1939 Rosebank Grade School baseball team..This grade school team includes three Boyer and two Coss brothers. Four members of this group played in the KOM league.

The KOM League

Flash Report for Week of

April 10—16, 2016

 

This report will be retained at this Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/25708676133/

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All is well, I heard from Joe

 

On April 6, 2016 the telephone rang and the voice on the other end said “When are we having our next meeting?” Of course, the voice was unmistakable and I replied “Where would we meet?’ With that short banter the conversation was on. The caller went on to tell me what a good job had done on past KOM reunions and how much fun the guys had and was sure I had probably enjoyed them as well.

 

What had jogged the caller’s memory was the announcement of the passing of country music legend, Merle Haggard. Like Haggard, the caller is a native of Oklahoma. The caller reminisced about a KOM league reunion where he stood before an assembly of his former peers and mentioned that he had once been known to take a drink or two. He said that in memory of those days he was going to read the lyrics of a song his wife penned that described his consumption “accomplishments.” The caller asked “Do you recall the name of that song?” At that point I didn’t but shortly it came to me. The title was “I’m Going to Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home.” For those of you who never heard it you can now by clicking here for that David Frizzell hit from a few sunrises past. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEv7SDnSwa0

 

And with the foregoing out of the way the rambling conversation of a guy who used to pitch in the KOM league for the hated Ponca City Dodgers and the not so bright former Carthage Cub batboy, continued. For all you Joe Stanka fans, on my mailing list, the big guy is still in the game. Whenever he gets a shout out in this forum I hear from places as far away as Japan. So, to my Japanese reader I want you to know that Joe sends his regards.

 

However, return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear when Stanka addressed his old buddies at a KOM league reunion. It was in the era when the ”Wino” song was a hit. He had told the group about wife Jean’s ultimatum to him about alcohol. Of course, it was in jest but at the advanced age of most of us, at KOM league reunions, we have a tough time separating fact from fiction. Joe said that after the banquet, that night, a lady came up to him and inquired if Jean had really written that song. Of course, she hadn’t but had she done so the Stanka family would have made more money from that song than they did in most, if not all, the seasons Joe toiled in the minor and major leagues in the United States and his years in the Japanese major leagues.

 

After a few more minutes of chatter, discussing whether we’d attend Merle Haggard’s funeral or stay home and listen to him on CD’s, it was settled that the final service would be handled about like potential KOM reunions, we’ll stay home and remember the good times.

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Death of Thomas Taylor

 

Here’s TR Taylor’s obituary - -

www.wacotrib.com/obituaries/taylor-thomas-ray/article_38b.... I was able to find your Flash Report for this week by poking around on your Flickr site. Jack Morris—Coventry, PA

 

The foregoing is how my computer screen looks many mornings when it comes to incoming mail.

 

For those of you who don’t have access to the URL’s here is the obituary:

****

Thomas Ray Taylor

Sept. 4, 1931 - Mar. 30, 2016 (Ed note: For the record, when he joined the Bartlesville club his birth year was listed as 1932.)

 

Thomas Ray "TR" Taylor died peacefully at Hillcrest Hospital on March 30, 2016 in Waco, Texas at the age of 84. Funeral services will be at 11 am, Monday, April 4 at Oakcrest Funeral Home, 4502 Bosque Blvd, Waco, Texas. Interment will follow at Waco Memorial Cemetery.

 

The family will receive visitors from 5 to 7 pm, Sunday, April 3, at Oakcrest.

TR is survived by Sue Taylor, his sister Irma Sharpless; and his children, Chris Colquitt, Sammy Hyden and husband, Kirby, and Tracy Taylor Viladevall and husband, Chuck. He is also survived by grandchildren, Carley and Taylor Hyden, Izumi, Colby, and Wesley Colquitt, and Madison and Max Viladevall.

 

He is preceded in death by his father, Carl Ray Taylor; mother, Thelma May Taylor Strange; grandson, Samuel Colquitt; and nephews, Mike and Larry Williams.

 

TR was born on September 4, 1931 in Waco, Texas. He graduated from Waco High in 1949 and soon enlisted in the US Army. While in the army he played baseball with Whitey Herzog for the Fort Leonard Wood army team that won a national championship in 1953. TR also spent several years playing professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for the Billings Mustangs. TR earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Baylor Universality in 1958 where he also played and coached baseball. When injury cut TR's baseball career short, he began a long and successful career in the insurance business.

 

TR made a lasting impression on everyone he met with his charming smile and infectious laugh. He was a devoted family man who unselfishly put the needs of his loved ones before his own. He was a man of strong conviction and was forever willing to help others. His greatest joys in life were his grandchildren, his beloved Baylor Bears, his time spent at Katy Park playing for the Waco Pirates, and the endless hours spinning yarns at Kirby's Barbeque in Mexia, Texas.

 

A special thank you to the many friends and family of TR for their lifelong adoration and support. Sign the Guest Book at www.oakcrestwaco.com.

 

Ed comment:

 

Contact with the deceased was first made on Christmas Eve in 2011. It was a telephone call I had placed at the behest of Walt Babcock. Babcock and Taylor had played for Ft. Leonard Wood’s 5th Army National Championship team in 1953 at Wichita, Kansas. Prior to that they were competitors, during the 1951 season, when Taylor played first base for Bartlesville and Babcock “tried” to pitch for Carthage.

 

Most of the 1953 Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltopperrs had been tracked down by the dynamic duo of Babcock and Hall, around 2005, and had attended one of the last KOM reunions. But, neither of us could make contact with Taylor until 2011. Once contact was made, Taylor was interested in finding his buddy, Dick Gray. Gray was one of a group of Ft. Wood players who had or would go to the major leagues. Since I had Gray’s e-mail and home address I supplied it to Taylor and he was excited to receive it. A couple of years passed very quickly and on July 18, 2013 Gray passed away in Anaheim, California. The following month I spoke with Taylor on the telephone and I expressed my condolences to him losing a friend. That is when he told me that in late June of 2013 he had made the trek to Anaheim for the expressed purpose of visiting with Gray. A couple of weeks later Gray was gone. www.google.com/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=Dick...

 

Before contacting Taylor I had been told by Babcock that not only did Taylor love playing the game but he was an insatiable student of its history. Over the years I have spoken with hundreds of former players, researchers and fans of the game. My top ten list of baseball experts start and end with Lee Dodson and Thomas Taylor. There are a few others not named, herein, so if you have spoken with me and consider yourself an expert—you’re in that category.

 

Taylor didn’t arrive at Bartlesville until August of 1951. Hugh Casteix played the bulk of the games at first for Bartlesville that year and Ed Gigliotti and Hal White filled in about three dozen games. White got tired of the grind and went home to Kansas City and the Pirates had to move someone around the organization. It came down to Bob Skinner and Tom Taylor as to who would go to Bartlesville and who would wind up in Waco. It was an initial disappointment to Taylor that he didn’t get assigned to his home town but it gave him a chance to play a few games with Ronnie Kline and Brandy Davis before they were sent to the New Orleans Pelicans. In speaking with Taylor he could recite every accomplishment that pair had with Bartlesville. It didn’t get past Taylor that his manager, Tedd Gullic, had played for the St. Louis Browns and he had great admiration for his skipper.

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One step closer to finding the guy in the Whiz Kid photo.

 

No subject raised in the Flash Reports ever goes away it just gets put on hold awaiting further revelations. One of the most popular photos of Mickey Mantle’s era was a team picture of the 1948 Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. Over the years I contacted each of those team members or determined their fate with some yeomen assistance from members of that group. One name was an enigma. His name was spelled various ways but last November, after considerable research, I determined his name was Gene Lindenman. I don’t imagine anyone recalls my discussing that 1948 Whiz Kid team at length and Lindenman, in particular.

 

There was one former Whiz Kid who came along about four years after Lindenman by the name of Don Steele. Don’s brother, Bob, was the star pitcher for the Whiz Kids during the 1948 season. Don recalled Lindenman and I sent him every update on the “lost” Whiz Kid as I uncovered them. I had found a Gene Lindenman at Nevada, Mo. but for a couple of reasons I was sure he wasn’t the former Whiz Kid. In late 2015 I sent Steele a Find –a-Grave reference

www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=763931... (This is a visual so you’ll have to use the URL or take my word for it.) In my note to Steele, I stated, “This places Gene in Baxter Springs on Jan. 21. 1951 getting married. I can follow Gene and Vondalu around from Cherokee County, KS to Leavenworth and on to Bartlesville and Ponca City prior to her death in 2002. At different places Gene is referred to as Floyd in such documents as city directories. The constant is that Vondalu's name never was transposed with another.. I don't think Gene would have gotten married in Baxter Springs and then moved to Nevada, MO to graduate three years later.”

 

This past week, five months after my last e-mail to Steele, I received the following. “You have the right man. Gene was in the National Guard and didn't graduate at Baxter Springs High (BHS). His guard was called up for duty in May, 1950 because of the Korean war. He did marry Vonda before leaving for Ft. Lewis, WA. I might get a little more info about him when we attend the BHS reunion in June. If so, will let you know. Regards, Don Steele

 

Ed comment:

 

Paying particular attention to the Find-A Grave information on his widow, I believe they married when he was on leave from duty some 16 months after his National Guard Unit was activated. His widow’s obituary listed their wedding date as August of 1951. By the way his bride was a native of Webb City, Missouri. But, you already know that if you read the Find-A-Grave information.

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A question of morbidity vs. longevity

 

John, how many of us are still in an upright position.—Bob Mallon—1949 Independence, KS Yankees

 

Ed reply:

 

Jim Bellotti (played that year as Jim Bello), Ken Bennett, John Cimino, James Cobb, Harold Mack Groves. Bob Mallon, Burl Moffitt, Kenneth Rose, Lou Skizas, Keith Speck, Lynn Stemme

Darrell Waska, Rex Wehunt and Len Weisner.

 

Richard Martinez and Donald Matthews may or may not be alive. I never found them.

five of those guys, seven if you include Martinez and Matthews were gone before you got there.

 

Mallon’s reply:

 

I forgot Len Weisner he is alive but not in (team) picture

 

Ed reply

 

A number of guys are alive but not in the photo. Another guy in that photo, still alive, is Jack Whitaker. That's right, the guy who left his teeth on the backstop. Maybe I can resurrect a few more.

 

Mallon’s reply:

 

I can still see him running full speed and hitting that concrete wall. It should have killed him but he was a tough young man.

 

The ballplayer who defied the odds

 

Over the past year one of the most regular commenters regarding these reports has been Bernie Gerl. He was one of the Duluth Dukes in the horrific bus crash in 1948. He defied the odds and survived. Thus, its always great hearing from him. Here is a recent back and forth by e-mail.

 

From Gerl:

 

Woke up this morning with guys I played with in service, on my mind. This is going way back, Again, you may have trouble with the name of Fred caligurie and Loy Hanning. For some reason my key board will not allow me to spell caliguri l right now can't figure it out. Caliguri did something special.

 

Ed reply

 

There is no trouble with either Loy Hanning or Fred Caliguri. They were both guys who saw very little big league action but Caliguri beat the Red Sox in the last game of the 1941 season even though he gave up two hits to Ted Williams to ensure him a .406 BA.

 

Loy Hanning was a guy from Bunker, Mo. who started out in the old Arkansas/Missouri league as a pitcher. I mentioned him some in my first book Majoring in The Minors. My hometown of Carthage, MO joined the Arkansas/Missouri league the year after Hanning left. Hanning went back to the Bunker/Washington, MO area where he lived out his life. That isn't too far east of where I live. Okay, did I pass that test? You have a good weekend and keep sending me the thoughts you have from the past.

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Coincidence??

 

On April 5th I received a letter from a town located north of Toronto, Canada. It quoted a segment from rhe January 9, 2016 Flash Report that read. “Alba, MO was in the heartland of the KOM league that operated from 1946-51. I have written about that league for the past 20 years. Quite a number of the Alba Aces played in the KOM league. Having known some of the Boyers I also got to know Buford Cooper before his passing. He shared some great documents with me including a photo of the 1941 Aces team that included; Kenny, Wayne and Cloyd Boyer. Kenny was so small at that time his feet barely touched the ground although he was sitting on the front row of the bleachers. If anyone would like to see that original photo contact me at j03.john@gmail.com and I’ll tell you how to view it. I have posted it on this week’s edition of the KOM League Flash Report

 

Here are some excerpts from that missive. “Hi John, my name is D. E, maiden name is (anonymous), and I am working on the family history. I am writing the story of each family rather than putting a lot of names on a sheet of paper. One of my relatives moved to Missouri in 1863 and eventually settled on a farm on Thorn Road, the first north of Sumac and Rd 220 where Cossville was established. My Great Aunt married Royden Coss and I am working with his son RL Coss (88) and his daughter Vera Dean (94) on the Cossville story. It was Royden Coss who built the ball diamond in Cossville and established the Cossville Baseball team. Thus the name of the one street “village”

 

Rosebank school produced many successful ball players such as RL Coss, Ray Coss and of course the Boyer bros. I would love to see any copies of pics you might have on these boys. I would also ask your permission to use them in my story. I have made it very clear to all family members that this story is for family use only and not for any commercial enterprise of any sort. I give full credit to all who contribute and I have many relatives in MO sending me pics and info.

 

Royden Coss married my aunt so the members of the Coss family are all cousins of mine. Anything you are willing to share with our family will be greatly appreciated.

 

Alexander (Anonymous) is the one member of our family to go to the US from King Township, Ontario so the rest of us are in Canada. Thank you John and I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Anonymous

 

Ed reply:

 

In one of my books I gave the scenario of how Royden Coss built that ball field where all the Boyer and Coss Brothers played. I got to know Ray Coss very well over the years. If you go on the Internet and look for the book, "The KOM League Remembered," you will find a photo and story about Royden building that baseball field across the street from his blacksmith shop. Ray was the one who told me that story and in 1998 who took me out to visit Buford Cooper and where I came upon the 1941 Alba Aces photo. I couldn't figure out why RL and Ray weren't in that photo but I guess it was "too far" to travel to Alba to play that many times a summer.

 

The only photos I have of either RL or Ray in them were their Redbank grade school team photo and Ray's two team photos taken when he was with the Carthage Cardinals in 1946 and 1947. I know that both Ray and Royden played minor league baseball. I assume the RL you are talking about is who Ray told me was Royden.

 

There are "tons" of photos of the Coss and Boyer family members in the Alba High School yearbooks that you can see if you have Ancestry.com You can't copy the photos but if you have a good digital camera you can pull up those photos on your computer and take a picture of them and then download them to your computer. That isn't illegal.

 

One of the stories I always enjoyed sharing was during the 1946 baseball season. Carthage, where Ray played, had a game at Pittsburg, Kansas on Ray's birthday. So, the team was invited to the Coss home for a chicken dinner. It included the players, their girlfriends and team executives. Most of those players were from places like St. Louis and other bigger towns. One of the guys sharing that story was from St. Louis. He told me he had never heard of such a chicken killing in his life. Mrs. Coss cooked over 30 chickens for that meal. In some of the research I did for one of my books I found the account of that event in the society news carried in the Joplin Globe in July of 1946.

 

I'm not sure if you are interested in any photos that don't include the Coss boys. I have many of them stored on a Flickr site so it would take time to search for some of them.

 

Followup

 

If you get a chance ask RL if he recalls this even from August 23, 1947: This is a direct quote from the Joplin Globe.

 

Carthage, Mo., Aug. 23.--Royden Coss of Oronogo route 1, a pitcher and brother of Ray Coss, outfielder with the Carthage Cardinals, was signed' to a St. Louis Cardinal contract by Scouts Fred Hawn and Al Hollingsworth at the Cardinals' tryout camp here today. Coss is to report to the Johnson City, Tenn., club at the opening of the 1948 season. Three other youths of the 126 who tried out Thursday and Friday were given special workouts today and may be sent contracts through the mail. Among the candidates were 19 ,pitchers, 14 catchers, 13 first basemen, 13 second basemen, shortstops, 13 third basemen and 37 outfielders. The scouts will be in St. Joseph, Mo., Monday to review similar workouts there.

 

Ed comment:

 

By now the numbers of e-mails that have gone back and forth with the anonymous lady in Canada are quite numerous. The stories a good but the interest on her part are family photos and I can’t share them in this forum which wouldn’t be of much interest. In short, she got most what she requested and it gave me a chance to get to the subject of “Coincidence” as the header to this article indicates. The request for material, on the Coss family, came exactly two days prior to the second anniversary of the death of Ray Dell Coss on April 7, 2014. He had moved “back home,” from Shreveport, Louisiana, shortly before his passing.

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Old baseball gloves

 

Love that glove I have a Bill Dickey model. Thomas Drake

 

Ed reply

 

That is my second oldest glove. The oldest one I have is one Gabby Street gave Robert Dale, the son of the editor of the Carthage Press following the 1931 World Series. Gabby was given the key to the city and he gave the ball glove to young Dale. When he gave it to me he was nearly 80 so that glove has had a long life and it shows. It isn't much bigger than a work glove and is so brittle that if dropped it would shatter like fine china. The glove was made by a company called "Bird Dog."

 

Oh, glad the report made it your way. I have had a 72-hour running gun battle with Google.

 

Drake’s reply:

 

I will have to look into Bird Dog

 

Buck Walz remembers Pappy

 

I enjoyed the piece about the ball glove. Oscar Walterman was known as Pappy. I sure enjoyed catching when he was on the mound. I didn't know Pappy was a catcher. He sure was a good pitcher. He came to Jefferson City several times when we were playing a traveling team like the House of David and a team from Ft. Leonard Wood. I think he lived in Wright City, Mo. He was quite a bit older than me.

:

Ed reply:

 

Yep, Pappy had six years on you. He was born in 1922. Pappy caught, but not real well before his Army days. He learned to pitch while serving in the Army, in India. I guess he was as good a pitcher as the KOM had in 1946 and they had some good ones at least three of whom wound up in the major leagues. That would have been: Cloyd Boyer, Bob Habenicht and Ross Grimsley.

 

You played a lot of baseball with and against Pappy, both in and out of the KOM league,. He even joined your Iola team in 1947 with Hubert Bisges. Then you all played for Jefferson City for the Redbirds, right? I have three KOM catcher's mitts. Yours, Don Keeter's and Pappy's. However, he was sure a better pitcher than catcher. When he gave me that catcher's mitt he also gave me the glove he used when he pitched. I guess I'm going to have to take pictures of all the gloves you guys gave me over the years and tell the story behind each. I guess the Rawlings mitt you had was used for the entire time you played with Iola. (Ed note: Buck Walz caught for Iola in 1946-47-48. He was originally signed by Charlie Grimm. All you old baseball fans recall “Jolly Charlie.”)

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Bernie Gerl recalls a gift of a catcher’s mitt

 

Just had to respond. I knew Joe Garagiola as I played against him in the Philippines when he caught Early Wynn, and have exchanged letters with him. Sorry to see he passed away. About the catcher mitt. I have one like it Lefty Gomez gave it to me when I played in Duluth. He was retired and working for Wilson Sporting Goods. He asked me what kind of glove you using kid. I told him Rawlings at that he gave me a new Wilson and I have it today. I keep it in a plastic zippered bag and use leather treatment on it once a year. It's about 70 years old. My manager that year was Al Todd not too many have heard of him. End of story, hope all is well, play ball.

 

Ed reply:

 

Al Todd is an interesting guy. He never played organized baseball until he was 27 years old. After he got started he played a long time,

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Unpredictable.

 

One recipient had trouble finding the Flash Report

 

I went on both sites and found the interesting the letter from "Joe" (Garagiola) regarding his time as a 15 year old in Carthage. But, no KOM Report. Just FYI.

Gene McKibben-St. Peter’s MO

 

Another reader tries to get a friend added to the mailing list

 

Then someone wanted me to add a friend to the mailing list. He asked “Would you add this e-mail to your KOM material. Max S. is an old Missouri fellow who was a fellow teacher colleague. He was born in southern Iowa but spends about six months at his farm in northern MO. His grandson was a professional baseball player for a couple of years after graduating from ASU (Arizona State Univ.). He is interested in the history of the game and I told him about your e-mails about the KOM. Thanks for adding Max to the list.”

 

Don Thompson—Mesa, Arizona

 

Ed reply:

 

I didn't see any e-mail address for Max.

 

Thompson’s reply:

 

Senior moment. (He added the e-mail address and signed off with “Duh!”)

 

The rest of the story

 

Does anyone care to hazard a guess if Don’s friend Max now receives the Flash Reports? If you said “No” you’d be right. Every attempt at sending the Flash Reports to Don results in them being returned. Does anyone think someone is pulling the leg of the old batboy or is the Internet a cruel hoax that has been perpetrated on the masses?

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That will do it for now. I had more things I could have shared but I’m sure most of the recipients were finished reading long before this report came to a merciful conclusion.

 

If anyone read anything they would like to comment on I’d be pleased to read them and will most likely share them with others in an upcoming report. Bye!!

 

Done