views but he's a great man and a great leader for our league," one owner said...

• The rules committee discussed doing away with the designated hitter in the Southern League. No action was taken. Most owners seem to like things the way they are...

• A proposal to make the schedule 148 games was discussed. The Commish, Phinieus Victory, vehemently opposed any changes to the number of games in a season. "We started with a 162-game schedule, and we shouldn't touch it. That way we can compare records and such across the years and decades." Owners were convinced though they agreed the season tended to drag on, especially for teams at the back of the standings...

• Victory authorized the formation of a Hall of Fame committee in order to honor the Arizona League's "very finest" players. "Let's make it darn tough to get in to, so it truly is a special honor to be in the Hall," the Commish said. "Maybe we should create a 'Player of Distinction' honor as well so those who do great things, but maybe aren't Hall of Fame worthy, can get recognition." He was thinking of guys like Cy Young, whose pitching numbers from his time before the Arizona League, don't count in his career stats. "He is one of the best pitchers of our time, but his AZ League numbers don't reflect that because he came here at the end of his career.

Victory also urged the committee to create a "Ring of Honor" for those who aren't players but who still contribute in major ways the league.

• Lake Havasu officials said they were in "talks" with a couple of cities about moving their franchise there in a couple of years. They wouldn't comment on what cities, only to say the location is south of Havasu and closer to Phoenix.

This, of course, had the Winter Meetings buzzing because it would likely force a reorganization of the league. If Lake Havasu moved South, it would form an unbalanced league (9 teams in the South, 7 in the North). Since everyone was in agreement that expansion was a very bad idea, one Southern team would have to move North. The most likely -- Prescott, which is geographically a Northern team any way. The only problem: Northern owners are opposed to bringing this emerging power into their league. Time will tell...

"I can tell you this, we either have to fold or move," the Lake Havasu owners said. "The proposed Parker Dam project is still only in the talking stages, and it could be decades before that thing is finished. There just aren't many people live here or plan to move here any time soon."

"What about Kingman?" the Flagstaff owner asked in an open session.

"Kingman?!? Kingman?!? Are you serious?" The Lake Havasu officials weren't happy. "I'll die before I move my baseball team to that god-forsaken place..." That got everyone talking again...

• The following players made their retirements from the AZ League official at the Winter Meetings:

Lave Cross retires ...
Patsy Donovan retires ...
Brickyard Kennedy retires ...
Malachi Kittridge retires ...
Al Maul retires ...
Morgan Murphy retires ...
Fred Tenney retires ...
Gus Weyhing retires ...
JER: Crazy Schmit retires ...
LAK: Jud Smith retires ...
SED: Cupid Childs retires ...
PAY: John Mcpherson retires ...
TUC: Frank Kitson retires ...
NOG: Bob Wood retires ...
NOG: Heinie Smith retires ...
TOM: Tom Daly retires ...

(If anyone wants more info on any of these guys, let me know...)

[AZTarHeel]

The 1905 Amateur Draft

Before breaking up the Winter Meetings (and going for last call at the local saloons in Prescott), owners and team personnel from all 16 franchises held the annual player draft. For the first time in awhile, Tucson did NOT have the No. 1 pick.

That honor went to the Cottonwood Monsoon, who picked pitcher Harry McIntyre. The Monsoon went with experience over youth. McIntyre, a right-hander, is 26 ... Here's the entire list of draftees (every team except one selected a pitcher in round one):

Round 1:
Cottonwood pick: P Harry Mcintire
Yuma pick: P Orval Overall
Tombstone pick: P Bill Hogg
Lake Havasu pick: P Jake Thielman
Payson pick: P Ed Reulbach
Jerome pick: P Joe Harris
Tucson pick: P Irv Young
Sedona pick: P Big jeff Pfeffer
Phoenix pick: P Doc Scanlan
Nogales pick: P Elmer Stricklett
Tempe pick: P Hi West
Kayenta pick: P Buster Brown
Flagstaff pick: P Charlie Chech
Prescott pick: P Jim Buchanan
Bisbee pick: P George Disch
Grand Canyon pick: CF Solly Hofman

Round 2 :
Cottonwood pick: P Rip Vowinkel
Yuma pick: SS Al Bridwell
Tombstone pick: P Moxie Manuel
Lake Havasu pick: LF George Stone
Payson pick: RF Wilbur Good
Jerome pick: CF Jack Himes
Tucson pick: C Frank Owens
Sedona pick: C Howard Wakefield
Phoenix pick: P Rick Adams
Nogales pick: RF Frank Schulte
Tempe pick: P Ed Kinsella
Kayenta pick: SS Phil Lewis
Flagstaff pick: 2B Charlie Malay
Prescott pick: 3B Jap Barbeau
Bisbee pick: P Billy Campbell
Grand Canyon pick: 2B Charlie Starr

Round 3 :
Cottonwood pick: LF Bris Lord
Yuma pick: 2B Ike Rockenfield
Tombstone pick: P Gene Ford
Lake Havasu pick: LF Frank Delahanty
Payson pick: P Dick Harley
Jerome pick: 1B George Stovall
Tucson pick: C Tubby Spencer
Sedona pick: 3B Ernie Courtney
Phoenix pick: C George Gibson
Nogales pick: 1B Hal Chase
Tempe pick: SS John Knight
Kayenta pick: RF Punch Knoll
Flagstaff pick: RF Otis Clymer
Prescott pick: C Charlie Armbruster
Bisbee pick: SS Mickey Doolan
Grand Canyon pick: 1B Myron Grimshaw

Round 4 :
Cottonwood pick: 1B Chris Lindsay
Yuma pick: CF Ben Koehler
Tombstone pick: P Ed Barry
Lake Havasu pick: P Harry Ables
Payson pick: P King Brady
Jerome pick: C Branch Rickey
Tucson pick: CF Charlie Jones
Sedona pick: C Cliff Blankenship
Phoenix pick: 2B Nick Kahl
Nogales pick: RF Ed Hahn
Tempe pick: 2B Allie Strobel
Kayenta pick: 3B John Godwin
Flagstaff pick: P John Eubank
Prescott pick: C Hub Hart
Bisbee pick: 1B Del Howard
Grand Canyon pick: RF Johnny Siegle

Round 5 :
Cottonwood pick: 1B Homer Hillebrand
Yuma pick: 1B Bill Clancy
Tombstone pick: CF Denny Sullivan
Lake Havasu pick: P Louis Leroy
Payson pick: 2B Art Hoelskoetter
Jerome pick: 1B Bud Sharpe
Tucson pick: P Hank Olmsted
Sedona pick: P Harry Hardy

During pre-draft workouts, team scouts are buzzing about a player who will be eligible in next year's draft. "I'd trade all of my picks from this year to get that Tyrus kid from Georgia on my team," one team owner said.

[AZTarHeel]

1905 Season Standings/Wrap-Up

Some familiar faces topped the '05 standings in both leagues.

For the second year in a row, growing rivals Grand Canyon and Flagstaff beat all other comers in the Northern League. The River Runners won their last two games and eight of their last 10 to squeak past the Lumberjacks.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Dust Devils earned their second regular season title in the five-year history of the Southern League, beating out last year's champ Bisbee by two games. The Prospects made a mad dash for the finish line but an 8-2 record over the last two weeks wasn't quite enough...

There should be some interesting playoff series to come, for sure...

Northern League

Team      	W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Grand Canyon	93	69	.574	-	93-69	0	 	53-28	40-41	12-7	32-22	*	W2	8-2
Flagstaff	91	71	.562	2.0	92-70	-1	 	46-35	45-36	7-9	32-22	-	L1	5-5
Sedona  	87	75	.537	6.0	79-83	8	 	45-36	42-39	11-9	39-28	-	L2	5-5
Jerome  	83	79	.512	10.0	80-82	3	 	45-36	38-43	13-9	29-25	-	W2	7-3
Kayenta  	83	79	.512	10.0	85-77	-2	 	45-36	38-43	11-11	25-35	-	W1	3-7
Payson  	72	90	.444	21.0	72-90	0	 	33-48	39-42	8-13	26-31	-	L2	4-6
Lake Havasu	70	92	.432	23.0	74-88	-4	 	39-42	31-50	6-12	27-38	-	L1	3-7
Cottonwood	69	93	.426	24.0	71-91	-2	 	39-42	30-51	11-9	21-30	-	W1	5-5

NL notes

• 2B Johnny Evers and 1B Frank Chance — two parts of the Chicago Cubbies' famous Hall of Fame double-play combination from the early 1900s — both play for Grand Canyon. I think that's pretty cool ... Dick Padden is the SS for the River Runners instead of Joe Tinker, however. Tinker plays for Tombstone ... Chance batted .284 this season for GC.

• Flagstaff's big stick, Sam Crawford, had a down year for him -- only batting .288 with 22 HRs... OK, so that's pretty darn good, still ... His career average is still a robust .322. And to think, he wasn't a first-round draft choice in the first year of the league (going 21st overall to Flag)... Crawford has played in all five All-Star games thus far...


Southern League

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Phoenix 	92	70	.568	-	93-69	-1	 	49-32	43-38	6-13	29-20	*	L2	6-4
Bisbee   	90	72	.556	2.0	89-73	1	 	46-35	44-37	7-9	32-24	-	W8	8-2
Nogales 	83	79	.512	9.0	92-70	-9	 	37-44	46-35	6-6	21-28	-	W3	6-4
Prescott	80	82	.494	12.0	78-84	2	 	41-40	39-42	9-11	32-27	-	W1	2-8
Tombstone	80	82	.494	12.0	74-88	6	 	42-39	38-43	9-7	30-28	-	L1	5-5
Tempe   	76	86	.469	16.0	74-88	2	 	33-48	43-38	12-10	24-24	-	W1	5-5
Yuma    	75	87	.463	17.0	75-87	0	 	36-45	39-42	7-7	20-31	-	L1	5-5
Tucson  	72	90	.444	20.0	70-92	2	 	42-39	30-51	13-6	27-33	-	L2	3-7

Some SL Notes
After a breakout year for Tucson in 1904, the Saguaros go backwards. Hey, at least they aren't dead last for the whole league this time

37-year-old "Big" Ed Delahanty showed he still has some pop in his bat. The Phoenix outfielder batted .301 with 86 RBIs ...

Phoenix pitcher Christy Mathewson went 29-7 ... Nice ... He was the Top Hurler in 1901 and the Best Young Player in '01 ... Wonder if he'll get his second Hurler award?

Bisbee had three 20-game winners from the mound -- Doc White, Frank Owen and Otto Hess.

[Sir Lurksalot]

Man, Yuma consistently sucks. Maybe the searing heat takes all the life out of the players...

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Sir Lurksalot

Man, Yuma consistently sucks. Maybe the searing heat takes all the life out of the players...

Yeah, there are a few teams that just can't seem to get it going, while some stay near the top each season even with higher draft picks...

[AZTarHeel]

1905 Playoffs

Northern League Championship



Flagstaff Lumberjacks defeat Grand Canyon River Runners, 4-1
So much for the much-anticipated NL series. Grand Canyon won the Game One 6-5 in 10 innings, getting two homers and four RBIs from Johnny Evers. But the 'Runners crapped out from that point.

Flagstaff won Game Two 8-0 thanks to a two-hit gem from pitcher Barney Wolfe. The Lumberjacks then swept the series with 5-3, 3-0 and 6-1 triumphs. Wiley Platt tossed a three-hitter in Game Four, and Wolfe came back to win Game Five, earning series MVP honors after a five-hitter.

"Wahoo" Sam Crawford batted .500 during this series, with one homer and seven RBIs... Nice...


Southern League Championship



Bisbee Prospectors defeated Phoenix Dust Devils, 4-1

Another lackluster series, that looked good on paper but didn't deliver. Bisbee won the opener 9-2, banging out 13 hits, and that set the tone for the rest of the way.

Bisbee won Game Two 2-0, getting a four-hitter from Otto Hess. The Dust Devils got on the board with a 3-1 win in Game Three. But Bisbee was too much, taking the series with 5-3 and 5-4 wins in the next two contests. Phoenix scored four runs in the top of the ninth in that last game, but it wasn't quite enough.


Cactus Champions Cup

Bisbee defeats Flagstaff, 4-3

This looked like another bust of series when Bisbee won the first three games, 2-0, 8-5 and 4-2. Frank Owen pitched a three-hitter in the opener, and the Prospectors scored three runs to win Game Two in the 13th inning to take that one. Jim Delahanty had the clutch hit in the marathon second contest, stroking a two-run triple for the Prospectors in the top of the 13th.

But then Flag got its act together, taking the next three contests, 5-3, 7-2 and 2-0. That set up a Game Seven, and thousands of fans packed the small mountain mining town of Bisbee. The hometown Prospectors jumped to a 3-0 advantage in the first four innings. The 'Jacks got two runs back in the seventh but could do no more damage. Frank Owen got the biggest pitching win of his career for Bisbee -- and his 24th of the season -- lifting the Prospectors to an AZ League title!!!

Bisbee needed just six singles to get enough runs across, helped by one Flagstaff error and four walks ...

Hats off to Bisbee, the 1905 champs!!


Cactus Cup Champions
1901- Payson Longhorns (4-2 over Nogales)
1902- Nogales Apaches (4-1 over Grand Canyon)
1903- Prescott Antelopes (4-2 over Jerome)
1904- Prescott Antelopes (4-2 over Grand Canyon)
1905- Bisbee Prospectors (4-3 over Flagstaff)

The Southern League has now won the last four titles...

[AZTarHeel]

1905 News & Notes

1905 All-Star Game

Northern League 10, Southern League 5
After getting pounded for a couple of years, the NL standouts finally turned the tables. Flagstaff's Sam Crawford, who has played in all five All-Star games, bashed a two-run homer. Flag teammate Topsy Hartsell had a double and a triple. Sedona's Fightin' Harry Wolverton helped a six-run sixth inning with a triple...

Tombstone's Bill "Wagon Tongue" Keister had the SL's lone offensive outburst, a three-run homer in the fifth...


No-Hitters

Good grief, the week of Aug. 15-19 was no-hitter week in the Arizona League. The air was extremely thick with humidity from summer monsoon storms, I guess. Three players tossed no-hitters within a five-day span. Wow!! Hats off to Prescott's Mike O'Neill, Yuma's Walter Clarkson and Sedona's Red Ames.

Sedona and Grand Canyon have both had two no-hitters. Must be something about the scenery in those two picturesque places that distracts hitters.

(Side note: this does seem excessive for no-hitters -- is there a way to tweak that down a bit -- like a no-hitter maybe every few seasons instead of three in one week? Thanks)...

LEAGUE HISTORY - NO HITTERS
5/5/1901, Jack Chesbro (GCA), 7 K, 2 BB
9/28/1901, Jack Taylor (NOG), 2 K, 0 BB (PERFECT GAME!)
6/11/1902, Roscoe Miller (FLG), 6 K, 1 BB
7/26/1902, Bob Rhoads (SED), 6 K, 5 BB
6/5/1904, Noodles Hahn (PAY), 2 K, 1 BB
7/5/1904, Frank Smith (GCA), 3 K, 0 BB
8/15/1905, Mike O'neill (PRE), 3 K, 1 BB
8/18/1905, Walter Clarkson (YUM), 1 K, 2 BB
8/19/1905, Red Ames (SED), 3 K, 2 BB

Injury Notebook

If August was no-hitter month, April was season-ending injury month. Three players were lost for the year in the season's first few weeks — Tucson's Terry Turner (torn elbow ligaments, April 5), Flagstaff's Roger Bresnaham (broken hip, April 7) and Tempe's Bobby Lowe (broken foot, April 11). Ouch!


Misc.

• One of baseball's greatest pitchers, Cy Young, was released by the Cottonwood Monsoon during the season. Young was the first-ever Northern League Top Hurler Award winner (1901) and a two-time All-Star during his stay in the Arizona League. He won 25, 25 and 20 games in his first three seasons but the 38-year-old seriously trailed off starting in 1904.

Young's career numbers in the AZL: 74-49 with one save and a 2.82 ERA ... He was 1-3 in the post-season ... Wonder if any other team will pick him up for 1906 or if he'll retire...

• Pitcher Ned "The Nomad" Garvin was traded twice again this season, going from Payson to Flagstaff to Tucson. He must be a clubhouse cancer or something because teams keep moving him.

[AZTarHeel]

1905 Award Winners

Top Hurler Awards

Carl Lundgren, Grand Canyon's ace right-hander, smiled as he was named the Northern League's best pitcher for '05. His ERA of 2.63 helped him to a 27-10 record this year. He struck out 114 and walked 88 in 345.1 innings. Carl pitched 3 shutouts and 36 complete games. He ended up 10th in the Northern in ERA and 1st in wins!

The Southern Top Hurler Award winner went to Tombstone's southpaw Nick Altrock. He certainly earned it, striking fear into hitters all year long. His ERA of 1.92 helped him to a 32-8 record this year (tying Mike O'Neill's league record for victories). He struck out 90 and walked 54 in 369.2 innings. He had 40 complete games and 6 shutouts. He was 1st in the Southern in ERA and 1st in wins!


Big Stick Awards

Ho-hum, Flagstaff rightfielder Sam Crawford had another fabulous season. The Northern League sports writers once again named the 25-year-old the Big Stick Award winner for the fourth time in five seasons (and may soon name the whole award after him). He hit 22 bombs while batting .288 this season. His 169 hits and 61 walks add up to a .352 on-base percentage. He was 7th in the Northern in batting, 1st in homeruns and 1st in RBI!

The Big Stick Award in the Southern was handed to Phoenix's rightfielder Harry Lumley! His season numbers were: .284 AVG, 167 hits, 26 doubles, 14 triples and 19 homeruns, along with 90 RBI and 86 runs scored. He was 4th in the Southern in batting, 1st in homeruns and 3rd in RBI.


Rookie of the Year Awards

Orval Overall (what a great name!) was tabbed the Northern Rookie of the Year. Grand Canyon's pitcher put up pretty good numbers for a rookie this year. This 24 year old kid will probably have a long and successful career. He compiled an ERA of 3.19, going 14-13 in 27 starts. He fanned 88 while giving up 230 hits in 242.1 innings. Orval pitched 3 shutouts and 26 complete games in his AZL debut.

Irv Young was named the Southern Rookie of the Year winner. Tucson's pitcher (good job Saguaros!!) put up pretty good numbers for a rookie. Opposing players hit just .201 against Irv this season. While posting an ERA of 2.50 he went 23-16 in 40 starts, fanning 73 and walking 58 hitters. He has 39 complete games and 2 shutouts. He was 10th in the Southern in ERA and 6th in wins. Maybe he can help get Tucson out of the cellar.


Field General Awards

1905 Northern Winners

Pitcher: Red Ames, SED
Catcher: Heinie Peitz, KAY
First Base: Frank Isbell, JER
Second Base: Lee Demontreville, CTW
Third Base: Fred Hartman, LAK
Shortstop: Billy Gilbert, SED
Leftfield: Fred Odwell, KAY
Centerfield: Jimmy Slagle, SED
Rightfield: Willie Keeler, CTW

1905 Southern Winners

Pitcher: Doc White, BIS
Catcher: Jack Slattery, TOM
First Base: John Ganzel, TOM
Second Base: Danny Murphy, TOM
Third Base: Bert Conn, TOM
Shortstop: Kid Elberfeld, BIS
Leftfield: Charlie Jones, TUC
Centerfield: Doc Gessler, PRE
Rightfield: Fielder Jones, TEM

(nice year for Tombstone in the Field General department!)

[AZTarHeel]

1905 Notable Performances

League Leaderboard

TOP 5 in BATTING AVG :
.329 Honus Wagner(KAY,NL)
.322 Elmer Flick(LAK,NL)
.314 Cy Seymour(GCA,NL)
.301 Ed Delahanty(PHX,SL)
.298 Patsy Dougherty(FLG,NL)

TOP 5 in HOMERUNS :
22 Sam Crawford(FLG,NL)
19 Harry Lumley(PHX,SL)
18 Socks Seybold(JER)
17 Buck Freeman(TOM,SL)
15 John Anderson(SED,NL)

TOP 5 in RBI :
100 Buck Freeman(TOM,SL)
99 Sam Crawford(FLG,NL)
96 Jimmy Sheckard(GCA)
93 John Anderson(SED,NL)
93 Jimmy Williams(PHX,SL)

TOP 5 in ERA :
1.92 Nick Altrock(TOM,SL)
1.98 Jack Taylor(SED)
2.21 Al Orth(KAY,NL)
2.22 Vic Willis(FLG PAY)
2.25 Otto Hess(BIS,SL)

TOP 5 in WINS :
32 Nick Altrock(TOM,SL)
29 Christy Mathewson(PHX,SL)
27 Carl Lundgren(GCA,NL)
25 Sam Leever(TOM,SL TEM)
24 Frank Owen(BIS,SL)

TOP 5 in SAVES :
7 Bucky Veil(KAY,NL)
6 Ralph Caldwell(PAY)
6 Jack Taylor(SED)
5 Ted Breitenstein(SED)
4 Oscar Jones(TOM)

[AZTarHeel]

1905 Winter Meetings

This year's Winter Meetings were held in Bisbee, home of the Arizona League champion Prospectors ... Not a lot of business came to the table this year, just the usual revelry among owners and team personnel...

• The big item on the table was the fate of the Lake Havasu franchise. The Blues ownership group announced that by the 1908 season they aimed to find a new home. "We just can't make here, not yet. Once they build the Parker dam, which could be decades, this area should be able to support a team. But just not now..."

Havasu officials wouldn't say where they were looking to move only that they had three leaders. An article in the Bisbee Daily Miner mentioned that Winslow was one of the proposed areas. That would keep the franchise in the Northern League so no realignment would be necessary...

• League officials agreed to officially form a Hall of Fame. There will be three segments: The Hall of Fame itself will be for players -- the best of the best. The Ring of Honor will pay homage to non-players who have made a "significant impact" on the Arizona League. The Players of Distinction section will be for noteworthy players who come throught the league, just not those who are Hall of Fame caliber.

• The five-year contract of The Commish, Phinieus Victory was once again rolled over. He's now 46 and is assigned to hold the post until he's 51 ...

• The following players have announced their retirement from the Arizona League:

Sunday 3/2/1906 :
Tommy Corcoran retires ...
Nig Cuppy retires ...
Duke Farrell retires ...
Bill Hallman retires ...
Herman Long retires ...
Jack O'connor retires ...
Cy Young retires ...
Martin Glendon retires ...
GCA: Clark Griffith retires ...
GCA: Bill Fox retires ...
SED: Ducky Holmes retires ...
SED: Charlie Irwin retires ...
PAY: Whitey Guese retires ...
PAY: Snake Wiltse retires ...
KAY: Doc Adkins retires ...
PRE: Frank Shugart retires ...
NOG: Doc Parker retires ...
BIS: Dummy Leitner retires ...

**Some final numbers on Cy Young: 74-49 pitching record with one save and a 2.82 ERA ... He was 1-3 in the post-season ... He becomes the first Arizona League player to be given a "Player of Distinction" recognition... "For what he's done in his career, he's earned it," Commissioner Victory said...

• Frank Shugart played on two championship teams in Prescott...

• Duke Farrell was a .277 career hitter and a two-time All-Star for Lake Havasu...

[AZTarHeel]

1906 Amateur Player Draft

While the Winter Meetings lacked luster this year, the lead up to the Player Draft certainly didn't. There was a certain 18-year-old named Ty Cobb that had everyone buzzing during pre-draft workouts ... "He's going to make whichever franchise gets him," several scouts said ...

Cottonwood had the first pick and many thought the Monsoon would tab Cobb, but they went another direction. The first pick of the draft was pitcher "Colby Jack" Coombs, a 23-year-old right hander. Lake Havasu went next, and they too passed on Ty Cobb. When Cobb fell past the third pick (held by Payson), the Tucson Saguaros knew they possibly had the gem that could turn their lowly franchise around...

With the fourth selection of the 1906 amateur draft, the Tucson Saguaros select The Georgia Peach, 18-year-old phenom Ty Cobb... The three players picked ahead of Cobb could be in a trivia question one day (much like the question about who was picked ahead of Michael Jordan in the NBA)...

Here is the full draft list going into the 1906 season:

Round 1:
Cottonwood pick: P Jack Coombs
Lake Havasu pick: P Carl Druhot
Payson pick: P Charlie Smith
Tucson pick: CF Ty Cobb (!!!!)
Yuma pick: P Lefty Leifield
Tempe pick: P Ralph Glaze
Tombstone pick: P Irv Higginbotham
Prescott pick: P Lew Richie
Nogales pick: P Johnny Lush
Jerome pick: P Vive Lindaman
Kayenta pick: P Jim Pastorius
Sedona pick: P Jimmy Dygert
Bisbee pick: P Cy Falkenberg
Flagstaff pick: P Fred Beebe
Phoenix pick: P Charlie Rhodes
Grand Canyon pick: P Roy Witherup

Round 2 :
Cottonwood pick: CF Johnny Bates
Lake Havasu pick: P George Ferguson
Payson pick: P Ed Smith
Tucson pick: P Jack Pfiester
Yuma pick: CF Al Burch
Tempe pick: P Harry Eells
Tombstone pick: 2B Frank Laporte
Prescott pick: RF Red Murray
Nogales pick: P Bill Essick
Jerome pick: P Mike Cunningham
Kayenta pick: CF Harry Armbruster
Sedona pick: 1B Claude Rossman
Bisbee pick: 1B Jim Nealon
Flagstaff pick: P Frank Oberlin
Phoenix pick: CF Roy Hartzell
Grand Canyon pick: P Lou Fiene

Round 3 :
Cottonwood pick: 3B Hans Lobert
Lake Havasu pick: P Rube Kroh
Payson pick: P Charley Hall
Tucson pick: 3B George Moriarty
Yuma pick: LF Dutch Meier
Tempe pick: 2B Harry Niles
Tombstone pick: C Nig Clarke
Prescott pick: 1B Tim Jordan
Nogales pick: 2B John Hummel
Jerome pick: P Jim Moroney
Kayenta pick: LF Tom O'hara
Sedona pick: C Irish Mcilveen
Bisbee pick: 2B Whitey Alperman
Flagstaff pick: 3B Lee Quillen
Phoenix pick: 3B Paul Sentell
Grand Canyon pick: 3B Jack Hannifin

Round 4 :
Cottonwood pick: 3B Bill Shipke
Lake Havasu pick: P Bert Maxwell
Payson pick: 1B Alan Storke
Tucson pick: 2B Joe Ward
Yuma pick: SS Forrest Crawford
Tempe pick: P Walter Moser
Tombstone pick: SS Ed Holly
Prescott pick: 1B Bill Abstein
Nogales pick: LF Bob Ganley
Jerome pick: SS George Mcbride
Kayenta pick: SS Dave Altizer
Sedona pick: 3B Art Brouthers
Bisbee pick: 1B Snake Deal
Flagstaff pick: C Charlie Graham
Phoenix pick: LF Ben Caffyn
Grand Canyon pick: C Fred Payne

Round 5 :
Cottonwood pick: 3B Red Morgan
Lake Havasu pick: RF Frank Jude
Payson pick: P John Mccloskey
Tucson pick: C Bob Peterson
Yuma pick: 3B Eddie Zimmerman
Tempe pick: P Jim Holmes
Tombstone pick: P Clyde Goodwin
Prescott pick: C Boss Schmidt
Nogales pick: LF Jack Hoey
Jerome pick: C Sam Brown
Kayenta pick: LF Gene Good
Sedona pick: 2B Pug Bennett
Bisbee pick: RF Bob Edmondson
Flagstaff pick: LF Frank Burke
Phoenix pick: C Jerry Donovan