51 - Right Down The Line

Sports Editor
Friday, February 23, 1951
Dover, Ohio


THE MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS' Frank Baumholtz is back in a Chicago Cub uniform again this season for another shot at the major leagues.  Frank, whose basketball prowess at Ohio University won him All-American recognition before his graduation in 1941, returns to the Cubs this year after a season with the Los Angeles club where he led the Pacific Coast League in batting with a .379 batting average.  This spring, Baumholtz has given an indication that he has finally hit his stride.

Frank fell only 4 percentage points short of equaling the all-time Los Angeles batting high of .383 set by Frank Demaree in 1934.  His base total was .372, 2nd highest ever recorded by a Los Angeles player.  Following his graduation from college, Frank turned basketball pro with the Cleveland Rebels and then gave up the cage game to go with the Cincinnati Reds baseball club.

Baumholtz made the majors in 1947, hitting .283.  After a .296 year in 1948, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.  Now he returns to aid the Cubs in the National League pennant drive.

UNLESS 2,031 FANS jam into Memorial Hall tonight to see the Class B Tournament final between the Strasburg Tigers (2-0) (16-6) (80-20) and the Midvale Blue Devils (2-0) (18-4) (52-24), the official paid attendance figures will not match that of last season, Tournament Manager W.E. Laws revealed last night.  The 1st six sessions this year have drawn 4,690 paid admissions, while the 7 sessions last year drew a total of 6,741 paid admissions.  This 1950 total; however, was below the record total of 7,268 set at Dennison in 1948.  By sessions this year, the tournament has drawn 665, 415, 1,025, 1,343, 888 and 354 in paid admissions.

Frank Baumholtz, the Midvale Marvel, currently with the 1951 Chicago Cubs.

W.E. Laws, Tournament Manager, for the 1951 Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament at Memorial Hall in Dover.