Bill Wigle--KOM League Flash Report 9/4/2020

The KOM League

Flash Report

for

September 4, 2020

 

Yet another Flash Report has been churned out and to access it go to: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/50304716103/

 

Most of what is contained concerns former players who are now deceased. However to write about a league that shutdown after the 1952 season there isn’t much else about which to write.

 

This report deals with some great men and the families from which they came. It is my opinion that learning about the “Banana Girl” from the 1940’s and a soldier killed at Pearl Harbor, who just recently had his remains returned to his hometown for internment, makes this report worth a glance or two. The interesting thing is the connection his family had with the legendary amateur of the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids who was a former KOM leaguer and future Hall of Famer.

 

At the conclusion of the previous report the mention of the death of Howard Hunt was made. This report commences with that subject.

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Hunt, Jr., Howard J.—1950-51 Iola Indians

 

In North Haven, August 21, 2020 Howard J. Hunt, Jr. 89, of New Haven. Husband of the late Hazel Hunt. Loving father of Gail Harvey of New Haven, Patricia Hunt (Abdullah) of West Haven and Stephen Hunt (Marygrace) of Hamden. Also survived by his cherished granddaughter Kimberly Rowland (Sean), and 2 great-grandchildren Makenzie and Matthew Rowland. Howard was born in Brooklyn, NY December 21, 1930 son of the late Howard J. and Loretta Hunt, Sr. Prior to his retirement he worked for the City of New Haven. Mr. Hunt was a friend of Bill W. for 68 years. Howard was a left handed pitcher in the KOM minor leagues in 1950-1951 and was invited to join the Brooklyn Dodger organization. Graveside services will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. in All Saints Cemetery. Please meet at the cemetery office at 9:45 a.m. Masks will be required by all that attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Matt Talbot Retreat Group 28, 161 James St., Morristown, NJ 07960. Sisk Brothers Funeral Home, 3105 Whitney Ave., Hamden in care of arrangements. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.siskbrothers.com

 

Ed comments:

 

It is always a bit of a letdown to find an obituary of someone who had a long and storied life and find very little about it in a published newspaper account.

 

However, I knew the deceased and he shared many stories. He also had some great friends with the Iola ball clubs in 1950 and 1951 who remember what he brought to the clubhouse and playing field.

 

It would be a great treat to have been able to capture on video all the special speeches he made at the KOM league reunions. He had been a public speaker for many years traveling across this country to share his story about a battle with John Barleycorn. That problem was much in evidence at Iola when he established the “Falcon club.”

 

Most likely the Falcon’s had similar brethren in other leagues but the goal was the same. After most every game the players would be given a cup of beer, whether they won or lost. Most of the time Iola lost, in 1950. That year they won just 35 games in 120 contests. With the beer in hand each player had to drink the entire amount without laughing or grinning as every conceivable thing was done to make sure the beer wasn’t consumed before they cracked up. When the smile or laughter came the cup was refilled and the process started once more. By the time that ordeal concluded or the beer ran out any thought of the game just played was forgotten.

 

As mentioned, Hunt was a great speaker, who was as quick witted as Don Rickles and he presented his material like the street tough boy from Brooklyn he was. At the age of 13 he decided that he wanted to go to Florida. He was a small lad who couldn’t see over the windshield and reach the foot pedals at the same time. But, not to be deterred he found a car and headed south. He got as far as South Carolina before being stopped and sent back home. He recalled that he didn’t receive much punishment for his escapade except not making his parents proud of him.

 

One day while researching names of former KOM leaguer players, Hunt was located in New Haven. He was thrilled to know that someone remembered him. He related how he used to fly over Kansas on his cross country speaking ventures and wonder how “The good folks in Iola were doing.” The first person about who he inquired was Warren Liston. Liston was his catcher in 1950 at Iola and then for a time in 1951 at Enid, Oklahoma in the Western Association.

 

When asking about his best friend, Liston, who he hadn’t seen in nearly 50 years he was informed that he could renew the friendship by attending a KOM league reunion. Hunt showed up for his first reunion and instead of returning to New Haven, immediately, he and his wife Hazel went to spend a week with Liston and his wife Delores. That practice was repeated for almost 10 years following each reunion.

 

In the intervening years Hazel died and then Delores. That left Warren and Howard as lonesome bachelors. Then, as suddenly their friendship had rekindled after nearly 50 years of not being in touch, the connection was again severed. A couple of years ago Liston called to ask if there was any news from Hunt and I admitted that despite efforts to speak with him it was unsuccessful. Liston had followed the same path to attempt to contact his old teammate but to no avail. So, now only those remaining from those Iola clubs who remember Hunt are scarce.

 

Ralph Tielsch contacted

 

Ralph Tielsch was on the Iola rosters in 1950-51 and was a big right-hander from the Pittsburgh, Pa. area. It was decided to place a call to him and talk a little bit about Hunt.

 

When placing the call the caller I. D. at Tielsch’s home indicated a John Hall was on the line. Although a considerable amount of time was spent with him and his wife Pat, in Cooperstown, NY in 2002 I was now persona non grata. He quickly recovered and said earlier that day he went to a drive-in for breakfast and ordered coffee and a sandwich. Upon arriving home he discovered he had left without the coffee.

 

So, we were off on a one hour journey into the past. When he asked if I played in the KOM league it was necessary to inform him my only job had been batboy. He exclaimed “Carthage, my God, that was so long ago.

 

When asked if he remembered Howie Hunt he replied “I have a picture of me and him at Iola. How old is he now?” That is when he was informed Hunt just ceased having birthdays. The next question was “How is Warren Liston doing.” When informed Liston was still living in the Kansas City area he replied “He had a funny sense of humor.”

 

The banana girl

 

From that point the conversation turned to Tielsch’s family. His sister, Lucille, made national news from 1940 through 1949. She was diagnosed with a rare disease at age two and lived basically on one item—bananas. Newspaper accounts referred to her as “The Banana Girl.” Tielsch recalls that there would be cases of bananas stacked at their home donated by a welfare organization or private citizens. It was reported that during the war if the merchant ships couldn’t get through the German submarine patrols it was touch and go as to whether Lucille would live. Banana consumption was a regular topic in major publications and it was said the girl ate as many as ten pounds of that fruit each day by the time she was two years old. The Pittsburgh Gazette reported that she had consumed 30.000 pounds of them by the time she was twelve years old.

 

Tielsch recalls that the family not blessed with a lot of money but he was the oldest of 16 children in the family. He, being the oldest, was expected to help in caring for his nine brothers and six sisters. He attended school in Wilkinsburg, Pa. Coming home from classes at the age of 12 he heard a baby cry and he uttered “Oh hell, another one.” Ralph was the only child born in a hospital.

 

There are many stories about “The Banana Girl” and this link will take you there. Some of the citations may require an Ancestry. com subscription while others won’t. Give it a shot if you wish to know about the Tielsch family, especially Lucille. www.google.com/search?q=Lucille+Tielsch+the+Banana+girl

 

Tielsch the Pirate signee

 

Being the oldest child in the family he recalled there was a push to get him out of the house as soon as possible. At the age of 16 he was a top pitcher in Pennsylvania’s triple A high school classification. He had tossed a no-hitter during those years and he had caught the attention of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was signed by them in late 1949 and he said the next thing he knew he was in Greenville, Alabama to start the 1950 season.

 

Looking back Tielsch lamented he didn’t have the direction young pitchers receive today. His best pitch was a hard overhand curveball and he throw it incessantly and shortly hurt his elbow. By the time he got to Iola, later in 1950, his arm was gone.

 

While speaking on the telephone Tielsch said I am own trying to put my right hand on my shoulder and it fails to reach that point by 12 inches. He said he was trying it with his left arm and it worked perfectly.

 

This citation will take you to the account of Tielsch’s signing with Pittsburgh. www.newspapers.com/clip/21434635/pgh-pr-1949-43-p43/

 

Tielsch the basketball referee

 

By this point the conversation had being in session for a half hour. Tielsch asked if he could tell about his basketball refereeing career. Of course, the answer was in the affirmative. He had some great story about his service in the West Pennsylvania Basketball Association. He said when a person met the requirements of that high school group they were also qualified to referee college games. For those readers in the Pittsburgh area he related an amusing tale about a call he made on a last second shot in a game between New Castle and Farrell who were bitter rivals. It is a great tale of how he was kicked and pummeled by a fan of the losing team. The fellow doing the pummeling faced the possibility of never being able to attend another high school game. He entered the locker room and begged forgiveness and it was granted by Tielsch.

 

Tielsch and teammate (Bob Schwarz) leave Iola

 

At this juncture in our conversation Tielsch and Yours truly had taken up about as much time as Donald Trump does at a campaign rally. Tielsch then asked if Bob Schwarz was still living. Of course, he is and is probably reading this story, right along with two or three others.

 

Not loaded with money the pitcher and his first baseman left Iola headed for Pennsylvania and Massachusetts relying on their right thumbs to get them to their destinations. The hitchhiking pair made it as far as Chicago where Tielsch spotted a 14-year old Hudson Terraplane. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDkZLR187VQ

 

Although it had some age on it the price being right at $99.00. He purchased it. As he was driving off the lot the owner yelled at him that he couldn’t drive without a license tag. Tielsch ignored the warning and headed east. He had Schwarz keep an eye out for highway patrol cars. Before many miles had transpired a trooper headed west spotted the unlicensed car and made a U-turn and shortly the officer of the law was listening to a couple of minor leaguers explain they were headed home and they had some bats and gloves in the car to prove it. The young officer let them go with a warning but advised they never get on the highway again in an unlicensed vehicle. Somehow they made it to the Pittsburgh area where Schwarz remained for a few days

 

Remember that it was mentioned earlier Tielsch had six sisters, including the “Banana Girl?” Tielsch claims that his teammate sort of took a liking to one of his sisters during his brief stay at his house. That part of the story will have to be verified with Schwarz after he reads this account.

 

In concluding the brief story of his life Tielsch spoke about his working years with the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and how his affiliation with the president of that entity gained him access to all the big name stars of football and baseball in that city. When Tielsch thought his concluding statement about how fortunate he has been to live 89 years and had no complaints except for the normal aches and pains of aging, he was asked two more questions. The first being, did his sister, Lucille, the Banana Girl, ever get over her childhood malady. He confirmed that she did and was a very bright lady who lived to be 66 years of age. She had a different slant on issues and could debate and hold her own on any subject.

 

Keeping the best to last the question was asked if he remembered the Falcons. The immediate reply was “Yeah!” “I was a non-drinker but I learned to sip a beer.”

 

At this juncture it was time for Tielsch to eat lunch. Although this article only briefly touches upon our conversation it gives an insight into the life of one former KOM leaguer. For those of you wanting to know more you can find Tielsch in Marysville, Penn. just a 20 minute drive from Pittsburgh in a Hudson Terraplane.

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William George Wigle—Iola Indians 1952

 

Over two decades ago a telephone call was received from a party inquiring if my research had ever come across a left-handed pitcher by the name of William George Wigle from Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.

 

Of course anyone who knew much about the KOM leaguer would recognize the name of the fellow who was the only portsider to win 20 games in the regular season. The caller related the story that Wigle had died on Christmas Eve in the early 1980’s by his own hand. According to the story shared with me that day, Mr. Wigle was despondent over the health of his wife.

 

In the intervening years the passing of Mr. Wigle has been looked into, from time to time, without much of anything new transpiring. Unfortunately, not a lot of Canadian ancestral information is available on the regular Ancestry.com subscription.

 

However, in recent days some U. S. Border Crossing documents were found and a William George Wigle, from Amherstburg, Ontario crossed the border, starting on April 4, 1946, to play baseball in the United States for the Jamestown, New York Falcons. He repeated that trip each year through the 1952 season. Something Wigle did was shave a year off his age when completing his border crossing documents. He, like his American counterparts, claimed to be younger in order to get a better shot at a professional baseball career.

 

From the foregoing information an obituary citation was found in the Windsor, Ontario Star newspaper for January 18, 1984. Unable to pull up that clipping, contact was made with baseball necrologist, Jack Morris who forwarded a copy. In reviewing the document it was obvious that it pertained to the same man who concluded his professional career at the age of 31 in the KOM League.

 

What was discovered in the obituary is that his wife predeceased him by two years. Thus, instead of being despondent about his wife’s health he may not have been able to cope with her death. The place of his passing was listed as the Dieu Hotel on January 16th. That, however, might be bit misleading as was discovered when researching the subject. "In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu (English: hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church.” Thus, Wigle may have been in failing health when he made a decision to terminate it.

 

In a professional career that spanned seven seasons, in A-B and D classifications, his best year was his final one and the second best was his first, in 1946. The only major league affiliation he had was being signed initially by the nearby Detroit Tigers and pitching in their organization from 1946-48. In his career he had a winning percentage which isn’t all that common among journeymen minor leaguers. He was 64-58 over that time frame.

 

Not a whole lot more is known about the winningest lefthander in KOM league history. His last listed job was his ownership of the 4 Seasons Bowl, in Windsor. By 1987 there were 30 members of the Wigle family residing at the Rosehill Cemetery in Malden Township—Amherstburg, Ontario.

 

Now, for the overkill. If anyone would care to know how the Weigele family became Wigle the following citation will provide more information about that family than only a few people would ever want to know. core.ac.uk/download/pdf/80560365.pdf If any reader opens this and peruses just one page of the content, let me know. In all this research it appears William Wigle was married twice.

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Nolan Wayne Baker—Carthage Cubs 1951—Iola Indians 1952

 

In doing the fairly frequent checks of former KOM leaguers on the database a name was found who had departed this realm in January of 2019. The following information is all that could be found regarding Baker’s passing. www.deerparkfuneraldirectors.com/obituary/nolan-baker

 

For those readers who have an aversion to clicking on an URL here is what it says. “Nolan Wayne Baker of Deer Park, Texas March 9, 1933 - January 16, 2019 Arrangements Provided By Deer Park Funeral Director.”

 

After reading that terse statement an e-mail was sent to the surviving members of the 1951 Carthage Cubs who are on the distribution list. Two members of that small group responded namely Don Biebel and Walt Babcock. Biebel didn’t recall much about him and Babcock thought he had already heard of Baker’s passing some time ago. It is quite possible Babcock knew about it last year.

 

It is obvious that if a member of the 1951 Carthage Cubs wanted longevity having a last name that began with “B” was a blessing. Of the ten members of that club still with us four of them have the second letter of the alphabet leading off their last name. Namely; Walt Babcock, Don Biebel, Fred Bade and Leon Bourdet. Bourdet joined the Carthage club in August after Duane Zimmer was sent to Spindale, North Carolina.

 

What a way to segue into a story with ties to current events. The death of Hall of Famer pitcher, Tom Seaver was announced September 2. nsjonline.com/article/2020/09/hall-of-fame-pitcher-tom-se...

 

Back in 1975 this article appeared in Sports Illustrated. “Len Bourdet, 49, baseball coach at Fresno (Calif.) City College for 17 years, registered his 400th win with a 3-2 defeat of College of the Sequoias. Bourdet has coached his team to four state championships and 10 conference titles and has a .704 winning percentage.”

 

Tom Seaver pitched for Fresno City College during the time frame Bourdet was posting a .704 winning percentage. In a conversation many years ago, with Bourdet, he said that he had absolutely nothing to do with Seaver being a great pitcher. However, he truly enjoyed having him on the team.

 

Wayne Baker provided this old guy with one of the scariest moments of his young life. He had signed with the Topeka, Kansas Owls and was assigned to Carthage on May 17, 1951. In his first game he hit a long drive to left field and from my vantage point the ball appeared to clear the wall. However, as I was soon to learn the ball hit the wall and then all “hello” broke loose. Carthage had a runner on second base, I think it was Tom Kordas. While I was casually picking up the bat and waiting for Baker to round third and head home for the obligatory handshake the ground began to rumble. Coming direct at me was the Ponca City Dodger third baseman, Morris Mack on one side of the baseline and Tom Kordas on the other. Mack was yelling “Get out of the way kid” while Kordas was intent on crossing home plate before the catcher, Jack Wolfe could tag him.

 

To this day I don’t know if Kordas was safe or out nor do I know how I kept from being the first batboy, to my knowledge, to be killed in a game. I do think that was one killed later at the National Baseball Congress tournament in Wichita.

 

Baker stayed with the Cub organization when it transferred the franchise from Carthage to Blackwell, Oklahoma. Shortly after that he moved on to Iola, Kansas and caught many a game that Bill Wigle, featured earlier in this report, pitched for that club.

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More about Heavin

www.koamnewsnow.com/baxter-springs-wwii-veteran-is-accoun...

 

On pages 96-99 in the book “Mickey Mantle Before the Glory” is a good description of a family by the name of Heavin who moved from Edgar Springs, Missouri to Baxter Springs, Kansas during the boom era of lead and zinc mining. To understand what that family meant to the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids the pages in that still available book depict it fairly well.

 

When writing that book all the living members of the Heavin family was visited. Each had a story to tell of how their paths crossed with a young man from Commerce, Oklahoma. The kid from Commerce was enthralled by the strange pitch each of his two teammate brothers could throw. Charles “Frog” and Rex Heavin had mastered the knuckleball and Mickey Mantle convinced them to teach him how to do it and from that day forward he threw it as long as his baseball career lasted. He even threw it from his shortstop position to his first basemen at Independence and Joplin which promoted Cromer Smotherman, of the 1950 Joplin Miners, to yell at him after one such incident “Kid, throw the ball right, I’m a married man.” All the fans at Miner’s Park could hear Smotherman’s plaintive plea.

 

Before the readership believes this article is going to be about Mickey Mantle be assured it isn’t..

 

When speaking with the Heavin brothers; Freddie, Charles and Rex they all had great memories of older brother Hadley. Rex confided that the only tangible thing he had of Hadley’s was his purple heart. That went along with the broken hearts of all the family members. In speaking with Freddie he stated that his parents never got over the hurt of losing their son at Pearl Harbor.

 

Over the years since first starting to write about the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids it has always been the same story that Hadley Heavin’s remains were never identified. However, in going through some fairly recent reports it is possible to share the final chapter of what finally transpired..

 

Baxter Springs veteran from WWII is accounted for, will be buried in his hometown

 

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. – The remains of a Baxter Springs resident killed during World War II are identified and will be buried in his hometown. Navy Fireman 1st Class Hadley I. Heavin, 23, was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia in 1941 when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft.

 

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency:

 

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Fireman 1st Class Hadley I. Heavin, 23, of Baxter Springs, Kansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 17, 2019.

 

On Dec. 7, 1941, Heavin was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS West Virginia sustained multiple torpedo hits, but timely counter-flooding measures taken by the crew prevented it from capsizing, and it came to rest on the shallow harbor floor. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Heavin.

 

During efforts to salvage the USS West Virginia, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crewmen, representing at least 66 individuals. Those who could not be identified, including Heavin, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

 

From June through October 2017, DPAA, in cooperation with cemetery officials, disinterred 35 caskets, reported to be associated with the USS West Virginia from the Punchbowl and transferred the remains to the DPAA laboratory.

 

To identify Heavin’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

 

Heavin’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

 

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Navy for their partnership in this mission.

 

For family and funeral information, call the Navy Casualty office at (800) 443-9298.

 

Heavin will be buried May 23, 2020, in his hometown.

 

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

 

Heavin’s personnel profile can be viewed at dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000004mnkEAA

 

If anyone would like to see what was written about the Heavin brothers in the book cited in the first paragraph of this article such an arrangement can be worked out. There are plenty of copies right down here in the basement where this report is being prepared. The book is thus a “Million Cellar.” There are a million of them in that location.

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Sharing with the family of Boyd Bartley

 

In recent days a packet of photos and other items was re-discovered in a space where my feet are placed to pound out these reports. One such item was a Christmas card Boyd Bartley had shared with Bernie Gerl. On the card was a message Boyd sent to Gerl telling him that he remembered playing baseball with him during WW II in the Philippines.

 

Not much thought was given to the item except it was mentioned to Boyd’s daughter, Judith. She asked if I could share a copy with her. It was sent and the response was overwhelming as she shared it with her brothers Dan and Boyd Jr. and they in turn shared it with their wives and children. They were all appreciative of seeing something the former Dodger player, manager and scout had penned back in 1990.

 

It might seem as to be a bit self-serving to share all the remarks made by the family. However, they were appreciative of what was shared. It is always nice to share something with the family of a former KOM leaguer and to know families always enjoy seeing glimpses of their loved one.

 

One of the goals of the Flash Reports is to remind people of the contributions their loved one made to the KOM league and to keep their memories alive. As the curtain goes down and the former members of the league depart the stage about all that remains are the recollections of the “good old days.”

 

Bernie Gerl was a member of the Duluth, Minnesota Dukes who were involved in a tragic bus/truck accident in 1948. This link provides the story of what occurred. zenithcity.com/thisday/july-24-1948-five-duluth-dukes-bas...

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Now, its quitting time

 

Hopefully, someone made it through the entire report. To the person who did so my condolences and thanks go out to you. For those who perused and pitched the report into the garbage can you are to be commended for your perspicacity. It will take, however, a couple of readers to send a comment in order for this old guy to dust off the keyboard and try to write another report in a week or two. Comments can be positive or negative. This is a test to see if anyone is really on the receiving end of these missives.

 

Done