HOODSPORT, Wash. -- The Portland Beavers captured the first Century League World Series with a runaway 17-6 victory over the Hoodsport Raspberries in game six at Cushman Park. Portland, the American Century League club from the 10s, rapped out 20 hits and was helped four four errors by Hoodsport, the National Century League champs from the 20s.

Portland, heavily favored in the series after waltzing through the ACL regular season with a record of 107-47, was stunned to be shut out on three hits in the series opener, and fell behind two games to one in the series before clicking into gear and taking the final three contests to capture the series four games to two. Tris Speaker's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth in game five that gave the Beavers a 3-2 victory could have taken the wind out of Hoodsport's sails, but the persistent Razzies were not out of it until Portland scored seven in the top of the ninth inning today to put an exclamation point at the end of their incredible season.

Game six began as if the clubs were a couple of hard-hitting heavyweight fighters going toe-to-toe, both landing some haymakers. The Beavers, however proved better able to take a punch on this day. Art Nehf started for Hoodsport and Chief Bender for Portland in a rematch of game two, won by the Beavers 10-5.

Portland got it going in the top of the first against Nehf. Eddie Collins worked the southpaw for a leadoff walk and, after two fly ball outs, Shoeless Joe Jackson drilled a homer into the right field stands and it was 2-0 Beavers.

Hoodsport swung right back at Bender. Kiki Cuyler walked to open the bottom of the first. He stole second base, then came home on Frankie Frisch's double to left center. Bender struck out Rogers Hornsby, but Hack Wilson followed with a double to the gap in left center to plate Frisch, and it was 2-2 after one.

If the Razzies had a weakness, it was defense. They won the NCL pennant despite making 121 errors, second most in the league. However, each team played excellent defense, with only one error each, through the first five games.

That changed in the second inning, when Hoodsport's defensive woes fueled a Portland rally. Frank "Home Run" Baker led off the inning with a swinging bunt out in front of the plate. Razzie catcher Bob O'Farrell pounced on the ball, but then fumbled it for an error, and Baker was safe at first.

It should be noted here that O'Farrell was starting in place of Gabby Hartnett, Hoodsport's regular catcher. Hartnett missed the final two weeks of the regular season with a sore back, but was healed enough to play once the series arrived and, in fact, did very well, hitting .400 with a couple of home runs. When he got to the park today he'd stiffened up again and couldn't even crouch, and O'Farrell was pressed into duty.

With Baker at first on the error Wally Schang came up and hit a sharp grounder to the left side. Hoodsport third baseman Pie Traynor make a brilliant diving stop on the ball, and threw from his knees trying to get the Beaver catcher at first. His throw was wild, allowing Baker to move to third and Schang to take second. The scorer ruled it a hit and an error. Ray Chapman drew a walk and the sacks were full with nobody out.

Bender, an excellent hitting pitcher, struck out. Collins drilled a single to score Baker and Schang and send Chapman to third. Ty Cobb hit a fly ball to deep right to bring in Chapman, and Portland was up 5-2.

Hoodsport would not give up. Bender retired the first two Razzies to bat in the second, and should have had a 1-2-3 inning, but Chapman booted Nehf's routine grounder to open the door for Hoodsport. Cuyler smoked a double into the left field corner, and Nehf raced all the way around from first to score. Frisch then singled to plate Cuyler and make it 5-4. Frisch stole second base and Hornsby walked, but Bender avoided further trouble by getting Wilson on a fly ball to center.

Neither club scored in the third, but the Beavers went back at it in the fourth. Chapman led off with a walk, but Bender bunted into a 1-6-3 double play. Collins then whistled one right back through the box; Nehf barely got a glove on it, took it off the shin, and Collins beat it out for an infield single. Cobb then pulled a double down the right field line to score Collins, making it 6-4. Hoodsport manager Wilbert Robinson had seen enough at this point, and Nehf was done for the day.

"You can't wait around and see if the guy gets his stuff," said Robinson, "not when you've lost three in the series. Our defense didn't help Artie, but they were stingin' him pretty good, too."

Robinson brought in Burleigh Grimes to face the ACL batting champ Napoleon Lajoie, who looped a single into right field to drive Cobb home and make it 7-4.

Again, Hoodsport answered. Ross Youngs, pinch hitting for Grimes with one out in the bottom of the fourth, drilled a double to right center, and Cuyler hit an opposite-field, two-run homer to right. When Frisch singled, Portland manager Hughie Jennings decided Bender was finished.

"He wasn't foolin' anybody out there today," said Jennings. "You want to give your starter a chance to win, but Chief was gettin' hit."

Jennings summoned Bob Shawkey out of the bullpen. Frisch swiped second, Hornsby hit a wicked liner but right at Cobb in center, then Wilson struck out looking to end the inning.

After four it was 7-6 and both starting pitchers were gone. That's where the paths of the two teams diverged. Shawkey, Joe Wood and Eddie Plank held Hoodsport to just one hit and two walks over the final 5 2/3 innings. Meanwhile Portland got to seven Hoodsport pitchers for 13 hits and 10 runs, seven of them earned, in the last five innings. One of those Hoodsport pitchers did not face a batter. Jesse Haines, warming up to start the fifth, had his shoulder stiffen up, he couldn't get loose, and had to exit.

The Beavers scored a run in the fifth on a homer by Speaker, then two more on four singles in the sixth to make it 10-6. Wood held Hoodsport hitless through the sixth, seventh, and eighth, so when the final frame arrived the Razzies were still within a grand slam of staying alive.

Portland went out and got some insurance.

Jesse Barnes got Baker to pop out, but then served up consecutive singles to Schang, Chapman and pinch hitter Bobby Veach, and it was 11-6. Robinson, desperate to stop the bleeding and keep the game within a miracle's reach, went to the bullpen for his ace, 19-game winner Wilbur Cooper, waiting for a start in game seven.

"Ain't no tomorrow if we don't stop 'em there," explained Uncle Robby, "and I figure Coop was our best shot. They had a rally going and a couple of tough lefties coming up."

Cooper blanked the Beavers on three hits in game one. He gave up singles to the first three batters he faced today--Collins, Cobb and Lajoie--and it was 14-6. Jackson grounded out to the mound, moving runners to second and third. Cooper gave Speaker an intentional walk and took his chances with Baker. Home Run singled to score two more. It was 16-6, the game was over, and the ace was shelled. Dazzy Vance replaced Cooper and threw a wild pitch to allow one last run to score before he retired Hal Chase, who had pinch run for Schang early in the inning, on a routine fly to center.

Plank retired Hoodsport in order in the last of the ninth, and the Beavers celebrated their title.

"This game was like our whole season," said Portland manager Jennings. "Folks can hang with us for a while, but if you screw up, we're gonna take advantage, boy. We are relentless and we got contributions from everyone today."

"They kicked our butts," agreed Robinson, the Hoodsport skipper. "Nothing I tried even slowed them down today. After winning a couple of close ones, it was like they could smell it."

Despite the carnage of the final game, the teams were, statistically, very close for the series. Portland batted .296, hit nine homers and scored 41 runs. Hoodsport batted .293, hit 10 homers and scored 39 runs. Portland's ERA was 6.11, Hoodsport's 6.06.

Portland's Tris Speaker Series MVP

Speaker was a unanimous choice for World Series MVP. He batted .480 (12-25) hit five doubles, four home runs, scored eight and drove in nine--all figures tops for the series. He hit game-winning homers in games four and five. Collins hit .464 with five runs and five RBI.

"That (blanking) Speaker," cursed Robinson. "We gotta find out what that guy's eating for breakfast. And Cobb knocked in five runs against us with a bum knee today."

Cobb crashed into the wall at Hoodsport and sprained his knee in game one. He missed games two through five, and played again today for the first time since the injury. He went 3-for-5 with a double and scored twice. Frisch also came back from an injury with a good game today, going 3-5 for Hoodsport with a couple of RBI.

Cuyler batted .357 and hit two homers, scoring and driving in eight out of the leadoff spot for Hoodsport. Traynor hit .391. Perhaps a key for Portland was that they contained the Razzie 1-2 punch of Hornsby and Jim Bottomley. The Rajah, who batted .312 with 40 homers and 125 RBI during the NCL season, hit just .273 with no homers, three runs and two RBI in the series. Bottomley, .280-44-119 during the regular season, hit .174-1-1 in the series.

"We stopped their big guns," said Jennings. "Some of them other guys hit pretty good, but we didn't let them two guys beat us."

"Nuts to that," said Robinson. "They got a couple of big hits the last couple of games, and then when the floodgates opened today we were swamped. We scored plenty, but just couldn't stop 'em at all."

Then Robinson brought up a point that Portland's American Century League foes raised often during the regular season.

"They had a big advantage representing the teens, because a lot of their players really belong in the 00s decade," said Robinson. "Lajoie, and all of them pitchers--Bender, Plank, Walsh--really don't belong on the teens team. You take them guys away in expansion and you really get a true look at that decade."

Ah, the cry has already begun: break up the Beavers!