Some of last year's greats have graduated, among them Con Dempsey, but enough remain to form the nucleus of this year's team. These include Schramka, Rotar, Matteucci, Hanna, Hall, Garcia, and Joe Vevoda. With these men to serve as the backbone of his attack, and aided by the turnout of several new players, Coach Newell looks forward to a successful campaign. The Major League All Stars offered the Dons their first opposition, and for that game Coach Pete Newell offered the following lineup:
Ed Hanna, a two-year letter man, played his usual position at first base. Spelling Ed at this spot was Reno DeBenedetti and Bob Morelli.
In virtue of his stellar defensive play, Jerry Shaughnessy got the call over Dan Maher and Andre Chicourrat at the keystone sack.
At third base we had Captain John Rotar. He hit .286 last season and handled the hot corner very well.
Dick Kelly and Bob Maddalena were other aspirants for the third baseman's job.
Bill Shanahan was Newell's first choice for the short patch, though Bill had trouble keeping Jay Hollander from winning the starting berth.
Left field was occupied by Pete Lomori, an All-City selection from Gallileo High School. Pete was playing his first year under the hilltop colors, and a great deal was expected of him in his initial effort. Another good candidate for this spot was Bob Barbeau from the Christian Brothers School in Sacramento.
Paul Schramka's big bat discouraged any applicant for the centerfield pastures. In this, his second year, Paul did even better than last year.
Coach Newell has not decided on his first choice for right field as yet. Foremost among the several applicants are Jack Grealish, a transformed center fielder, and John Vick.
The battery was manned by Tom Pagee on the mound and Frank Boland behind the dish. Page, former star mounds man at Sacred Heart High School, was a leading hurler in last year's city Industrial League.
Boland is a veteran of the 1943 squad on the hill, and the 1944 College of the Pacific team, which he captained. He is an excellent receiver with a keen aptitude for judging the opposing batters' weaknesses. Frank is a right-handed sticker and has been hitting well over the three hundred mark.
Behind Pagee, Newell listed as starting pitchers Ed Garcia, veteran of last year's squad, and newcomers Jack Shields and Tom Butler. Catchers "Dippy" Matteucci and Bill Reed also saw some duty behind the plate (TheFoghorn).
