Lead Story - 1/25/2023 League History (1975-1977) Brandon beat Hamilton in the '76 Pangaea Cup Final with help from this Junior Barnes catch in Game 7
In '76 it was Junior Barnes making a home-run saving catch to win the World Series for the Golden Bears. A year later, Barnes had been traded to the rival Dukes, but it was the same two teams meeting up for the championship. More about that later. Early in the season, it looked very much like there might be a 3rd team joining Brandon and Hamilton as a contender for the playoffs. In their 27th game of the season, the Oshawa Barons defeated the Hamilton Dukes to sneak into first place, half a game ahead of both the Dukes and the Golden Bears. Even at the quarter mark of the season, the Barons were in playoff position in second place. Speaking of hot starts, Junior Barnes, who was traded from Brandon to Hamilton before the season started, was hitting a remarkable .444 after 25 games. The Nova Scotia Voyageurs had a nice start too, boasting a winning record (21-20) at the quarter point of the schedule, and just a single game out of second place. Meanwhile, the Hamilton Dukes found themselves uncharacteristically in 4th place, with a losing record of 19-21 after 40 games. It got worse for the Dukes as they won just 3 of their next 10 games for a 22-28 record, and sole possession of last place, after 50 games. Their ace pitcher, Goose Goslin, was also struggling, with a 4-6 record, but there were brighter days ahead for the Goose. At the midway point of the season, the Dukes still had a losing record, 40-41, good for 4th place. Oshawa was still going strong at 42-39 and hanging onto second. The Voyageurs were tucked in between the two with a 41-40 record. Even the Saints could smell the playoffs from 5th place with a 37-42 mark, only 4 games out of 2nd. Meanwhile, Brandon was cruising in top spot, ten and a half games ahead of the Barons.
There were other exciting races in 1977 besides the playoff race. At the half way mark, Nicholas Czech (Saints), Joe Cronin (Dukes), and Gus Baron (Barons) were top 3 in homers with 29, 27, and 25 respectively. Meanwhile Ricky Cooney (.354) held a 10 point lead on Ricky Porcoli (.344) for the batting title race.
At the All-Star break, Brandon still held a 7 1/2 game lead over the surprising Voyageurs and Barons, who were both three games ahead of the 4th place Dukes. Could there be a new playoff team this season? After 105 games, the Voyageurs had moved into 2nd place, a single game ahead of Oshawa and three up on the Dukes.
At the three-quarter mark (121 games), it was still incredibly tight at the top - Brandon with a 5 game lead on Oshawa, who were just one game ahead of both Hamilton and Nova Scotia. The Voyageurs had been in second for a couple weeks but started to sputter a bit when faced with a tough part of the schedule. Just after the three-quarter point of the season the Dukes finally moved into second place after a four game sweep of the Voyageurs. With 23 games left to go, the Voyageurs were in the middle of a 7-game losing streak and were falling out of the race, 5 and a half out of the Wild card. The Dukes had fallen 2 games behind Oshawa but then took 3 of 4 from the Barons to pull into a tie for 2nd. Brandon was 10 games ahead, pulling away and in the midst of an 11-game winning streak.
Down the stretch, the Barons fell apart, losing 14 in a row at one point to finish off their chances. The Dukes pulled ahead in the Wild Card and ended up with a 9-game lead over both Oshawa and Nova Scotia, who both finished with 79-83 records. The home run race was exciting to the end, with Gus Baron setting a league record with 58. Czech and Cronin were close behind, with 54 and 53. Duke Longley had a very strong second half to catch and pass Ricky Cooney for the batting title, finishing at .352. Longley also led the league in hits and took home MVP honours. Goose Goslin was incredible after his terrible 4-6 start. He went 14-6 the rest of the way to finish at 18-12, first in WHIP, 3rd in ERA, first again in strikeouts, and he took home his first Cy Young Award. The Rookie of the Year Award went to Voyageurs shortstop Christian Rousseau, who had a mediocre season at the plate, but a very good year defensively, with a remarkable 51 Dwar.
The playoffs saw the same match up as the first two seasons, with Hamilton traveling to Brandon for the first two games. Game one saw Chico Morton taking the mound for the Golden Bears against the Dukes' Dave Philley. Brandon started off with a bang, going deep three times in the first inning thanks to Longley, Tank Bellows, and Lou Davis. The Dukes were unfazed though, coming back to take the lead 6-4 after five innings. It remained that way until the bottom of the eighth, when Brandon struck for five runs and hung on for a 9-7 win. Brandon took the second game as well, 5-3, behind a strong pitching performance from Alexander Duke. Game three saw Goose Goslin get the Dukes back on track and back into the series. Goslin bested Brandon's Ace Perry, going the distance in a 5-4 win. The Dukes tied the series in Game 4, thanks to a strong start by Bill Lee and a two-RBI game by former Golden Bear Junior Barnes. Game 5 saw a repeat of the Morton-Philley matchup, but this time the pitchers duelled and the bats were relatively silent, with Philley allowing just two earned runs for a 3-2 victory and a 3-2 series lead for the second-place Dukes.
Going back to Brandon for Game 6 with their backs against the wall, the Golden Bears hoped that home field advantage would help their cause. It certainly looked like that was the case early on, as Tank Bellows hit a first-inning Grand Slam to give the home team a 4-0 lead. But two innings later, Hamilton had stormed back and led 5-4. It was a see-saw, offensive affair, with the Dukes tying the game at eight in the top of the 9th on Joe Cronin’s third home run of the game. The game would become a KBL classic, going 14 innings before Cesar Franklin would walk it off with a single, scoring Buck Taylor and tying the series at three. Another Game 7 between these two great rivals awaited.
Game Seven lived up to its billing and matched the 1976 version in every way. First of all the pitching matchup was as good as you could get, with Goose Goslin going against Ace Perry, this year's Cy versus last year's Cy. With both bullpens decimated by the previous night's 14-inning marathon, both starters would need to go deep in the game. It was scoreless through three innings, until Mickey Vernon singled home Duke Sims to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead through four. In the bottom of the 5th, Brandon would tie the game when Blacky Crystal scored on a Lucas Duke sac fly. The two aces were stingy until the top of the 8th, when Hamilton scored two runs against Perry. Three consecutive hits by Lou Boudreau, Mickey Stanley and Duke Sims made the game 2-1 Dukes, followed by a Joe Cronin sacrifice fly giving Hamilton a 3-1 lead. Goslin retired the Bears in order in the bottom of the 8th, and it looked like the Dukes were on the verge of another World Series upset. Ace Perry, still battling in the 9th, got the Dukes to go three up, three down in the top of the 9th, setting the stage for the bottom of the 9th. Tiger Lewis doubled to lead off, and Goslin began to falter. He walked the next two batters to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Lewis, and then Tank Bellows beat the throw home on a Cesar Franklin ground ball to tie the game at three. With just one out and a runner on third, Goslin struck out Blacky Crystal and got Louis Lewis to ground out to end the inning. Another extra inning game, but this one was Game 7 - winner take all! In the top of the 10th, Ace Perry started the inning with a walk, but got Lou Boudreau to hit into a double play. Ace was finished though, and Cap Bailey was called in from the bullpen. Bailey got Mickey Stanley to fly out to end the Dukes' half inning. In the bottom of the 10th, Goslin dragged himself out of the dugout and took the mound. He got the first batter, Lucas Duke, to ground out, but it was apparent that the tank was empty. Dave Houston came in to face the regular season MVP, Duke Longley. Longley drove Houston's fourth pitch over the wall in left-centerfield for a walk-off Game 7, extra-inning, World Series winning home run. Longley was awarded the World Series MVP, and the Golden Bears had their second championship. What a great finish! Same two teams, same time next year? We shall see.
1976 - Golden Bears beat Dukes in Classic Game 7 Thriller
Similar to 1975, the Brandon Golden Bears won the President's Trophy, finishing first in the Regular Season's Standings by 18 games over the second place Hamilton Dukes, this time with a record 123 wins, up from the 110 they recorded in the inaugural season of the league. In 1975, the Dukes had finished 11 games back but had shocked the Bears in the Pangaea Cup four games to one. In 1976, Brandon was looking for revenge. Brandon won game 1 of the '76 Series with an 8-4 victory, but lost its home-field advantage in Game 2, falling to the Dukes by a 6-4 score. Back in Hamilton, Brandon took Game 3 by a 5-3 score behind a strong performance by starting pitcher Alexander Duke, but then the Dukes stormed back with two very convincing wins (7-3 and 9-2). Brandon again had their backs against the wall and were on the verge of seeing another dominant regular season wasted. Game 6 was a thriller. The Dukes looked destined to repeat their 1975 victory when they scored five runs in the second inning off Red McCloud, but the Bears got one back in the bottom of the second and then tied it up in the bottom of the sixth. The Dukes took the lead again with one in the 7th and one in the 8th before Bull Martin hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game and Lou Davis hit a go-ahead solo shot. In the top of the 9th, the Dukes put runners on the corners with one out when Richie Ashburn scorched a ground ball down the 3rd base line. Bears' 3rd baseman Duke Longley dove to his right to make the stop and threw out Junior Gonzalez at home plate to preserve the one-run lead. Brian Terican then got Bernie Allen to pop out to send the series to a Game 7.
Game 7 was another thriller, but it was the starting pitchers who stole the show. Goldy Twain of the Dukes was spectacular, giving up just 2 hits through his eight innings of work, although one of those was a 4th-inning home run by Tiger Lewis, his third of the series. Alexander Duke of the Golden Bears matched Twain's performance, scattering three hits over nine innings to get the shutout victory and the Golden Bears' first title. Junior Barnes made two huge defensive plays in center field for the Bears, first robbing Richie Ashburn of extra bases with a diving catch in the 4th inning, and then, on the final play of the game, leaping up at the fence to rob Duke Sims of a game-tying home run. Barnes ran at full speed to the left-centerfield wall, leapt up, pulled the ball back over the wall, and continued running right into the arms of his teammates as they celebrated. What a finish to a thrilling seven-game series. Alexander Duke was named MVP with 2 victories in the Cup final.
The non-playoff teams, similar to 1975, were never really in contention and jockeyed for positions three through six throughout the season, all finishing with losing records. The exception was the Oshawa Barons, who did have a good start to the season and were right with the Dukes and Golden Bears through the first quarter of the campaign. Oshawa hung on to 3rd place, an improvement from their 5th place finish in 1975. Saskatoon dropped from third in '75 to fourth in '76. Nova Scotia moved up from 6th to 5th, while Victoria had a very disappointing second season, dropping from 4th place in '75 to dead last, setting a record for losses in the process with a 56-106 record. The Vikings found themselves out of the race early thanks to a 14-game losing streak in April.
Duke Longley won the batting title. He was hitting .400 after 50 games before settling down and finishing the season at .341. Bull Martin won the regular season MVP while leading the league in Home Runs and RBI. Dave Brodie of the Voyageurs led a strong crop of rookies and took home Rookie of the Year. Ace Perry of the Golden Bears won the Cy Young Award leading the league in Wins (24) and ERA (2.91), while Goose Goslin again led the league in Strikeouts and Brian Terican earned the most Saves for the second straight season. Goslin had been a perfect 10-0 at the 45 game mark and finished with a 21-7 record.
1975
Hamilton Dukes win the Inaugural Pangaea Cup Trophy
The KBL's first season saw six teams take to the field - from west to east: the Victoria Vikings, Saskatoon Saints, Brandon Golden Bears, Hamilton Dukes, Oshawa Barons, and Nova Scotia Voyageurs. All six had high hopes of taking home the first ever Pangaea Cup Championship Trophy as Spring Training began. In the first few weeks of the season, two teams began to emerge as favourites, and that stayed true throughout the season. Brandon and Hamilton were both strong from start to finish, Brandon finishing on top with 110 wins, with Hamilton in second place with 99 victories. Third place Saskatoon was 23 games behind the Dukes, so the championship matchup was settled pretty early in the season. Brandon seemed to have an edge on offense, while the Dukes boasted a formidable starting rotation. The regular season Major Awards were swept by the Golden Bears - MVP: Tiger Lewis, Cy Young Award: Red McCloud, Rookie of the Year: Duke Longley. For the inaugural season it was decided that the runner-up in MVP voting would be granted the Rookie of the Year award. Other first-season stars included the Saints' CF Ricky Cooney, who won the batting title and led the league in hits and stolen bases, Goose Goslin of the Dukes who led the league in strikeouts, and the Golden Bears' Brian Terican who was the Season 1 Saves leader. There were four no-hitters thrown in 1975, including a perfect game by McCloud. Grant Foggie of the Barons threw a no-hitter in his first ever start, the team's 3rd ever game. The others were thrown by Blake Crowder, also of the Barons, and the Golden Bears' Alexander Duke.
The Championship Series looked to be a battle of the titans, with the Golden Bears the favourites. The Dukes' starting pitcher for Game 1 had other ideas and shut down Brandon's offense, taking game 1 by a score of 7-1. Brandon's Alexander Duke turned things around for the Golden Bears, shutting down the Dukes' offense and helping Brandon even the series with a 2-1 victory in Game 2. The series moved to Hamilton for the next three games, and the Dukes dominated the favoured Bears at home, taking all three games, 10-4, 4-2, and 7-2, winning the first ever KBL Pangaea Cup four games to one. Goose Goslin won the clinching 5th game and was named co-WS MVP along with third-baseman Duke Sims. Goslin gave up only three runs in two complete game victories and struck out 10 Brandon batters. Sims went 8 for 18 for a .444 Avg with 7 RBIs in the series, three of which were game-winners. The Golden Bears' bats never did get on track, but in a short series, good pitching can beat good hitting, and that was certainly the case as the Dukes' starters shone brightly. Along with Goslin, Dave Philley and Bill Lee also collected victories, while Goldy Twain pitched well in Game 2 but didn't get the same run support as his fellow starters. |
