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This is an illustration for our class. The text is about lefthanders being forced to use their right hand, but the brain doesn´t adjust to it, so the right hand stays the weak side, which causes lefthanders a lot of stress and drop in concentration.
I tried to mix my ink-like style with the rougher elements, I´m not 100% sure if it already works yet...
(The speech bubble coming from the left hand says "Snore", showing that the strong left hand is completely unchallenged while the weak right hand is struggling with its tasks.)
The KOM League
Flash Report
for Posterity & Beyond
February 8, 2019
This report is posted at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/43268362630/ This edition is a calculated risk. I’m not sure how many people will even glance at it with the exception of a couple of researchers of minor league baseball, a few folks of German ancestry and anyone who played with and against Buzz Arlitt during his years in baseball from 1934-1942 and then in 1946. Sure wish there were a few more Carthage Cardinals left from 1946 to add to this story. But the only ones I know who are still around are; Cloyd Boyer, Thomas Crossley. Rep. William Eckensberger and possibly Louis Robert Cloutier who was from Windsor, Ontario.
•
Unbelievably, two comments were received regarding one article in last week’s report. This is one of them. “John: Well, I believe you have certainly out done yourself with this report! Holy cow! Buzz Arlitt was quite the physical specimen at nearly 6' 6" and 245 lbs. If the Navy thought he was too big for their service, I'm sure the Army or Marines would have loved having him. The story of him slouching at the Navy induction physical so he could pass the doctor's exam reminded me of my induction physical back in early 1969. When the doctor saw the big scar on my right knee from my operation for torn cartilages, he told me I could probably get out of being drafted if I wanted to. Much to the amazement of the guys behind me, I told him that no, I didn't want to fight that issue. I thank God for how that all turned out. I ended up stationed in a Finance Office in Germany, and upon returning to Mizzou, used the G.I. bill to complete college.
That story of the murder suicide involving a character named "Home Runn" would make a great Hollywood movie! Keep up the good work John. You're always very entertaining. I hope your heating pad and I-Pad keep working!-- Leo Downey
Then, from Fayetteville, Arkansas came a note that I fully expected to receive. Never is a former Ark.-Mo. league player named that historian Jerry Hogan misses. Here is what he wrote “Read the report yesterday when it came in and, of course, jumped all over the Buzz Arlitt, A-ML(Arkansas-Missouri league) stuff. My book actually has a fair amount of stats for Arlitt including several entries where he made all-time leaders lists for the league. Missing 2 games for Herb Fash, it's possible that Buzz won the half-season triple crown in 1940, losing only the would be batting title to Fash.”.
So, what alternatives are left for another report that two people will read? Seldom do I receive a “Holy Cow” or someone “jumping all over a story” like happened in the last report. Thus, I’ll pick up where last week’s report left off.
•
It can’t be predicted what might trigger the main topic of any Flash Report. Last time around the subject of one article was about Adolph “Buzz,” “Junior,” “Double-Dip,” “Flop Ears,” and many other nicknames Arlitt. Those appellations were shared by a sportswriter for the Neosho Daily News in September of 1942.
Starting the week of February 3, I was in touch with the Dick McCoy family. Their wedding anniversary was February 6 and on that day they called to thank my wife and I for sending something that lightened up a gloomy day in Omaha, Nebraska.
Each time a telephone conversation transpires between the McCoy’s and the Hall’s an inquiry comes from Dick. This time he wanted to know where Elroy Face was and how he was doing. I shared with the McCoy’s what I knew and sent along a couple of You Tube videos of his former teammate when Face was still in the Brooklyn Dodger organization. Here is one that was shared with McCoy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qijciAIlQNE This link reminds me what would happen if I were asked to throw out the first pitch. www.mlb.com/pirates/video/faces-ceremonial-first-pitch/c-...
After a few minutes of talking about who McCoy has been in contact lately from the old Brooklyn Dodger minor league system, which recently has dwindled to Gene Castiglione and Loren Doll, he inquired what I was doing. It is sort of embarrassing to say “Nothing.” So, I told him I was looking at old newspaper articles regarding a former minor league ballplayer from Taylorville, Illinois. Bingo!!! That got McCoy going.
Back in 1951 and 1954 McCoy drove from Omaha to the Dodger Spring training facility at Vero Beach, Florida. He recalled stopping in Taylorville, Ill. to pick up Kenny Funstin. In doing my initial research it was obvious that Taylorville wasn’t an entirely peaceful mecca. When I asked McCoy of his impression he said that he and Funstin went out the night of the stopover, for a couple of beers, and it was obviously a small, tough town.
So, as you read some of the anecdotes that have been compiled from the life of Adolph, with a laundry list of nicknames, Arlitt, keep McCoy’s comments in mind about how tough it was in Taylorville.
•
Decatur, Ill. Herald January 14, 1909-Fast driving but not with a car
This is a story about Adolph Arlitt Sr.-- Hard Driving Kills Horse--The following men are to appear before Judge William Pierce Thursday charged with fast driving. Adolph Arlitt, Fritz Peltzman, William Horsethenke and William Ruchett. Several days ago a horse belonging to John Hinden, driven by the men of Nokomis, died shortly after arriving at the barn here. Complaints were filed and the men will stand trial. On the 16th of January this report appeared. The trial if Adolph Arlitt, Fritz Peltzman and William on a charge of fast driving, was continued until January 21.
•
Daily Times Davenport, Iowa-April 25, 1921
Taylorville, Ill.., April 25--While playing along the banks of a creek near Kincaid, (Ill.;) Adolph Arlitt, 8 years old, was accidentally shot with a .32 caliber revolver in the hands of Charles Obrigheit, 13 years old, who then made an attempt to kill himself. Both will recover.
The Decatur, lll., Herald carried an expanded version of the above story. Lad Accidentally shoots Companion; Tries to kill self. Taylorville April 23---Adolph Arlitt, aged eight years, was accidentally shot by Charles Obrigheit, aged thirteen, about 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon, while they were at play with a crowd of other boys near Kincaid. After the accident Obrigheit turned the gun on himself. Both boys were brought to St. Vincent's hospital here, where it was found that neither was dangerously wounded.
The revolver was of thirty-two caliber. The bullet which struck Arlitt penetrated his left lung. He suffered a hemorrhage after being removed to the hospital but is well out of danger now. The shot fired by Obrigheit in his attempt at suicide entered just below the heart. The wound is not serious. That the shooting was accidental is not questioned.
• Decatur Sunday Herald and Review April 9. 1933
This insert needs a bit of introduction. In this edition it mentioned that optimism was high for it marked the first time beer had been legal to purchase in 13 years. Prohibition had ended. Also, this coal mining area, as well as others around this country, were hot spots of mining strikes and all the violence affiliated with it. The National Guard was assigned to these areas. The very week beer was again for sale, legally, the boys were at it.
11 Youths Seized for Disturbance in Mine War Zone—Group charged with challenging quintet to fight at Jeiseyille dance. Taylorville—Herded into the “bull pen” of the county jail late Friday night by the Langley military police patrol for “mine war” fisticuffs, Adolph Arlitt, Noble Pruett, John and Charles Fecho, Fred Clark, Jr., Ludwig Szelyar, Alfred Droschi, Jetho Fione, Frank and Alex Querio and Fred Bertone, all of Jeiseyville, were still in custody Saturday. State’s Attorney John W. Coale left for the Democratic Judicial convention in Vandalia after filing a complaint in Justice L. J. Traylor’s court charging the 11 youths with disturbing the peace and challenging John and William Kastellic, Frank Kositz, Aldo Marconi and Ralph Vedas to fight. According to the attorney who interviewed the youths in jail the disturbance occurred at a dance at Jeiseyville. The youths had not been arraigned for bond yet Saturday evening. The original complaint against them was made by Mrs. E. Burke 1008 West Poplar street.
Nine months later another incident occurred and this time it was Buzz Arlitt’s father in the midst of the fray.
• The Edwardsville, Ill. Intelligencer January 25, 1934
Eight persons, including Mayor Felix Cravere of Jeiseyville, were arrested yesterday charged with assault to kill following investigation by county authorities of a gun battle near Jeiseyville in which Sam White, a teamster, was wounded. Those arrested were Fred Wigg, Adolph Arlitt, Mike Prodek, Fred Clark Jr., Louis Szolyar, Buggs Dervochi, Nobel Pruitt and Cravero. Al were released on bond of $1,000 pending trial scheduled for January 31. The men were accused by White and his foster son, George McGuire, who said they were fired on, on their way home . Whit was struck in the face by four shotgun slugs. He was taken to a local hospital where his condition is not considered dangerous.
• Miami Daily News Record Sept. 10, 1934
Springfield, Mo., Sept. 10—(AP)—Springfield needed only a victory in its Western association playoff with Ponca City to hold on to the league championship… With the scored tied and two out in the ninth, Adolph Arlitt, Red Bird first sacker, smacked out a burning hit to the left field wall to score Howard from first with the winning tally.
Ed note: The Howard who scored the winning run was Frank “Goldie” Howard. He managed the Chanute Kansas Owls in 1946 while Arlitt was managing the Carthage Cardinals.
•Brooklyn, New York Daily Eagle Oct. 23, 1934
Baseball Battler—Taller than Primo Carnera-- www.britannica.com/biography/Primo-Carnera
Adolph Arlitt, first baseman of the Springfield Cardinals of the Western Association last season will go back to boxing this winter. Arlitt has had almost 50 fights as an amateur and 12 as a professional heavyweight. He weight 225 pound and is six feet seven inches tall
•The Hutchinson News April 27, 1938
Most heartbreaking news for Hutchinson feminine baseball fans was that Buss Arlitt, handsome Carthage manager, is married. ..(Hugh) Mullen (Hutchinson manager) blames half of his sleepless nights on the calls Buzz has to answer from sweet young things.
Ed comment: Porter Wittich had a paragraph regarding Arlitt’s plan to marry in the January 1, 1938 edition of the Joplin News Herald. There was no mention of the name of the bride to be but Wittich noted that the wedding was occurring in a leap year. During the 1938 season there were articles about Mrs. Arlitt playing golf at Schifferdecker Park in Joplin and being a little “too casual” about the way she marked her scorecard. She was hurt in an automobile accident, along with another Carthage couple, when returning from a game in Neosho, in July of that same year.. Something transpired between 1938 and Arlitt’s return to Carthage after WW II, with his first wife. The Joplin Globe mentioned the name of obviously a new wife who Arlitt stated he married in 1944. There was a name on his Selective Service record that he filed in 1940, in Carthage, and I believe it was the last name of his first wife—Weidler.
•Joplin Globe April 1, 1939.
Carthage, Mo., March 31—E. L. Dale, President of the Carthage Baseball Association, Manager Adolph Arlitt of the Carthage Pirates, John Pavlich, David Perkins and Mrs. Dale and daughter, Carolyn, left early this morning for Hutchinson, Kan. Arlitt, Pavlich and Perkins will participate in spring training.
Dave Perkins story—Yours truly knew Dave, his wife Virginia and their two sons Ronnie and Jack. The Perkins boys and I attended the same grade and high school and we all attended the same church. Prior to that the parents of Dave Perkins attended the church where my grandfather pastored in the 1930’s. We called grandma Perkins, “Old Ma Perkins” due to a radio program, sponsored by Oxydol, by that name. I preface what I have to say with the foregoing for I knew and respected the Perkins family.
However, a story I heard from my youth, from all the Perkins family, was that Dave was offered a chance to sign with the New York Yankees and that he would have wound up with that job over Yogi Berra. The only thing that held Dave back, as the story goes, was that his mother wouldn’t let him go to New York. So, I guess he had to settle for second best. He did tryout for the Carthage Pirates along with a couple of other Carthage boys but they wound up playing twilight baseball for amateur teams in town. The last time I saw Dave was from the pulpit of the Church of the Nazarene in Carthage, MO. I was exhorting the “masses” as Dave sat on the back row, smiling and giving me moral support.
•Hutchinson News April 8, 1939
Mrs. Jimmy Jordan watched the new Hutchinson boss play two years with the Brooklyn Dodgers before they ever met… www.baseballreference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=jordan0...
(Arlitt replaced Jordan as manager during the middle of the next year. Carthage trained at Hutchinson in 1939) Adolph “Buzz” Arlitt, Carthage Pirates manager, spent the winter at his vocation, selling auto equipment, and avocation, bass fishing. He thinks Missouri “is the greatest state in the union—because the bass fishing is so good.” (Ed note: After moving to Oregon he made news by catching a 32 pound bass in 1947.)
This is another article about the 1938 Carthage Pirates in that same paper. “The brothers Knoblauch, Irvin and Charles, had considerably different winter jobs. Last year’s Carthage shortstop, Irvin, worked in a Pennsylvania shirt factory… Charles, who played second base on the Hutchinson Class D farm team worked for a Carthage undertaker. (Ed note: Charles had a reason for working at the Knell Mortuary, he was dating one of the Knell triplets and they married and moved to California. The other two of the triplets were Bob and Frank who ran the concession for the Carthage Pirates that year. That was before they took over the mortuary business from their folks.)
•Northwest Arkansas Times May 29, 1939
Oh boy, what a headache! After winning 12 straight at home, the (Fayetteville) Angels lost three in a row. Nobody begrudged Fred Hawn’s Redbird’ victory Saturday night but the double loss to Adolph Arlitt’s comical crew (Carthage) on Sunday was a bitter capsule to swallow… Just for a sample, here was Sunday’s first inning. Each “bing” is a base hit for Carthage and each “poop” an error for Fayetteville. Bing…bing…bing.. poop…bing…poop…poop. Get it? Four hits and three errors in the first inning and right away Carthage has five big fat juicy runs. And so on.
•Jefferson City, MO Post-Tribune July 3, 1940
St. Joseph, Mo., July 3, (AP)—Advice to Western Association pitchers; Just because he comes from a class D league, don’t give Hutchinson’s new manager, Adolph (Buzz) Arlitt, any fat ones. Arlitt’s own slugging helped him manage the Carthage Pirates to the first half championship of the Arkansas-Missouri league, which folded Monday. It helped him lead the club into the playoffs in 1938 and 1939, too. For 55 games this season Buzz slugged at a .357 pace. He slammed 12 homers and drove in 58 runs. In one recent game at Neosho, he hit three successive homers his first three times up. On the fourth, instead of shooting at some kind of a record for distance clouts, he bunted, for a sacrifice. On his fifth trip, he tripled—for a perfect night at bat. He drove in eight runs, scored four and hit for 15 total bases. His homers were off both right and lefthanders and he sailed one over the centerfield fence, one over left and one over the right field wall. One Sunday last season, he poled four straight homers—one on his last trip in the opener of a doubleheader and three on his first three tries in the nightcap at Monett, Mo. Arlitt takes charge of Hutchinson tonight.
•Joplin Globe January 25, 1942
Adolph Arlitt, that huge piece of physical makeup who once played for Springfield in this league and who once controlled Carthage, enlists in the navy tomorrow.
•The Hutchinson News April 28, 1942
Pvt. Adolph Arlitt who skippered the Hutchinson Pirates at the close of the 1940 season, is working in a canteen and playing baseball on the San Diego Naval training station baseball team, according to a letter from Stewart Alexander, Hutchinson boy, also now stationed at San Diego, Alexander wrote to P. J. Fossey, reporting he'd scarcely landed in San Diego before bumping into Arlitt at the canteen.
•Neosho Daily News Sept. 26, 1942
Buzz Arlitt Still Grows
Adolph “Buzz,” “Junior,” “Double-Dip,” “Flop Ears,” and many other nicknames, Arlitt, former player in the Arkansas-Missouri League, has gained 1 and 3-4 inches in height and 20 pounds in weight since enlisting in the Navy last January 26. Arlitt is now a second class petty officer and athletic director at the San Diego naval base and is the assistant to Lt. Commander George O’Brien, motion picture star who is now in charge of navy athletics. www.google.com/search?q=george+o%27brien+movies&safe=...:
In addition to his phenomenal “growth,” “Buzz” has underwent another change. He was a first baseman in the Ark.-Mo. league as many Neosho people have seen him, but he is now the navy’s star pitcher. During the last season he pitched his sailor team to 11 wins against 4 defeats
Arlitt will play on the naval base football team this fall and basketball later this winter. He was granted a 10 days leave from the navy and is home at Carthage visiting friends. He assisted in a navy broadcast from WMBH this morning. (WMBH was a Joplin radio station.—At that point in history Carthage didn’t have one.)
The Joplin Globe provided more details in their September 26, 1942 edition
Arlitt, Now in Navy, Puts on Heft—A “Slump” Got him Into Service
Official naval record show that Adolph (Buzz) Arlitt, well-known district baseball plyer and manage, has gained 1 ¾ inches in height and 20 pounds in weight since he enlisted in the navy here last January 26. (Ed note: For those who might miss the humor, the height gain was when he stood erect after slouching in order to be inducted.)
The records, though official, are not correct, however. Arlitt who is 6 feet 5 3/4 inches tall, was an inch and three-quarters over the limit set by the navy and marine corps. After trying six timed to join the navy and twice to enter the marine corps, Arlitt finally had the idea of slumping somewhat and bending his knees when he was examined for enlistment. The examiner, Joe Cehlar, in charge of the navy recruiting office here, put his height down as exactly the maximum allowed by the navy, Arlitt weighs 232 pounds.
Arlitt, since his enlistment, has gained four ranks in the navy and is now a second class petty officer. He is an athletic director at the San Diego naval base and is assistant to Lieutenant Commander George O’Brien, motion picture star who is now in charge of navy athletics.
In addition to his phenomenal “growth,” (all uttered as tongue in cheek) Arlitt underwent another unusual change. A first baseman was well as being manager at Monett, Carthage and Hutchinson, Kan., in the Arkansas-Missouri League in the Western Association, Arlitt has been converted into the navy’s star pitcher. During the last season he pitched his team to 11 wins against four losses. He pitched a 13-inning game against the San Diego Padres, Pacific Coast League nine, and lost by 5 to 4 after his shortstop made five errors behind him. He also defeated the marine base team.
Arlitt will play on the naval base football team this fall and winter and will also play basketball. He is on a ten day leave and is visiting friends in Carthage. He and Warrant Officer Cehlar will give a navy broadcast at 11:30 o’clock this morning from WMBH.
•Joplin Globe July 21, 1946
Father of Mrs. Arlitt --Dies in Oregon at 75
Carthage Mo.,--Word has been received here of the death yesterday morning of W. H. Eickwork, 75 years old, father of Mrs. Adolph Arlitt, 1220 Olive street, at his home in Empire, Ore., following a heart attack. He was born in Germany came to America when he was four years old. He had lived virtually all of his life in Oregon. He served with a Kansas unit in the Spanish-American war and was wounded. Surviving besides the daughter here, are his widow and four other daughters, and one son. Mrs. Arlitt, who recently underwent surgery McCune-Brooks hospital, will be unable to attend the funeral services. Her husband is manager of the Carthage Cardinals.
•Iola, Kansas Register September 11, 1946
“Buzz” Arlitt, big first baseman-manager of the Carthage Cardinals, has been given his unconditional release by President George A. Rush of the Carthage club.
Arlitt was popular at Carthage but had made known some time ago, it is reported, that in 1947 it would be with the St. Louis Cardinals connected with Carthage or himself—not both. He didn’t approve of the way the St. Louis National league team worked with Carthage this year.
The Cardinals have promised to find a new manager for Carthage, preferably a veteran catcher. If the manager is not a catcher they intend to have a veteran backstop on hand, plus a veteran infielder and a veteran outfielder.
Carthage had an unusually young team this season, possibly reflecting a policy of the parent Cardinals to try out new finds on the K-O-M club. A number of them proved to be able players, even though only 17 or 18 years of age. Arlitt has left for his home in Empire, Oregon.
Ed comment:
With hindsight being perfect the Cardinals didn’t live up to their promises for 1947. They didn’t send along an experienced catcher rather they named Carthage resident, Woody Fair, to manage the club after he had a great year with the Durham, NC Bulls in 1946. According to Fletcher Cupp, of the Carthage Press, Fair only struck out three times in his MVP season with the Bulls.
The Cardinals ignored Fair just as they had done Arlitt. Yours truly talked with Fair many times in his twilight years and he was still upset the Cardinals wouldn’t send any talent to the club. He chucked it to the Cardinals in mid-season and went back to the Carolina league. The Cardinals brought in Al Kluttz to manage the rest of the 1947 season and was then to continue through 1948. He made it about a half season, of that second year, before being replaced by an assortment of roster players to lead the team to oblivion. At the close of the 1948 season the Cardinals cut Carthage loose from their system and for a while my old hometown didn’t know if that would be the end of baseball or if they would have to become an independent team. The Chicago Cubs came to the rescue and gave Carthage some good players but ultimately gave them the shaft during the 1951 season that eventuated in their not being able to field a team in 1952.
•Coos Bay Times Marshfield, Oregon September 30, 1949
Adolph Arlitt, Empire was fined $5 in Coos Bay justice of the peace court on the charge of driving a truck without mud flaps.
•Carthage Evening Press April 25, 1963—Written by Jack Harshaw
Adolph Buzz Arlitt, remembered by many Carthage baseball fans from the Ark. Mo league days of 25 years ago, and the KOM league in 1946, sends along his regards to all his former baseball friends from his home in Empire, Ore.
Arlitt, contacted in regard to a recent bit of reminiscing about the debut of professional baseball in Carthage in 1938, notes he cannot supply any additional information since he has lost contact with his former players. And his present home is remote from baseball, other than that seen on television. The weather does not permit a good baseball season, although there was a Sunday league in operation there from 1947 to 1957. Buzz remained active as a player until 1953 “when the legs began to go.” He turned to umpiring and called them until baseball folded in 1957.
From 1947 until March of last year, Arlitt worked for Evans Products company when the company closed down permanently. Arlitt and his wife, Mary, were able to get in some camping and hunting (the things they ways said they were going to do.) They also tried their hand at harvesting strawberries and string beans just because they always wanted to try it. Since mid-June he has been employed by the city of Empire.
The Arlitt’s daughter, Louise, who was with them in Carthage, in 1946 lives just a mile from them with her five boys, aged 2 to 11 years, he reports. Mrs. Arlitt underwent knee surgery in February but is now returning to normal and both ae looking forward to retirement age when they can resort to trailer-house living and roam around the count.
“Give my best regards to all the old-time fans from the Ark-.Mo league, also all the fans from the KOM league of 1946. Each year at Christmas time we hear from the Paul Weithoners, the Ivan Boyds and Edna Gilbreath. Sure would be nice again to walk a few times around your city square and say hello to all you’d meet. “Pleasant memories have been brought to light again through this contact.”
The next document found on Arlitt was his obituary some 29 years after he penned the foregoing note to Jack Harshaw. Since that memory laden letter was sent to Harshaw some 56 years have passed and oh, so swiftly. Like Arlitt, it would be great to walk around the Carthage town square one more time. However, if it were possible, no one would be recognized and neither would the stores lining the sidewalks. The only thing Buzz or Yours truly would find much as it was in that bygone era would be the Jasper County Court House.
•Coos Bay, Oregon November 14 1992
Memorial services for Adolph “Buzz” Arlitt , 80 of Roseburg, will be held at 11 a. m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Veterans Hospital in Roseburg, Services are under the direction of Wilson’s Chapel of the Roses in Roseburg. He died No. 10, 1992 at Roseburg of complications of a heart attack. He played professional baseball for the Pittsburg(h) Pirates as a pitcher and first baseman. He also managed the farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals for many years. During WW II he served with the Navy and took part in the invasion of Okinawa, Japan. He married Mary Eickwork in 1944 and they moved to the Coos Bay area, where he worked for Evans Products from 1946 to 1962. He was active with the Empire Fire Department and played baseball with the Lumberjacks, starting in 1947. He is survived by his wife, Mary Arlitt of Roseburg; daughter Louise Hargens, five grandsons, six great grandchildren, as well as relatives in Florida.
____________________________________________________________________________
From the “newly-weds
Thank you so much for sending Jodi a message that you could not make it to our 70th anniversary, We knew and certainly didn't not expect any of you to come out of town people friends. We wanted you to know about our 70th anniversary and the open house are children are having for us.
No gifts just you good wishes and love is all we need. Thanks for your friendship all these years.
We have been so lucky to be able to have all these years together, Dick has finished his chemo treatments, 55 in all plus the 12 weeks of radiation. It has taken the toll on his body but so far everything is doing ok and he has 3 months of no treatment and we'll see how he does. Lots of prayers from everyone is helping so keep them up for him. Our anniversary is really the 6th of February but we had to have it a little later to get around the Super Bowl and a few other things. I will turn 90 the 20th of February and Dick will catch up with me the 7th of September. Talk with you later. Dick had a nice letter from Loren Doll a few weeks ago and still talks with Gene Castiglione every couple of weeks. Thanks for your friendship and all these years. Love Molly and Dick
Ed note:
A telephone call was received on February 6th. It just so happened that some flowers had arrived at her front door and she was telling me about them. That call was better than a “Thank you” note in the mail.
The KOM League
Flash Report
For
August 10, 2019
And lasting until the next one is produced
This report is posted at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/48153834767/
A whole lot of research went into preparing this report even though it might appear otherwise to people with more research ability than the author of this missive.
_____________________________________________________________________________
In the years of researching the fate of former KOM leaguers one name was difficult to uncover much information. It was known the fellow was a first baseman for the 1949-50 Chanute Athletics and that he was the league All-Star first baseman in 1950.
At each KOM league reunion, from 1995 through 2008, the question always arose from his former teammates “Have you found any documentation on the Air Force plane crash that took the life of Tom Norbut?” Each time all I could provide was that his funeral was held on June 10 in St. Louis.
Obviously, too much time was spent looking in all the wrong places. Then, this past week scanning around the Newspaper.com site this story was found in the June 7, 1957 edition of the St. Louis-Post Dispatch on page 3. It tells a pretty complete story on George Thomas Norbut Jr.. The story was carried around the country on the various wire services and some of the versions varied a little but not factually. Here is what readers saw in the Post-Dispatch.
St. Louis Pilot Killed in Scott (AFB) Crash
Engine of Supersonic, Delta-Wing Interceptor Flames Out on California Flight.
An Air Force jet fighter plane crashed and burned about one and one-half miles northeast of Scott Air Force base yesterday and the pilot, First Lt. George T. Norbut of St. Louis, was killed. He was trying to make an emergency landing.
The plane, an F-102, a supersonic delta-wing interceptor was being ferried from California to Wright-Patterson base at Dayton, Ohio, when its engine died in a “flame-out.”
Norbut, 29 years old, was the son of Mrs. Raymond Schaeffer, at 4037 North Newstead avenue. He was stationed at Richards-Gebauer base at Kansas City, and had been in the Air Force since 1951.
Radioed base.
The crash occurred at 1:32 p. m. A few minutes before Norbut radioed Scott base that he was in trouble and would try to land there. A runway was cleared for him and tower officers watched as he made an approach, believing that he would get in safely.
The plane fell in a wooded farm area about one-fourth of a mile south of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Oakley and their five children. Mrs. Oakley, who is accustomed to hearing jet planes, was not where she could see the plane come down, but told of hearing an explosion.
The initial explosion was followed by several smaller ones, which military policemen said were of rockets, and the fire burned for more than an hour. Wreckage was scattered over an area about one block square.
Spectators Kept Away.
Spectators were kept away from the immediate area because the plane carried some secret equipment.
Norbut had stopped for fuel at Tinker (AFB) base, Oklahoma City.
He was a graduate of Beaumont High School (St. Louis), and attended Harris Teachers College, which he left to play professional baseball, with the Chanute, Kan., team in the old K-O-M league. He was not married.
Ed comment:
Most of the former teammates of the deceased pilot, who inquired about him at reunions, are no longer around. Those who are still living are in their ninth decade of life. Norbut would have turned 90, this past May, had he survived that plane crash and the intervening vicissitudes of life. He was born in August 22, 1929 in Springfield, Illinois to Francis and George T. Norbut. By the time George Jr. was 10 years old his mother and father weren’t husband and wife any longer. George Jr. was in St. Louis by 1940 and his mother married Raymond Schaeffer. George Jr. went to St. Louis public schools graduating from Beaumont High School that produced many fine baseball players that were scouted heavily by the Browns, Yankees, Cardinals and Giants.
Norbut was a popular member of the Chanute ball club and was on the last team that town ever fielded in professional baseball. He was one of the “crooners” who lined up on the third base line after the last game, in 1950, and sang the hit tune of the day “Goodnight Irene.” One of the highlights of his career, according to a questionnaire he filled out for Bill Weiss, was being involved in pulling off a triple play. He was also involved in a rare game for a first baseman, in 1950. First basemen usually have the most putouts recorded in any game. However, he had a slow night in one game when he was credited with only one of those.
A photo of Norbut is carried on page 60 of the Arcadia publication. “The KOM League Remembered.” Those books are real cheap and available by searching the Internet for it. For those of you flat busted and broke you can go on the web and see great portions of that book for only the cost of turning on your computer. www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9780738533407
For those who would like to see a photo of Norbut without requiring anything more exhausting than clicking on a URL, here is how to find it. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/20215377659/in/photoli... You’ll have to read the narrative of that Flash Report to figure where he is in that photo.
Ah, this site contains an even better photo of Norbut. It is the “Official” team photo as opposed to the previous photo which might go down as the worst team photo in history. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/42418276610/in/photoli...
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Catching up
The remainder of this report addresses the passing of former players that haven’t been mentioned previously. This feature will have limited interest among the readership but for the “few” baseball researchers who tune into this “broadcast” from time to time, this one is for them.
Thomas Jefferson “Snuffy” Smith www.omaha.com/obits/smith-thomas-jefferson/article_d3f3f3...
Smith, Thomas Jefferson March 19, 1924 - April 28, 2019 Thomas "Tom" Jefferson Smith (age 95) was born on March 19, 1924, to Wyland Smith and Augusta Glup in Omaha.
On Sunday morning, April 28, 2019, Tom passed peacefully in his sleep and is now with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tom was preceded in death by his loving wife of 66 years, Marjorie Loretta Thill. He was the sixth of nine siblings, and was preceded in death by brothers, Edward Elmer Smith, Elmer Arthur Smith, and Arthur Albert Smith; and sisters, Hattie M. Selk, Loretta Darby, and Jean W. Gamerl.
He is survived by daughters, Suzanne Marie Smith, Sandra Jayne (Thomas) Kurmel, and Terri Jean (Stacy) Lee; grandchildren, Julie Michelle (Tyler) Fettes, Ryan Lee (Kindred) McLaughlin, and Christian Wyland Kurmel; great-grandaughter Aubrey Michelle Fettes; sisters, Joan Lorraine Powers, and Betty Lou Koch; step-grandchilren, Mandy Lee, Chelsea (Dave) Gerdes, Eric (Ashley) Lee; and five step-great-grandchildren.
Tom was an All State High School pitcher (Omaha South), veteran of the U.S. Navy in WWII (Pacific Theater), professional baseball player, and retired from the Union Pacific Railroad. Tom was a loving husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and great grandfather. Visitation will be held Monday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 7706 S. 96th Street, LaVista, Nebraska. The Celebration of Life will start a 11am following the visitation. Westlawn Hillcrest Funeral Home 5701 Center St. Omaha, NE 402-556-2500.
Comment:
Often, baseball necrologist, Jack Morris, sends along names of those from the KOM league who departed the scene. When I think he might have missed a name I get in touch as in the case of the aforementioned. “Don't know if you saw this or not. Thomas Jefferson "Snuffy" Smith was a member of the 1948 Carthage, Mo. pitching staff. His career covered a span from 1946 through 1952. He had a contract with San Francisco, for 1953, but chose not to go there.”
In this case Mr. Morris hadn’t seen the obituary. He said he was passing it along to his “group.” His group pays attention to that sort of thing and I even got messages from a couple of them informing me regarding of what I had shared with Morris. In this manner not much falls through the cracks in the dugout bench.
****
John William Knoke Obituary
www.everhere.com/us/obituaries/fl/tampa/john-william-knok...
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of John William Knoke (Tampa, Florida), who passed away on May 9, 2019, at the age of 92, leaving to mourn family and friends. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family.
With that brief announcement the fate of John Knoke was learned. He was one of the first former KOM leaguer located when the project to locate them began. He pitched for both the 1947 and 1948 Pittsburg Browns after being signed by the St. Louis Browns.
Knoke was one of the guys who fell in love with the fans at Pittsburg, especially the Bob Mitchell family who took many young players under their wing and fed and befriended them for not only their time in Pittsburg but until the Mitchell family perished in a car accident a few years after Knoke’s time there.
In writing my first book about the KOM league, Knoke had a lot of memories that made the effort entertaining. He recalled the most brutal day in his career. It was July 4, 1947 when the temperature in Pittsburg was 117. He won the game by one run and lost 18 pound in the process, By the 9th inning he was so tired he could barely climb up on the mound but was saved by the fact the batters were so tired they could hardly swing. He didn’t feel too sorry for himself for his catcher lost 20 pounds wearing all that equipment.
On pages 98-100 in the book, Majoring in The Minors, a number of other things are contained that Knoke shared. He had numerous stories about “Two Gun” Les who the team sort of adopted during the summer. By that time he was in his mid-40’s. “Two Gun” got his name from the “loaded” cap guns he wore. He would be the security guard for the Pittsburg players as they entered the ballpark and would shot opposing players rounding third base in their attempt to score. I Could go on and on here about “Two Gun” but suffice to say, he was a big part of the fun at the old ballpark. If you have that book, go back and take a look at the pages just cited.
Knoke was born July 9, 1926 in Cora, Illinois. For many years he was affiliated with the Hartford Insurance Company and was a regional manager for them in Jacksonville, Florida. He had a brother by the name of Robert who was a catcher for the 1952 Independence Brown. He died in 2012 in St. Charles, Missouri.
For those with the book “The KOM League Remembered” Knoke’s photo along with his wife and his brother Robert and his girlfriend is found on page 31. It was John’s wedding photo that he shared with the Bob Mitchell family in Pittsburg.
***
Henry W. Carter Jr. –1946 Iola Cubs
Henry Carter was born July 2, 1927 in Ft. Worth, Texas. He appeared in a game at Iola on May 21, 1947 and drove in the winning run against the Independence, Kansas Yankees. He was a catcher on option from Davenport, Iowa. He only played with Iola that day and it appears he never returned to Davenport. Most likely he returned to Ft. Worth but no trace of him can be found
Carter had played on a Texas state amateur championship team in 1945. Prior to that he had played minor league ball at Lockport, NY in 1943. He was only 16 at that time but due to a lack of manpower, youngsters still in high school played professionally.
So far, there is no trace of his whereabouts or fate.
****
David Lee Brown—1949 Miami Owls
David Brown was born August 11, 1929 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He died there on December 18, 2017. During his high school years he was a talented American Legion pitcher and played in Missouri state championship games in 1945 at St. Louis and 1946 at Kansas City. His goal was to be a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals but as close as he got to that was pitching for the St. Joseph Cardinals. He started with that club in 1949 and on June 14 of that year he was sent to the Miami, Okla. Owls. Had Carthage still been a St. Louis Cardinal affiliate, that year, he would have played for that club.
I only spoke to David Brown once in my life. I called him in 2013 and he was very ill at that time. I shared with him a number of documents but nothing was ever heard back from him in that regard.
There is information regarding the life of Mr. Brown, including a photo, on Ancestry.com, but nothing for which a URL can be cited with the exception of the Ancestry site which only a few readers have access. If you have Ancestry and want the links to the former right-hander in the KOM and Western Association, let me know.
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Frank Edwin Burwell Jr. 1949 Miami Owls
Frank Edwin Burwell, Jr., 93, Leavenworth, died Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. He was born May 28, 1925, in Leavenworth, Kansas, the son of Franklin and Marjorie (North) Burwell.
He was a lifelong resident of Leavenworth County and proud graduate from Jarbalo High School in 1943.
Frank was married to his wife, Barbara for 58 years. She lovingly cared for him and survives at home. He is also survived by a daughter, Rhonda Ecker and husband, Mark, Wrentham, Massachusetts; and a son, Frank and wife, Robyn, Phillipsburg, Kansas; a grandson, Nathan, Kansas City, Missouri. Frank was especially close to his cousins, Virginia Seymour, Leavenworth and James Throop, Denver, Colorado.
After a stint in the Navy during WWII, Frank worked at Munson Army Hospital as Assistant Patient Administrator where he was named Boss of the Year in 1974. He later retired and volunteered at the Leavenworth Assistance Center for 15 years.
Frank was preceded in death by his parents.
He was an accomplished baseball player and lifelong Kansas City Royals fan. Frank was a member of Sacred Heart and Saint Casmir churches. He loved quail hunting and fishing with his father, son and friends. He enjoyed hunting behind his dad’s accomplished bird dogs. He was also a gardener and shared this with many friends and family members. He was grateful to his many neighbors both in the country and here in Leavenworth and will be missed by those who knew him.
A memorial mass will be held at a date next spring or summer. Memorials are suggested to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Leavenworth or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Arrangements in care of R.L. Leintz Funeral Home.
Burwell was a left handed pitcher and outfielder for Miami. Things were going well for him until he had appendicitis. On May 28, due to his health, he was released and that concluded his professional baseball career.
****
Richard Philip Martinez—1949 Independence Yankees and Miami Eagles
Long ago I had given up much hope of ever locating Mr. Martinez. All that I knew about him was his name in an early season box score for Independence when he pitched and then a mention in the Miami, Oklahoma News-Record where he had been released after just a week with the local nine in that town. He was listed as a 19-year old left-handed pitcher.
With the information cited in the Miami paper it wasn’t long before the name of Richard Philip Martinez was located. He was listed as having been born in Moorpark, California on May 1, 1930. A quick glance was given to the U. S. Baseball Questionnaires and there I found the form he had completed. He mentioned winning his first game against Santa Barbara which would have placed him in the California league. With a bit more research it was determined he had signed with Ventura. Ventura was Yankee Class D team and many players shuttled between there and Independence, Kansas.
Thus, in early May, of 1949, Martinez showed up a full month ahead of Mickey Mantle joining that club. Mantle didn’t affect his remaining on the team. The two guys who ensured Martinez wouldn’t be around long were Bob Wiesler and Steve Kraly. Both were lefthanders who would eventually wind up with the “Big Yankees” before their careers concluded.
Thus, Martinez was expendable and he was picked up by Miami where he lasted a week. After May of 1949 there is no baseball trail for him. He obviously headed back to California. By at least 1957 he had moved to San Francisco. In 1967 he became the manager of Burkes Corner Restaurant, a position he held until his death at 10:10 p. m. at San Francisco General Hospital on
May 20, 1972. His service was conducted at the Ted Meyer Mortuary and he was buried in Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura.
*****
Charles William Stone
Charles Stone had brief stints with both the Ponca City Dodgers and Miami Eagles in 1951. He was an outfielder who was born August 30, 1932 in Chino, California. Only other item that is verifiable was his death December 16, 1991 in Salem, Oregon
****
William Robert Huffman –Iola 1946
This is the obituary found for Mr. Huffman.
www.findagrave.com/memorial/122673138
FORT WORTH, Texas – William R. "Bob" Huffman, 87, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas. He was born Jan. 2, 1926, to J. Ellis and Gladis Berry Huffman in Dallas, Texas. He was a commercial airplane pilot for many years before his retirement. He was a member of Richland Hills United Methodist Church in Richland Hills, Texas. He enjoyed woodworking, and serving the community through Habitat for Humanity, and working with his church.
Services will be at 10 a.m. today, Jan. 4, at Senter Funeral Home in Fulton with Bro. Terry Paul Graham officiating. Burial will be in Benefield Cemetery. Senter Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline Huffman; his parents, J. Ellis and Gladis Berry Huffman; and a brother, J.E. Huffman. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10 a.m. today at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Richland Hills United Methodist Church, 7301 Glenview Drive, North Richland Hills, TX 76180. Online condolences can be expressed at www.senterfuneraldirectors.com.
Published in Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal on Jan. 4, 2014 (Ed note; He had lived in Fairview, Mississippi and that is where he was buried.)
Ed comment:
Huffman had caught one game for the 1946 Iola Cubs. That was on July 15. He was a 1943 graduate of Birdville High School in Dallas. He spent 30 months in the United States Marines during WW II. His U.S. Baseball Questionnaire showed he was born in on January 2, 1927 when he had actually been born in 1926. He passed away one day shy of his 88th birthday.
When he filled out his U. S Baseball Questionnaire, in 1949, he listed four years as a professional baseball player and that his hobby was “Wemon.” As he was a 23-year old single man on June 7 of that year I sincerely suspect he got the “e” before the “o” with regard to his hobby.
****
William Frederick Conroy
For the first three weeks of the 1950 season, Bill Conroy was a member of the Carthage Cubs pitching staff. On May 25 he was sent to Nazareth, Penn. If you glance through his submission in the U. S. Baseball Questionnaire you will find that he thought he went to Nazareth in 1949.
Conroy was born October 7, 1931 in Chicago Illinois and passed away February 25, 2013 in Palos Park, Illinois
****
Thomas J. Robinson
For a quarter century research has continued in an attempt to document an early season third baseman for the Chanute Athletics by the name of Thomas Jefferson Robinson. While I’m not quite ready to declare his fate has been determined, I’m close.
There was a Thomas Jefferson Robinson who was born April 13, 1928 in West Frankfort, Illinois. A Thomas Robinson played third base for the Chanute through the month of May in 1950 and on November 16th of that year entered the United States Army where he served until November 17, 1952. At the time of his discharge he was a corporal
Not much else is known about Robinson other than he lived in New Jersey and New York before moving to Vandalia, Illinois where he passed away May 17, 1998.
*****
Charles Stock ???
For many years a search has been ongoing regarding a catcher for the Bartlesville, Okla. Oilers and Pirates. Here is what I know about him.
Born 11/24/1926 Chicago, Illinois
Graduated Kelly High School in 1942
Spent 42 months in Navy. Played on a Navy team with Johnny Mize.
Played for Chicago Hornets Semi-Pro in 1946
Played for the Lockport Reds in 1947 according to his baseball questionnaire
Attended Western Michigan Univ.
Bartlesville Oilers/Pirates 1947-48-49 Also was at Gadsden, Ala. in 1949 At Gadsden his manager was Ben Chapman.
Reported dead by a friend who attended a KOM league reunion 15 years ago.
Played in the Basin League (amateur)
If anyone has another further information on Stock let me know. I have photos of him taken from the early 1940’s to the mid 1950’s.
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Carissa Moore Wins Billabong Rio Pro, Gilmore Knocked Out of ASP World Title Race
BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Sunday, May 15, 2011) – Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, has claimed the Billabong Rio Pro, stop No. 5 of 7 on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season, over Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, in punchy two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves in a hard-fought Final at Barra Da Tijuca.
The electrifying action of the final day of women’s competition at Barra da Tijuca culminated in dramatic fashion with the world’s best female surfers going toe-to-toe with the highly-coveted 2011 ASP Women’s World Title on the line.
Moore and Fitzgibbons nearly matched scores on their opening accounts, but the young Hawaiian notched a solid 8.10 midway through the heat with polished backhand surfing on a lefthander that proved to be enough to solidify Moore’s third elite event victory of the 2011 season.
“I just went out there and had fun and to me there was no pressure in the Final,” Moore said. “I was just stoked to be in the Final regardless of how I finished. Obviously I’m happy that I won. The girls really didn’t go on those lefts, but they worked out for me today.”
Moore, who marched past local favorite Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, to earn her final berth, appeared in her fifth consecutive final out of the five events held this year and her victory at the Billabong Rio Pro extends her lead on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season over current ASP Women’s World No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons.
“I was really nervous that I wouldn’t make the Final because I was up against Silvana (Lima) and she’s the local favorite,” Moore said. ““I’m excited. We have two events left and it’d be nice to just finish really strong.”
Fitzgibbons built momentum throughout the Billabong Rio Pro, winning her non-elimination Round 3 heat before topping ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie Pauline Ado (FRA), 20, and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 22, but was unable to find the score needed to surpass Moore in the final and continues to trail the Oahu prodigy for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title.
“It’s a long year and there are a couple of events to go and it has been great here competing in Rio for the first time,” Fitzgibbons said. “Looking into the next few events it’s really going to be about stepping it up and having fun and focusing on my surfing. Hopefully I can get a few more results.”
Moore and Fitzgibbons remain the only two surfers in contention for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title.
Stephanie Gilmore, reigning four-time ASP World Champion, was lethal in her Quarterfinals heat against Laura Enever (AUS), 19, but was unable to find the score needed to surpass Fitzgibbons in their Semifinals matchup, finishing Equal 3rd overall.
“It was tough work out there,” Gilmore said. “Sally (Fitzgibbons) got a couple and I had some opportunities. I only needed a six and was too deep on that wave that came in at the end. Sally’s in the zone right now.”
Gilmore, who made surfing history by winning four ASP Women’s World Titles in four consecutive attempts, was knocked out of the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title race today, with her failure to advance past Fitzgibbons and into the Final. This historic moment in women’s sport proved emotional for the Australian icon.
“I’m going through so many emotions right now, it’s hard,” Gilmore said. “It’s been a pretty good year and Sally and Carissa (Moore) have been on fire. It’s good for the sport and good for me. I really don’t know what to say.”
Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, put on an impressive performance in front of her hometown crowd to match her best result of 2011. The talented Brazilian finished behind Carissa Moore in their Semifinals matchup and was happy to tie her best result of the season at her home event.
“I’m so excited to have matched my best result in front of my home crowd,” Lima said. “Of course I wanted to make the Final, but I’m so happy with my result and thanks to everyone for all of the support.”
When men’s competition begins, 2010 ASP Rookie of the year Owen Wright (AUS), 21, will surf against Heitor Alves (BRA), 29, and Bobby Martinez (USA), 28, in Heat 1.
A call will be made at 7am local time tomorrow morning for a possible start to men’s Billabong Rio Pro competition.
The Billabong Rio Pro men’s waiting period runs from May 11 through 22 and is webcast LIVE via www.billabongpro.com
For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com.
Billabong Rio Pro Final Results:
1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.87
2 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.80
Billabong Rio Pro Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.67 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 10.33
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.23
Billabong Rio Pro Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.63 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.27
QF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.50 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 9.93
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.44 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.97
QF 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.10 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 9.57
Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 14.33 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 9.30
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.63 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.14
Heat 3: Pauline Ado (FRA) 12.40 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 11.03
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.84 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.24
Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.50, Silvana Lima (BRA) 7.14, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.97
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.83, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.26, Paige Hareb (NZL) 4.66
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.73, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 8.00
Heat 4: Laura Enever (AUS) 11.66, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.00, Coco Ho (HAW) 9.00
ASP Women’s World Title Top 5 (After Billabong Rio Pro):
1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 47,000 pts
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 41,650 pts
3. Tyler Wright (AUS) 30,620 pts
4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 29,350 pts
5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 27,920 pts
Billabong Rio Pro Men's Round 1 Match Ups:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Bobby Martinez (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), TBA
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW), TBA
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), TBA
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS), TBA
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA), Tiago Pires (PRT), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), Chris Davidson (AUS), Cory Lopez (USA)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Taylor Knox (USA)
Photo © ASP / CESTARI
The Vernon Tigers were a Minor League Baseball team that represented Vernon, California in the Pacific Coast League from 1909 to 1925. The team won back-to-back PCL pennants in 1919 and 1920. The Tigers, together with the Sacramento Solons, joined the PCL as a new team in 1909 when the league expanded from four teams to six. The Tigers effectively were a second team in Los Angeles, rivals of the existing Los Angeles Angels.
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Jesse Stovall
Positions: Pitcher, Center Fielder and Third Baseman
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
6-0, 175 lbs
Born: July 24, 1875 in Leeds, MO
Died: July 12, 1955 (Aged 79-353d) in San Diego, CA
Buried: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Long Beach, CA
Full Name: Jesse Cramer Stovall
Nicknames: Scout, Jess
Relatives: Brother of George Stovall
Link to his baseball stats - www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=stoval...
Jesse Cramer Stovall (b. July 24, 1875 – d. July 12, 1955 at age 79) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for two seasons. He played for the Cleveland Naps in 1903 and the Detroit Tigers in 1904, pitching in 28 career games. His brother, George Stovall, was also a baseball player.
Cleveland Blues rookie lefthander Jesse Stovall tosses an 11-inning shutout, 1-0, over the Detroit Tigers. The feat still remains as the longest shutout ever for a major league pitching debut.
Edwin Henry Killian along with Jesse Stovall was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Billy Lush.
Link to - Stovall Brothers in Baseball - www.newspapers.com/clip/5699183/stovall_brothers_in_baseb...
_The KOM League
Flash Report
for
May 22, 2019
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This Flash Report is posted at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/46995221245/
Hello again
It has been nearly a month since a Flash Report has been shared. I guess I’ve come to the place that unless someone sends along material for inclusion in a report, there won’t be one.
There have been a few e-mails and calls in the past couple of weeks wondering what happened to the weekly reports and a few photos were shared to prove to those making inquiry that the inhale and exhale process is still part of my daily activity.
With that lengthy explanation this report now turns to the first article which unfortunately is about someone who ceased taking in oxygen and emitting carbon dioxide.
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Death of an umpire
I came across this obituary and when I checked his (The Sporting News) TSN umpire card he was listed as having umped in the KOM League. Did you know him? Jack Morris—Baseball Necrologist
www.legacy.com/obituaries/tricityherald/obituary.aspx?n=o...
Ed reply:
I knew him in 1951 when I was the Carthage batboy. He was always very courteous when I took baseballs out to him when he was umpiring home plate.
For what it’s worth, Eckstine's middle name was Nathaniel. I have no idea where that nickname came from but he didn't have it in the KOM league. He started out on the two man umpiring team with Dick Boll. Boll had some problems, as an umpire, and he was sent packing by E. L. Dale. Later that year Eckstine wound up with Millard Fretz for a partner. Fretz was an older guy. I think Eckstine got a lot of advice on umpiring from Ponca City manager, George Scherger, who used to "hold class" with him after the game ended. They weren't of the pleasant variety.
Ed comment:
For those readers not opting to click on the URL, here is the obituary which contains the nickname of Eckstine.
Orville N. "Jolty" Eckstine was born September 16, 1928 to Orville & Verva Eckstine in Webster City, Iowa. He graduated from Webster City High School and immediately enlisted in the United States Navy and was honorably discharged in 1948. Jolty passed away with his loving wife at his side on April 25, 2019 in Burbank, Washington.
He was brought up during the Great Depression by a strong-willed single father. Jolty developed a strong work ethic of which he was very proud of having never been on public welfare and never cashed an unemployment check in his lifetime. Jolty attended college and then was a professional baseball umpire for five years. He then farmed and ranched for many years and worked for Iowa Beef Packers. He retired from Westinghouse in 1991.
A private pilot, he enjoyed flying, hunting, fishing and sports. He was also a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kennewick. Jolty is survived by his best friend, companion and wife, Diane Eckstine (Deon) of 43 years. He is also survived by his children, Nate Eckstine, Holly Kleckner, Clint Eckstine, Lisa Balduchi and Ray Eckstine; step-children, Mike Wood, Nicole Packard, Pammella Heisler and Michelle Carley; and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by step-son Kirk Wood and grandson Jeremy Kleckner. At his request, there will be no service. He will be cremated and inurnment will be at Logan Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa. When his wife Diane (Deon) passes, she'll be cremated and they will be together again. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Benton Franklin Humane Society which is a no kill shelter or Best Friends in Knab, Utah. The family invites you to sign their tribute wall at www.muellersfuneralhomes.com. Published in Tri-City Herald on May 5, 2019.
After reading the foregoing obituary it was another opportunity to check on another former KOM league umpire who I located a number of years ago in West Covina, California. However, I hadn’t heard anything from him in a few years and finally discovered the fate of Donald Jesse Spellum. He was born September 18, 1924 in Coon Valley, Wisc. and served in the United States Navy from 1943-46. He attended high school in LaCrosse, Wisc. and later attended college in LaCrosse for one year and then spent two years at the American Television school in Chicago.
Spellum umpired in the KOM league in 1950 and moved on to the Northern league in 1951. What he did after the 1950 season I don’t recall but he moved to Southern California by the 1960’s where he eventually passed away in 2013. Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy of his obituary.
One bit of information I knew regarding the deceased is that he was married on Friday, November 13, 1953 in Las Vegas, Nevada and spent his honeymoon at the Flamingo Hotel.
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Joe Stanka memory:
Over the years of writing about the KOM league, Joe Stanka was mentioned many times. Having known of him since 1951 it was great to get to know him in a personal way when the KOM league reunions commenced in the 1990’s.
Many of the things Stanka shared with me were special from both tangible and intangible aspects. As I read the recent article from the Japan Times it made me even more aware of what was important to him.
On more than one occasion a package would arrive at my home with a note inside proclaiming that Stanka had no more use for a certain piece of baseball history and he was sharing it with me and if I didn’t want it to just throw it away. Never did I toss a single item in the trash.
Over the years the highlight of any day was when the telephone rang with the salutation “Mr. Hall, Stanka here,” stating that he had nothing in particular on his mind then he’d share a story or two that always resonated with me. After the conversation seemed to come to point of closure, he’d say “I don’t know why I called you” and that would be the end of that particular session.
Our relationship and mutual respect was a far cry from when he and George Scherger were despised by Carthage fans, Yours truly included, when they paid a visit to Carthage to play the Cubs, in 1951.
It is my hope that if the recipients of this report give attention nothing else in this missive they will read about my late friend, Joe Donald Stanka. Also, one of the readers of this report was instrumental in finding the “lost trophy” and a note has already been sent to Marty Kuehnert, in Sendai, Japan, thanking him for what he did for the Stanka family.
News of the trophy find was also shared with Mary Lou Hoffmeister of Arlington, Ill. Paul Hoffmeister and Stanka were teammates along the way in a couple of leagues and Mary Lou and Jean Stanka have been friends for many years. In response to my note, Mary Lou wrote “Thanks, Jean recently phoned me. We keep in touch. Great friends! Jean is a treasure!” So, the KOM links continue among family members, in this case, baseball wives.
Stanka's family reunited with '64 MVP trophy
BY JASON COSKREY
MAY 20, 2019
www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/05/20/baseball/japanese-...
Joe Stanka’s Pacific League MVP trophy was missing for over 30 years.
He won the award with the Nankai Hawks during the 1964 season. Pitching to catcher Katsuya Nomura, “Big Thunder” went 26-7 with a 2.40 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 277⅔ innings. He was the first American pitcher of non-Japanese decent to win an MVP award in NPB.
There were plenty of baseball reasons to want to track down the trophy, but for Stanka’s grandson Josh, it became personal as he watched his grandfather’s health begin to fade. Joe Stanka died in October of 2018.
“We could kind of tell he was going, and they (Joe Stanka and his wife Jean) have so many memories here (in Japan),” Josh Stanka told The Japan Times in Tokyo last week after coming to retrieve the trophy. “They lived here eight years, they had two kids born here and buried one kid here. That’s emotional stuff. I wanted to find that for him.”
The problem was, no one knew where it was.
Sometime after winning the trophy, Stanka and his wife donated it to a Canadian academy in Osaka. They’d replaced the nameplate on the front to honor their late son, Joe Daryl Stanka, who passed away in a tragic accident at their home.
Then it gets murky. The academy eventually left the area and the Hawks also relocated. In addition to moving from Osaka to Fukuoka, the baseball team also changed hands a few times, going from Nankai to Daiei to (currently) SoftBank. At some point during all that, everyone lost track of Stanka’s trophy.
Josh was aware he was essentially looking for a needle in a haystack. But his grandparents raised him. They’re part of him — he joked that he looks like his grandfather but was thankful to have gotten his grandmother’s brains — and also part of NPB history. So the younger Stanka searched on undeterred.
He enlisted the help of Marty Kuehnert, the former GM of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Kuehnert, who lives in Sendai, hit the ground running and made some calls and got in touch with the academy and the Hawks.
Josh also reached out to the other MVP from the 1964 season, Sadaharu Oh, who won the Central League award with the Yomiuri Giants.
Oh and the fiery Stanka had maintained a cordial, friendly relationship through the years.
Oh, the current Hawks chairman, said he’d do what he could. Just like during his playing days, Oh hit it out of the park and tracked down the trophy, which sat in a Hawks storeroom in Fukuoka (to the surprise of everyone), late last year, news the family greeted with elation.
Unfortunately, Joe Stanka passed before Josh was able to retrieve it. Jean Stanka is currently living with Josh.
“It was lucky Oh-san was with the Hawks, because Marty Kuehnert got in touch with the Canadian academy, which is the last my grandmother had ever heard or seen of it 30 years ago,” Josh Stanka said. “They had sold the building and moved. The Hawks had also moved, and not across the street. So everybody kind of went, ‘I don’t know.’
“I just wanted to find that for them (his grandparents). They raised me. I was supposed to come get it in November and he passed in October. Sadaharu Oh tracked it down.”
When Josh Stanka came to Japan, in addition to meeting with Oh to retrieve that piece of NPB history, he visited Nomura to leave different memento behind.
In 1964, Stanka and the Hawks reached the Japan Series against the Hanshin Tigers and Gene Bacque, who became the first non-Japanese Sawamura Award winner that season.
Stanka threw a 96-pitch shutout in Game 1, lost in Game 3 and then returned to throw a 99-pitch shutout in Game 6 and a 110-pitch shutout the next day in Game 7, all with Nomura behind the plate.
Stanka had the ball from final out of that ’64 series, and he wanted his old friend to have it.
“I was with him when he died,” Josh said. “Two or three days before he had said . . . there were very few things he kept that he knew where they were, but he knew he had that ball and he said ‘take this to Katsuya Nomura.’ ”
Despite not speaking the same language, the pair formed a bond that endured. If anything it grew, with Josh and Nomura’s son Don close friends to this day.
“I said Nomura-san, you did speak the same language,” Josh Stanka said. “You spoke yakyuu (baseball). You can’t go 18 innings, back-to-back days, of shutout baseball if you’re not communicating with each other somehow.”
Josh Stanka said the memories came flooding back to Nomura when he saw the ball.
Like Stanka’s trophy, that ball represents a point in history, in both baseball and life, that Josh Stanka hopes isn’t forgotten with fewer and fewer players from that era still around.
Tracking down the trophy is a one way to help Stanka’s memory live on for future generations of fans who see it or hear about it. It’s a legacy that brings a smile to the younger Stanka’s face.
“Tracking that thing down, that was Oh,” he said. “It’s lucky that he’s with the Hawks.”
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A Whiz Kid by the name of Al?
One thing that gets me going is to receive a communication asking a question about a former member of a ball club of which I’m familiar. This question was posed by George O’Don Garrison. “Hi John: Sorry I am not very computer savvy so don't do much emailing. Wanted to let you know I appreciate the articles that you send. Brings back good memories. I did want to ask you if you remember anything about the 1949 Baxter Springs Whiz Kids lineups when they played in the Wichita semipro tournament in August or September of that year? I was trying to recall a pitchers name...first name Al. If you have any information on that I would appreciate it.
Ed comment:
Well that inquiry from a two-year pitcher for the Miami, Okla. Eagles stumped me. In all the years of writing about Mickey Mantle’s Whiz Kid teams I never came across a player with the first name of Al. Thus, it was time to dig into the old memory bag and come up with some names of guys who were connected with the Whiz Kids from 1944 to 1953. That number is small. Only two men, to my knowledge, are still living from those teams that played up to 1949. Garrison was one of them and Wylie Pitts was the other.
A couple of contacts were made with post 1949 Whiz Kid members and none of those people ever heard of a Whiz Kid with the name of Al. The inquiry to Pitts got delayed a while but this message was received a few days later. “John: Just now tried to send an answer to your question of ‘Al’ playing at a Wichita tournament.....Wylie couldn't recall of anyone by that name playing with the Whiz Kids. He was just happy to hear George Garrison (is) still living. They called him George "Babe" Garrison...! Sorry to be late with this but I usually don't email much anymore on this old computer although I prefer it. Wylie is using a cane now and should be in a wheelchair but he fights it. Hope this finds you both well. Mary Ann Pitts—Riverton, Kans.
Meanwhile, Garrison kept thinking of a last name for Al and he came up with it. “John, I just thought of the man's name...it was Al Gerheauser. Thanks for your help.”
Garrison’s remark allowed the opportunity for Yours truly to say a few words about his unremarkable baseball career. “Gerheauser was a guy I first saw in 1958. I was playing in the Joplin Civic league. He was throwing batting practice. By that time he was at least 40 years old. I asked Ferrell Anderson who that guy was and why he was out there in very dirty clothes. He told me it was Gerheauser and he was dressed like that for he had just come from his job in the mines.
That was the same night Anderson told me I could probably play minor league ball. After seeing a guy throw batting practice, who had been in the major leagues, and was back working in the mines I figured I had better get an education. To be honest, I don't think I would have made it. Terry Wilson was the manager of the team and he wouldn't let me play much for he favored the Joplin boys over those from out of town.
One thing for sure is that guys like Barney Barnett, Joe Becker, Ferrell Anderson, Homer Cole and Gerheauser knew each other very well.”
Gerhaeuser was born in St. Louis in 1917 and started out at Rogers, Arkansas of the Arkansas State league in 1935. He pitched for the Joplin Miners in 1937 and 1938 and played minor league baseball for 15 years as well as five years of big league ball. He wasn't in WWII and thus made it to the big leagues in 1943. He was a rookie for the Philadelphia Phillies that year and drew the opening day starting assignment which is rare in the annals of baseball. He usually lost more games than he won but he was a competitor.
Out of curiosity I looked up where Gerheauser was in 1949. He pitched for San Antonio in the Texas league and posted a 14-13 record. He played pro ball as late as 1953. Gerhaueser made his home in Joplin for he married Marion Hunt, in 1938 or 1939, there when he played for the Miners. All the old Joplin city directories listed his occupation as ball player.
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Still tracking unfound players
While reading some old article regarding Gale Wade in the Asheville Citizen Times of Asheville, North Carolina, in recent weeks, I got a surprise.
Since the dawn of eternity, as far as KOM league research goes, there has been an extensive search for James Leroy Stevens. He was born January 11, 1931 in Asheville, North Carolina. Aside from him playing for the 1949 Pittsburg, Kansas Browns that was my total knowledge of the man.
Perusing a 1955 article about Gale Wade the sports editor mentioned that he had heard from “Red” Stevens who stated Bob Speake hit 14 home runs to Mickey Mantle’s six, in a league in which he played in 1949. Never had I come across any “Red” Stevens in all my KOM research and the reference to such a person, in that article, puzzled me a bit, but not for long.
However, a few minutes was spent in tracing the life of Leroy Stevens. After his KOM league adventure he went back to his native North Carolina. He attended college and after graduating coached at the high school and then college levels.
In all the information gleaned from old newspapers one thing still stumps me. I can’t locate him. He may well be in an assisted living facility which precludes my ability to call him up and say “Howdy.” There are a couple of former 1949 Pittsburg Brownies who probably remember Stevens. If anyone has a lead on the guy call your local sheriff, the FBI or better yet, send me a note on his whereabouts.
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Other bits and pieces
If there is any interest in this report some other recent finds will be shared of a similar nature in future reports. It is sure discouraging to go to all the work to locate someone, write a big article and then get a resounding “Ho, hum” from the masses. However, that should be expected for millennials plus those who are another ten years older are basically in the dark when the names of ballplayers from the 1950’s or 1960’s are mentioned.
But, for fun I’d like to share a few lines on someone who started this life in Sapulpa, Okla., moved to Denver, Colo. before he was 10 years old, played in the KOM league in 1946, played professional baseball for another decade, became an insurance executive and one of the top amateur golfers in Austin, Texas, went on to become the groundskeeper for the Richmond, Virginia Braves, lost his wife at an early age, remarried, moved back to the Denver area and died before reaching his 56th birthday.
There are some others interesting aspects of the aforementioned person’s life and one that shocked me was his place in history among KOM league batsmen. That will be shared in the next “thrill packed” episode of the KOM league news if there is any interest shown in this one.
So long.
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Hold the phone
As I was finishing this report the telephone rang and I found myself holding the phone. On the other end of the line were Dick and Molly McCoy in a joint call from Omaha. They were passing along the news that a new book that featured their time with Miami Beach, Florida of the Florida International league has just been published.
Dick McCoy pitched for that club in 1950 and it was managed by John Martin who everyone in the world of baseball knew as “Pepper.” Martin, McCoy and others are in the book. That era brings back a lot of fond memories for the McCoy family. Dick recalled going against Havana, Cuba in the league playoffs. The pitching staff also included Labe Dean who went 24-11 that year. McCoy, now at the brink of 90 recalls that he knew he was also going to win 20 games, as well, but got stuck on 16 and finished at 16-5.
As the playoff serious approached Martin told McCoy and Dean to take a day off and not to even come to the ball park. He encouraged them to drive up to Lake Okeechobee and do some bass fishing. Molly went along and the trio caught exactly no fish. It rained all day and there was no break for those two Miami hurlers. So they returned to face the Cuban team in the playoffs and prevailed 4 games to one.
Dick McCoy has undergone treatment for cancer but is doing pretty good. The member of the family on the ailing list is Molly. She fell and broke the long bone in her arm recently and was headed out, following our telephone conversation, to have the case removed. I did ask if it was her pitching arm and she replied in the affirmative. I then inquired if she was a lefty, like her husband, and she said “One lefthander in the family is enough.” Of course, we all know the meaning of that statement.
Much more could be shared regarding the telephone call from the McCoy’s but some of what they shared with me is probably in the new book “Baseball Under the Palms.”
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Photo from the book Pitching in a Pinch or, Baseball from the Inside By Christy Mathewson (1912). [In the PUBLIC DOMAIN] This edition issued under arrangement with the publishers G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York and London; The Knickerbocker Press, New York.
II “Take Him Out”
Many a Pitcher’s Heart has been Broken by the Cry from the Stands, “Take Him Out”—Russell Ford of the New York Yankees was Once Beaten by a Few Foolish Words Whispered into the Batter’s Ear at a Critical Moment—Why “Rube” Marquard Failed for Two Years to be a Big Leaguer—The Art of Breaking a Pitcher into Fast Company.
A PITCHER is in a tight game, and the batter makes a hit. Another follows and some fan back in the stand cries in stentorian tones:
“Take him out!”
It is the dirge of baseball which has broken the hearts of pitchers ever since the game began and will continue to do so as long as it lives. Another fan takes up the shout, and another, and another, until it is a chorus.
“Take him out! Take him out! Take him out!”
[Pg 22]The pitcher has to grin, but that constant cry is wearing on nerves strung to the breaking point. The crowd is against him, and the next batter hits, and a run scores. The manager stops the game, beckons to the pitcher from the bench, and he has to walk away from the box, facing the crowd—not the team—which has beaten him. It is the psychology of baseball.
Some foolish words once whispered into the ear of a batter by a clever manager in the crisis of one of the closest games ever played in baseball turned the tide and unbalanced a pitcher who had been working like a perfectly adjusted machine through seven terrific innings. That is also the “psychology of pitching.” The man wasn’t beaten because he weakened, because he lost his grip, because of any physical deficiency, but because some foolish words—words that meant nothing, had nothing to do with the game—had upset his mental attitude.
The game was the first one played between the Giants and the Yankees in the post-season series of 1910, the batter was Bridwell, the manager was John McGraw, and the pitcher, Russell Ford of the Yankees. The cast of characters having[Pg 23] been named, the story may now enter the block.
Spectators who recall the game will remember that the two clubs had been battling through the early innings with neither team able to gain an advantage, and the Giants came to bat for the eighth inning with the score a tie. Ford was pitching perfectly with all the art of a master craftsman. Each team had made one run. I was the first man up and started the eighth inning with a single because Ford slackened up a little against me, thinking that I was not dangerous. Devore beat out an infield hit, and Doyle bunted and was safe, filling the bases. Then Ford went to work. He struck out Snodgrass, and Hemphill caught Murray’s fly far too near the infield to permit me to try to score. It looked as if Ford were going to get out of the hole when “Al” Bridwell, the former Giant shortstop, came to the bat. Ford threw him two bad balls, and then McGraw ran out from the bench, and, with an autocratic finger, held up the game while he whispered into Bridwell’s ear.
“Al” nodded knowingly, and the whole thing was a pantomime, a wordless play, that made[Pg 24] Sumurun look like a bush-league production. Bridwell stepped back into the batter’s box, and McGraw returned to the bench. On the next pitch, “Al” was hit in the leg and went to first base, forcing the run that broke the tie across the plate. That run also broke Ford’s heart. And here is what McGraw whispered into the attentive ear of Bridwell:
“How many quail did you say you shot when you were hunting last fall, Al?”
John McGraw, the psychologist, baseball general and manager, had heard opportunity knock. With his fingers on the pulse of the game, he had felt the tenseness of the situation, and realized, all in the flash of an eye, that Ford was wabbling and that anything would push him over. He stopped the game and whispered into Bridwell’s ear while Ford was feeling more and more the intensity of the crisis. He had an opportunity to observe the three men on the bases. He wondered what McGraw was whispering, what trick was to be expected. Was he telling the batter to get hit? Yes, he must be. Then he did just that—hit the batter, and lost the game.
Why can certain pitchers always beat certain[Pg 25] clubs and why do they look like bush leaguers against others? To be concrete, why can Brooklyn fight Chicago so hard and look foolish playing against the Giants? Why can the Yankees take game after game from Detroit and be easy picking for the Cleveland club in most of their games? Why does Boston beat Marquard when he can make the hard Philadelphia hitters look like blind men with bats in their hands? Why could I beat Cincinnati game after game for two years when the club was filled with hard hitters? It is the psychology of baseball, the mental attitudes of the players, some intangible thing that works on the mind. Managers are learning to use this subtle, indescribable element which is such a factor.
The great question which confronts every Big League manager is how to break a valuable young pitcher into the game. “Rube” Marquard came to the Giants in the fall of 1908 out of the American Association heralded as a world-beater, with a reputation that shimmered and shone. The newspapers were crowded with stories of the man for whom McGraw had paid $11,000, who had been standing them on their heads in the West, who had curves that couldn’t be touched, and[Pg 26] was a bargain at the unheard-of price paid for him.
“Rube” Marquard came to the Giants in a burst of glory and publicity when the club was fighting for the pennant. McGraw was up against it for pitchers at that time, and one win, turned in by a young pitcher, might have resulted in the Giants winning the pennant as the season ended.
“Don’t you think Marquard would win? Can’t you put him in?” Mr. Brush, the owner of the club, asked McGraw one day when he was discussing the pitching situation with the manager.
“I don’t know,” answered McGraw. “If he wins his first time out in the Big Leagues, he will be a world-beater, and, if he loses, it may cost us a good pitcher.” But Mr. Brush was insistent. Here a big price had been paid for a pitcher with a record, and pitchers were what the club needed. The newspapers declared that the fans should get a look at this “$11,000 beauty” in action. A double header was scheduled to be played with the Cincinnati club in the month of September, in 1908, and the pitching staff was gone. McGraw glanced over his collection of crippled and[Pg 27] worked-out twirlers. Then he saw “Rube” Marquard, big and fresh.
“Go in and pitch,” he ordered after Marquard had warmed up.
McGraw always does things that way, makes up his mind about the most important matters in a minute and then stands by his judgment. Marquard went into the box, but he didn’t pitch much. He has told me about it since.
“When I saw that crowd, Matty,” he said, “I didn’t know where I was. It looked so big to me, and they were all wondering what I was going to do, and all thinking that McGraw had paid $11,000 for me, and now they were to find out whether he had gotten stuck, whether he had picked up a gold brick with the plating on it very thin. I was wondering, myself, whether I would make good.”
What Marquard did that day is a matter of record, public property, like marriage and death notices. Kane, the little rightfielder on the Cincinnati club, was the first man up, and, although he was one of the smallest targets in the league, Marquard hit him. He promptly stole second, which worried “Rube” some more. Up[Pg 28] came Lobert, the man who broke Marquard’s heart.
“Now we’ll see,” said Lobert to “Rube,” as he advanced to the plate, “whether you’re a busher.” Then Lobert, the tantalizing Teuton with the bow-legs, whacked out a triple to the far outfield and stopped at third with a mocking smile on his face which would have gotten the late Job’s goat.
“You’re identified,” said “Hans”; “you’re a busher.”
Some fan shouted the fatal “Take him out.” Marquard was gone. Bescher followed with another triple, and, after that, the official scorer got writer’s cramp trying to keep track of the hits and runs. The number of hits, I don’t think, ever was computed with any great amount of exactitude. Marquard was taken out of the box in the fifth inning, and he was two years recovering from the shock of that beating. McGraw had put him into the game against his better judgment, and he paid for it dearly.
Marquard had to be nursed along on the bench finishing games, starting only against easy clubs, and learning the ropes of the Big Leagues before [Pg 29]he was able to be a winning pitcher. McGraw was a long time realizing on his investment. All Marquard needed was a victory, a decisive win, over a strong club.
Photo by L. Van Oeyen, Cleveland, Ohio
Ty Cobb and Hans Wagner
“An American and National League star of the first magnitude. Fans of the rival leagues never tire of discussing the relative merits of these two great players. Both are always willing to take a chance, and seem to do their best work when pressed hardest.”
The Giants played a disastrous series with the Philadelphia club early in July, 1911, and lost four games straight. All the pitchers were shot to pieces, and the Quakers seemed to be unbeatable. McGraw was at a loss for a man to use in the fifth game. The weather was steaming hot, and the players were dragged out, while the pitching staff had lost all its starch. As McGraw’s eye scanned his bedraggled talent, Marquard, reading his thoughts, walked up to him.
“Give me a chance,” he asked.
“Go in,” answered McGraw, again making up his mind on the spur of the moment. Marquard went into the game and made the Philadelphia batters, whose averages had been growing corpulent on the pitching of the rest of the staff, look foolish. There on that sweltering July afternoon, when everything steamed in the blistering heat, a pitcher was being born again. Marquard had found himself, and, for the rest of the season, he was strongest against the Philadelphia team,[Pg 30] for it had been that club which restored his confidence.
There is a sequel to that old Lobert incident, too. In one of the last series in Philadelphia, toward the end of the season, Marquard and Lobert faced each other again. Said Marquard:
“Remember the time, you bow-legged Dutchman, when you asked me whether I was a busher? Here is where I pay you back. This is the place where you get a bad showing up.”
And he fanned Lobert—whiff! whiff! whiff!—like that. He became the greatest lefthander in the country, and would have been sooner, except for the enormous price paid for him and the widespread publicity he received, which caused him to be over-anxious to make good. It’s the psychology of the game.
“You can’t hit what you don’t see,” says “Joe” Tinker of Marquard’s pitching. “When he throws his fast one, the only way you know it’s past you is because you hear the ball hit the catcher’s glove.”
Fred Clarke, of the Pittsburg club, was up against the same proposition when he purchased “Marty” O’Toole for $22,500 in 1911. The[Pg 31] newspapers of the country were filled with figures and pictures of the real estate and automobiles that could be bought with the same amount of money, lined up alongside of pictures of O’Toole, as when the comparative strengths of the navies of the world are shown by placing different sizes of battleships in a row, or when the length of the Lusitania is emphasized by printing a picture of it balancing gracefully on its stern alongside the Singer Building.
Clarke realized that he had all this publicity with which to contend, and that it would do his expensive new piece of pitching bric-à-brac no good. O’Toole, jerked out of a minor league where he had been pitching quietly, along with his name in ten or a dozen papers, was suddenly a national figure, measuring up in newspaper space with Roosevelt and Taft and J. Johnson.
When O’Toole joined the Pirates near the end of the season, Clarke knew down in his heart the club had no chance of winning the pennant with Wagner hurt, although he still publicly declared he was in the race. He did not risk jumping O’Toole right into the game as soon as he reported and taking the chance of breaking his heart.[Pg 32] Opposing players, if they are up in the pennant hunt, are hard on a pitcher of this sort and would lose no opportunity to mention the price paid for him and connect it pointedly with his showing, if that showing was a little wobbly. Charity begins at home, and stays there, in the Big Leagues. At least, I never saw any of it on the ball fields, especially if the club is in the race, and the only thing that stands between it and a victory is the ruining of a $22,500 pitcher of a rival.
Clarke nursed O’Toole along on the bench for a couple of weeks until he got to be thoroughly acclimated, and then he started him in a game against Boston, the weakest club in the league, after he had sent for Kelly, O’Toole’s regular catcher, to inspire more confidence. O’Toole had an easy time of it at his Big League début, for the Boston players did not pick on him any to speak of, as they were not a very hard bunch of pickers. The Pittsburg team gave him a nice comfortable, cosy lead, and he was pitching along ahead of the game all the way. In the fifth or sixth inning Clarke slipped Gibson, the regular Pittsburg catcher, behind the bat, and O’Toole had won his first game in the Big League before he[Pg 33] knew it. He then reasoned I have won here. I belong here. I can get along here. It isn’t much different from the crowd I came from, except for the name, and that’s nothing to get timid about if I can clean up as easily as I did to-day.
Fred Clarke, also a psychologist and baseball manager, had worked a valuable pitcher into the League, and he had won his first game. If he had started him against some club like the Giants, for instance, where he would have had to face a big crowd and the conversation and spirit of players who were after a pennant and hot after it, he might have lost and his heart would have been broken. Successfully breaking into the game an expensive pitcher, who has cost a club a large price, is one of the hardest problems which confronts a manager. Now O’Toole is all right if he has the pitching goods. He has taken his initial plunge, and all he has to do is to make good next year. The psychology element is eliminated from now on.
I have been told that Clarke was the most relieved man in seven counties when O’Toole came through with that victory in Boston.
“I had in mind all the time,” said Fred, “what[Pg 34] happened to McGraw when he was trying to introduce Marquard into the smart set, and I was afraid the same thing would happen to me. I had a lot of confidence in the nerve of that young fellow though, because he stood up well under fire the first day he got into Pittsburg. One of those lady reporters was down to the club offices to meet him the morning he got into town, and they always kind of have me, an old campaigner, stepping away from the plate. She pulled her pad and pencil on Marty first thing, before he had had a chance to knock the dirt out of his cleats, and said:
“‘Now tell me about yourself.’
“He stepped right into that one, instead of backing away.
“‘What do you want me to tell?’ he asks her.
“Then I knew he was all right. He was there with the ‘come-back.’”
But the ideal way to break a star into the Big League is that which marked the entrance of Grover Cleveland Alexander, of the Philadelphia club. The Cincinnati club had had its eye on Alexander for some time, but “Tacks” Ashenbach, the scout, now dead, had advised against him, declaring that he would be no good against “regular[Pg 35] batters.” Philadelphia got him at the waiver price and he was among the lot in the newspapers marked “Those who also joined.” He started out in 1911 and won two or three games before anyone paid any attention to him. Then he kept on winning until one manager was saying to another:
“That guy, Alexander, is a hard one to beat.”
He had won ten or a dozen games before it was fully realized that he was a star. Then he was so accustomed to the Big League he acted as if he had been living in it all his life, and there was no getting on his nerves. When he started, he had everything to gain and nothing to lose. If he didn’t last, the newspapers wouldn’t laugh at him, and the people wouldn’t say:
“$11,000, or $22,500, for a lemon.” That’s the dread of all ball players.
Such is the psychology of introducing promising pitchers into the Big Leagues. The Alexander route is the ideal one, but it’s hard to get stars now without paying enormous prices for them. Philadelphia was lucky.
There is another element which enters into all forms of athletics. Tennis players call it nervousness, and ball players, in the frankness of the game,[Pg 36] call it a “yellow streak.” It is the inability to stand the gaff, the weakening in the pinches. It is something ingrained in a man that can’t be cured. It is the desire to quit when the situation is serious. It is different from stage fright, because a man may get over that, but a “yellow streak” is always with him. When a new player breaks into the League, he is put to the most severe test by the other men to see if he is “yellow.” If he is found wanting, he is hopeless in the Big League, for the news will spread, and he will receive no quarter. It is the cardinal sin in a ball player.
For some time after “Hans” Wagner’s poor showing in the world’s series of 1903, when the Pittsburg club was defeated for the World’s Championship by the Boston American League club, it was reported that he was “yellow.” This grieved the Dutchman deeply, for I don’t know a ball player in either league who would assay less quit to the ton than Wagner. He is always there and always fighting. Wagner felt the inference which his team mates drew very keenly. This was the real tragedy in Wagner’s career. Notwithstanding his stolid appearance, he is a sensitive[Pg 37] player, and this hurt him more than anything else in his life ever has.
When the Pittsburg club played Detroit in 1909 for the championship of the world, many, even of Wagner’s admirers, said, “The Dutchman will quit.” It was in this series he vindicated himself. His batting scored the majority of the Pittsburg runs, and his fielding was little short of wonderful. He was demonstrating his gameness. Many men would have quit under the reflection. They would have been unable to withstand the criticism, but not Wagner.
Many persons implied that John Murray, the rightfielder on the Giants, was “yellow” at the conclusion of the 1911 world’s series because, after batting almost three hundred in the season, he did not get a hit in the six games. But there isn’t a man on the team gamer. He hasn’t any nerves. He’s one of the sort of ball players who says:
“Well, now I’ve got my chew of tobacco in my mouth. Let her go.”
There is an interesting bit of psychology connected with Wagner and the spit-ball. It comes as near being Wagner’s “groove” as any curve that has found its way into the Big Leagues. This[Pg 38] is explained by the fact that the first time Wagner ever faced “Bugs” Raymond he didn’t get a hit with Arthur using the spitter. Consequently the report went around the circuit that Wagner couldn’t hit the spit-ball. He disproved this theory against two or three spit-ball pitchers, but as long as Raymond remained in the League he had it on the hard-hitting Dutchman.
“Here comes a ‘spitter,’ Hans. Look out for it,” Raymond would warn Wagner, with a wide grin, and then he would pop up a wet one.
“Guess I’ll repeat on that dose, Hans; you didn’t like that one.”
And Wagner would get so worked up that he frequently struck out against “Bugs” when the rest of his club was hitting the eccentric pitcher hard. It was because he achieved the idea on the first day he couldn’t hit the spit-ball, and he wasn’t able to rid his mind of the impression. Many fans often wondered why Raymond had it on Wagner, the man whose only “groove” is a base on balls. “Bugs” had the edge after that first day when Wagner lost confidence in his ability to hit the spit-ball as served by Raymond.
In direct contrast to this loss of confidence on[Pg 39] Wagner’s part was the incident attendant upon Arthur Devlin’s début into the Big League. He had joined the club a youngster, in the season of 1904, and McGraw had not counted upon him to play third base, having planned to plant Bresnahan at that corner. But Bresnahan developed sciatic rheumatism early in the season, and Devlin was put on the bag in the emergency with a great deal of misgiving.
The first day he was in the game he came up to the bat with the bases full. The Giants were playing Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds, and two men had already struck out, with the team two runs behind. Devlin came out from the bench.
“Who is this youthful-looking party?” one fan asked another, as they scanned their score cards.
“Devlin, some busher, taking Bresnahan’s place,” another answered.
“Well, it’s all off now,” was the general verdict.
The crowd settled back, and one could feel the lassitude in the atmosphere. But Devlin had his first chance to make good in a pinch. There was no weariness in his manner. Poole, the Brooklyn pitcher, showing less respect than he should have for the newcomer in baseball society, spilled one[Pg 40] over too near the middle, and Arthur drove out a home run, winning the game. Those who had refused to place any confidence in him only a moment before, were on their feet cheering wildly now. And Devlin played third base for almost eight years after that, and none thought of Bresnahan and his rheumatism until he began catching again. Devlin, after that home run, was oozing confidence from every pore and burned up the League with his batting for three years. He got the old confidence from his start. The fans had expected nothing from him, and he had delivered. He had gained everything. He had made the most dramatic play in baseball on his first day, a home run with the bases full.
When Fred Snodgrass first started playing as a regular with the Giants about the middle of the season of 1910, he hit any ball pitched him hard and had all the fans marvelling at his stick work. He believed that he could hit anything and, as long as he retained that belief, he could.
But the Chalmers Automobile Company had offered a prize of one nice, mild-mannered motor car to the batter in either league who finished the season with the biggest average.
[Pg 41]Snodgrass was batting over four hundred at one time and was ahead of them all when suddenly the New York evening papers began to publish the daily averages of the leaders for the automobile, boosting Snodgrass. It suddenly struck Fred that he was a great batter and that to keep his place in that daily standing he would have to make a hit every time he went to the plate. These printed figures worried him. His batting fell off miserably until, in the post season series with the Yankees, he gave one of the worst exhibitions of any man on the team. The newspapers did it.
“They got me worrying about myself,” he told me once. “I began to think how close I was to the car and had a moving picture of myself driving it. That settled it.”
Many promising young players are broken in their first game in the Big League by the ragging which they are forced to undergo at the hands of veteran catchers. John Kling is a very bad man with youngsters, and sometimes he can get on the nerves of older players in close games when the nerves are strung tight. The purpose of a catcher in talking to a man in this way is to distract his attention from batting, and once this is [Pg 42]accomplished he is gone. A favorite trick of a catcher is to say to a new batter:
“Look out for this fellow. He’s got a mean ‘bean’ ball, and he hasn’t any influence over it. There’s a poor ‘boob’ in the hospital now that stopped one with his head.”
Then the catcher signs for the pitcher to throw the next one at the young batter’s head. If he pulls away, an unpardonable sin in baseball, the dose is repeated.
“Yer almost had your foot in the water-pail over by the bench that time,” says the catcher.
Bing! Up comes another “beaner.” Then, after the catcher has sized the new man up, he makes his report.
“He won’t do. He’s yellow.”
And the players keep mercilessly after this shortcoming, this ingrained fault which, unlike a mechanical error, cannot be corrected until the new player is driven out of the League. Perhaps the catcher says:
“He’s game, that guy. No scare to him.”
After that he is let alone. It’s the psychology of batting.
Once, when I first broke into the League, Jack[Pg 43] Chesbro, then with Pittsburg, threw a fast one up, and it went behind my head, although I tried to dodge back. He had lots of speed in those days, too. It set me wondering what would have happened if the ball had hit me. The more I thought, the more it struck me that it would have greatly altered my face had it gotten into the course of the ball. Ever afterwards, he had it on me, and, for months, a fast one at the head had me backing away from the plate.
In contrast to this experience of mine was the curing of “Josh” Devore, the leftfielder of the Giants, of being bat shy against left-handers. Devore has always been very weak at the bat with a southpaw in the box, dragging his right foot away from the plate. This was particularly the case against “Slim” Sallee, the tenuous southpaw of the St. Louis Nationals. Finally McGraw, exasperated after “Josh” had struck out twice in one day, said:
“That fellow hasn’t got speed enough to bend a pane of glass at the home plate throwing from the box, and you’re pullin’ away as if he was shooting them out of a gun. It’s a crime to let him beat you. Go up there the next time and[Pg 44] get hit, and see if he can hurt you. If you don’t get hit, you’re fined $10.”
Devore, who is as fond of $10 as the next one, went to the bat and took one of Sallee’s slants in a place where it would do the least damage. He trotted to first base smiling.
“What’d I tell you?” asked McGraw, coaching. “Could he hurt you?”
“Say,” replied “Josh,” “I’d hire out to let them pitch baseballs at me if none could throw harder than that guy.”
Devore was cured of being bat shy when Sallee was pitching, right then and there, and he has improved greatly against all left-handers ever since, so much so that McGraw leaves him in the game now when a southpaw pitches, instead of placing Beals Becker in left field as he used to. All Devore needed was the confidence to stand up to the plate against them, to rid his mind of the idea that, if once he got hit, he would leave the field feet first. That slam in the slats which Sallee handed him supplied the confidence.
When Devore was going to Philadelphia for the second game of the world’s series in the fall of 1911, the first one in the other town, he was [Pg 45]introduced to “Ty” Cobb, the Detroit out-fielder, by some newspaper man on the train, and, as it was the first time Devore had ever met Cobb, he sat down with him and they talked all the way over.
“Gee,” said “Josh” to me, as we were getting off the train, “that fellow Cobb knows a lot about batting. He told me some things about the American League pitchers just now, and he didn’t know he was doing it. I never let on. But I just hope that fellow Plank works to-day, if they think that I am weak against left-handers. Say, Matty, I could write a book about that guy and his ‘grooves’ now, after buzzing Cobb, and the funny thing is he didn’t know he was telling me.”
Plank pitched that day and fanned Devore four times out of a possible four. “Josh” didn’t even get a foul off him.
“Thought you knew all about that fellow,” I said to Devore after the game.
“I’ve learned since that Cobb and he are pretty thick,” replied “Josh,” “and I guess ‘Ty’ was giving me a bad steer.”
It was evident that Cobb had been filling “Josh” up with misinformation that was working around in Devore’s mind when he went to the[Pg 46] plate to face Plank, and, instead of being open to impressions, these wrong opinions had already been planted and he was constantly trying to confirm them. Plank was crossing him all the time, and, being naturally weak against left-handers, this additional handicap made Devore look foolish.
In the well-worn words of Mr. Dooley, it has been my experience “to trust your friends, but cut the cards.” By that, I mean one ball player will often come to another with a tip that he really thinks worth while, but that avails nothing in the end. A man has to be a pretty smart ball player to dispense accurate information about others, because the Big Leaguers know their own “grooves” and are naturally trying to cover them up. Then a batter may be weak against one pitcher on a certain kind of a ball, and may whale the same sort of delivery, with a different twist to it, out of the lot against another.
That was the experience I had with “Ed” Delehanty, the famous slugger of the old Philadelphia National League team, who is now dead. During my first year in the League several well-meaning advisers came to me and said:
“Don’t give ‘Del’ any high fast ones because,[Pg 47] if you do, you will just wear your fielders out worse than a George M. Cohan show does the chorus. They will think they are in a Marathon race instead of a ball game.”
Being young, I took this advice, and the first time I pitched against Delehanty, I fed him curved balls. He hit these so far the first two times he came to bat that one of the balls was never found, and everybody felt like shaking hands with Van Haltren, the old Giant outfielder, when he returned with the other, as if he had been away on a vacation some place. In fact, I had been warned against giving any of this Philadelphia team of sluggers high fast ones, and I had been delivering a diet of curves to all of them which they were sending to the limits of the park and further, with great regularity. At last, when Delehanty came to the bat for the third time in the game, Van Haltren walked into the box from the outfield and handed the ball to me, after he had just gone to the fence to get it. Elmer Flick had hit it there.
“Matty,” he pleaded, “for the love of Mike, slip this fellow a base on balls and let me get my wind.”
Instead I decided to switch my style, and I fed[Pg 48] Delehanty high fast ones, the dangerous dose, and he struck out then and later. He wasn’t expecting them and was so surprised that he couldn’t hit the ball. Only two of the six balls at which he struck were good ones. I found out afterwards that the tradition about not delivering any high fast balls to the Philadelphia hitters was the outgrowth of the old buzzer tipping service, established in 1899, by which the batters were informed what to expect by Morgan Murphy, located in the clubhouse with a pair of field-glasses and his finger on a button which worked a buzzer under the third-base coaching box. The coacher tipped the batter off what was coming and the signal-stealing device had worked perfectly. The hitters had all waited for the high fast ones in those days, as they can be hit easier if a man knows that they are coming, and can also be hit farther.
But, after the buzzer had been discovered and the delivery of pitchers could not be accurately forecast, this ability to hit high fast ones vanished, but not the tradition. The result was that this Philadelphia club was getting a steady diet of curves and hitting them hard, not expecting anything else. When I first pitched against [Pg 49]Delehanty, his reputation as a hitter gave him a big edge on me. Therefore I was willing to take any kind of advice calculated to help me, but eventually I had to find out for myself. If I had taken a chance on mixing them up the first time he faced me, I still doubt if he would have made those two long hits, but it was his reputation working in my mind and the idea that he ate up high fast balls that prevented me from taking the risk.
Each pitcher has to find out for himself what a man is going to hit. It’s all right to take advice at first, but, if this does not prove to be the proper prescription, it’s up to him to experiment and not continue to feed him the sort of balls that he is hitting.
Reputations count for a great deal in the Big Leagues. Cobb has a record as being a great base runner, and I believe that he steals ten bases a season on this reputation. The catcher knows he is on the bag, realizes that he is going to steal, fears him, hurries his throw, and, in his anxiety, it goes bad. Cobb is safe, whereas, if he had been an ordinary runner with no reputation, he would probably have been thrown out. Pitchers who have made names for themselves[Pg 50] in the Big Leagues, have a much easier time winning as a consequence.
“All he’s got to do is to throw his glove into the box to beat that club,” is an old expression in baseball, which means that the opposing batters fear the pitcher and that his reputation will carry him through if he has nothing whatever on the ball.
Newspapers work on the mental attitude of Big League players. This has been most marked in Cincinnati, and I believe that the local newspapers have done as much as anything to keep a pennant away from that town. When the team went south for the spring practice, the newspapers printed glowing reports of the possibilities of the club winning the pennant, but, when the club started to fall down in the race, they would knock the men, and it would take the heart out of the players. Almost enough good players have been let go by the Cincinnati team to make a world’s championship club. There are Donlin, Seymour, Steinfeldt, Lobert and many more. Ball players inhale the accounts printed in the newspapers, and a correspondent with a grouch has ruined the prospects of many a good player and club. The New York newspapers, first by the great amount[Pg 51] of publicity given to his old record, and then by criticising him for not making a better showing, had a great deal to do with Marquard failing to make good the first two years he was in New York, as I have shown.
A smart manager in the Big League is always working to keep his valuable stars in the right frame of mind. On the last western trip the Giants made in the season of 1911, when they won the pennant by taking eighteen games out of twenty-two games, McGraw refused to permit any of the men to play cards. He realized that often the stakes ran high and that the losers brooded over the money which they lost and were thinking of this rather than the game when on the ball field. It hurt their playing, so there were no cards. He also carried “Charley” Faust, the Kansas Jinx killer, along to keep the players amused and because it was thought that he was good luck. It helped their mental attitude.
The treatment of a new player when he first arrives is different now from what it was in the old days. Once there was a time when the veteran looked upon the recruit with suspicion and the feeling that he had come to take his job and his[Pg 52] bread and butter from him. If a young pitcher was put into the box, the old catcher would do all that he could to irritate him, and many times he would inform the batters of the other side what he was going to throw.
“He’s tryin’ to horn my friend Bill out of a job,” I have heard catchers charge against a youngster.
This attitude drove many a star ball player back to the minors because he couldn’t make good under the adverse circumstances, but nothing of the sort exists now. Each veteran does all that he can to help the youngster, realizing that on the younger generation depends the success of the club, and that no one makes any money by being on a loser. Travelling with a tail-end ball club is the poorest pastime in the world. I would rather ride in the first coach of a funeral procession.
The youngster is treated more courteously now when he first arrives. In the old days, the veterans of the club sized up the recruit and treated him like a stranger for days, which made him feel as if he were among enemies instead of friends, and, as a result, it was much harder for him to make good. Now all hands make him a companion[Pg 53] from the start, unless he shows signs of being unusually fresh.
There is a lot to baseball in the Big Leagues besides playing the game. No man can have a “yellow streak” and last. He must not pay much attention to his nerves or temperament. He must hide every flaw. It’s all part of the psychology of baseball. But the saddest words of all to a pitcher are three—“Take Him Out.”
big west swell lines stacking up outside....
and one of the best big lefthanders i've ever seen here on the inside
Kenneth George Boswell (b. February 23, 1946) is a former professional baseball player. He was a second baseman over parts of 11 seasons (1967–1977) with the New York Mets and Houston Astros. Boswell was a member of the 1969 World Series champion Mets.
He was a sure-handed second baseman who possessed only limited range. A left-handed batter, he became an excellent pinch-hitter with the Houston Astros when his playing days with the New York Mets came to an end after the 1974 season.
In the 1969 National League Championship Series, Boswell hit 2 home runs in the Mets' three-game sweep of the Braves. However, Wayne Garrett got to be starter in the 1969 World Series, with Boswell only starting Game Three against Jim Palmer, going 1 for 3 with a run scored, as the Baltimore Orioles started lefthanders Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally in the other four games. In 1973, the Mets acquired Felix Millan to play second base, and Boswell became a pinch-hitting specialist. He tied a record with three pinch hits in the World Series. After the 1974 season, he was traded to the Astros in return for OF Bob Gallagher
MLB debut - September 18, 1967, for the New York Mets
Last MLB appearance - October 1, 1977, for the Houston Astros
MLB statistics:
Batting average - .248
Home runs - 31
RBI - 244
Teams:
New York Mets (1967–1974)
Houston Astros (1975–1977)
Career highlights and awards:
World Series champion (1969)
Link to all of his issued baseball cards - www.tradingcarddb.com/Person.cfm/pid/606/col/1/yea/0/Ken-...
The KOM League Flash Report
For week of
April 17 thru 23, 2016
A slight departure:
Most of the time I ignore stories or obituaries from the major league scene. I figure there are experts who handle that kind material and that by the time my reports come out that would be old news. However, with the recent death of Mike Sandlock www.google.com/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=mike...
it propelled Edwin Carnett www.google.com/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=mike...
to the top of the list as the oldest former big league player. That wouldn’t have made news in this publication had I not had a note from Barry McMahon in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada. The back and forth went like this. In his first e-mail McMahon mentioned the Sandlock issue and noted that he had a letter received from Carnett back in 1985 when the old ballplayer was living at Lebanon, Mo. I related to McMahon that I had met Carnett, in 1995, at a reunion of former Ponca City players from the Western Association, KOM and Sooner State leagues. McMahon surmised that I had met many former players, over the years, and my remark was “When you are as old as I am, you’re bound to have met a few people.”
At the Ponca City event Carnett approached me and said he’d like to talk with me because I was doing my first book at the time. As it turned out our scheduled meeting didn’t take place for one of those “emergencies” arose and I had to get out of Ponca City in a hurry.
Over the past few years I have received as much, or maybe even more, information on former Pacific Coast league players, from McMahon, than I have accumulated on former KOM leaguers.
Although Eddie Carnett graduated from Ponca City, OK High School he was a Missouri boy. His father was born at Marshfield, Mo. and later became a regional manager for Metropolitan Life Insurance. His dad served in Lebanon and Springfield, Mo. and then worked for "Mother Met" in Enid, Ponca City and Tulsa, OK. I was an agent for Metropolitan, in Tulsa, in 1963. So, Carnett's dad paved the way for one of my jobs. Jesse, was his father’s name, and is buried at Russ which is south of Lebanon. I imagine that will be Eddie's final resting place.
Unlike most of my reports I’m going to leave out a lot of the “filler” material that McMahon and Yours truly send back and forth. Carnett played for Ponca City after graduating from high school in 1935 and by 1936 he had made it to Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast league after performing most of that second season at Ponca City. He returned to Los Angeles in 1938 and that is where the human interest story comes in.
In a very nice handwriting style, Carnett shared this story with McMahon in 1985. “It was interesting to hear about old Sick’s Stadium (Seattle) and Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. They bring back lots of fond memories. Besides baseball another memory flashes back to me while playing in Los Angeles in 1938. A young man approached me one night early in the season and introduced himself. We spent many times having dinner at the old ‘Wichstand’ at the corner of Santa Barbara and Figueroa Sts. in L. A.. I always left a ticket at the ball park for him as he was having a hard time getting started as an extra actor in Hollywood. Many years later this young man became a star and I finally remembered from a note that his name was Richard Alban. But. later he went under the name of ‘Ricardo Montalban.’ (Fantasy Island) Back in those days all the movie stars came to the baseball games for exposure. There was no television then.”
Well, that is another story you wouldn’t have been apt to have known had it not been for Barry McMahon, so I thank him for sharing the material three times before it ever made it into a KOM Flash Report. For the youngsters who never heard of Richard Alban or Ricardo Montalban you can check him out right here: www.google.com/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=Rich... As the URL indicates, Montalban had a long life. However, if Eddie Carnett lives until October 16 of this year he’ll make the century mark.
In a bit of trivia the second oldest living former big leaguer, Carl Miles, also lives in Missouri at Trenton. But, you all know that or have a way of finding out. The trivia question to ponder this week is who were the other two Ponca City High School graduates to play major league baseball? Here’s a hint, only one of them was born in Ponca City. The other one was born in Alabama and died in Cuba. The Cuba, however, is in Missouri. This guy even had KOM league experience at the close of his career. Get those guesses in to be considered for the trivia championship. Actually, the question shouldn’t even cause anyone, with a computer, to break a sweat in solving.
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The Rose Bank School photo.
In the last issue of this seldom read publication the photo of where some of the Boyer brothers attended grade school was shown. It was mentioned that if anyone would like to have the identity of the student athletes, the names would be shared. Well, less than a thousand people responded to that offer so I’m sending along the names to the faces shown at the Flickr site last week. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/25708676133/
Rose Bank School
District 17-Jasper County, MO—Taken in 1939
Front Row: L-R: Kenton Boyer, Ray Dell Coss, Lynn Brown, Milton Wayne Boyer, Leonard Brown, Harold Martin and Royden Laverne Coss (Ray's brother.)
Back Row: Carl Parker-Teacher, Charles Buford Coss (cousin to Royden. and Ray Coss), Cloyd Boyer, Dale Moore and Walter Comstock.
Photos from the John Hall Collection--1709 Rainwood Place--Columbia, MO 65203 Tel: 573 445-8125. Used by permission.
In viewing the photograph keep in mind this was a grade school baseball team. The members ranged in class range from the third to eighth grade. Think back in your life. That grade span seemed to be ‘”forever.” But, to have a team in small country grade schools they had to include all ages. From that group of eleven boys, five of them played professional baseball. They were Kenny, Wayne and Cloyd Boyer, Ray and Royden Coss and Dale Moore. Of that group only Royden Coss and Kenny Boyer missed playing in the KOM league. However, both Royden Coss and Kenny Boyer signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Dale Moore was signed by the New York Yankees and spent a little time on the 1947 Independence, Kansas roster.
Not by popular demand, but due to it being too wet to mow or roto-till on a cool spring morning, I cooked up a brief bowl of stew on each of those in the aforementioned photo.
Kenton Lloyd Boyer:
Born May 20, 1931 Liberty, MO
Died: September 7, 1982 St. Louis, MO
It would insult most of my readers to talk about his baseball career since most know about it and one reader wrote a great book on the subject. So, the Internet is there for you to look up his life.
Okay, I give in. Here is a link to make life easier for the interested. www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am...
Ray Dell Coss
Born: July 1, 1929 Oronogo, MO
Died: April 7, 2014 Cossville, MO
Ray was a friend for over 20 years and supplied me with most of the knowledge I have of early baseball in Alba. He took me to see the Alba Aces founder, Buford Cooper, who supplied many photos of that era.
Ray Coss obituary: Ray Dell Coss, 84, of Cossville, Missouri, passed away peacefully April 8, 2014. He was born July 1, 1929 in Cossville, MO to Royden and Frances Coss.
Ray grew up in Cossville attending the Rose Bank School. After graduating high school, he played baseball for the Carthage Cardinals in the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri league from 1946 - 1947. His baseball career continued in the Shreveport Baseball Club in Monroe, LA, from 1947 - 1950. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served during the Korean Conflict from 1951 to 1953. He began working for General Motors Acceptance Corp. in 1956 in Monroe, LA. He worked for GMAC in various locations throughout north Louisiana, retiring in 1989 after 33 years service in Shreveport, LA. He was very active in the Central Christian Church in Shreveport, LA. His passions included Saint Louis Cardinals baseball and golf. He is one of few golfers to achieve a hole-in-one.
Ray is preceded in death by his parents, Royden and Frances Coss of Cossville. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lynn Swope Coss, currently of Cossville. He leaves behind four children, Karen Limbird and her husband Mark of Scranton, AR, Carey Coss of Nashville, TN, David Coss of Cossville, MO, and Laurin Coss of Sarasota, FL. He also has four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A graveside service will be conducted at Nashville Cemetery Thursday, April 10 at 2:00. Rev. Bob Simon will officiate. Arrangements are under the direction of Parker Mortuary (417)623-4321.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research or Avalon Hospice of Joplin.
Ed note: Exception to the obituary is taken by what Ray revealed to me in 1996. We had gone to visit Buford Cooper the founder of the Alba Aces. On the way back to Pittsburg, Kansas we passed by a road that led to Oronogo. At that time Ray said he was born in that old mining town. Legend has it that the mining company paid off their workers in company script. Local businesses didn’t take the script and wanted something of value and their motto was “Ore-or-no-go.”
If you care to see how Ray Coss appeared at age 10 and then at 84 look at the 1939 Rose Bank School photo and then the one that accompanied his obituary at: www.parkermortuary.com/home/index.cfm?action=public%3Aobi...
Lynn Brown and Leonard Brown:
As the photograph indicates they were twins. They were born in September 2, 1927 in the Township of South West which is located in Southwest Barton County, MO. That is east of Pittsburg, KS and North of Alba, Mo. The county seat of Barton County is Lamar which is where Harry Truman was born. That is your history and geography lesson.
Opal Brown’s was the mother of the Lynn and Leonard. Her father was from Canada. There was another brother and sister who were four and two years older than the twins, respectively. Not much was ever found on the Brown boys after 1939. It appears they attended high school in Webb City, MO and in 1946 Leonard was cited in the high school yearbook as having served in WWII. It was on a Memorial page that caused me to wonder if he had been killed in action. However, a check of WWII casualties didn’t indicate he was killed or injured.
Milton Wayne Boyer
Born: 1929 in Washington Twp. Clay County, MO near Liberty, MO
Graduated from Alba High School in 1947 and signed by Runt Marr to a St. Louis Cardinal contract. Pitched for the Carthage Cardinals in 1947.
Wayne graduated from the UMKC School of Dentistry. An institution that was a forerunner to that institution was the Western Missouri School of Dentistry where Charles Dillon “Casey” Stengel attended before going solely with baseball. Here is a citation for the history of “Learning Centers to Fix Teeth in Kansas City.” (My title for the school) library.umkc.edu/lc/dental-history
When the Boyer brothers were making headlines in big league baseball the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune covered the events due to Wayne being a dentist in that city. Here are a couple of items from the October 7, 1964 edition of that publication.
ST. LOUIS -Clete Boyar of the New York Yankees poses at Buseh Stadium in St. Louis with his brother, Ken, of the St. Louis Cardinals. The two teams opened World Series action Wednesday with the Boyer brothers holding down third base for their respective teams. Dr. Milton Boyer, a Kokomo dentist, and brother of the two men is in St. Louis for the series and will.see the games scheduled for New York later this week.
(AP Wirephoto) Who's on "Third Is Top Series in interest to Kokomo's Boyers-- By BOB FORD Tribune Sports Editor : Kokomo dentist Dr. .Milton Wayne Boyer and his wife Lois are in St. Louis for the start of the 1964 World Series. But they find it hard to choose a favorite. Dr. Boyer's brothers, Ken and Clete, will be facing each other in the World Series for the first time. Ken is the slugging third baseman for the St. Louis Cards; Clete's glove at the hot corner helped carry the Yanks into their fifth straight series. 'I wish they both could win," ·Dr. Boyer said, "but since I know it's impossible, I guess I'd rather see Kenny and the Cards win. Clete already has his World Series ring, and Ken doesn't have." The Kokomo Boyers flew to St. Louis Wednesday, morning to join the rest of .the family for what will be a joyous .reunion. They have never seen Ken and Clete on the field at the same time. On hand for the Series will be Mom and Dad Boyer, and all seven Boyer boys, five of whom are in organized baseball.. .All seven have played baseball at one time or another. Wayne, the second-oldest gave, up what appeared to be promising baseball career to become a dentist. Cloyd, the oldest, is a pitching coach in the Yankees' minor league system. He spent his last year as an active player with-the Indianapolis Indians. Dr. Boyer and Lynn, the third-youngest, are the only lefthanders in the family.
Harold Gene Martin
Born: May 12, 1932 Cass Township in Texas County, Mo. Trying to find a town close to where he was born was tough. The villages in that area are; Solo, Simmons, Tyrone, Grogan and Elk Creek. So I settled on Cabool, as the nearest large city. Everyone has heard of Cabool.
Further investigation shows Harold’s father, Archie, lived in Tyronne and moved to Cabool. On Christmas Eve of 1927 Archie and a girl by the first name of Golda, from Houston, MO, were married at Grove, OK. They went back to Texas County where they had two sons before moving to Jasper County in 1936. The elder Martin was a home builder.
Died: November 4, 1999 Joplin, Missouri.
This is his Find-A-Grave site: www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=77176975
Royden Laverne Coss
Born: January 27, 1928 Oronogo, MO
Currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
His occupation was that of an Engineer.
Carl Marion Parker
Born: November 4, 1919 Joplin, MO
Died: January 23, 2005 Daleville, AL and was buried at Ozark Memorial Cemetery in Joplin.
Carl was the youngest of eight children. By the time he was 20-years-old he was teaching at the Rosebank School.
When Carl was nine years, 1928, old his father, Lewis, died leaving eight children for his wife, Edna, to raise. Lewis worked in the lead and zinc mines in that area which led to the premature deaths of many men. He was a foreman for the Waco Mining Company during most of his later life and the family lived on R. R. #1 which carried a Webb City post office address.
During WWII Carl served in the Army Air Corps and attained the rank of Sergeant which is supported in the forthcoming URL.
This is a link to his grave site. Tombstone indicates he was a Mason. www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=103791...
Charles Buford Coxs
This link is the best documentation I have on any of the deceased members of the Redbank students of 1939. www.legacy.com/obituaries/examiner-enterprise/obituary.as... For the rest of you, without the link, you’ll only miss his photo in the following. “Buford Coss passed away Monday, November 9, 2015. Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, November 12, 2015 at East Cross United Methodist Church in Bartlesville, OK with Rev. Jeff Burress officiating. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Walker-Brown Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Buford Coss to: Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 300 NE 18th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
Charles Buford Coss was born August 20, 1927 in Oronogo, MO to Arthur and Marie (Harmon) Coss. Buford graduated from Neodesha Kansas High School and entered the US Navy as a seaman at the end of WWII and was discharged in July of 1946.
Buford married Thelma Marie Black on January 21, 1951 in Neodesha, KS. He started his career in accounting and worked up to General Manager of Independent Mfg. Co. in Neodesha. Buford & Thelma then went to Claremore, OK to become owners of the Coast to Coast Hardware Store. Buford was an accomplished artisan as a hobbyist woodworker. He was a devoted, kind, and loving husband, father, and grandfather to his family. Always positive in outlook, he brought out the best in everyone by his encouragement and patience.
Buford is survived by his wife, Thelma. Two sons: Clifford Coss and wife Nancy of Olathe, KS; Clayton Coss of Wagoner, OK. Daughter, Colleen Little and husband Randy of Harrah, OK. Buford was blessed with four grandchildren: Sara, David and wife Jen, Gabriel, and Katie. He is also survived by brother, Verlie Coss and wife Linda; sister, Alene Denney and husband Dean, along with numerous nieces, nephews and many friends.
Ed note: Buford’s mother lived to be 101 years-of-age.
Cloyd Victor Boyer
Born: September 12, 1927 Duvall, MO
He still lives in the same area as his birth and the address is listed as a Jasper, MO R. R.
I have visited with Cloyd at his home and it is just south of Baseline Road that stretches from from old Missouri highway71, now I-49, on the east and highway 171, on the west that goes north out of Joplin to Pittsburg, Kansas.
If you are interested in more about the baseball career of this former KOM leaguer it can be found, in abundance on the Internet.
Here is a site that will entertain you for as long as your attention span allows: www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am...
Raymond Dale Moore
Born: April 3, 1927 Duval Twp. Mo
Signed by the Independence, KS Yankees in 1947.
Spoke to him in 2013 and he was retired and living in Springfield, Mo. He was the older brother of Ardell Moore, who I knew very well. Both the Moore brothers were in agricultural related businesses. Ardell operated a grain mill just east of Alba, north of Carthage and south of Jasper. Raymond Dale was in a similar line of work. Raymond had his 89th birthday just a week after I penned this article.
Walter Comstock
Born: 1927 Duvall Twp. Missouri
Around 1932 his father passed away and his mother, Nancy, married Calvin Storm of Jasper, MO. in 1933. The family lived at Oronogo, MO in 1935.
No further trace of Mr. Comstock has been found.
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Old ball gloves
Mention, and even better yet, photos of old baseball gloves bring back memories to oldsters when they were youngsters. The catcher’s mitt that Mickey Owen gave Joe Garagiola, who sold it to Oscar “Pappy” Walterman, who in turn gave it to the guy who writes this report, got a lot of attention.
Always wanting to seize the moment I shared a photo of an old baseball mitt Gabby Street gave Robert Dale of Carthage, in 1930, following his leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a pennant and World Series title. I dug that old glove out of the archives and am sharing a couple of photos of it with this report. It is on the Flickr at:
The letter with the glove: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/26160180330/
The old tattered glove: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/25828154094/
Backside of tattered glove: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/26433053575/i
The bird dog insignia on strap: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/26433064075/
To go along with the photo I prepared a bit of narrative which follows:
*****
History of the baseball glove Gabby Street gave Robert Dale in October of 1930 who gave it to John G. Hall of Columbia, MO on March 30, 1994. Robert Dale was the son of E. L. Dale who was one of the founders and long term president of the KOM league.
*
At one time Plymouth, New Hampshire residents thought about baseball year round. For many locals, baseball was their livelihood and they made thousands of baseballs at the D & M Baseball Factory.
In the late 1800s to the early part of the 1900s, Plymouth was synonymous with baseball glove manufacturing. Over the years, the high quality gloves manufactured by the D & M gained such popularity that baseball giant Babe Ruth traveled to Plymouth and posed for publicity photos stitching a baseball glove and hobnobbing with local officials.
According to information at www.nhhistory.org, Jason F. Draper and John Maynard began business together in Ashland, NH in 1881 by producing buckskin gloves.
It seemed a natural progression from gloves to baseball gloves. The businessmen had a suggestion from a baseball player that they should design a padded glove specifically for baseball. Soon the factory was off and running; some information says the D & M was the first-ever company to produce baseball gloves. They were very popular and in its heyday, the D & M produced a huge quantity of baseball gloves.
A move to Ashland provided the company with a new and bigger factory, and by the late 1800s the D & M employed over 200 workers. Surely local residents appreciated the business because it brought much-needed employment to the area.
The new factory was started in a lot on Plymouth’s North Main Street. Soon a three-story, 100-foot building rose above the downtown Plymouth area. This new space allowed Draper and Maynard to expand their sporting goods line even further, and by 1905 the company was considered a leading manufacturer in northern New England, with an annual income of about $275,000. For a small town such as Plymouth, this prosperity meant jobs and a boost to the local economy.
At that time, the sport of baseball gaining in popularity, but the game was played a bit differently then: catchers didn’t have the padded luxury of today’s baseball gloves. Instead the players used thin leather gloves, which must have proven painful in catching a fastball.
The idea for the baseball glove revolutionized the sport, and spilled over into other sports as well, when the D & M began making padded boxing gloves and other padded leather sporting goods. Another trademark was adopted as well, according to www.nhhistory.org, depicting Maynard’s bird dog, Nick (the “Lucky Dog”).
Although a fire completely destroyed the factory in 1910, D & M workers continued to produce baseball gloves and other products in makeshift headquarters until a new, even larger factory was completed on the same lot.
A cottage industry grew out of the baseball factory and women sewed baseballs for D & M from their homes. This increased production met the demand from the national baseball leagues that needed hundreds of baseballs each year. During the 1920s better than 90 percent of all major league players used D & M gloves and mitts, as well as the company’s balls and bats. Also produced were footballs and basketballs, popular items as the sports grew and many schools and colleges offered football and basketball.
Not long after, Plymouth became famous when Red Sox players visited the factory and picked out their own gloves and balls. Whenever a player visited town, crowds gathered and excitement was in the air.
The most thrilling for New Hampshire was the day Babe Ruth came to town, with journalists and photographers in tow. Many locals lined up for autographs and indulgent parents let children stay home from school in hopes of meeting the Babe Ruth.
Jason Draper died around 1913, and John Maynard continued to run the business until his death in the 1930s. Although Maynard had retired as president in 1930, he was still active as a director and helped the company with expansion of distribution branches in New York City and San Francisco, as well as launching a second factory in Canada.
A few months after Maynard’s death when P. Goldsmith Sons, a Cincinnati, Ohio competitor purchased the rights to produce sporting goods bearing the Draper-Maynard name and Lucky Dog trademark. Goldsmith stopped manufacturing Draper-Maynard products in 1962 when the company merged with MacGregor Sporting Goods.
However, baseball players throughout the country remembered the high-quality D & M equipment that helped them achieve fame and lifted the sport of baseball to new highs.
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News from 1949 Carthage Cubs
It seems to me that things happen to appear on my computer or I get other messages from people in order who played on the same team. For example I heard from two people telling me about a catcher and first baseman for the 1949 Carthage Cubs within minutes of each other. Neither of the former Carthage Cubs were doing the communicating as one doesn’t have a computer and the other is nursing a right arm after surgery.
With that bit of build-up out of the way here are the messages:
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Those pictures are so good of the kids and also the others that came up. I looked till we have to leave for a Wood Carvers monthly meeting. I am the designated driver since Bob has his right arm in a sling following right shoulder surgery on the 22nd. He is doing very well, actually had no pain which we understand is very rare after shoulder surgery. We had so many people praying for him and the Dr. don't know why we are surprised! He is in PT twice a week and will wear the sling for a few more weeks and PT for a few months. He is a good patient and does what the Dr tells him which is a big relief for me. Me being his driver may put him over the edge....but so far, so good. Thanks for the pictures. Joan Speake—Topeka, Kans,
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Hello John, I print your email reports and forward them to Hal Brown. He reads and saves all the them. I also enjoy reading your reports and the history of those who played in the KOM league. I can almost picture myself being there and playing with those you write about. Keep up the stories of those who you knew and have had contact with all these years, they are enjoyed.
Thank you. Jim Gray—Jim lives in Chicagoland and is the courier, as the e-mail denotes, with Hal Brown who caught for the 1949 Carthage Cubs when Dean Manns didn’t.
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This week’s word from Bernie Gerl
Have you ever seen this .a story must have happened to another catcher. In Duluth first hitter hit pop fly I caught, 1 out, next hit another l caught 2 out. Next hitter hit one up between our pitcher and third baseman. The whole Infield were screening “John, John” to our third baseman. His name was John Gierek. At same time I'm hollering, “I got it I got, l got it.” And I did. Three out going back to the dugout I figured I'm going to get chewed out by Al Todd, our manager, who was a manager in the majors. When I get to the dugout he pats me on the back and says “Way to go kid.” End of story. Hey, another story involved the toy bulldog, Clint Courtney.
For another time. Again pardon my spelling as I say I'm a rookie at this. Bernie Gerl—Joliet, Ill.
Ed reply:
Haven't heard that story but have heard of John Gierek. He played third base for the Miami, Oklahoma Eagles in 1950. In fact, I was the visiting team batboy for Miami a few times that year and had to have handed him a bat or two in the process. However, I’ll have to admit I don’t remember anything personal about him. His full name was John Thomas Gierek Jr. born November 19, 1929 in Chicago and died February 15, 2005 in Roselle, Illinois.
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This week’s missing person report
John, have you heard from Herb Heiserer lately? Bob Mallon –Highlands Ranch, Colo. 1949-50 Independence Yankees.
Ed reply:
I haven't heard from him in over a year, at least.
Ed comment:
The aforementioned is a way conversations get started by e-mail. Mallon sent me a couple of videos of his grandson taking batting practice and I asked him if that is how the ball sounded going off his bat when he was in the KOM league. Mallon and I discussed his two home run game at Independence in 1949. He hit the two homers off Bob Wheeler of Rockford, Illinois and he reminded me of a homer he hit in Joplin in 1950 that he had forgotten until I sent him a clipping regarding that achievement a few years ago.
Mallon recalled the night after his two homers. “Burleigh Grimes put me in to pinch hit and I struck out against a McLish. I don't remember first name as there was more than one McLish. One who made the majors with the Pirates. Bartlesville Oklahoma was a Pirate farm club.” To that comment I replied. “That was Eddie McLish who struck you out. His big brother was ambidextrous, Calvin, Coolidge, Julius, Caesar, Tuskahoma, McLish. That wasn't enough so they called him "Buster."
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Benediction:
Well, I guess that wraps up my ranting and verbosity for another week. If you read some or most of this report it prevented you from doing something that most likely would have been more entertaining, beneficial or productive to society. But, thanks for giving the report a glance, anyway. Each day I become more aware of the intrusiveness of all media from the telephone, television to the computer. I don’t hang out on the social media sites for I don’t think anyone cares about what I term as “Verbal flatulence.” My life isn’t that interesting and I don’t wish to burden anyone with my mundane existence. Thus, it has occurred to me that some people may regard these Flash Reports as nothing more than Facebook, Twitter or all the other junkie sites. If you do, and wish not to receive these reports, be sure and get back with me before I share another one.
a little different angle of the jetty...
shot through the chain link fence up on the highway looking down
on the north side as a rider drops into a good lefthander....
only to get hosed by the ONE other guy out on that side of the jetty
This was an independent team in 1951 and had players from various major league organizations. Pete Cerick died 1/30/2015 and this was the only known photo taken during his baseball career. Of this group Howard "Mace" Pool, Dick Masley, Vito Valenzano and Ken Boehme survive. The whereabouts or fate of Kenneth Fowler, from Kipp, KS, has not been determined.
1951 Iola Indians
Back Row: Al Cunningham (Phillies), Stan Klemme (Giants), Jim Sanders (Cardinals), Dave Newkirk, Pete Cerick, Pete New and Mace Pool.
Bottom Row. Floyd "Nig" Temple, Joe Vilk, Dick Masley (Giants), Ken Fowler (Phillies), Vito "Duke" Valenzano, Ken Boehme (Yankees) and Paul Weeks.
This site takes you to Floyd Temple and his 28-year coaching career at Kansas Univ. www.kuathletics.com/news/2014/9/22/BB_0922143304.aspx
The
KOM Flash Report
for
Week of March 8, 2015
Another charter member of the KOM League passes away:
Loren J. Olson, 89, Neosho, Mo., died March 1, 2015, at his home, following declining health. Loren was born Jan. 3, 1926, in Big Rapids, Mich. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, in the Pacific Theatre. Loren worked in the banking industry for many years and had worked in Joplin, Mo. and Sarcoxie, Mo. areas, retiring in 1986.
He had played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Browns and then coached American Legion Baseball. He was a former member of the Board of Regents of MSSC, now MSSU and was an active Christian servant. Loren married his wife, Lilly, on Oct. 11, 1974, in Oklahoma and she survives of the home.
Also surviving are five children, John Olson and wife, Mary, of Joplin, Teresa Olson-Babcock, of Joplin, Richard Crowder, of Neosho, Larry Crowder and wife, Lisa, of Jefferson City, Mo. and Linda Hames and husband, Jeff, of Claremore, Okla.; four sisters, Glenna Fisher, of Sturgis, Mich., Barbara Vining, of Big Rapids, Ruthann Kailing and husband, Leo, of Reeds City, Mich. and Mary Johansen and husband, Floyd, of Big Rapids; nine grandchildren, Rasia, Luke, Patrick, Bradley, Tim, Chris, Alec, Travis and Tessa; and one great-grandchild, Elsa.
Memorial mass will be held on Thursday, March 5, at 1 p.m. at St. Canera's Catholic Church, Father Ruben Rustrepo will officiate. The family will receive friends following the service until 3 p.m. at the church.
Contributions, in memory of Loren, may be made to the MSSU Foundation, in care of Clark Funeral Home, PO Box 66, Neosho, MO 64850.
Ed comment:
Loren Olson signed with the St. Louis Browns as a pitcher and was sent to Pittsburg, Kansas in 1946. He was short-term member of that team but played a “ton” of baseball in the Southwest Missouri after his professional career concluded. He was a fixture on the ball field whenever Mickey Mantle, the Boyer brothers, Don Gutteridge, Gene Stephens, Allie Reynolds et. al. used to play “for fun” at the close of each baseball season. Olson was in the game held at Miners Park in Joplin, in October of 1953 that Mantle and the Boyer brothers played in order to raise money following the death of Joe Dean “Red” Crowder on Grand Lake of the Cherokees.
Unfortunately, Olson wasn’t with Pittsburg at the time any of the team photos were taken. Thus, the photo attached to his obituary is the only one I have seen of him. Although I did speak with him on the telephone over the years. www.joplinglobe.com/obituaries/loren-j-olson/article_cc19...
Here is the Miami, OK News-Record account of the preview for the benefit game played for the Crowder family.
Oct. 17—(Special) Rosters for the "Joe Crowder benefit game," which is to be played Sunday afternoon at Miners Park beginning at 2:30 o'clock, was announced today by Joe Becker, who is in charge of arrangements.
The Tri-State Miners: Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees; Cliff Mapes, Kansas City; Ray Clark, former Joplin Miner; J. E. Landon, Bill Drake, Travis Kunce, Max Buzzard, Jimmy Rogers, Ray Pace, George Garrison, all ex-minor league players; Lloyd Shafer, formerly with Baltimore; John Lafalier, Harry Daniels, Howard Scheurich, Don Boyd and Jerry Ferneau, all prominent semi-pros, and Jack McGoyne, manager.
The Joplin All-Stars: Ferrell Anderson, manager; Gene Stephens of the Boston Red Sox; Cloyd, Kenton and Cletus Boyer, all in the Cardinal system; Gale Wade, Cleveland Indians; George New, Baltimore; Bill Rose, Colorado Springs; Al Billingsley, Lilburn Smith, Tommy Gott, former teammates of Crowder on the Joplin Miners; Don Gutteridge, Pittsburg; Freddie Schenk and Bill Gill, former Miners; Woody Fair, manager of Duenweg's team; Boney Turner, Don Cross and Loren Olson, former minor leaguers. Zeke Johnson, former KOM league and Western association umpire, will help Kenny Magnus of Joplin and Vernon Tappana of Webb City, officiate.
Ed comment:
A New York newspaper reported claimed there was more talent on the field that day at Joplin than in the recently completed World Series. I take one exception to the Miami News Record lineup for the game in 1953. Zeke Johnson was never a KOM umpire. Also, I believe that the guy identified as Don Cross was Don Gross. And, there is something that a reader from the Neosho/Joplin area might know. His obituary lists Richard and Larry Crowder as surviving sons. Someone can explain that to me if they know the details. I’m sure they are some kin to the late Joe Crowder.
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Peter A. Cerick, Esquire
www.obitsforlife.com/obituary/1043810/Cerick-Peter.php
Peter went home to be with the Lord on January 30, 2015 after a long struggle with dementia.
Peter was born on May 22, 1931 in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Western High School in 1949 he played professional baseball for the Cleveland Browns, a farm team for the Orioles. His play was interrupted due to the Korean War. He joined the army and served from 1953 – 1955 in communications first at Fort Jackson, NC and then at the Pentagon.
He attended George Washington University and graduated with a degree in business administration. He went on to obtain his law degree from GWU in 1961.
Peter worked as an adjuster for State Farm then opened his law office in Herndon, VA. He had a general practice for many years before specializing in personal injury and medical malpractice. He retired in 2004 and then provided services pro bono through Legal Services of Northern Virginia for several years.
He coached Babe Ruth baseball in the 1960’s, was an active member of the Herndon Chamber of Commerce, held offices in the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and started a program known as Helmets for Kids with the Herndon Police Department.
Marriages to Jean Watt and Mary Ann Fields ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, of 31 years, four children from his first marriage; Laura Collins of Gainesville, VA; Paula Ellish of Clearwater, FL; Michael Cerick of Huntersville, NC; Dana Cerick of Chicago, IL; a stepson, Michael Ross of Pittsburgh, PA and two grandchildren, Evan and Olivia Cerick.
Ed comment:
I was able to contact Pete Cerick many years ago and found him to be an interesting man. He signed with the St. Louis Browns and first appeared with Pittsburg, KS during the 1951 season. The Browns released him and he signed with the Iola Indians and pitched for them in parts of both 1951 and 1952. The team photo in which he appeared at Iola and the one that was attached to his obituary showed that he hadn’t changed much in physical appearance except for the gray hair.
August 8, 1951
FREE GAME TONIGHT Fans are invited by Earl Sifers, Iola club operator, to attend tonight's Carthage-Iola game at Chanute without charge. Iola is the "home" team in the regularly scheduled game with Pittsburg playing here. Lloyd Brazda won his fifth game against three losses in going seven innings of last night's bat fest. He was pounded for 12 of the 14 Iola hits. Cliff Ohr finishing and pitching two scoreless rounds. Lefty Dick Masley, suffering his fourteenth defeat, was the loser and victim of Ponca City's big third inning. Pete Cerick, big left hander recently turned loose at Pittsburg, finished out and was a victim of lola's loose defensive play. He gave only four hits in five innings but walked five. AI Cunningham, batting left- handed, hit a home run over the 325-foot left field fence in the five- run Iola third, after manager Floyd Temple reached base by error. Don Stewart homered for the Dodgers in the third with one on, clearing the center field fence. The short-handed Iola team used pitchers Dave Newkirk and Joe Sanders at first base. Bill Schrier being absent and reported as having a case of tonsillitis.
August 13, 1951-Iola Register
THE TOLA REGISTER, MONDAY EVENING, AUGUST 13, 1951. Revival After Twin Loss Bartlesville -won its thirteenth straight victory over the Indians in the second game of a doubleheader there Saturday night, but Iola was again in good form at Chanute last night, topping Pittsburg 8-4. Pittsburg and Iola are scheduled at Chanute again tonight. The Indians have won two and lost two in their four appearances there, and were capable in their defeats, which were by scores of 3-1 and 4-3 with Miami. Harold Hoffman, the veteran Coffeyville pitcher, righted the Redskins again last night, pitching seven and two-thirds innings. He had rescue work by Dave Newkirk, who the night before had been an 11-3 victim of Bartlesville due to wildness. Pittsburg scored three in the eighth, getting three hits and two walks to trail only 5-4. After Iola added the same number in the last half of the inning, Newkirk held the Browns in the ninth. Paul Weeks continued to rise in the Indian offensive picture, leading the attack with two hits, two runs- batted-in, one run scored, and three stolen bases. Pittsburg used three pitchers, the www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/16457530888/in/photost... getting six of their nine hits and five runs off Lloyd Koehnke. They led all the way after starting with two in the first Inning. Plate umpire Frank Rainier chased Pittsburg's (Hugh) Ben Lott from the game in the seventh for remarks over a ball-and-strike decision. Newkirk walked six in the first inning of the second game at Bartlesville Saturday, resulting in a 6-0 deficit. He stayed until the third, when Pete Cerick replaced him. Joe Vilk pitched another of his strong games in the seven-inning twilight contest, losing 3-1 to Dan Anderson. When Vito Valenzano batted in a run in the second inning, Iola claimed a 1-1 tie that held until the sixth. In both Bartlesville scoring rounds, the defense was a little neglectful toward Vilk, who gave only five hits. Brandy Davis, second up in the first, reached base on an error at third, and after he was forced. Cotton Drummond batted the run in. Two infield hits, an error, and a third strike squeeze bunt by E. C. Leslie produced two for the Pirates in the sixth.. Hits and runs —off Newkirk 4 and 7 in 2 and 3; Cerick 5 and 4 in 5 and a third U. —Lewton, Wells. A—640.
5/7/1952—Iola Register
Cerick and Black Leave-the Indians The lola baseball club was minus two of its recent members last night, and the pitching staff was numbering only four men. Pete Cerick was given a release yesterday, Manager Floyd Temple reported, and Charles Black, first baseman who came here a few days ago from the: Yankee' farm system left the club. Cerick, a lefthander, joined lola last: season after being, released it Pittsburg. He has pitched in lola only once, a two-inning relief turn Saturday night. Black also had been used only in reserve capacity since arriving. He was not here long enough for a satisfactory trial. Temple said three Cuban players, an infielder, outfielder, and pitcher are on the way here to join the Indians-
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A former pilot, just wondering
John--------wonder if John Orphai knew Neil Armstrong growing up in Wapakoneta? Only a year or so apart in age? Jim Skog
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Jimmy Richardson regarding Bennie Maxwell Lee
If you have read more than a dozen of my newsletters or Flash Reports and even one of my books the name of Jimmy Richardson appears. When he is mentioned I always tell the readers in was Mickey Mantle’s first cousin on the maternal side of the family. He read the previous Flash Report and had some comments about Bennie Lee and was looking for one of his buddies who documented the book signing for Mantle conducted in Joplin in 2005. The fellow he was searching for had a local TV program in Enid, OK and many of the events of those two days in Joplin, in 2005, got some regional viewer ship.
Bennie Lee and the television guy were known for their horseshoe pitching prowess a few years ago. I know that Richardson got hold of the television guy for I read his comments in the condolence section made available through the Wichita Eagle.
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A comment about the 1949 Pittsburg Browns.
About the Pittsburg team in 1949. Al Barkus never lasted the season as the manager and the club wound up in last place--39-85 and finished 33 games behind Independence. There is always optimism at the start of every baseball season only to find some teams are actually out of contention by the 4th of July. All the teams in the big leagues have high hopes that will quickly fade. Here is my fearless prediction. The organization for whom I used to be a Class D batboy will not be in the World Series this year. If you want to know who that team happens to be, look up who Carthage, Mo. had a working agreement with in 1951. Yep, it was the “No go Cubbies.”
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Sometimes not much goes right.
Early this year I shared the following: “Paul "Hook" Herman Schnieders, 88, of Jefferson City, died Wednesday, January 7, 2015, at the St. James Veterans Home surrounded by his family.” Listening to the radio early this week I heard this news. “http://www.komu.com/news/fire-engulfs-bowling-alley-southeast-of-jefferson-city-66441/ Those who pull up the two URLs can see the blaze. www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=1171453
The establishment was owned by the late Paul Schnieders. First he passed away and two months and five days later what he worked hard to build went up in flames.
OSAGE COUNTY -- Crews are currently on the scene of another blaze that broke out early Monday morning.
Rainbow Lanes and Hooks Sports Bar on Mari Osa Delta Lane in Osage County went up in flames overnight.
At 3:30 a.m. crews from Osage County Fire and Westphalia Fire responded to the blaze, but the flames were so big that Jefferson City had to bring in their aerial ladder truck. Crews initially entered the building, but shortly evacuated before the roof of the structure collapsed.
There was a great mutual aid effort as departments from Osage, Westphalia, Taos, Hartsville, Linn, Argyle, and Jefferson City worked together to fight the fire with over fifty fire fighters present. Osage EMS also came out and supplied food and water for the fire crews.
Since there were no hydrants and the river close by was covered in ice, a dump tank system was used to supply water to the trucks. The fire was so hot that the exit sign above the door melted and fell to the ground.
Crews believe the fire started in the back corner and had been burning long before they arrived. They expect to still be tending to the blaze for the rest of the day and hope to have the fire completely out by midmorning or noon.
Fire Chief Jim Roark of Westphalia said this was one of the biggest fires they had fought in the last 15 to 20 years.
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Carthage got a visit from a name from the past.
Hi John: Would you please be able to give me a location of the Carthage ball park where my dad, John La Porta, would have played? My brother and his wife will be driving back through Carthage in a few days from Oklahoma City where they went to see their son in a swim meet...16 hour drive from Michigan.
Thank you very much. Cindy Lange
Ed reply:
It's in Municipal Park on the west side of town. It is on west Oak Street. That is probably the second best known place in Carthage other than the town square which has the most impressive courthouse in America.
Cindy’s reply:
John, thank you so much! My brother is calling tonight, so I will let him know. Excellent info you gave, and I'm sure they'll be able to find it.
I will try to let you know what he says after the visit. Thank you very much!
Ed reply:
Tell him to be sure to look at the guy on the plaque at the front gate to the stadium. John must be representing his Savannah, GA school in the NAIA swimming tournament that begins in Oklahoma City today. (March 5).
Cindy’s reply:
Yes!! !! You are amazing, Mr. Hall !!! And I am looking forward to learning who it is on that plaque at the stadium gate... love the intrigue!!
Ed reply:
I will give you ten guesses as to who that is. If you don't guess it I'll give you a site to pull up and you can discover it for yourself. Not need to wait. I think you already knew this but have just forgotten.
komleaguebaseball.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html
Ed comment:
Many times the name of Johnny LaPorta has appeared in my rambling reports. He played third base for Carthage for all of the 1949 season and came back for a while in 1950. The LaPorta’s had deep roots in Chicago and lived a short distance from Wrigley Field. His older brother, Vito, was the last Cub batboy to have seen a World Series game when the Cubs were in it and when he gave up the job, Johnny took over for three seasons. The John LaPorta who was in the NAIA swimming tournament in Oklahoma City is John III.
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Dick and Molly McCoy and their medical providers.
John: When Dick and I went to our Drs. one day we mentioned we got our snow done this morning and both the nurse and Dr. said if you can’t afford to have your snow done we’ll pay for it don’t you be doing it!!!!!!! I guess they are right but we always like to have it done before we would drive on it but we now don’t do it anymore.
Ed comment:
The McCoy’s live in Omaha, Nebr. that has seen a bit of snow in its history. But, what I covet most about their story is the willingness of their medical providers to help them with the snow removal. I told them they could give their doctor and nurse my name and address. I don’t mind shoveling off my driveway but the city tells me that I also have to keep my sidewalks clear. That would be fine for most people but I live on the corner lot and the street that runs along the side of my house is a major east/west roadway in town. It is only one of the very few that traverses Columbia in that direction. The snow plows not only shovel the snow off that road on to my sidewalk but when they either get bored or have neophyte drivers they manage to plow what is below the snow over on to my sidewalk. If you don’t know what is below the snow I’ll give you a hint. It’s called sod and dirt. Once that accumulates there is no shoveling possible.
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Synopsis of last report:
Wow what a ton of information!! Barbara in St. Louis
Ed comment:
I suppose after a dozen plus four reports I can enclose the URL for the Tennessee Ernie hit tune from the 1950’s which of course is……..Sure, you know it by heart if you are over 70.
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Thanks for looking:
Last week I uploaded the Flash Report to the Flickr site. Wonder of wonders happened. There were more hits on that site than the number of people to whom the report goes out to by e-mail. I have an idea that some of you went to the site more than once. I want you to know that is acceptable. After this report is sent I’m working on a way to get a photo posted on Flickr that shows one of the former KOM leaguers who has passed away this year.
There are 19 individuals in this photo and here is my best attempt at identifying them. From left to right: Hugh B. Lott Jr., Laverne Schneider, Frank Johnson, Dick Drain, Joe Beatka, Frank Winkler, Kenneth McGee-head turned to left, person with hand on shovel-unidentified but is definitely a female, Bob Ottesen, Loyd Wayne Simpson, Joe Carolan-(I think), Robert Wesley James (I think), Pat Gosney, Lloyd Koehnke, George Wegerek, May be Lowell McMillen, guy with head barely visible is not identified, Bill Enos-turned around, mining company employee and Stan Costales. Anyone wanting to add to or correct me on any of this identification, feel free to do so.
Look closely: The hand on that big shovel belongs to a female. Look at the fingers, the length of the sleeve as compared to the guys and the bun hair-do. Do you agree that has to be a female? If not, justify your position.
The KOM League
Flash Report
for the week of
June 28 thru July 3, 2015
Note: This report is also posted at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/19185443761/
Wonder of wonders, the previous Flash Report received a huge boost in readership by virtue of it being picked up and placed in the Sunday June 21st edition of a newspaper in a former KOM league city. If you read the last Flash Report concerning James Albert Murphy now is the time to play “Guess What Newspaper Printed It.”
Okay, time is up. What was your guess? In the previous report the names of former Pittsburg, KS, Ponca City and Miami, OK players were mentioned. So, if you guessed a newspaper in any of those three cities carrying the article you are as wrong as those who picked the Milwaukee Brewers to be in first place on the 4th of July of this year.
Once something is written you wish like mad you had left some things unsaid and added other things. To illustrate my point Wayne Simpson told me that after he left Pittsburg he was confronted by Tedd Gullic, the manager of the Bartlesville Pirates, who was upset he didn’t get a chance to add him to the Bartlesville roster. At that time Gullic had just lost future big leaguers Ronnie Kline and Brandy Davis to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now, I’ve given a hint as to what newspaper picked up on the last Flash Report and shared it with their readers. If the hint isn’t clear enough here’s the link:
examiner-enterprise.com/sports/local-sports/story-reveale...
There is a common trait that the article generated in both the Flash Report and Bartlesville newspaper—very little comment.
References to check:
www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am...
www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am...
www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am... (Ed note: I learned long ago NEVER to do a Google search for Brandy Davis. What you will find, under that search, has nothing to do with baseball or the guy who my wife and I called “Friend” prior to his death.)
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A brief respite:
If my memory is still functioning, I recall only two comments from the previous Flash Report that dealt directly with the late Mr. Murphy. One comment came from someone who sounded like Lawrence Welk, or a broken record, for the three word comment was “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.” I noticed that the Bartlesville newspaper was overwhelmed with one comment on the story.
Another link that story had with Bartlesville was Charles “Buddy” Closs. Prior to showing up with Miami, in 1951, he had initially pitched for a brief time, in 1949, with the Bartlesville Pirates.
So, where am I? I think I mentioned last time I’d make some comments on the things shared with me by the fellows from the 1951 Miami Eagles, if it was possible to ascertain five to ten people had any interest in reading it. I think 10 people said in one way or another “Go for it if you don’t have anything better to do.
So, I’ll start with Wayne Simpson and then move on to Delbert Wichtendahl.
•
Wayne Simpson first tried out with the St. Louis Cardinals and later the St. Louis Browns after he go out of service in 1950. He had graduated from an agriculture high school in 1947, in three years, but elected to gone on to Roxanna, Ill. High School for another year, since it was brand new and it offered him a chance to complete four years of secondary education.
After graduating from high school he joined the US Navy. He tried out for both of the St. Louis teams ad good enough to be offered a $5,000 bonus by the Cardinals but he thought by signing with the Browns his trip up the baseball ladder would be much faster. He later go to know Roy Sievers who was nearly four years his senior. As they did with Simpson later, the Cardinals offered Sievers a $5,000 bonus and he turned it down thinking the road to playing big league ball in his hometown of St. Louis would be much greater by inking a pact with the “lowly Browns.” By the time Simpson was signed by the Browns, Sievers was playing in the big leagues.
Simpson has had a long friendship with Sievers since his early days in professional baseball that didn’t happen until 1951. After graduating from Roxanna High School Simpson spent two years in the U. S. Navy aboard a submarine. Following his one season in the KOM league he was back in the service for another four years which about sealed any baseball hopes he had. However, he never gave up on the game. Although he is now in his 85th year he maintains a great deal of interest in his vocation and avocation as a baseball card dealer. Late last year Sievers called him and said he was going to visit a casino in the area and invited Simpson to come along for breakfast. Simpson recalled that Sievers was still “pissed off” that the Browns gave Simpson a $100 bonus and didn’t give him anything. Of course, the Browns of that era were a bad organization, in Simpson’s words, and they didn’t spend any money, mostly because they didn’t have any.
Simpson always admired the talent of Sievers and might well be the trivia expert on the former big league star’s career. He pointed out to me that Sievers is the only man to hit pinch hit homers in both of the major leagues.
Coming back from his first tour of duty in the submarine corps, the Browns sent Simpson to spring training at Pine Bluff, Arkansas who then assigned him to Pittsburg, Kansas for the 1951 season. There he was managed by Bill Enos who at the time, in Simpson’s words “Was a bachelor, a close watcher of the stock market ticker tape in the hotels where the teams stayed, a decent man and a stickler for rules.”
One of the things for which Enos was famous involved the time the Pittsburg club left on their road trip. They always met in front of Otto’s Café on North Broadway Ave. at precisely 3:00 p.m. for all games except when the team traveled to more distant towns such as Ponca City and Bartlesville in Oklahoma. Simpson recalls that Enos would sometimes leave prior to the announced time. He recalled walking toward the meeting place one afternoon and while it was prior to the departure time, the Pittsburg bus was headed out. Although he was spotted, carrying his equipment, Enos refused to stop the bus and let him board.
At that juncture Simpson recalled doing an about face and stuck up his thumb as a hitchhiker. The destination that evening was Bartlesville and when he went on the field Enos approached him and exclaimed “You showed me something today .”When Simpson asked him what that was Enos proclaimed “You proved to me you want to play.”
Simpson played most every game with Pittsburg during his three month stay with the club except for a game in Ponca City. The team arrived in typical 100 degree Oklahoma weather and in checking into the Jens-Marie Hotel they were tired and hot. A man in an adjoining room knocked on Simpson’s door and offered him a cold beer. Simpson said that he wasn’t allowed to imbibe in a “cool one” previous to a game and the fellow offering the beer told him to drink it after the game. Before the game Enos was making the rounds of the rooms and spotted the beer. Without any discussion he told his young third baseman not to even put on the uniform that night for he wasn’t going to play.
In that era none of those team buses were air-conditioned except the one the Independence Yankees rented from a Greyhound subsidiary in Coffeyville, Kansas. Simpson recalls that no matter how hot the team bus got his wouldn’t allow the players to have a cold soda on those one to five hour trips. Once confronted as to why he had the rule of no cokes on the bus, Enos responded that someone could step on a empty bottle and break an ankle. In that era all the soda bottle were glass, so it was probably more of a danger getting cut than breaking a bone. Anyway, that was the thinking Enos had brought with him through a baseball career that had begun in 1939.
In mid-August Simpson was summoned by Enos to met him at Otto’s Cafe. When he walked in Simpson said Enos said very tersely. “Pack your bags and get out.” Then, Enos added “The incident in Ponca City didn’t have a thing to do with your release.” That was the cruelty of baseball in that era. There was always a fresh supply of “raw meat” ready to replace a player on the roster.
One thing that got a player released was when someone in the organization, of influence, had a relative or friend who wanted to join a certain club. Simpson’s recall of the event was that his replacement’s father was an executive with the St. Louis Browns who had once also pitched for them. He recalled seeing his replacement during fielding practice and saying to himself “And, they are replacing me, with him?” Wishing to identify the replacement I went over a list of every member of the 1951 Pittsburg Browns with Simpson. Only one player on that team I could identify as having a father who played major league baseball was Ted Koenigsmark but his father, Willis, pitched for the “other team” in St. Louis, in 1919. All the information at my disposal only indicates Pittsburg having two regular third basemen that year and other than Simpson the other guy carried the last name of England with a first name of James. Now, if someone can trace England’s father’s work history and find that he played for the Browns this part of the story will be complete.
With the news of his release Simpson was ready to board the Greyhound and head back to eastern Illinois but prior to leaving Otto’s, Enos said to the recently discarded ballplayer “Hang around.” In that era there was an unwritten pact that guys with teams with major league affiliation were prized commodities with other teams in the league who operated as independents and managers of those major league affiliated clubs would recommend a departing player to the independent teams.
Shortly, Simpson was making the short trip from Pittsburg, Kansas, down old Highway 69 to Miami, OK. Upon arriving in Miami, Simpson first met Tommy Warren who he declared was the best manager he ever had. He recalled Warren as a guy who never got on to him for anything other than admonishing him to “lay off the high, hard one.”
Simpson recalled that the Miami club was a lot more cohesive group who got along well and did off-field things together. When he got to Miami he saw one player on a daily basis who didn’t look like a ballplayer and did nothing by the book. He was once described as having to play the outfield for a lack of any place else to put him. When the ball was hit to him he didn’t know where to throw it so he always aimed it in the direction of the pitcher.
It is about time to bring Delbert Wichtendahl on to the stage for he had some vivid memories of the outfielder was “all hit and not field.” He recalled as proclaiming “I’m the greatest hitter there is.” He recalls that everything the guy did in swinging at the ball defied baseball orthodoxy but somehow he always managed to put the bat on it and frequently.
When people who look for “The Best Ever” in KOM lore I always advise them to take a peek at the minor league career of James “Windy“ Eldridge.. www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=eldrid001jam This guy was on a tear hitting nearly .500 in 1953 when he was injured. In spite of his injury, which was severe, he “limped” to a .407 batting average. I wish I had the citation I read many years ago but it documented how he, barring the injury, might have been the first .500 hitter in baseball history outside the Little League.
Wichtendahl had joined the Miami ball club prior to Simpson’s arrival. He was there the night manager Tommy Warren made off with the wrist watches and billfolds of the player’s under the ruse that he would keep on eye on them during the game. That chore usually went to Hubert “Whispering” Brooks of Benton, Arkansas. However, Brooks pitched that evening and Warren stepped up to offer his “help.”
When queried about the loss of the billfold and wrist watch Wichtendahl said that he didn’t lose a wrist watch for he didn’t own one but he finally had his billfold returned with the money still in it. At that point I said to him that he was the first player from that team that I ever heard from who got his valuables returned.
On October 28, 1931 Wichtendahl entered this world in Whittemore, Iowa. He developed into a hard throwing left-handed pitcher who was on an 11-man high school team, in 1950, that was the scourge of most all opponents in the Hawkeye state. In the state championships he hurled a no-hitter, striking out every batter he faced in the seven inning affair. In the next game he fanned 10 and attracted the attention of a Brooklyn Dodger scout. Shortly thereafter he was on an all night bus ride to Hazard, Kentucky to pitch for that Dodger minor league club managed by Max Macon in the Appalachian league.
What the Dodgers were looking to find out was if the 18-year old, who threw 96 mph could get the ball over the plate. Wichtendahl experienced culture shock when he arrived in “the hills.” He wasn’t sure if the locals were going to love the farm boy from Iowa or in his words “Shoot me.”
Well, they didn’t shoot him and in the spring of 1951 he was invited to the Dodger camp at Vero Beach. In any early exhibition game he was given the starting role against the Brooklyn Dodger regulars and shut them down 3-0. He didn’t attribute his performance as spectacular but rather claimed the Dodgers didn’t want to get hurt batting against a wild young lefthander.
As the cut down time arrived it was decided Wichtendahl would join George Scherger’s KOM outfit in Ponca City, Oklahoma. At least, while still being a Class D team, Wichtendahl was not going back to the hills of Kentucky.
What Wichtendahl experienced at Ponca City was the vast resource of Brooklyn Dodger talent. On that pitching staff with him at one time or another were 14 other guys who wanted to make a name for themselves. Joe Stanka, Dick Wiegand, Lloyd Brazda, Cliff Ohr, and Eldon DeRoin won the bulk of the games for Ponca City that year and thus guys like; George David, Don Smith, Ralph Cascella, Walt Hines, Roland Alexander, Joe Gravino, Mike Krmpotic, Gerald Foreman and Frank Alessandro were like Wichtendahl, looking for another team.
After appearing in six games for Ponca City, Wichtendahl was headed east to Miami, Okla. It was a good year for “Lefty” as he posted an 8-2 record, had a respectable earned run average and struck out more than he walked. And with only four wild pitches charged against him he proved not to fit the mold as “A wild lefty.”
There are always memorable stories no matter how long or short the stay was with any ball club. While pitching at Ponca City their first baseman, Stan Santo, fielded a ground ball and attempted to get the runner going from first to third. His mighty heave made it as far as the pitchers mound where it came in contact with Wichtendahl’s left temple and that’s all he remembered until waking up in the hospital.
While still at Ponca City his catcher during a contest with Miami, the team he would join later, was Gerald Boldt. The legendary minor leaguer, Gaspar del Toro, was a bit cocky in the minds of the pitcher and catcher in that game and Boldt gave the sign for Wichtendahl to “Stick the ball in the batter’s ear.” Dutifully, adhering to his catcher’s signal Wichtendahl threw the high hard one at Del Toro and he stepped back and the ball made contact with something other than the left ear. Wichtendahl turned to watch that “high hard” one clear the left field wall, easily.
At that juncture it was time for me to share my story, Wichtendahl, as to why Del Toro could hit a ball so far if he made contact. He used a 44-ounce Rogers Hornsby model Louisville Slugger. It was tacked and held together with white tape. I know for I still have it. During a visit to Carthage one evening in either late May or June, Miami was to play twi-light doubleheader. Tommy Warren didn’t want Del Toro using that bat and promised me it would be mine if I hid it from him for both games of the twin-bill. I’ve told this story many times and most of the readers are tired of it. However, I did say that that old bat, or its twin brother, is about 10 feet or less from where I’m sitting.
To make life interesting while on bus trips and to draw crowds the teams come up with various promotions. Catching animals released onto the ball field was always fun and games for the country boys and frightening to the big city boys. Miami had a contest prior to a game in 1951 where they released chickens and if one of those was captured the player received $1. The greased pig capture was more difficult and thus reaped $3 to the team holding on to the slippery animal. Simpson recalled his partner in the roundup was Jim McHugh, from Philadelphia, and he sensed that his big city teammate was afraid of both the animals they pursued that evening.
On road trips Tommy Warren would lead the team in gambling on license plates. Simpson recalled that Warren would always chose to play the Missouri tag numbers and his opponent would have to take the Oklahoma license numbers. The short story on that was “Missouri had more numbers on its plate than those from the Sooner State.”
It is likely that the Ponca City boys had more fun on their bus trips than did Miami. After a game at Pittsburg the young Dodger players loaded up and headed toward Oklahoma. They had lost the last game of the series and George Scherger wasn’t too happy to begin with. After stopping for some food and gasoline the team was loaded on the bus and awaiting Scherger’s return to the bus after paying all the bills. When Scherger got back to the bus or better yet, where the bus had been, it was gone. While Scherger was away the boys decided to make some “cat calls” in the direction of some of the Pittsburg “cuties” and the police were summoned. They ordered one of the players, which I think may have been Joe Stanka, to drive the bus to the nearby police station. That is where Scherger eventually wound up and not too happy at that.
Those are a few memories of two guys who played for three different teams during the 1951 KOM season. Wichtendahl accomplished something few ever did in that he played eight positions in a game that year for Ponca City. Scherger wouldn’t let him go for all nine positions since there weren’t any catcher’s mitts for lefties. However, I suspect that Wichtendahl was the only KOM player ever to play the left side of the infield who was lefthanded.
No matter what any of those guys experienced in the 1951 it was always difficult to top Tommy Warren. He pitched a no-hitter against Iola that year and on the day the judge’s decision came down that he would be sent to prison at the close of the season, I made the trip with the Carthage team to Miami and Warren pitched and threw a two-hitter against us.
A trick question might be “When did Warren appear in his last game at Miami?” Well, the year wasn’t 1951 but the next one. After arriving at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Warren managed and played for the prison team inexplicably called “The Outlaws.” Wayne Simpson recalled that he had two brothers who played for Northeastern Oklahoma Juco at Miami and in 1952 that team played the “Outlaws” in a spring exhibition game. I would give all the nickels I own to have been able to speak with Warren after that game to get his comments on how it felt to return to the scene of many diverse memories.
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Featured team of the week
And now we come to the second in a fifty-week series of remembering a specific KOM league team. I hope I don’t spend as long on the remaining 49 teams as I did on the 1951 club. If I do that I’ll be around for another 200 weeks with this stuff and no one could handle that.
During the days of the Pittsburg Browns era in the KOM league on of the most productive items in that era was “Big Bertha.” Don’t get of me. Bertha was the workhorse of the Pittsburg and Midway Coal Company. In looking for creative ways to depict a baseball team the Pittsburg Browns had a team photo taken in front of the largest coal bucket ever made. www.worldslargestthings.com/kansas/bigbrutus.htm
Eleven years after the team photo was taken, Bertha was succeeded in the coal digging business by her son, Brutus.
During one of the field trips during the 1996 KOM reunion at Pittsburg, Kansas a large group of former players made the trip to West Mineral, Kansas and recalled that Brutus was no where near as large as his mother, Bertha. Here is a link to the team photo taken in front of Bertha in the mid part of the 1951 season. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/19185443761/ The faces in the photo are totally from my recall from the time I was visiting team batboy for them on a couple of occasions when they came to Carthage. There are five guys I couldn’t identify so if you recognize a face I missed I’d love to add you as the photo editor of the KOM Flash Report and Old Photo Store. The names of the guys in the photo are on the Flickr site just cited.
Members of the 1951 Browns for at least one game were: “D” after name indicates deceased.
David Warren Barrows-D
Batboy-William Bartley- Whereabouts or fate unknown
Joseph Paul Beatka-D
Russell H. Bland Jr-D
Joseph Leduc Carolan-D
Peter Aull Cerick-D
Stanley Costales-D
George Sousa Dias-Probably still living in Hawaii
Richard Lee Drain-D
George V. Edwards Jr.-D
James Robert England- D
William Donavan Enos-D (Player-Manager)
Herb Fleischer-Whereabouts or fate unknown
Lloyd Edsil “Pat” Gosney-D
Anthony F Grundmeyer- Last known to be in Iowa.
RobertWesley James-From Datto, AR whereabouts or fate unknown
Charles Wallace Jenks-D
Lloyd Ervin Koehnke-Last known to be in Orlando, FL
Theodore Robert Koenigsmark-Last known to be in Forest Park, GA
Russell Paul Letterman-D
Hugh Benwick Lott Jr.-Killed in National Guard plane crash in 1959 at Peoria, IL
Josep hFrancis Lyles-D
Robert Kenyon McEvilly-Last known to be in Joliet, IL
Kenneth Merle McGee-D
Lowell A. McMillen-Last known to be in Park Rapids, MN
Robert John Ottesen-D
LaVerne Cleo Schneider-Last known to be in Winslow, IL
Loyd Wayne Simpson- Spoke with him this week on telephone in Godfrey, IL
Thomas T. Skole Jr.-Last known to be in Marietta, GA
Frank Albert Vaselenak-D
Walker first name unknown-In one game as pinch hitter—could have been misprint.
George Gregory Wegerek-D At time of death was known on talk radio as Dan Gregory
Fred C. Wehking Jr.-Last known to be in St. Louis, MO
Loren H. Weigelt-D On roster but never got into a game. From Spokane, WA
Roger Garon Whitehouse-Last known to be in Hillsboro, IL
Oscar Charles Wigman Jr.-D
Frank P. Winkler-Last known to be in Detroit, MI
Robert L. Zuccarini-I get my e-mail from Bob from his home in Savannah, GA
Although Pittsburg wound up with a 40-80-1 record, they escaped the cellar because Iola was in the league that year. The team was never going to scare anybody with their hitters with the exception of Bob Ottesen who could whack them out of the park. I recall him hitting one on the night of July 1, in Pittsburg, and the public address announcer saying he did that for a child born to him and his wife the previous night. As I recall Ottesen launched two bombs in the night doubleheader and sent Carthage down to a double defeat. That was the same night I was left behind at the Pittsburg ball park and thought I’d never see home again.
Numbers for the pitching staff weren’t eye-popping but Pat Gosney and Joe Beatka won 23 of the 40 games Pittsburg posted in the win column. The rest of the pitchers had to look to their earned run averages to feel good about their season. The leader in that department for the Pittsburg moundsmen was Lowell McMillen. One of the most vivid memories of the 1951 season was the bench jockeying at which Walt Babcock of Carthage excelled.
It was traditional that a pitcher who had pitched the previous night would be the third base coach. Lloyd Koehnke had pitched the previous night for Pittsburg and was at his coaching station when Babcock bellowed out “Koehnke, if you don’t ship up they are going to send you to Wheeling.” Koehnke was a nice guy and very polite. He turned to the dugout and asked “Where’s Wheeling?” Babcock replied “Wheeling horse manure, you dummy.” Koehnke turned around and never replied during the rest of the game to Babcock’s razzing. And, I add that like Harry S. Truman, Babcock used the barnyard name for the horse “offering.” And on that note I’m out of here.
Dunedin Blue Jays
Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
Jupiter, Florida
www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=rojas-...
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.
The KOM League
Flash Report
for
Halloween—2015
This report may be the spookiest thing to either knock at your door or come to you in the form of an e-mail at this Halloween season. However, for a change of pace I had significant feedback from the October 24th version of this publication. Thus, I shall share that with the readership in the order in which they were received. Of course, I’ll probably share my “post-game” comments about each of them. Post-game comments about anything are superfluous. Those kind of sessions are held to tell the masses how stupid they are and really don’t understand the nuances of what was said or seen or else the person making the post-game analysis would be out of a job if he/she didn’t perform that function.
So, here is what was received this past week along with post-game comments:
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Death of former Miami Eagle
www.legacy.com/obituaries/thecabin/obituary.aspx?n=Hubert...
Hubert Brooks, "H.K." of Conway passed into heaven on Oct. 25, 2015.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Donnie Reed Brooks, and his son, Greg Brooks, all of East End, Ark.; and one brother, Charlie Brooks, of Buena Park, Calif.
He is the son of the late Marshall and Glennie Brooks of Saline County. Survivors are his daughter, Lana McCormick; and grandson, Charley G. McCormick III, both of Conway.
His surviving siblings are Elizabeth Moore of Sun City, Calif., Susie and James Rozell of Sachse, Texas, Margaret Brooks of Buena Park, Calif. and Maxie and Ike Brooks of Shreveport, La.
Hubert was a deacon of East End Baptist Church for over 40 years, and had gone without missing Sunday school for 47 years. H.K. retired from Reynolds Aluminum in 1983. He was a Texas league pitcher in the early 1950s and he was truly passionate about baseball.
The visitation will be noon, Wednesday Oct. 28 at Roller-McNutt Funeral Home, with service following at 1 p.m. Burial will follow at 3 p.m. at Salem Cemetery in East End, Ark.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Salem Cemetery.
Online guest book: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/conway
Post-game comment
Hubert Kenneth Brooks was born April 14, 1930 in Benton, Arkansas and played for the 1951 Miami, OK Eagles of the KOM league. He posted a 4-6 record at Miami in 26 mound appearances He played a little bit, in 1952, for Decatur, Ill and then went to the Western Association with the Ft. Smith/Van Buren entry in 1953. He lost nine more games than he won that year and in 1954 he pitched for Seminole in the Sooner State league and for Ponca City, OK who by that time was a member of the Western Association. He was 1-1 combined that year. His only loss was with Seminole and his lone win was with Ponca City.
As stated in his obituary he was faithful to his church. He must have exhibited great trust among his teammates at Miami for he was the guy in charge of guarding the team valuables—billfolds and wristwatches during the games he didn’t pitch. On one of the nights he was scheduled to pitch by manager, Tommy Warren, Warren announced he’d be responsible for guarding those items. During the time the team was on the field “someone” entered the clubhouse and got away with everything. Well, it appeared all the items went out the door. What actually happened, according to many of my sources, is that Warren stashed the loot in a pot belly stove and assigned himself as the only person to search it. The players were assigned other parts of the clubhouse to investigate. (Another true but sad story in the annals of the KOM league.)
______________________________________________________________________________Death of 1950 Joplin Miner and loyal reader of all the KOM league output
A recent e-mail was sent from the address of a fellow who has read the KOM material since “the big inning.” The note at first confused me for I thought I was reading the obituary of the person who sent it. The header note read “Jerry enjoyed your updates...sorry to pass along the sad news.” In further checking I learned that the person sending the note was Jerry’s brother, Tom.
This was the sad news:
BUCHANAN, George J. "Jerry" Age 84, passed away peacefully on October 14, 2015. Born March 3, 1931 in Dallas, Texas, Jerry graduated from Woodrow Wilson High in 1948. He then entered Southern Methodist University and lettered in baseball for the Mustangs. In 1950, Jerry transferred to Drury College, Springfield, Missouri, where he began his professional baseball career in combination with his fledgling journalism studies. He soon signed a bonus contract with the New York Yankees and played his first organized game as a pitcher for the Joplin Miners. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953, Jerry continued with the New York Yankees, pitching for their various farm teams, which included a winter season in Cartagena, Colombia. Jerry ended his playing career with the New Orleans Pelicans in 1958 and shortly thereafter joined American Airlines, retiring in 1996. Along with his friends and neighbors, Jerry will be missed by his family: brother, Tom, and his wife, Gail; nephew, Ben, and his wife, Deborah; grandnephew, Taylor, all of Atlanta, Georgia. Memorial services will be held at 3 pm on Friday, October 23rd in Restland Wildwood Chapel. Reception following at Jerry's family home.
Published in Dallas Morning News on Oct. 18, 2015
- See more at: www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx...
Post-game comment:
Buchanan was on the 1950 Joplin Miner team that was loaded with talent including future big leaguers, Steve Kraly, Bob Wiesler, Lou Skizas, Cal Neeman and a shortstop with the last name of Mantle.
Buchanan had great stories about that era and then some later in life about Mantle when “The Mick” moved to Dallas and would encounter Buchanan, at the counter performing his duties for American Airlines at the Dallas –Ft. Worth Airport. I’m not going to get into any detail here other than Buchanan telling how Mantle would totally embarrass him by some of the things he would yell at him, for everyone to hear.
Probably the thing Buchanan was best known for as a young pitcher was his warm-up routine. While batters swung weighted bats before heading to the plate, he had a brick stashed in the bullpen and would throw it during his warm-ups. It made the ball seem lighter just like the weighted bats did for the bat used during the official plate appearance.
Additional comment:
Not knowing, initially, who might have sent the Buchanan obituary I shared his obituary with a few former KOM and Yankee minor leaguers. I received this note from Shirley Virdon. “Bill knew him from Drury U. (Springfield, Mo.) We did not see this. Thanks for sending. We always heard from him at Christmas time and once in a while he would call and chat with Bill. Sorry to hear about his passing. Take care. Blessings, Shirley Virdon.”
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A note from Aletha Bartley, widow of the late Dodger player, manager and scout, Boyd.
Well I was for the Rangers, they lost. Then I was for the Astros, they lost. I was for the Dodgers, they lost, So I decided to be for the Cubs, they lost. So I then got smart and pulled for Toronto and by golly I helped the Royals to win. I never even got a thanks from them.
Post-game comment:
I imagine the teams in the World Series would pay Aletha big money to get her to root for their opponent.
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More from Bernie Gerl
In a recent note from Bernie Gerl he mentioned Fred Marolewski who got into one big league game on the closing day of the 1953 season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Gerl opined that I wouldn’t recognize that name. Of course, I did recall it and any other name of a Cardinal player who put on a uniform for the decade of the mid 1950’s through the mid 1960’s. So, here is a follow-up e-mail exchange
Note from Gerl:
Had breakfast yesterday with Frank Marolewski who was in the Cardinal system. He had great stats playing with many of my friends like Harvey Haddix, Jackie Collum and more. He is two years younger than me and has a great baseball mind. He lives by himself and is not an Internet man. We spent two hours together. Let me know if you would like to talk to him. Again pardon the mistakes in my typing
Ed reply:
I glanced through the rosters of minor league clubs for whom Marolewski played and found that he was a teammate of many former KOM league players.
He was signed out of Chicago about the same time as Jim Neufeldt another Windy City player. Neufeldt played in most of the Cardinal ports of call such as Carthage, St. Joseph, Houston and Columbus. Neufeldt got his degree from the Univ. of Illinois and is still residing in that area.
If Fred is interested in knowing the fate or whereabouts of any of those guys I'd be happy to share what I know with him.
Gerl’s reply:
Talked to Fred Marolewski tonight and told him about you. He would be glad to talk to you, phone 815 478 xxxx best time to call about 6: 30 pm . Keep me posted
Ed reply:
When I make contact I will let you know. I better not call him on World Series game nights, I might just make an enemy.
Comment:
Fred Marolewski was either a teammate or on the roster, the same year, with these former KOM leaguers: Bob Habenicht, Cloyd Boyer, James Neufeldt, Bob Hyatt, Bill Upton, Bob Jenkins, Lloyd “Pat” Gosney, Charlie Locke, Bob Harrison, Don Schultz, Dick Loeser, Walter Marlow, Charlie Popovich, Jim Morris, Howard “Mace” Pool, Bob Mahoney, Robert Vogel and Dave Young. Six of the fellows just mentioned played in the major leagues. Can you name them and their KOM affiliation?
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A Cub fan—even after the series with the Mets
John: I have told you in the past how much I enjoy the KOM report and your tomatoes. Thank you for mentioning Cal Neeman and Charlie Metro. I actually had season tickets in Chicago the year of the college of coach's and they also had what was called an Athletic Director rather than a GM. Wrigley had weird ideas. I WON the four season tickets but I also think the all-star game may have been in Wrigley Field that year! Keep up the great work and thank you.
Denny Sutherland, your two blocks away neighbor from Aurora, Illinois and a lifelong Cubs fan.
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Don Biebel for Carthage Cub player and Chicago Cub traveling secretary
In the previous Flash Report the Charlie Metro book was mentioned and it contained a story regarding Don Biebel hiding out in the Cubs scoreboard and stealing signs. I stated that possibly Biebel would read the item and make a comment. My fondest wish came true with this note.
“You’re right about not helping much. I recall getting 90% of the calls against Bib Gibson and he pitched a one-hitter against us only had the tip of my foot showing in the empty slots on the board. Best story is when Hank Sauer got in street clothes when he was with the Giants in ‘59 came out to the score board and tried to get in. Needless to say he failed. I also caught Bob Buhl and Joey Jay of the Braves sitting in the bleachers trying to get our signs. Of course, I had an usher remove them. Was a fun summer.” Don Biebel—Sacramento, CA
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Dick Wiegand former Brooklyn Dodger up and coming lefthander
John, in reading this Flash Report the name Hank Paskiewicz jumped out to me as I played on the same team as he did in 1957 at Rapid City, S.D. He was our second baseman and a very good ball player and person. Rapid City won the pennant that year. Frank Howard played on that team also. It was the summer between his (Howard’s) junior and senior year at Ohio State. Dick Wiegand—Sun City, Arizona, former Ponca City Dodger and a native of Nebraska
Post-game comment:
It would be very easy to go off on a tangent with that tidbit of information provided by Wiegand. Wiegand and Paskiewicz were teammates at Rapid City, SD of the Basin league in both 1957-58. For those of you too young to remember, that league was a non-professional circuit made up of “large” cities in South Dakota such as; Rapid City, Huron, Mitchell, Watertown, Yankton, Pierre, Winner, Chamberlain along with Valentine, Nebraska. It derived its name from the Missouri River Basin. It drew former and future big leaguers and college students honing their skills during the summer.
Going on a brief tangent I know that former KOM leaguers other than Wiegand and Paskiewicz played in the Basin league in 1957-58 including; Leonard VandeHey, Joe “Corky” Buckstead, Ed Staab, Vern McKee, Merlyn Jorgensen and Paul Tretiak. I recognize many fellows who played for other minor league teams by examining this URL www.attheplate.com/wcbl/1957_80i.html and others like it on that site.
There were a number of guys who used the Basin league as a springboard to the big leagues, or as a landing strip after playing in the big leagues including but not limited to: Ken Hunt, Craig Anderson, Forrest “Spook” Jacobs, Dick “The Flame Thrower” Radatz, Dean Look who was also an All-American football star of that era, Sonny Siebert, Frank Howard, Ron Perranoski, Jerry Adair, Frank Tanana, Eddie Fisher (not the one who married Liz Taylor and Debbie Reynolds), Don Schwall, Jim O’Toole Dick Howser and Kermit Wahl.
If you have time to spare you might Google some of those names to be entertained a bit. For example you might enjoy a You Tube story told by Dean Look and how he wound up playing for Duffy Daughtery’s Michigan State Spartans. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAK2U9E9o-E
Jim O’Toole and Don Schwall both got those amazing $50,000 bonuses, in December, after performing in that league during the summer of 1957.
Okay, I didn’t go too far off base so if you’re interested you can go back and click on the next to last URL I shared and you can even see photos of many of the participants in that league.
A short time later: For those of you who are real gluttons for punishment, and would like the names of all the former big leaguers who played in the Basin league, I found a great article published in 2003 in the Rapid City Journal. It looks to me as though the writer documented 137 former big leaguers who played in that old amateur circuit. rapidcityjournal.com/sports/local/part-hills-players-fill... In that group are three guys who made it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Larry Scott--Hall of Fame disc jockey and expert in Southern Gospel, Country and Western Swing genres.
John, enjoyed this (previous Flash Report) almost as much as ‘’Give The World A Smile.” Larry Scott—Terrell, Texas
Ed comment:
About the greatest amount of praise anyone could give a Flash Report came from Scott in his “Give The World A Smile” comment. This is that to which he was referring. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9xPkde4ROY
Before sharing our back and forth conversation I want to state that I do have friends, interests and acquaintances outside the KOM framework. Scott and I got back to 1959 when he was a staff announcer and disc jockey for KBTN in Neosho, MO. I was a summer fill-in pastor at church, near there, in extreme Southwest Missouri, so much so that most of my congregants were from Arkansas. When you have an average of five in a Sunday service and three were from Arkansas that forms a majority.
When I first saw Larry Scott he was promoting large singing events for the big names in Southern Gospel music. One group he promoted was the Oak Ridge Boys when they were the Oak Ridge Quartet and traveling in cheap stretch limousines. One evening, in 1959, I was in attendance at one of Scott’s events that featured the Blackwood Brothers and Statesmen Quartet along with the Singing Speer Family. An old guy to me then, but I’d now consider younger, under the circumstances, was on the stage and all the groups were signing the songs he had written.
The old guy whose songs were being sung that evening was Albert E. Brumley Sr. www.google.com/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=Albe...
To say that Brumley was a prolific and gifted writer of songs would be akin to saying Babe Ruth could hit a baseball.
Jump ahead 40 years from the night I saw Albert E. Brumley Sr. in Neosho, MO. During a KOM league reunion at Precious Moments in Carthage a gentleman, about my age, was engrossed in the items being displayed regarding the KOM league. He seemed more interested than anyone at that event. I knew he was either a true fan or one of the creeps who ripped me off a couple of times at when I had one-of-a-kind of items displayed. The fellow introduced himself as Albert E. Brumley Jr. He iterated that when he was a youth, during the Carthage Cardinal and Cub days in the KOM, his father would plan one big outing each year and drive from Powell, MO to Carthage to see his favorite minor league team. The elder Brumley was a great song writer and his second love was baseball. The Brumleys were huge St. Louis Cardinal fans but didn’t get to any more of the games of the big league team as they did for the Class D Carthage entry.
Albert Jr. told me it was a sad day when Carthage dropped out of the KOM league and they had to rely on watching the Joplin Miners instead-- and it just wasn’t the same.
So, with that bit of background I can share the give-and-take Scott and I had recently. I shared large volumes of information regarding the Brumleys in the early 2000’s when Al Jr. joined us at the KOM league reunion in Bartlesville, OK. Scott never made it to one of those events but he was a busy guy hosting radio shows heard across this country from Bakersfield, CA to Dallas, TX and even producing a radio sports show for Harry Caray prior to his departure from St. Louis.
Ed reply:
You must have known I was thinking of you this week. I was going through some ancient quartet videos and found the McDonald Quartet who headquartered out of southeast Missouri, southwest Illinois and northeast Arkansas from the 1920's to around 1950. They broadcast over KBOA in Kennett, Mo for years. I must confess I never heard them but I said to myself "I bet Larry Scott remembers them."
Scott’s reply:
I’ve got an old radio broadcast by the McDonald Brothers from McAlester, Oklahoma
Doy Ott www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=%20623... was playing piano for them at that time. Rosie Rozell www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19616025
Warren Holmes, and I think Charley Hutton went up to Springfield and joined the Foggys (Foggy River Boys) then, Rosie and Charley went back to Tulsa. Rosie was a policeman and was from Skiatook. The Statesmen hired Rosie in December of ‘58.
Bill and Monty Matthews joined the Foggy River Boys and then they formed a brand new quartet, the Jordanaires. www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am... To complete the group they came to Monett (MO) and hired Cully Holt, and Bob Hubbard. They had been singing with a group called The Four H’s. All the guys last names started with the letter “H”. We had a cousin, Al Higgins, who was singing with the group. They were very popular in our part of the country.
I’m gonna make a cd or cd’s that will contain V.O. Stamps and a December, 1937 radio broadcast, Frank Stamps and a 1957 broadcast, some of the Statesmen’s old radio programs, the one by The McDonald Brothers, The Rangers Quartet old Blackwood Brothers recordings several more that helped make gospel music history. I’ll include you on the list. It will take me a little while to get it done. Through September 25th I spent 70% of this year in the hospital. Doing good now, just a little slow. This is a photo of Larry Scott at his studio in Terrell, TX www.terrelltribune.com/image_7f4c9ace-5fa6-11e1-8b7c-0018...
Ed reply:
I get a surprise every once in a while when looking at the names of some of the guys who sang with a group. I didn't know until this week that Rosie Rozell sang with the Foggy River Boys. I first knew of him with the Tulsa Trumpeteers. It is nice learning something at my age.
Thanks for staying in touch.
I knew you would know all that stuff. I was aware of much of what you shared such as Rosie Rozell being a Tulsa policeman. Somewhere in that mix in Rosie's life was R. G. Lewis. He ran a florist shop in Tulsa and had something to do with Rosie's early start in
singing.
The first time I ever heard of or saw a gospel quartet was in 1949. The Matthews Brothers sang at the Church of the Nazarene in Carthage and the place was packed. They opened the big windows at the church located at Chestnut and Grant Streets and people stood on the sidewalks to listen. Eleven years later I was married in that church and only six people were there. My parents, the preacher and his wife and my bride and I. I guess it turned out okay, we've been happily ever after for 55 years.
I look forward to your project on putting together those old quartets.
Ed note:
The Foggy River Boys and Matthews Brothers were the nucleus of the Jordanaires. The next time I saw that group, in Carthage, was at the Tiger Theater a half dozen years later as they sang the background for Elvis Presley. All things are connected in one way or another. One fellow with whom I attended grade and high school, Bobby Moskop, later played piano for a reconstructed Foggy River Boys and my high school voice instructor, John Mitchell, joined them as the baritone. I exaggerate a little bit about “singing”. Mitchell came around when I was signing in a choir and listened to me and suggested my voice was best suited for signing while alone such as in the shower or in my car with the windows rolled up. The latter version of the Foggy River Boys were one of the first groups to set up shop on the Branson, MO music scene.
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Former KOM and big leaguers gathered
John, were your ears "burning" last Monday morning? We had breakfast with Bob & Joanie SPEAKE and other friends and we were talking about you, the Flash Report and the KOM League! All good! Have a great weekend!
Blessings, Shirley Virdon—Springfield, MO
Ed reply:
I kid you not my ears were burning. Now, I know why. It is nice to be remembered.
Virdon’s reply:
Well, we read the Flash Report and worry about you when we don't get one for a long while!
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Beyond my pay grade
John - I know your two favorite teams (Cards & Cubs) fell short of making the World Series. But now that your #3 team is in I’m certain you will be glued to the telly for the entire series. So since I will be unable to watch, could you please send me a short synopsis of each game. I’d really appreciate it. Thx in advance, dave (Austin, Texas)
Ed reply:
I never liked the Cubs even though I have been around a few of them. As for me and the World Series you are going to have to rely on another source. The last time I watched any World Series game, with any interest, was 1966. The only game I've watched since then was with my grandson in 2011 and only then because he insisted. I gave it up when they fell behind Texas in the 8th inning. I was awakened after a few minutes of sleep by my grandson proclaiming David Freese had homered or doubled.
The foregoing is the truth as I know it.
I can tell you in advance who will win. The team with the pitchers who aren't worn out after nearly 200 exhibition, regular season and playoff games will prevail. The entire baseball season is far too long. Playing baseball in the winter is only for those living in Latin America.
Dave’s plaintive reply:
I’m really disappointed, John. I just knew I could rely on you.
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A note that took five months to reach me
How nice to reminisce those fun reunions! You did such a terrific thing in bringing all of those former players together to enjoy each other once again and to relive the thrill of playing the game of baseball that is the "love" of all of us who have spent most of our lives with this game in some capacity! My crazy phone wouldn't send this message-----who knows WHY!!!!!!
Anyway, a few months late, I will try again. Shirley V
The aforementioned note came from Shirley at the same time she was responding to a comment about the baseball season being too protracted. Here is what she said on that score which made me feel good that someone agreed with me. “I watched until the12th inning last night and Bill watched until the end of the 13th! Tonight is beginning to resemble last night's game! I probably will head to the bedroom before long, and hear about the game tomorrow! I can't seem to get too interested----I'm with you----I have never liked the playoffs-----I wish they would leave the game alone---no replay, no playoffs, no sabermetrics and certainly no robots to replace the umpires!!!! I have been on my "bandbox" since the three teams with the best percentages in all of baseball were eliminated and not one of them made it to the Series! That should not happen! Sadly, money is the driving force-----when you play 162 games and end up on top, you should be playing in the Series!!! Now, after this inning I may head to bed. With the Royals strong bullpen, they surely can secure a win again tonight. Sleep well! Blessings, Shirley V. (Note: This note was written at the midway point of the second game of the Mets/Royals series.
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Keeping up with everything
The late Neil Gibson of Arlington, TX was a long time reader of these Flash Reports. He proclaimed, many times, that the publication was like the old telephone switchboard operator who knew everything about everybody. He passed an edict that I could never die for there wouldn’t be anyone around who could pass along the messages. Well, I fall short of fitting his estimation of my outreach but I do hear from some people who seem to come out of nowhere.
Recently, I heard from a regular reader who said some of his high school buddies were weightlifters who also attended the Univ. of Kansas in the early 1960’s and recall “A 29-year old stud” from Columbia, Missouri, who was “heavily” into that sport. My reader recognized the name from these reports and asked if I could provide information to a buddy of his about the guy who now has surpassed the 29-year old mark by over a half century. After a few attempts of getting the information from point A to point C by way of point B, this is the response from point C through point B about the former 29-year weight wrestler and coach. “Casey: Incredibly, Bill Clark did get my message. Will give a bit of the flavor: "John Hall and I have been friends for 20 years. He's from Carthage--where I held baseball tryouts and signed my first player for the Pirates in 1968. His name was Joe McAtee from St. Paul, Ks. I tried out, at age 16, in Carthage for the KOM league team and am an honorary KOM alumnus. I was cut after the first day of a three day tryout. "Good Field....no hit". I became an umpire".
Point C continued. “Bill and I will probably meet for lunch soon. Amazing how these little tidbits can bring people together.” Point C is John Willcott.
Ed note:
If the foregoing needs any clarification I’d be happy to send along Bill Clark’s son’s e-mail address since Bill never goes near a computer.
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A peek at the past.
In recent weeks I shared the obituary of Robert Jenkins, long time minor league performer who started out in the KOM league. Back in April of this year I shared a photo of the 1949 Pittsburg Browns of which he was a member. If you wish to see that photo go to:
www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/17086976836/ In that report I listed him as one of the three guys in that photo still living. Now, it’s down to two.
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World Series Anniversary
Gary Bedingfield of Glasgow, Scotland has been mentioned a number of times, in this forum, regarding a site that honors those former ballplayers who served in the military. His site is www.baseballinwartime.com This month he featured the 70th Anniversary of the ETO World Series (European Theater of Operations).
Bedingfield’s e-mail coincided with a telephone call from Bob Nichols of Canton, OH who played in the ETO. In fact, he was the starting pitcher in the first ETO game played, in 1945, at Nuremburg Stadium. He was with the 778th Tank Battalion that was assigned to the 1st Armored Division’s Artillery Unit. Unlike the rest of the members of his team he was the only one without prior professional baseball experience. When the captain of the unit came around to write a profile of the team he learned Nichols had never pitched prior to that game. That is why Nichols was shocked to learn he was the starting pitcher.
He recalled that the distance to the left field wall was 525 feet and in one game he faced future big leaguer, Bobby Morgan, who whistled a shot over the left fielders head and he walked home from third base in that inside-the-park blast.
During high school he and Paul Stuffel were classmates. He recalled being surprised pitching in another ETO game where Stuffel was the opposing pitcher. Stuffel not only shutout Nichols’ team but hit a home run in a 1-0 win.
You may recall a story this summer, along with a photo, of Bob Nichols reaching the “Fourscore and ten plateau.” I asked him how it felt to be a decade away from the century mark and he replied “It is a heavy mantel to bear.” If you missed it here is Nichols’ birthday party announcement. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/19620261459/
The KOM League
Flash Report
for
March 2, 2015
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Another tale of tracking former KOM leaguers
Article from Pittsburg Morning Sun--1949
Pittsburg Brownies Will Have a Strong 1949 Infield By BILL MOREY PITTSBURG, Kas.,. May 2— (AP) — Al Barkus, new manager of the Pittsburg Browns, will depend on a strong infield, fair pitching, mediocre catching, and an outfield boasting but one seasoned performer, to make good his promise of giving Pittsburg a first division team in the KOM league race this season. Barkus is in his freshman year as, a manager, he has spent three seasons with the St. Louis Browns' chain, pitching for Elmira, N. Y., of the Eastern league last, year. Barkus has but three men with previous experience in pro baseball, for the opener with Chanute's Athletics on May 5. Every man on, the squad with the exception of Johnny Waltman, 19-year-old righthand hurler from Ellerslie, Md., is new to Pittsburg this year. Waltman, who started the '48 season with Pitt, and finished as a relief chucker for Belleville, 1ll., is rated as the No. 1 pitcher at this time. His spring work includes a 7-4 victory over Aberdeen of the class C Northern league. Others battling for positions on the 17-man mound staff are: Harold Wilfong, only lefthander- of the group, Vernon Boeschen, Bob Carle,. Anthony Bellotte, Louis Novak, Loren Stewart, Bob Rose, and Charles Watson.. The; infield, Barkus' pride and joy, is made up of Frank Rolfs, first sacker with; Ada, Okla., and Griffin, Ga., last year, and outstanding rookies James Mc Hugh at second, Salvatore Nardello at short and Gene Puetz, third base. Harry Kelly, 25-year-old Albany, N. Y., centerfielder who was with Wausau, Wis., and Mayfield, Ky., in 1948, is the key man of the outfield. His early season play has been on the sensational side. In left will be either Don Shannon, of Powers, Mich., or Ted Ponikiewski, Detroit. Ameal Nassaf, St. Louis rookie, gets the nod for the rightfield post. Fighting it out for the two catching berths are Gerald Beaman, Pittsburg State college football and basketball star, Jack Bright, Gaffney, S. C., and Joseph Rettie, 21-year-old New York City boy.
Ed comment:
There are two names in the aforementioned article that caught my eye. The first was John C. ”Jack” Bright. He was one of those former KOM leaguers who was very hard to track down. He was signed by the St. Louis Browns and reported to Pittsburg, Kansas in the spring of 1949. Forty-nine was a significant number for that team that year, for that was the number of players on the Pittsburg roster.. They came and went with great regularity. Bright left Pittsburg shortly after the season began and he hooked on for a brief time with the Miami, Oklahoma Owls. There was another member of the Miami team with the same last name, Harry Bright, and that led to Jack being confused with his namesake by researchers who never read box scores to obtain their information.
Many years I searched for Jack Bright who was listed in the Pittsburg Morning Sun as being a native of Gaffney, South Carolina. It took this editor until 2011 to track him down and when I did he was living in Spartanburg, South Carolina which is about 20 miles from Gaffney.
On a recent, cold winter afternoon, I found this posting. “Jack Bright --Spartanburg, SC – John C. Bright, 85, was carried home by angels to his eternal home to be with his sweetheart, the late Peggy Jean Burgess Bright, on Saturday, September 14, 2013.
Jack was born on June 18, 1928 to the late Dawkins D. and Polly Owens Jennings. He faithfully served his country in the US Army, and retired from Arrow Automotive after 35 years of service. He was a member of the Roebuck Masonic Lodge #357 and Beaver Hills Baptist Church. Jack loved fishing and was an avid NASCAR fan.
He is survived by his daughter, Teresa Martin (Junior) of Wellford; a granddaughter, Diana Roper (Matt) of Duncan; two great-grandsons, Hunter and Tanner Roper; and a sister in law, Lola Bright.
Jack was predeceased by a brother, Leroy Bright; two sisters, Rosetta Bearden and Pauline Clark.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at Beaver Hills Baptist Church with funeral services to follow at 2:00 PM, officiated by Reverend Gerald Thomas and Tim Hackett.
Burial with military honors will be at Sunset Memorial Park.
In remembrance of Jack, memorials may be made to Spartanburg Regional Hospice; 120 Heywood Ave., Spartanburg, SC 29303.
The family would like to thank Tameka Murphy and Brittany Bullington, of Regional Hospice, for their loving and attentive care of Jack.Ray “
More comments:
In the May 2, 1949 Pittsburg Morning Sun column it mentioned the catching prospects for Pittsburg that year were Bright, Gerald Beaman and Joe Rettie. Seeing Rettie’s name once again sparked my interest. In 1996 the first big KOM reunion was held in Pittsburg, Kansas. I received an inquiry from Rettie asking if he could attend the event. I knew of his time with Pittsburg during the spring of that year and I, of course, told him he’d be most welcome.
His interest was genuine and he showed up for the reunion and as I recall he truly enjoyed the event. When all the players gathered for an official team photo, he took his place with all the former Pittsburg Browns. That reunion was held in June of 1996 and Rettie seemed interested in staying in touch. For at least the next year I sent him the monthly KOM League Remembered newsletter. However, I never heard from him after he left Pittsburg. I assumed he wearied of the effort to keep the memory of the KOM alive. I looked in various resource materials for him but nothing could be found. Thus, after reading the obituary of Jack Bright I decided to make another attempt at finding what had become of Rettie. Since 1996 finding information on someone has been greatly enhanced. As with information on any person you locate on the Internet, a lot of it is conflicting.
In order to piece the life of Rettie into a coherent synopsis I started at the logical point, the beginning, or as close to it as possible. His parents were natives of Scotland with his father, a carpenter by trade, arrived in this country in 1907. The Navy records for Joseph shows him as being born July 11, 1927 but the Social Security Death Index places his birth as two years earlier on July 11. I accept the 1925 birth date since he went into the Navy after high school and he wouldn’t have come out of the service, as a veteran, at the age of 21, as was claimed by the account of his signing with the Browns. By the time he arrived in Pittsburg he was 23.5 years of age.
But, I’m a bit ahead of myself. In tracing Rettie back to his roots I found that he didn’t have a lot. By 1930 he was listed as an “inmate.” Of course, that wasn’t due to a crime for he was living in the Masonic Home and Hospital in Utica, New York. That census showed his age as about 3.5 years. Thus, something that happened to or between his parents caused him to have been in that orphanage. When his parents were married they lived in Manhattan, New York. Everything from the time he was a tyke, until he was mentioned in the 1949 Pittsburg newspaper, is unclear except for the fact that he served in the United States Navy. From May of 1949 until June of 1996 the only thing I can verify is that he was living in Omaha, Nebraska and that for four days in June of ’96 he was back in Pittsburg, Kansas.
In the 1996 era I was busy gathering information of as many former players as I could and as rapidly as possible. One thing I had intended to do was to learn more about Joseph Rettie in the days, weeks and months following the reunion. However, I learned last week why I never heard from him again. On December 20, 1996, just six months after the first KOM league reunion, he passed away in Omaha, Nebraska and was buried in Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery in that city. One thing for which I’m grateful is that although he never got to play in a regular season KOM league game he at least was able to attend the first KOM league reunion and he had his photo taken with many of the former Pittsburg Browns. I guess there is some justice in this world. I wish I had gotten to have known him better.
The Last Man
Often I have speculated about the last man standing from the KOM league. I was reminded of that recently after receiving a note from Jerry Hogan of Fayetteville, AR. He commented on spying the name of Woody Fair in a recent Flash Report and he’s always excited when he sees the name of a former Arkansas State or Arkansas-Missouri league player mentioned. A number of e-mails went back and forth and one of the things about which we speculated was whether any fellows who played in that league(s) were still living. In my time researching baseball in Carthage which included their time in the Arkansas-Missouri league, I recalled speaking with a half dozen or so fellows who performed in that league such as: Bob Barton, Woody Fair, Harold Ensley (The Sportsman’s Friend on TV), Frank Stapleton, Chick Wagenhurst and Eddie Barnett.
Shortly, after speculating if there were any living members of the old Arkansas State and Arkansas-Missouri league (s) still living I recalled reading about John Orphal and his wife celebrating their 74th wedding anniversary a couple of years ago. I looked for them again and found the following?
www.legacy.com/obituaries/ocala/obituary.aspx?pid=174217820 For a glimpse of Orphal’s career you can visit this site. Keep in mind his 1940 season also included at least a month with the Carthage, Missouri Pirates. I have no idea if his time at Fremont in Ohio State league included his Carthage 2-2 record. My guess is that it didn’t. www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=orphal001joh
John J. Orphal—Ocala Fla.
John was welcomed into God’s arms on February 11, 2015. John was born November 22, 2017 And had just celebrated his 97th birthday. He lived a wonderful and exciting life for 76 years with his loving wife, Helen. He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio to Earle and Florence Orphal and went to Blume High School where he met and fell in love with Helen. He was a talented athlete and became a professional baseball player. His career for 10 years as a ball player took them all over the Unites States achieving a brief stay in the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds before his contract was purchased by the New York Yankees where he was a Triple A player and became a lifelong fan of the Yankee organization. During that time his two children were born, son, Dennis Orphal (Viki-deceased) of Pleasanton, California and daughter, Linda Brow (Denny) of Ft. Myers, Florida. Also during this time he played guard for the National Cash Register basketball team. This was before found of the NBA when professional basketball teams were sponsored by corporations such as NCR, Goodyear, Firestone, etc. He moved to St. Marys, Ohio, his baseball career and worked for 23 years As a supervisor at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. He retired to Ocala, Florida in 1976 where he enjoyed many exciting hours on the golf course perfecting his game. He is survived by his wife, two children and four grandchildren, Jeff and Kathy Brown, Jonathan and David Orphal and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his two sisters, Glenna McCormick and Doris Weber both of Wapakoneta, Ohio.
Ed comment:
There aren’t many, maybe one person, around who know the history of the Arkansas State and Arkansas-Missouri leagues. So, when I want to know anything about it I go back to the source, Jerry Hogan of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Before he speaks allow me to explain the 1940 Arkansas-Missouri league half season. The league folded after the 4th of July and players scattered to the four winds of minor league baseball and/or oblivion. No one who ever played that season is credited in the records as having been there. Pete Castiglione played for Carthage before going to Hutchinson, Kansas after the league folded. In many conversations I had with the future big leaguer he had fonder memories of Carthage than any place he ever performed. He even shared some photos with me of that era which sort of verified his statements.
That will do it on that subject. John Orphal pitched for Carthage in 1940 and the following is what Jerry Hogan sent me regarding Orphal time in my hometowns when I was six months old.
From Jerry Hogan:
I went to the archives at the University of Arkansas files regarding Johnny Orphal. Here's what I found: His pitching stats were listed on May 25, 1940 and on June 8, 1940 (next to last newspaper listing of overall league stats as I recall). The main categories:
Games: 4
IP: 19
W-L: 2-2
ERA: 4.73
The numbers were the same in both listings, so I believe Johnny Orphal was gone from the Carthage team by May 25, 1940, and probably before.
On May 3, 1940, the Carthage Evening Press ran a picture of the Carthage team and Johnny Orphal was in the picture.
The Northwest Arkansas Times ran box scores for both of Orphal's wins but I didn't see either of the losses:
May 8, 1940 - WP in 10-2 Carthage win over Siloam Springs
May 15, 1940 - WP in 14-4 Carthage win over Fayetteville (in this game, Pete Castiglione hit leadoff for Carthage and went 2-6 with a double.
That's what a quick check of the old newspapers turned up on the late Mr. Orphal.
I also noticed that after the A-ML folded that Buzz Arlitt, Pete Castiglione and 4-5 more Carthage players moved on to Hutchinson, Kansas just as you said in one of your recent posts. As you mentioned also, Arlitt went as manager, too.
Ed reply to Hogan:
I'm prepared to say that John Orphal was the last member of the Arkansas State and Ark. Mo leagues to exit the arena. You play Taps and I'll stand at attention.
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Death of Former Baxter Springs Whiz Kid and Miami Eagle
DERBY (KS) - Lee, Bennie, 85, passed away peacefully Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015. Bennie was born Oct. 14, 1929, in Baxter Springs, Kan., the son of Oliver and Mary Lee. Survivors include his loving wife of 58 years, Marita Lee; children, Bennie (Donna) Lee, Jr., James Lee, Mary Williamson; brother, Fred Lee; sisters, Merlyn (Don) Brown, Earlene Realmuto; 8 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Eugene, Floyd, John and Charles Lee; sister, Luella McCoy. Bennie was an outstanding athlete where he attended high school in Columbus, Kan., lettering in all sports as well as an outstanding baseball player in the summer playing for the infamous "Baxter Springs Whiz Kids" having Mickey Mantle as a teammate. After a knee injury took Bennie out for a year, he attended Oklahoma NEO in Miami, Okla., and Wichita University playing football and baseball. Upon graduation he was head football coach at Derby High School for eight years followed by four years as an assistant football coach at Kansas University. He then moved back to Wichita and became involved with aircraft parts distribution with his father-in-law, Claude Mann at Airtechnics. He later formed his own distribution and rep business, Lee Products, until his retirement in 1991. In retirement he enjoyed pitching horseshoes, walking his dogs, enjoying family activities, as well as Shriner and Jester activities. His contribution and love for his family will be missed. The family respectfully requests a private memorial with no public viewing. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside St., Wichita, KS 67220. To share memories please visit www.mylakeviewfuneralhome.com
A photo of Bennie Lee is at this site. I can assure you this picture was taken a “few” years ago.
Ed comment:
A decade ago I got to know Bennie Maxwell Lee. He played with the Baxter Springs, Kansas Whiz Kids before playing for a while in 1950 with the Miami Eagles. The first I ever knew about Bennie was shared with me by Merlyn Johnson-Mantle. She said that she had a crush on him before she met Mickey. I asked Bennie about that at the Mantle book signing event we had during a weekend in June in 2005 in Joplin and he confirmed the story. Another member of the Whiz Kids who played minor league ball in the Evangeline league and was at Coffeyville, Kansas the night Tom Greenwade attended the Whiz Kid game on the night of Mantle’s graduation from high school. Since there aren’t many of the Whiz Kids with whom to share stories any more I sent a note to Wylie Pitts’ wife Mary Ann who lives in Riverton, Kansas. Here are her comments. “No, we hadn't heard this - Thanks so much for sending it. I used to have a crush on Bennie - he played left field and flirted with the girls in the stands. We were so glad to see him at your reunion in Joplin.” Mary Ann
Since Merlyn Mantle told me she had a crush on Bennie and now Mary Ann admits to it I’m enclosing the link which contains a photo of him. I’ll guarantee you he looked more like this back in 1949 than he did in 2015. www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansas/obituary.aspx?n=Bennie-L...
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Comment from a former Chanute fan:
It is always enjoyable to remember Bernie Tye, Dick Walt—Durham, NC
Comment from a former Ponca City Dodger.
This note was sent by my only Canadian reader, Barry McMahon. “John I just discovered the death of Ray Hathaway. Ray pitched in four games with the 45 Brooklyn Dodgers but spent twenty years as a pitcher and manager in the Dodgers organization. Ray was 98 years old. He spent three years in the Navy during the war.”
www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150212&content_id...
I quickly figured out he played with or managed 14 former KOM leaguers, of which 13 were former Ponca City Dodgers and one was Kenny Cox who played in the St. Louis Cardinal organization, at Carthage, before joining the Dodgers.
Hathaway’s obituary was shared with Dick Wiegand who pitched for Ponca City in 1951 and then played for Hathaway a couple of times later in his career. Here is Wiegand’s comment.” Thanks for sending this to me. I liked Ray as he was a fine person and good manager. I especially remember his quick wit and laugh.”
This report turned out to be nothing more than an obituary column. Sorry about that but if I didn’t mention some of these guys no one would know except a family member or some friends. One last word on death was that of Jim King who played mostly with the Chicago Cubs. He died in Fayetteville, Ark. in recent days and I informed Jerry Hogan, the Arkansas State and Arkansas-Missouri league expert. Here are his comments. “John,
Jim King is one of those ‘man, I should have followed up on that’ things. Mr. King was from Elkins and had a pretty decent Big League career. I remember him when I was a kid, he was just about done but he had been a power hitter and was a local guy (Elkins, as you probably know, is only 5 or 6 miles from Fayetteville).
Mr. King was friends with the father of one my close cousin's wife (my cousin plays with us in our family band East of Zion down here). Anyway, every morning Mr. King and Jack Guinn (the father of my cousin's wife) had breakfast at a little place in Elkins. I kept saying to myself and telling Jack that I wanted to join them one morning and visit with Mr. King.
Well, crap, I blew it. Now Jim King is gone. He was said to be completely humble and just a nice man to talk to. I've got to learn to follow up on these opportunities.”
www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/feb/26/ex-big-leaguer-ki...
Ed comment:
There is a moral to that story, I leave it to the readers to discern the obvious.
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That is about it for this time.
Additional information on any of the fellows shown in the 1996 reunion photo is available, on request. Only players Sal Nardello and Frank Hungerford are still living. The guy I call Yours truly is still alive, I think. Sometimes I question that. But, since he is the guy sharing this message and that photo I suppose he is rated a notch above comatose.
Amazingly, I can look at the images in the background of that team photo and name every one of those people even those whose faces are hidden. Wow!! that event made a lasting impression on me.
The KOM League
Flash Report
for
The end of August and start of September, 2018
This report is on the Flickr site at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/44372302181/ In this edition there are a number of references that will have to be clicked to fully understand/appreciate this report. It can’t be promised by clicking that it will bring good health and satisfaction, but it will give the reader a chance to “widen their horizon.”
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Collage of Bill Bauernfeind in 1951:
Last time we all met in this forum the death of Bill Bauernfeind was mentioned. Since I didn’t include a photo of him in that edition it is being rectified in this report with four;
1. Upper left. Bauernfeind is standing in front of the Blue Lantern Café. The sign in the window is not totally discernible. However, I think it is a photo of a young Carthage girl who was competing for the title “Queen of the Carthage Cubs Baseball Team.” The queen was chosen by the number of tickets each business sold. I know who won the contest, Charlotte Whittaker, but who this girl was, I have no idea. My wife, looking at the same image tells me it was a vase not a girl. If any of you Carthage readers recall this, let me know. Hey, I just mentioned the above for on that image in the Blue Lantern’s window are the words, “Carthage Press.” For those who may not have heard, that publication hung around nearly 140 years until it died this week. How about that? The KOM League news outlasted the Carthage newspaper. E. L. Dale, KOM President was the editor of that publication for its “glory“ years. www.fairfieldcitizenonline.com/news/article/Carthage-Pres...
2.Upper right: This photo was taken in front of the White Rock Café and features George Beck, Jo Graham and Bauernfeind. The White Rock was the next door south of the Blue Lantern. In April, the death of George Beck was reported and this same photo was used. If you missed that report and desire more detail regarding the photo click here: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/39647215320/
3.Bottom left: In this photo are Bill McMichael, Bauernfeind and Don Biebel standing in front of the Corner Drug Store which, oddly enough, was located on the Southeast corner of 4th and Grant Streets. Thanks to Bauernfeind I have these and many more photos of the 1951 Carthage Cubs. Also, posthumous thanks go out to Reuel King who operated that drug store and was the secretary/treasurer of the Carthage Baseball Club in 1951. He kept all the files for that team up to his death and then his wife kept them for the next 40 years until she prepared to place them on the curb for the garbage man. I happened to arrive one day before they were to be disposed of and now they are a treasured collection of all types of information that otherwise would have been lost forever.
4.Bottom right: Just call him “Dandy Billy.” This is a hat the owners of Bormaster’s Dept. Store, on the east side of the Carthage square, awarded him for a pitching victory. The Bormaster’s were Robert, Leon and Theodore who were born, educated, lived and died in Joplin. But, they supported Carthage baseball.
Well, that is an interlude to this next article. One person who reads these Flash Reports is Casey Casebolt, former resident of Chanute, Kansas who now lives in the Kansas City metro area. He played a lot of baseball, in Chanute, with the local boys, a few of whom had the last name of Lindblad and Paul, of that group, had a very good career in the major leagues. www.google.com/search?q=paul+lindblad+obituary&oq=Pau...
The coach of that American Legion team was a man who played in the KOM league for all or parts of five seasons and that was…the late Samuel Vickroy Dixon.
In the previous edition there was a citation about the three surviving members of the 1949 Chanute Athletics. Casebolt thought his friend, in Michigan, who once lived in Chanute would like knowing about the guys from that era still hanging in there. However, the story that caught the eye of Casebolt’s friend was not about Chanute. Here is his note: “The William Bauernfeind reference was of personal interest to me because my family lived in Buchanan, MI, from 1948 to 1951, just at the time that he (Bauernfeind) was staring At Niles, MI, about five miles away (in fact, he belonged to the Niles-Buchanan YMCA). And the whole area these days is called the ‘Niles-Buchanan area.’ Dad Was the Presbyterian preacher in Buchanan, and was lured up to the area by a seminary buddy of his, who was the Niles minister. (We moved to Chanute from Buchanan.) Both Niles and Buchanan are right across the Indiana State line from South Bend, IN, and Notre Dame.”
In his note, Casebolt’s friend included two photos of Bauernfeind during his senior year at Niles High School. He advised Casebolt that he could send them along to John Hall, which he did. As with anything there is always something interesting if you look long enough. The e-mail address of Casebolt’s friend made me wonder if he was a fan of the old radio program “Bobby Benson and His B-Bar B Riders.” I communicated with Casebolt’s friend and learned that the e-mail address was a derivation of the old radio program. If you remember it you’ll be admitting your age. If you never heard of it, or want a refresher course, click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uImBDUhoeDg At one time the radio Bobby Benson was played by a girl. I think her last name was Crawford.
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A special story—with a video and a chicken dinner included for one low price
Housed in three ring binders, that adorn one entire wall in the “KOM League Basement,” are articles and other forms of material that have not seen the light of day dating back 72 years. Going through some material recently I came upon a letter that is a relatively young--67. (Ed note: This is in the stack of stuff, mentioned earlier in this report that was kept by Reuel King, secretary/treasurer of the Carthage Baseball Club.)
On January 6, 1951 Jack Sheehan, who was in charge of minor league operations for the Chicago Cubs, penned a letter to Jimmy Payton in Norton, Kansas. Payton was the Cub’s scout in that part of the world at the time. The basis of the letter was that….Oh well, maybe I’d best quote it verbatim. Some of the sentences are a bit “jerky” but remember, this is directly quoted.
“Dear Jimmy: Lee Newman, President of the Carthage Club, phoned me today to tell me about a pitcher named Raymond Wunderlich. Lee did not know whether he was a right or lefthander, of Piedmont, Kansas, who has been recommended to him by a friend and this friend who is a high school coach thinks that this boy is a future major league prospect. Wunderlich was at Branson, Missouri, this season although he will not graduate from High School until sometime in 1951 and that is one of the things I want you to determine. Newman did not know whether the boy would graduate in January or in June. This friend of Newmans told him that the Yankees are very interested in the boy but for some reason he does not like the Yankee organization. I tried to locate Piedmont, Kansas, on the map, but could not do so therefore it is probably a whistle stop and no doubt you will know where it is. If it is close to Norton I will want you to go there and see the boy personally and find out just what the set-up is, otherwise, if it is 200 or more miles from you, try to locate Wunderlich on the phone and make an appointment to go there and talk to him but do not allow enough time to elapse between the day you call him and the day you see him for some other club or clubs to become interested and make your job more difficult. It will be up to you to determine how we can arrange to get a look at this boy after he has graduated and if you find it necessary to phone me do so. With best regard, Sincerely, Jack Sheehan. Cc: Mr. Wid Matthews Mr. Lee Newman.”
Ed comments:
Obviously, the Yankees had taken a look at Wunderlich at their Branson training facility in 1950. Since he hadn’t graduated high school he couldn’t sign The distance between Norton and Piedmont, Kansas was 320 miles which exceeded the 200 limit Sheehan placed on Payton. Of the files in my possession I never saw Payton’s report regarding his contact with Wunderlich. So, I started wondering. Had Wunderlich signed with the Cubs he most likely would have been on the Carthage roster during the 1951 season or at least showed up for a tryout. No record of him doing either can be found.
When looking at that letter I was sure that Piedmont was located in Greenwood County, Kansas. During the summer of 1951, when the Carthage team was on a road trip, I spent a week just 25 miles north of there at Eureka. I never saw Wunderlich in either Carthage or Greenwood County so I went looking for him last week. Apparently, he gave up his dream of playing baseball or the baseball god’s frowned on him. He stayed in Piedmont where he drove the big rigs over the highways of this country as well as raising cattle. He passed away on October 3, at Eureka hospital in 2004 at the age of 73. Like Lee Newman and Jack Sheehan I never learned if he was a righty or lefty. Maybe I could drive out to Piedmont and find out. I know where to look and would probably enjoy a “belly filling, stick to the ribs” meal.
What I found, initially, looking for Wunderlich, was a great video of his sister-in-law and how she was still operating one of the very few businesses in Piedmont when the video was taken. www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4P9QEhzops
For all of about an hour my search for Wunderlich came to a screeching halt, last Friday, as sirens blared throughout the neighborhood and all manner of police vehicles arrived. Helicopters filled the sky and police cars and bomb squad vehicles filled the ground, in a square “big” block area. A bank robbery, at a local supermarket, had just occurred by someone claiming to have a bomb in his possession. Well, that ordeal lasted nearly three hours but I gave it up and headed home to do my search for more information on Raymond Wunderlich. It wasn’t going well in the obituary search department until I located this in Kansas Trails Genealogy.
“Howard, Kansas—Raymond Wunderlich of rural Piedmont died Sunday at Greenwood County Hospital in Eureka. (Oct. 3, 2004.) Mr. Wunderlich was born May 14, 1931 at Sedgwick, the son of Cecil William and Emma (Kater) Wunderlich. He moved with his family to Piedmont l in 1951. He married Shirley Louise Crismas on June 1, 1952 in Howard and she survives. He was a cattle rancher and was also in the trucking professional for many years. In addition to his wife Mr. Wunderlich is survived by two sons Allen of Piedmont and Mickey of Howard, two daughters Sheryl Henderson, Newton and Karen Lowe, Owasso, Oklahoma.; four brothers James and Harry both of Piedmont, Joe of Davenport, Oklahoma and Jerry of Atlanta, five sisters; Ruby, Grace, Betty, Delores and Dorothy along with 11 grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren….”
Well, if a person having that much information, with which to work, couldn’t find more about a person they should give up their Flash Report writing certificate. Shortly after returning from breakfast, with the great grandkids at the same supermarket that was the scene of yesterday’s crime spree, I was ringing telephones in Piedmont, Kansas. My conversation was with Allen Wunderlich who was actually excited to speak with me. I told him of my checkered past of tracking former ball players and he wanted to hear more.
Thus, I went through the highlights of the Sheehan letter to Jimmy Payton and Allen said he never knew the Cubs had any interest in his father, as a player. He related that Waldo Gray, a barber in Piedmont, took his father to Branson, Missouri in 1950 and while there he injured his arm. That may have accounted for the statement in the letter from Sheehan to Payton that the boy didn’t like the Yankees. Upon his return to Piedmont another team came to scout (Most likely Cardinal scout, Runt Marr) Wunderlich. Allen said the St. Louis Cardinals wanted to sign him as a first baseman. However, there was a hitch. The young man had fallen in love and didn’t want to leave the area and he didn’t pursue a career in baseball. In the early spring of 1952 he married and started his family.
Allen Wunderlich wondered if I could send a copy of the letter Sheehan wrote back in 1951 for he wished to make copies of it and share with his sisters. Again, he expressed his excitement by saying I was telling him things about which he had never heard. I agreed to send the letter and more and then went on my quest to get answers to a couple of questions. I did learn what the Chicago Cub brass didn’t know, in 1951, that Raymond Wunderlich was a left handed pitcher. Allen said that when he tried playing catch with his father it didn’t turn out well since even throwing at a speed a youngster should be able to catch, he couldn’t, for the ball had such great movement.
Allen related that his father played for a lot of town teams in the area for a number of years and even went to Wichita and pitched for some of the teams that town produced back in the heyday of amateur baseball. Wichita was the home of the National Baseball Congress tournament in that era and producers of such great teams as the Boeing Bombers, Coleman Lanterns, Cessna Bobcats et. al..
Raymond Wunderlich was born during the Great Depression and was one of 15 children. Allen said he has seen photos of some of the children graduating from high school when another child would still be in diapers. Raymond, being a product of hard times, dropped out of school after the 8th grade and helped support the family for four years before going back to Piedmont High School and graduating from there at age 20.
Well, that is about it for now on that story. Had Wunderlich signed with the Cubs I would probably met him in 1951. It was mentioned that if Raymond went to spring training with the Yankees, in 1950, he would have been there at the same time as Mickey Mantle when the Joplin Miners were training at Branson. That didn’t impress Allen all that much for he told me that he thought his family had a distant relation to the Mantles. Could be, but that genealogy search will have to wait for a while.
A follow-up to the video at Lila’s Café, in Piedmont, is that Allen’s aunt has retired and turned the business over to her daughter. So, if any of the readers ever drop by you can tell the ownership that you know of a Wunderlich who had a chance of becoming a KOM leaguer. If any Piedmont resident ever attended a KOM league game they would have had to drive 55 miles east to Chanute, 65 miles northeast to Iola and 59 miles southeast to Independence.. They would probably have elected to watch games at Wichita for it was/is 55 miles to the west.
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Comment about bygone Class D days
The greatest players of the game, to me, were the Class D guys. So sad, not many left here on earth. But, can you imagine the games being played in Heaven?
Thanks for all you do Mr. Hall. Clint Chafin
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Keeping Walt Babcock in check?
Brevity is the soul of wit. This came from Jim Skog who piloted the “Friendly Skies” of United.
“Thanks again John …Try to keep Babcock under control.”
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Babcock there is no way I can tell about him in the confines of a report of this nature. He started out as a pitcher for the 1951 Carthage Cubs and is still going strong. If you don’t believe me get on his e-mail distribution list and “hang on.”
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Once again the Flash Report comes to a merciful conclusion. If you got this far, pat yourself on the back or head off for a long nap, you have earned it.
2/16/2007 update for Flash Report issued 2/10/2017
There was considerable feedback that the Flash Report for last week was not obtainable on the Flickr site. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/32617547952/
Thus, this update is being sent, along with the one from February 10, in their entirety. You will still have to go to the Flickr site to view the photo of the 1950 Independence Yankees. In the last report I mentioned that Mike Santoro passed away, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 28, 2017. I just learned from Jack Morris that my old friend, Buddy Foell passed away on February 7. What is significant is that Santoro and Foell were on the same 1950 Independence ball club and in one of the team photos Foell was in the front row, far left, and Santoro was on the far right in the same row. As I mentioned earlier you’ll have to access the photo, on Flickr to prove I’m not fibbing to you
This is the obituary for Buddy Foell.
www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-leader/obituary.aspx?n=Geo...
George Edward "Buddy" Foell, age 85, of Republic, Missouri, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 in his home, surrounded by his family. Buddy was born on January 18, 1932 in Fort Benning, Georgia, the son of Joseph and Ruby (Wooden) Foell.
He was united in marriage to Shirley Marie Carter on July 3, 1952.
Buddy served his country in the U.S. Army, from 1952 to 1954. He was employed as a pressman with the Springfield News-Leader and retired after 39 ½ years of service.
He played ball with the Fort Sam Houston Comets, and Springfield Triple A Softball Team; and was a member of the Farm Club New York Yankees.
Buddy's greatest joys were playing softball, baseball, hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family.
He was preceded in death by two sons, Edward and Mark Foell; his parents; and a brother, Joseph Foell.
Buddy is survived by his wife of 64 years, Shirley; a daughter, Tina (Chris) Phillips; two granddaughters, Melanie (Mark) Cummins and Amy (Terry) Cook; five great grandchildren, Megan, Dawson, Xander, Gabby, and Chloe; several nieces and nephews; and other extended family and friends.
A memorial service, with military honors, will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 21, 2017, in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Springfield, under the direction of Meadors Funeral Home, Republic. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society , 2926 E. Battlefield, Springfield, MO 65804. Online condolences may be shared at www.meadorsfuneralhome.com
Ed comment:
Yours truly spent considerable time visiting with Buddy and his wife, Shirley, over the years. The last time I saw them was after a KOM league reunion in Carthage. They were unable to attend. On the way home from the reunion my wife and I stopped for lunch in a Springfield, Mo. cafeteria. As we headed to a place to sit and eat a voice rang out “Where did you get a baseball cap like that?” I looked around and there was Buddy and Shirley. I took off my KOM league baseball reunion cap and handed it to Buddy. He was happy to get it, probably because it was a freebie. We didn’t have much time to converse which I now regret for that is the last time I ever saw him. Over the past eight or so years contact through regular channels was lost with the Foells. I assumed Buddy had gone into a nursing home since letters to his old address were returned and he disappeared from the phone book. With the recent note from Jack Morris I now know the ranks of the KOM league keeps dwindling at a too rapid a pace for an old guy like me to keep pace.
The KOM League
Flash Report
for
February 10, 2017
The report is carried, along with the 1950 late season team photo of the Independence, Kansas Yankees at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/32617547952/ This report carries a blurb at the end which is a game changer in my case.
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Michael John Santoro
m.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/179612/?fullname=mich...
Santoro, Michael John Age 85, of Las Vegas, Nevada, formerly of Bloomington, Minnesota, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on January 28th, 2017. Preceded in death by father John, mother Grace, sister Lucia and grandson Matthew. Survived by wife of 62 years, Barbara; daughter Nanci McConnell and daughter Jennifer (Kevin) Rotty; 6 grandchildren and 7 great-grand children; many other relatives and friends. Michael played baseball for the United States Army and pitched the Army to the championships in 1953. He met the love of his life, Barbara, playing professional baseball for both the Yankees and the Boston Red Socks. Michael was an educator and principal in the Bloomington school district for over 30 years. Memorial service will be held at a later date at The Church of the Risen Savior, Burnsville, Minnesota.
1950 Independence Yankees--Picture taken in late August
Front Row: L to R. George "Buddy" Foell (SS), Jim Qualls (SS), Mike Armstrong (3B), Glenn Evans (2B) and Mike Santoro (P).
Middle Row: Ken Beardslee (P), Herb Heiserer (P), Buddy Lemons (Inf. OF), Lou Michels (P), Tommy Self (C), Bill Virdon (OF) and Neil Holloway (OF).
Back Row: Battle Malone "Bones" Sanders (Mgr.), Bob Ramsey (1B), Keith Speck (P), Bob Knoke (C), John Gabler (P) and Eddie Deatherage (OF).
Ed comment:
There weren’t many former KOM leaguers that I haven’t found over the years whether living or deceased. Michael John Santoro was an exception. None of the baseball record books show him playing in any games in 1950. However, he joined the Independence Yankees in late August of 1950 and even made it into the late season photo. To prove that fact I’ve included a team photo as noted at the beginning of this missive and this report also carries an account of a game in which he pitched and won.
A brief explanation is in order at this point. For over 20 years I have had access to the knowledge of whether a former KOM leaguers was alive through some Social Security data that I could obtain at that time but which was later blocked, by a presidential decree.. Thus, I can say for certainty that at least one contact was made by Social Security, on my behalf, that Santoro either ignored or didn’t see clear to respond to the inquiry
In reading the obituary one might conclude Santoro was born in Minnesota but he was born in Chicago on April 1, 1931 to John F. and Grace Provenza-Santoro. By the time Mike was nine years of age he was living with his divorced mother, a beauty shop operator, and sister Lucille on Huron Street in Chicago.
Mike’s paternal grandfather, Vito, was from Bari, Italy having been born there in 1877. I could dwell a long time on the Santoro/Provenza family but I suspect I’ve already shared more genealogy than most of the readership would care to know.
Mike Santoro pitched at Joplin, Missouri of the Western Association in both 1951 and 1952. A large number of box scores and sports columns by Porter Wittich, of the Joplin Globe, told of the exploits of the young left hander pitcher. Just prior to the start of the 1952 season Wittich mentioned that although Santoro threw left handed he bowled righthanded and carried a 179 average in a Chicago bowling league during the off-season.
Reading obituaries aren’t always the most complete and accurate source of historical information. After the 1952 season he was summoned by Uncle Sam. After his stint in the Army he was back playing in his neck of the woods for Duluth, Minnesota of the Northern league. I believe he was either playing under the auspices of the Cincinnati Reds or else he signed with Duluth on his own. It is possible that he signed with the Red Sox and they worked out an agreement with Duluth. Short of seeing those old contracts, that issue will never be resolved.
In that circuit he played for former big leaguers Johnny Hopp and Danny Litwhiler and was either a teammate of or opponent of former KOM leaguers; Pat Brosnan, Gerald Dahms, Roy Leafgren, John Bachar, Stan Bonzek, Wayne Doyle, Ray Khoury, Bob Ramsey and Ron Saatzer. Another fellow against whom he pitched was Bill O’Donnell who merits mention for he is one of a number of former minor league players who enjoys reading these reports although never having played in the KOM league.
Since I never met Mike Santoro that is about all I have to share about his 85 years on this planet. Here are a couple of excerpts from six decades ago.
September 2, 1950-Iola Register
On September 1, 1950 Mike Santoro, a new lefthander, from Chicago, hooked up in a pitching duel with Larry Jaros of the Iola Indiana. The outcome of the game was 6-2 in favor of Independence and gave Santoro his only win of the season. It took two hours and seven minutes to play the game and 483 people paid to see it. Not only did Santoro win the game with his arm but he also had a double, a sacrifice and a run batted in during his only start of the season. He fanned one batter and walked four.
April 6, 1951—Iola Register
Poor Yankees Les Davis (Independence sportswriter) learns that Manager Bill Holm of Joplin is being asked by the N. Y. Yankees to play Class C ball in the Western Association this summer largely with material that did not progress very far while being used at Independence in 1950. He mentions Bob Mallon, Mike Santoro, Johnny Gabler, John Hecht, Herb Heiserer, Jim Quails, Buddy Foell, Al Billingsley, and Neil Holloway, then says: "Poor Holm."
Ed note:
John Gabler, one of the fellows mentioned in that 1951 article made it to the major leagues.
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The Dennis family of KOM and Major league fame
As for me John, ALL of your Flash Reports merit another one, another, and another. I read every word of them at least twice. I am always looking for a name of someone I may have crossed paths with, even though I was not from that era. In this Report it was Dave Dennis. I never met him, but I played ball against his son, Don. It is those kinds of things that bring back some great memories for me, so I am very grateful that you and I crossed paths in this big old world. Thanks again for all the lives that you touch. Don Papst-Chanute, KS
I was also happy to hear that Bill is on the mend so that he and Shirley can attend another spring training this year. I am sure that is the highlight of their year. He looked good in that photo, but that was some time ago. Hope and pray that you are also on the mend so that you can plant tomatoes and all the other things you may want to do. Take care.
Ed reply
Don Dennis was a nephew of Dave's. Without checking I may be wrong but I think Dave's other brother was Laverne may have been the father. Laverne also played in the KOM league with Dave when he was at Miami. Dave Dennis was the subject of one of the great baseball stories of 1946. The story of his chest protector burning up is a classic. I think Street and Smith published that story in their annual publication. Search around for that and see what you find. I wrote about it in my first book.
Another small world story. Dave Dennis died in the VA Hospital here in Columbia, Missouri and the head nurse on his ward was my daughter when she was just getting started in nursing.
Don’s reply:
Thanks for setting me straight on the Dennis relationship. I just always assumed they were father and son. Sorry to hear you have to give up the tomatoes. Maybe she will let you grow one or two in a pot on the deck. Hard to beat a fresh picked tomato right off the vine. Hang in there and I hope to hear some good things coming from your way. Take care. Always, don
Ed reply:
I woke up at about one this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I got thinking about what I told you yesterday about the Dennis family. I told you wrong.
Don Dennis was the son of Donald Leroy and Addie Holt-Dennis. His mom and dad were born in 1920 and were married in Iola, Kansas in 1940. Therefore, Donald Leroy and Dave Dennis were first cousins. I spent some time in Ancestry.com and even found a handwritten recipe someone had obtained for Dave’s way of frying chicken strips.
The tombstone for Don Dennis must have cost a fortune. He is in the Ft. Scott Cemetery and that stone has image in his Cardinal uniform along with some other smaller items of hunting, fishing and golf scenes.
If you want more on the life and times of the Dennis family I know it now. I didn't know until yesterday that Dave's middle name was Caleb.
In one of my books I wrote about how I tried contacting Dave Dennis. I had his last listed telephone number. I called it one morning and got a lady named Maxine Dunham. When I found that it wasn't Dave I apologized and tried to hang up. Maxine wouldn't let me. She asked what I was doing and I told her it would be of no interest to her. She said she'd make that determination. After telling her what I was doing she kept in touch. One day she called and asked what I planned to do with all my information and I told her that I hoped to make it into a book.
At that time I had no way of paying for such a project. I was working at Sears at that time and one Saturday afternoon Maxine showed up, unexpectedly. She asked if she could speak with me after I got off work. Keep in mind I had never seen the lady in my life. After work I invited her to my house. We sat at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee when she placed an envelope on the table. She urged me to open it. I did, and about choked on my drink. She asked "Will this help you publish your book." I didn't know what to say other than "I can't accept that." She said the money wasn't for me but for the memory of all the old ballplayers.
In order to get the initial run of the first edition of Majoring in The Minors I needed $10K. When I counted out the contents of that envelope there were 100 $100 bills. And that is how my first book was financed.
Don’s reply:
WOW and DOUBLE WOW John. I sure did not mean to bring up a subject that would cause you to lose sleep. I guess it did finalize the questions we had about the Dennis family. Thank you for your extra research on them. I would like to get over to Fort Scott and see that tombstone some time. Sounds like it is very special. I still wish he would have joined our Legion team so I could say that I played with him instead of against him. But just happy I was able to play in that era.
I am thinking that Maxine Dunham was an angel sent down to you from the good Lord. That is the only way I can explain how you could make that phone call trying to reach someone else, and instead get in touch with her. But thank God you did. AMAZING!!!! Take care of yourself.
Ed reply:
Your mentioning the Dennis family didn't cause me to lose any sleep. Lots of other things led to that. But, while my mind wandered through the night hours I realized I had given you bogus information. That was not good. The old cogs are slipping upstairs.
Don Dennis and I weren't that much different in age. Had I made it up with the Cardinals we would have been teammates. I doubt that Don ever witnessed a KOM game or if he did he wouldn't have remembered it.
If you had Ancestry.com you could visit the Don Dennis grave site without making the trip to Ft. Scott. However, the remainder of the Dennis baseball family are there so you can visit all of them. One thing I noticed in researching the Dennis family is that the men didn't live very long.
Maxine became a close friend of my wife and I until her death. In the early days of the KC A's she was in charge of a arranging the entertainment for the visiting teams along with the umpires. She gave me a number of baseballs that were signed by American league umpires during the 1950’s..
There are just a lot of stories, encountered over the 25 years of writing about the KOM league that have never been shared in print and never will be.
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Can’t get by with anything
In 1951, Stan Klemme, the first cousin of Preston Ward, www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=wardpr01
played for the Iola, Kansas Indians. Yesterday afternoon I made a trip to a local supermarket to pick up some boxes. As I loaded them into my truck I heard a voice emanating from a car behind me say “It’s too early for you to start gathering boxes for your tomato crop.”
Looking around I saw the widow of Stan Klemme and explained that the boxes were for another purpose. After kidding her about going to a nursing home or assisted living facility, I admitted that my wife and I were downsizing. Mrs. Klemme wanted to know if I would be growing tomatoes where I was going and I replied “The only thing I can grow where I’m going is old.” Some gentleman must have been eavesdropping or else I was talking loud for when he passed me he asked if he could use the “growing old” quote as though he had come up with it. Permission was granted to use it in manner he saw fit as long as he sent along a royalty check on a regular basis.
There was not any plan to reveal the closing of the original KOM League Hall of Fame and Tomato Garden, but the box gathering at the supermarket tipped my hand. At the point when all the contact information changes the readership will be advised. Until then, things will remain the same.
A ton of packing lies ahead and some things will be left for the local garbician to handle. I still have a number of copies of “Mickey Mantle—Before the Glory” in mint condition. If anyone wants one this will be the last time I ever mention this item. The price for what I have left is $20 per copy and the buyer pays the postage. This is a closeout moving sale special.
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Loyd Simpson on and off the field in 1951. Photo taken across the street from Ramsay's Dept. Store at 6th and Broadway in Pittsburg, KS 1951. In mid August he was signed by the Miami Eagles.
The KOM League
Flash Report
for
Week of June 21 thru 27, 2015
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Note:
This report is an attempt at cutting out much of the verbiage of recent editions. It is a continuation of some of the tales of the 1951 Miami, Oklahoma Eagles. There were some “different” things that happened in minor league baseball. But, much the same could be said of the major leagues. The story in this report is the Miami Eagles version of what the St. Louis Browns did with Eddie Gaedel. www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&am...
It may well be that the Miami baseball club got the idea for their “special event” from Bill Veec, and the St. Louis Browns, since it happened at nearly the same time in August of 1951.
This report is on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/18805183190/
The person in the photo got $100 to sign with the St. Louis Browns and his buddy, Roy Sievers, got $100 less than that.
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“The Most Obscure KOM Leaguer of Them All.”
Subtitled: “The Best Story I Almost Never Heard.”
2nd Subtitle: “The KOM League’s Eddie Gaedel”
Early into my KOM research I observed a name in a Miami Eagle box score from 1951 that I came to assume was a misspelling. But the name remained on my database until I could either validate or refute it.
Then, came a few conversations with former members of that 1951 team who validated the last name of the guy appearing in a late season box score that Charles Bud Closs had done prior to his death when he stopped by the KOM League Hall of Memories in the late 1990’s. Delbert Wichtendahl George O’Don Garrison and Loyd Wayne Simpson also put a first name to it….James. Simpson even had a press clipping his mother, who was living in Commerce, OK at the time, found in the Joplin Globe. Here is the article from the October 2, 1951 Joplin Globe. “The body of James Albert Murphy, 27 years old, 13 K Street. N. E., Miami, who was found dead in his room at 5 o'clock Sunday afternoon, was sent yesterday by the David Dillon funeral home to Cooper funeral home at Miami, where the latter will be in charge of funeral arrangements. According to Dr. W. W. Hurst. coroner, Mr. Murphy had been dead from 10 to 12 hours when his body was found. The coroner, alter completing his investigation yesterday, said Mr. Murphy had been under a Miami physician's care for a heart ailment. Dr. Hurst said death was due to a heart attack. Mr. Murphy, an employee of the Coleman Theater at Miami, was on vacation and had checked into the hotel here at 12:30 o'clock Sunday morning. He was born February 22, 1924, in Joplin. Surviving are his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Murphy of Miami and three brothers, Sergeant Richard L. Murphy, with the United States army, and Gerald A. Murphy and Lawrence M. Murphy of Miami.”
For many years I knew about the death of James Albert Murphy but not much else. After a little more research, in recent days, I learned that after Murphy was born in Joplin in 1924 that the family moved around the Tri-State mining area to such towns as Galena, Kansas and Picher and Miami, Oklahoma.
By the time the 1951 baseball season rolled around, Murphy had forged some friendships with the Miami players and most likely a closer one with player/manager, Thomas Gentry Warren. He was a character in the truest sense of the word but obviously had great sense of empathy for someone less fortunate. In searching through some family genealogy files on Ancestry.com a comment is contained in that documentation that Murphy was born with a hole in his heart. That alone would have most likely curtailed his athletic activities but not his interest in baseball.
It was a bit of a mystery to me as to how Murphy attended many Miami Eagle baseball games since he worked at the Coleman Theater and their hours of operation would have conflicted with the starting time of most Miami games. If he worked as a janitor for the theater he would have had more time to attend games. After a little more research that mystery was solved. Wayne Simpson recalls the Miami Hotel was directly across the street from the Coleman Theater. Murphy would meet the team bus at that site and ride out to Fairgrounds Park with them. When the Miami club played at Carthage, MO and Pittsburg, KS Murphy often went along since the team returned to Miami following each game.
Some time during that season Tommy Warren told Murphy, who was older than most of the players on the Miami roster, that he would let him realize his goal of playing in a KOM league game. Wichtendahl, Simpson and Closs recall Warren getting a role of toilet paper and making out a crude contract prior to game time. When he approached the two umpires that evening, with his line-up card, Warren handed them the makeshift contract that would make Murphy eligible to appear in a sanctioned league game.
Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the Miami newspaper where Murphy’s appearance would have been noted in the box score but I recall seeing it. To my knowledge he was inserted into the game in the 5th inning. That was the only inning he played and his career came to an end. There is one thing of which I am sure. Within a month of realizing a dream of playing professional baseball, James Albert Murphy was dead.
In a story, that could only be made up in a novel, here are the details of his funeral. “Services for James Albert Murphy. 27 years old, who was found dead in his room Sunday afternoon (September 30, 1951) at the Keystone Hotel in Joplin, will be conduced at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon (October 4, 1951) at the First Christian church. Russell Martin will officiate and burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery Galena (Kansas) under the direction of the Cooper funeral home of Miami. Pallbearers will be Harry Ross, Eddie Diebold. Cude Rowe, John Ratliff, Wallace Warner and Tom Warren. Honorary pallbearers will be employees of Miami Theater, Inc.” Here is his burial site: www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=MUR&am...;
Conducting the funeral for James Murphy was Rev. Russ Martin who was not only the pastor of the largest congregation in Miami but he was the voice of the Miami Eagles over KGLC radio. And what a voice Martin had. He was as good as anyone on national radio broadcasts of his era. He would be better than 99.99% of those broadcasting games now.
But, the most startling item, in the funeral announcement, was contained in the last person mentioned as being a pallbearer. Tommy Warren had been gone from Miami for a month at the time of Murphy’s death and he returned to pay homage to a young man he had befriended. Warren was facing imminent incarceration at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, yet made the trip from Tulsa to say his farewell. In that act alone it showed that Warren possessed some great character traits. I always have claimed that of all the people from the opposing teams that I enjoyed most, as my time as batboy, Tommy Warren was right at the top.
Brief look at the life of James Albert Murphy
Born in Joplin, MO in 1924--Moved to Picher, OK by 1930--Dad worked on WPA project as a foreman in 1940 at Galena, KS--was an employee of Coleman Theater--Never married.
All obituaries of former KOM leaguers are shared with Jack Morris in Coventry, PA who maintains a large database on such information. Here is a note shared with him. “Like many others, Murphy, has to be included in the record books of baseball history as having one plate appearance and going hitless. I think he flied out to centerfield but I’m not 100% sure.” (Someday I will get the answer to that question—That answer came a couple of days later from Delbert Wichtendahl—I did a quick correction to show that Murphy didn’t strike out.)
Profile:
James Albert Murphy
Born: February 22, 1924
Place: Joplin, Missouri
Died: September 30, 1951
Place: Joplin, MO—Keystone Hotel
Career: Pinch hit one game. He went to the plate and never took a swing. He walked on four pitches. He scored as he was urged to circle the bases without any attempt by the opposition for a put out.
Now, the rest of the story:
Prior to springing this story on the reluctant few readers I felt it was necessary to recheck the details of the story through two of the people who witnessed the one game appearance of James Murphy.
A telephone call was placed to Godfrey, Illinois and the person on that end of the line was Loyd Wayne Simpson and he was eager to talk about that incident and others from his 1951 season with both Pittsburg, Kansas and Miami, OK. He played with Pittsburg for 90 games until the St. Louis Browns released him. He was eager to get back home to eastern Illinois. However, he said Tommy Warren called him and asked him to join the Miami club for the last seventeen games of the seasons and eventually the playoffs.
Another call was made to Wittemore, Iowa where I conversed with Delbert Wichtendahl a hard throwing lefthander who was signed by the Miami Eagles after he was released by the Ponca City Dodgers. Independent teams, like Miami, were always eager to sign players released by teams with big league affiliation.
Joplin, Missouri isn’t all that far from where I live, as the crow flies, so I decided a telephone call to former Miami Eagle lefty, George Garrison, would provide another insight into the night Jimmy Murphy had his big thrill. (That didn’t pan out as you will learn if you keep reading.)
With input from the guys who played for Miami the night Jimmy Murphy was to make his only appearance in a baseball uniform I was sure that a more complete account of that could be constructed. All of the Miami players with whom I have spoken, over the years, made it clear that Murphy was mentally challenged and the Miami baseball team was another group in the community that went about making the young man’s life as meaningful as possible.
Wichtendahl recalls that the game where Murphy was to appear was promoted in the local media and a large crowd gathered for the game. Both Simpson and Wichtendahl recall that Murphy was a tall, slender man who was always neatly dressed. Simpson opined that he looked more like a basketball player than being cut out for baseball.
Simpson didn’t recall Murphy’s time at the plate as clearly as Wichtendahl. Wichtendahl remembers that Murphy went to the plate and never swung at a pitch. He took his walk and upon arriving at first base he was urged to go to second, upon arriving there he was sent to third base and when reaching the “hot corner base” he was sent to the plate. So, he ended his baseball career with no official times at bat with one run scored. Whether he was credited with three stolen bases is unknown. But, being able to join Miami for both Simpson and Wichtendahl provided conclusion to their minor league careers and some memories of a bygone they both cherish and enjoyed sharing with me when they were contacted by telephone. Wichtendahl said that he had some newspaper clippings that he would gather and send them to me. In those, he is sure the box score of the game where Murphy appeared is in the collection.
Plans to add more to this report got put on hold when I called George Garrison’s home in Joplin, MO and his wife told me he was delivering cookies. She said that he would be busy in the afternoon as his grandson would be pitching in an American Legion game. Thus, I figured Saturday morning would be a great time to call Garrison again. I decided prior to calling Garrison I’d work in the tomato patch which hasn’t been possible for the last week due to heavy rain.
As I toiled in the tomato patch the telephone rang and it was a fellow wanting to give back some old copies of the KOM League newsletters that I pass around to those who want to see “the real thing.” The caller lives 30 miles north of me but I knew that as a young man he played basketball at Webb City, MO High School for non other than the aforementioned, George Garrison. At that juncture I knew if I called Garrison, and tried to piece all of our conversation into this report, that it would be a book not a term paper. This report would have at least gone into the double digits, in size, and I started out this week attempting to trim the size of the reports. Never have I been accused of being smart but I can read trends as well as anyone. The trends of which I speak are Flash Report hits on the Flickr site. Since the first of the year the numbers have been: 22921, 13395, 29049, 5707, 10812, 3430, 13815, 1372, 9850, 4635, 8815, 3388, 11599, 6864. 5169. 4892, 1835, 1815 and 1853. The reports have not been posted every week on Flickr.
If the foregoing isn’t a downward trend then the St. Louis Cardinal front office isn’t in potentially hot water over alleged computer hacking. Either the interest of the readership has gone into the tank or the baseball photos of the 1951 Miami Eagles are of no interest to the masses.
So, next week, if a few people read this report, I’ll have some interesting comments on the baseball lives of George O’Don Garrison, Wayne Simpson and Delbert Wichtendahl.
You’ll find some references to big names of baseball’s past if I indeed put out a report next week. I’ll even tell the story why Roy Sievers is still is ticked off at Wayne Simpson for getting a larger contract for signing with the St. Louis Browns than he did. The Cardinals had attempted to sign both and give them sizeable contracts for that era but both chose the Browns thinking they could make it to the big leagues faster with the Browns than the Cardinals.
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I’m really not done but stopping anyway!
Saturday track action at the 2021 Spa Six Hours: the William Paul/Rory Butcher Jaguar E-type turning into the lefthander at Fagnes.
Find more pictures and a comprehensive report at 8W.
The Norton Classic is a motorcycle made by Norton Motors in 1987.
Norton built the Classic as a Special edition of just 100 machines. Only one livery was offered: the traditional Norton colours of silver-grey with black graphics and black and red lining.
P43 "Classic"
When Philippe Le Roux took over the semi-dormant Norton Motors Ltd he found an exhaustively tested product in the form of the Interpol II, but nothing to sell to the man in the street. The answer of the marketing man in this case- and Bloors Triumph did the very same some years later- is to come up with a "First Edition" bike to be snapped up by the collectors. The answer of the production manager was to take an Interpol II and, with radical changes to styling but as little change as possible to the actual well-tested core motorcycle, produce a fully evaluated but, to the eyes of the public, completely new model.
The Classic was not just a "Collectors Item", it was in fact a very nice motorcycle. The low centre of gravity made it feel lighter than it actually was, and devoid of all the police equipment and fairing it was a pretty quick handler on twisty roads. In the British tradition, it had a functionally well-constructed centre stand that dug into the tarmac with its footstep in every lefthander- some things never seemed to change- "They all do that, Sir", as old Norton Commando and Triumph Bonneville riders can tell you!
So the Classic is in fact nothing but a glorified Interpol II with nicer looks and without a fairing. As such, there are some high-mileage examples about that have done phenomenal distances with minimum fuss, but there are also some low-mileage lemmons around, the problem being storage- a rotary engine is prone to corrosion when laid up for long periods without the necessary precautions. By the time it is started up after a long period in a possibly damp environment (unheated garage), things will go seriously and costly wrong. Norton Motors, being aware of the problem, sent out a service release about how to prepare a Classic for storage. 100 Classics were built, as well as one prototype, and several more were later made up by private owners from Interpol IIs- the giveaway always being the engine/frame numbers, which on Classics run from P43LE001 through P43LE100.
At the Birmingham Show in 1989 Norton showed a prototype "Classic Mk2" with a watercooled engine as a teaser for the public. Norton was in deep trouble financially, and the show did not bring in any orders that would justify a production run. The bike was sold off, and that was it- but for a standart Classic that was converted to watercooling in the factory some time later.
Tim Hudson needs surgery on his broken right ankle, goo.gl/JohP0 an injury that leaves the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves without one of their top pitchers. Hudson got hurt while covering first base Wednesday night during an 8-2 victory over the Mets in New York when Eric Young Jr. stepped on the back of his lower leg. The 38-year-old righthander was carted off the field in obvious pain. He had X-rays at Citi Field, and the Braves say he will undergo surgery in Atlanta once the swelling goes down. It's unclear how long Hudson will be out or whether he'll be able to pitch again this season. Hudson took a shutout into the eighth inning before getting carted off the field. Evan Gattis, Dan Uggla, and Andrelton Simmons homered off an ineffective Jeremy Hefner to help the Braves' bats break loose after scoring only four runs in their previous three games. Hudson (8-7) was working on a four-hitter when Young hit a grounder that was knocked down by Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. Hudson took Freeman's toss at the bag just before Young arrived, and the speedy outfielder stepped on the back of Hudson's lower right leg, near his Achilles', driving the pitcher's right ankle awkwardly into the ground. Hudson immediately went down in obvious pain, and Young rushed over to check on him. The crowd at Citi Field groaned when the replay was shown on the big video board. Rangers 3, Yankees 1 — Matt Garza pitched into the eighth inning of his Rangers debut, the only run he allowed unearned after his throwing error, and Texas beat New York in Arlington, Texas. Garza (1-0) was 6-1 in his 11 starts this season for the Cubs before being traded Monday to the Rangers, who had long coveted the righthander. He was 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA his last six starts for Chicago, winning the last five. Angels 1, Twins 0 — Jered Weaver (5-5) outpitched Mike Pelfrey with eight innings of two-hit ball, and Albert Pujols drove in the only run, leading host Los Angeles over Minnesota. Dodgers 8, Blue Jays 3 — Mark Ellis hit a two-run homer to highlight Los Angeles's five-run 10th inning as the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep in Toronto. Athletics 4, Astros 3 — Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer in Oakland's three-run seventh inning to help the Athletics beat host Houston. Rockies 2, Marlins 1 — Jorge De La Rosa tossed six scoreless innings, Todd Helton doubled and scored a run, and host Colorado held on beat Miami. Cardinals 11, Phillies 3 — Jake Westbrook pitched seven solid innings and contributed offensively with his second career steal, leading St. Louis over visiting Philadelphia. Indians 10, Mariners 1 — Scott Kazmir allowed just one hit over his eight innings, Michael Bourn hit his first career grand slam, and visiting Cleveland routed Seattle. Pirates 4, Nationals 2 — Pirates lefthander Francisco Liriano did not allow a hit until the sixth inning against a struggling and depleted Nationals lineup, and Pedro Alvarez homered off an otherwise dominant Stephen Strasburg, leading Pittsburgh past host Washington. Tigers 6, White Sox 2 — Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson, and Torii Hunter homered, and Anibal Sanchez pitched six scoreless innings to help visiting Detroit overcome Miguel Cabrera's absence in a win over Chicago. Brewers 3, Padres 1 — Kyle Lohse pitched seven strong innings, and Carlos Gomez had four hits and drove in two runs to lead host Milwaukee over San Diego. Royals 4, Orioles 3 — Eric Hosmer hit two home runs, and Alcides Escobar drove in the winning run in the ninth to lift Kansas City past visiting Baltimore.
Tim Hudson needs surgery on his broken right ankle, goo.gl/JohP0 an injury that leaves the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves without one of their top pitchers. Hudson got hurt while covering first base Wednesday night during an 8-2 victory over the Mets in New York when Eric Young Jr. stepped on the back of his lower leg. The 38-year-old righthander was carted off the field in obvious pain. He had X-rays at Citi Field, and the Braves say he will undergo surgery in Atlanta once the swelling goes down. It's unclear how long Hudson will be out or whether he'll be able to pitch again this season. Hudson took a shutout into the eighth inning before getting carted off the field. Evan Gattis, Dan Uggla, and Andrelton Simmons homered off an ineffective Jeremy Hefner to help the Braves' bats break loose after scoring only four runs in their previous three games. Hudson (8-7) was working on a four-hitter when Young hit a grounder that was knocked down by Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. Hudson took Freeman's toss at the bag just before Young arrived, and the speedy outfielder stepped on the back of Hudson's lower right leg, near his Achilles', driving the pitcher's right ankle awkwardly into the ground. Hudson immediately went down in obvious pain, and Young rushed over to check on him. The crowd at Citi Field groaned when the replay was shown on the big video board. Rangers 3, Yankees 1 — Matt Garza pitched into the eighth inning of his Rangers debut, the only run he allowed unearned after his throwing error, and Texas beat New York in Arlington, Texas. Garza (1-0) was 6-1 in his 11 starts this season for the Cubs before being traded Monday to the Rangers, who had long coveted the righthander. He was 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA his last six starts for Chicago, winning the last five. Angels 1, Twins 0 — Jered Weaver (5-5) outpitched Mike Pelfrey with eight innings of two-hit ball, and Albert Pujols drove in the only run, leading host Los Angeles over Minnesota. Dodgers 8, Blue Jays 3 — Mark Ellis hit a two-run homer to highlight Los Angeles's five-run 10th inning as the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep in Toronto. Athletics 4, Astros 3 — Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer in Oakland's three-run seventh inning to help the Athletics beat host Houston. Rockies 2, Marlins 1 — Jorge De La Rosa tossed six scoreless innings, Todd Helton doubled and scored a run, and host Colorado held on beat Miami. Cardinals 11, Phillies 3 — Jake Westbrook pitched seven solid innings and contributed offensively with his second career steal, leading St. Louis over visiting Philadelphia. Indians 10, Mariners 1 — Scott Kazmir allowed just one hit over his eight innings, Michael Bourn hit his first career grand slam, and visiting Cleveland routed Seattle. Pirates 4, Nationals 2 — Pirates lefthander Francisco Liriano did not allow a hit until the sixth inning against a struggling and depleted Nationals lineup, and Pedro Alvarez homered off an otherwise dominant Stephen Strasburg, leading Pittsburgh past host Washington. Tigers 6, White Sox 2 — Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson, and Torii Hunter homered, and Anibal Sanchez pitched six scoreless innings to help visiting Detroit overcome Miguel Cabrera's absence in a win over Chicago. Brewers 3, Padres 1 — Kyle Lohse pitched seven strong innings, and Carlos Gomez had four hits and drove in two runs to lead host Milwaukee over San Diego. Royals 4, Orioles 3 — Eric Hosmer hit two home runs, and Alcides Escobar drove in the winning run in the ninth to lift Kansas City past visiting Baltimore.
John John Florence, the hottest young surfer on the planet today, has continued his winning streak by taking out the ASP Prime rated Telstra Drug Aware Pro at Margaret River today.
Nineteen year old Florence won a hotly contested, all-Hawaiian final against 25 year old Olamana Eleogram, who could not continue his giant-killing dream run after earlier eliminating top seeds Owen Wright and Josh Kerr in the man on man heats.
Florence was clearly the form surfer of the event heading into the final, having consistently recorded 16 point plus heat scores over the week. Florence progressed after an amazing face-off against fellow teen prodigy Kolohe Andino in the Round of 16 late on Friday afternoon. John John made up for loss to Andino in a No Loser round earlier that day with a scorching score of 19.70 featuring the first and only ten point ride of the competition.
The wind died down and the swell began to pulse for the Men’s final after strong offshore winds made surfing in the early morning finals difficult. Eleogram was the first to strike in the 35 minute final, catching a right hander to bank an early score of 6.00. Florence soon responded with a 7.00 point right hander and backed it up straight away with another nice right, nailing an enormous finishing turn to score 7.83.
The final then became a backhand battle between the two natural footers as the lefthander began to offer the best scoring potential in the changing wind. Eleogram went left under priority hitting a number of critical turns to score an 8.83 to take the lead. But that only seemed to make Florence more determined as he aggressively attacked consecutive lefthanders, taking to the air on both waves to land scintillating backside reverse aerials, impressing the judges with scores of 9.43 and 9.33 to take a solid grip on the final by the half way mark with a total of 18.76.
That left Eleogram needing a perfect ride for the win, as Florence continued to put on a jaw-dropping display of new-school innovative surfing. The challenge proved too great for the affable Eleogram, who had to be content with making an ASP Prime final for the first time in his career.
“I was so stoked about being in the final with a good friend, a guy I grew up surfing with as a young kid,” said Florence after he had been chaired up the staircase from the beach by his mates. “Some great waves came through early in the heat and I felt loose and relaxed and hit a few airs. The wind here is just like home and it was pushing into the left for a change and gave me a chance to get up on a couple.” But the cool Florence did admit to some jitters midway into the final. “I started to get nervous with about fifteen minutes left, just thinking this could turn around on me, you just never know.”
The win for Florence continues a hot start to 2012, his rookie year on the ASP World Tour, as he won the season starting ASP 5 star Volcom Pipe Pro at his home beach in Hawaii, before going through to the last 16 at the opening World Tour event at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast earlier this month. It marks a rare streak of form for the Hawaiian prodigy who first rose to prominence on the tour when he became the youngest ever surfer to clinch the coveted Vans Triple Crown at his home breaks in Hawaii at the end of 2011, clinching his place on the ASP World Tour for 2012.
Florence’s performance at this event will go down as one of the most dominant in the event’s history. Florence has collected five of the top ten single wave scores and the top thee two-wave heat totals thanks to his full repertoire. Florence defeated fellow Hawaiian Olamana Eleogram (HAW) in the Final by scoring two 9-point-rides, for mixing huge power gouges with technical aerials.
“I’ve been having a lot of fun this week,” Florence said. “The waves are are a lot like at home, even the wind when it’s good for airs is a lot like Hawaii. The waves have been fun in all of my heats. I’m so stoked to win. This gives me a lot of confidence going into Bells because I hear the waves are similar. I was so stoked to make the Final with Ola (Eleogram) at Margaret River.”
Mark Occhilupo (AUS), 1999 ASP World Champion, although retired from full-time competition decided to come to Margaret River and attempt to win the event for his third time. Occhilupo’s affinity for Margaret River was clear from day one, with surf fans being treated to watching his iconic style and flair as he progressed through the contest. His dream run ended in the last minute of his Semifinal today, when Olamana Eleogram (HAW) posted a 6.50 and took the lead, sending Occhilupo home with an equal 3rd place finish.
“I have had the best time this week,” Occhilupo said. “In that Semifinal I had a pretty bad heat. A wave came at the end that I could have gotten the score on, but I fell. I’m going to go away and keep thinking about that. I’m still beating myself up about it. By the time I get home it will have sunken in and I will be stoked with third. That competitive nature doesn’t ever leave you.”
Courtney Conlogue Goes Back-To-Back At The Telstra Drug Aware Pro Margaret River
Courtney Conlogue (USA), reigning Telstra Drug Aware Pro event champion, today won the event for the second year in a row. Conlogue’s powerful backhand attack is perfectly suited to these powerful South West WA waves. The young Californian dominated the Final against Hawaiian Malia Manuel (HAW), posting two scores in the 8-point-range (out of a possible 10), to etch her name on the winners list once again.
“I was trying not to think about going back-to-back too much because I didn’t want to put pressure on myself,” Conlogue said. “I’m stoked to have gotten two in a row. This place taught me a lot last year and the years before. The first time I came here I lost in the second round and it was quite an embarrassing heat. Going from that to what I’ve done now feels great, and each year I come back I feel like I get to know the waves better and better. Now I’m looking forward to going to Bells because this place is great training for down there.”
TDAP 2012: Men's R48, Heats 1-2
TELSTRA DRUG AWARE PRO MEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
John John Florence (HAW) 18.76 def. Olamana Eleogram (HAW) 15.43
TELSTRA DRUG AWARE PRO MEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Olamana Eleogram (HAW) 11.67 def. Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 9.84
SF 2: John John Florence (HAW) 19.13 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 14.37
TELSTRA DRUG AWARE PRO MEN’S QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Olamana Eleogram (HAW) 14.83 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 2.34
QF 2: Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 17.63 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 16.03
QF 3: John John Florence (HAW) 15.44 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 13.10
QF 4: Kai Otton (AUS) 16.90 def. CJ Hobgood (USA) 13.93
TELSTRA DRUG AWARE PRO WOMEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
Courtney Conlogue (USA) 16.23 def. Malia Manuel (HAW) 11.03
TELSTRA DRUG AWARE PRO WOMEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 15.90 def Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 13.40
SF 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.67 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 11.00
TELSTRA DRUG AWARE PRO WOMEN’S QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 12.00 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 9.83
QF 2: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 12.17 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.17
QF 3: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.33 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 9.06
QF 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.26 def. Kirby Wright (AUS) 12.90
For more information, visit www.telstradrugawarepro.com
Countering superstition with a black Lacoste.
Much more importantly, it''s International Left-Handers Day!
SLO CAL Surf Open, Pismo Beach California, Surfing for Hope
Wikipedia, This glossary of surfing includes some of the extensive vocabulary used to describe various aspects of the sport of surfing as described in literature on the subject.[a][b] In some cases terms have spread to a wider cultural use. These terms were originally coined by people who were directly involved in the sport of surfing.
About the water
Breaking swell waves at Hermosa Beach, California
See also: surf break
A-Frame: Wave with a peak that resembles an A and allows surfers to go either left or right, with both sides having a clean shoulder to work with.[1]
Barrel: (also tube, cave, keg, green room) The effect when a big wave rolls over, enclosing a temporary horizontal tunnel of air with the surfer inside[c]
Beach break: An area with waves that are good enough to surf break just off a beach, or breaking on a sandbar farther out from the shore[c]
Big sea: Large, unbreaking surf[2]
Blown out: When waves that would otherwise be good have been rendered too choppy by wind[c]
Bomb: An exceptionally large set wave[d]
Bottom: Refers to the ocean floor, or to the lowest part of the wave ridden by a surfer[2]
Channel: A deep spot in the shoreline where waves generally don't break, can be created by a riptide pulling water back to the sea and used by surfers to paddle out to the waves[2]
Chop or choppy: Waves that are subjected to cross winds, have a rough surface (chop) and do not break cleanly [d]
Close-out: A wave is said to be "closed-out" when it breaks at every position along the face at once, and therefore cannot be surfed[3]
Crest: The top section of the wave, or peak, just before the wave begins to break [4]
Curl: The actual portion of the wave that is falling or curling over when the wave is breaking[4]
Face: The forward-facing surface of a breaking wave [c]
Flat: No waves[c]
Glassy: When the waves (and general surface of the water) are extremely smooth, not disturbed by wind [c]
Gnarly: Large, difficult, and dangerous (usually applied to waves) [c]
Green: The unbroken portion of the wave, sometimes referred to as the wave shoulder[2]
Inshore: The direction towards the beach from the surf, can also be referring to the wind direction direction traveling from the ocean onto the shore[2]
Line-up: The queue area where most of the waves are starting to break and where most surfers are positioned in order to catch a wave[a]
Mushy: A wave with very little push[3]
Off the hook: An adjective phrase meaning the waves are performing extraordinarily well [c]
Outside: Any point seaward of the normal breaking waves[3]
Peak: The highest point on a wave[2]
Pocket: The area of the wave that's closest to the curl or whitewash. Where you should surf if you want to generate the most speed. The steepest part of a wave, also known as the energy zone.
Pounder: An unusually hard breaking wave[3]
Point break: Area where an underwater rocky point creates waves that are suitable for surfing[c]
Riptide: A strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide
Sections: The parts of a breaking wave that are rideable[c]
Sectioning: A wave that does not break evenly, breaks ahead of itself[2]
Set waves: A group of waves of larger size within a swell[c]
Shoulder: The unbroken part of a breaking wave[c]
Surf's up: A phrase used when there are waves worth surfing[2]
Swell: A series of waves that have traveled from their source in a distant storm, and that will start to break once the swell reaches shallow enough water
Trough: The bottom portion of the unbroken wave and below the peak, low portion between waves[2][4]
Undertow: An under-current that is moving offshore when waves are approaching the shore[2]
Wall: The section of the wave face that extends from the shoulder to the breaking portion, where the wave has not broken and where the surfer maneuvers to ride the wave[4]
Wedge: Two waves traveling from slightly different direction angles that converge to form a wedge when they merge, where the wedge part of the two waves usually breaks a great deal harder than the individual waves themselves[2]
Whitecaps: The sea foam crest over the waves[2]
Whitewater: In a breaking wave, the water continues on as a ridge of turbulence and foam called "whitewater"[d] or also called "soup"[4]
Techniques and maneuvers
Tandem surfing
Tube riding at Teahupo'o (Tahiti)
Air/Aerial: Riding the board briefly into the air above the wave, landing back upon the wave, and continuing to ride[d]
Backing out: pulling back rather than continuing into a wave that could have been caught[2]
Bail: To step off the board in order to avoid being knocked off (a wipe out)[d]
Bottom turn: The first turn at the bottom of the wave[d]
Carve: Turns (often accentuated)
Caught inside: When a surfer is paddling out and cannot get past the breaking surf to the safer part of the ocean (the outside) in order to find a wave to ride[d]
Cheater five: See Hang-five/hang ten
Cross-step: Crossing one foot over the other to walk down the board
Drop in: Dropping into (engaging) the wave, most often as part of standing up[d]
"To drop in on someone": To take off on a wave that is already being ridden. Not a legitimate technique or maneuver. It is a serious breach of surfing etiquette.[5]
Drop-knee: A type of turn where both knees are bent where the trail or back leg is bent closer to the board than the lead or front leg knee[2]
Duck dive: Pushing the board underwater, nose first, and diving under an oncoming wave instead of riding it[d]
Fade: On take-off, aiming toward the breaking part of the wave, before turning sharply and surfing in the direction the wave is breaking, a maneuver to stay in the hottest or best part of the wave[2]
Fins-free snap (or "fins out"): A sharp turn where the surfboard's fins slide off the top of the wave[f]
Floater: Riding up on the top of the breaking part of the wave, and coming down with it[c]
Goofy foot: Surfing with the left foot on the back of board (less common than regular foot)[d]
Grab the rail: When a surfer grabs the board rail away from the wave[3]
Hang Heels: Facing backwards and putting the surfers' heels out over the edge of a longboard[6]
Hang-five/hang ten: Putting five or ten toes respectively over the nose of a longboard
Kick-out: Surfer throwing their body weight to the back of the board and forcing the surfboard nose straight up over the face of the wave, which allows the surfer to propel the board to kick out the back of the wave[4]
Head dip: The surfer tries to stick their head into a wave to get their hair wet[3]
Nose ride: the art of maneuvering a surfboard from the front end
Off the Top: A turn on the top of a wave, either sharp or carving[6]
Pop-up: Going from lying on the board to standing, all in one jump[d]
Pump: An up/down carving movement that generates speed along a wave[d]
Re-entry: Hitting the lip vertically and re-reentering the wave in quick succession.[d]
Regular/Natural foot: Surfing with the right foot on the back of the board[d]
Rolling, Turtle Roll: Flipping a longboard up-side-down, nose first and pulling through a breaking or broken wave when paddling out to the line-up (a turtle roll is an alternative to a duck dive)[d]
Smack the Lip /Hit the Lip: After performing a bottom turn, moving upwards to hit the peak of the wave, or area above the face of the wave.[7]
Snaking, drop in on, cut off, or "burn": When a surfer who doesn't have the right of way steals a wave from another surfer by taking off in front of someone who is closer to the peak (this is considered inappropriate)[d]
Snaking/Back-Paddling: Stealing a wave from another surfer by paddling around the person's back to get into the best position[d]
Snap: A quick, sharp turn off the top of a wave[6]
Soul arch: Arching the back to demonstrate casual confidence when riding a wave
Stall: Slowing down by shifting weight to the tail of the board or putting a hand in the water. Often used to stay in the tube during a tube ride[c]
Side-slip: travelling down a wave sideways to the direction of the board[8]
Switchfoot: Ambidextrous, having equal ability to surf regular foot or goofy foot (i.e. left foot forward or right foot forward)
Take-off: The start of a ride[9]
Tandem surfing: Two people riding one board. Usually the smaller person is balanced above (often held up above) the other person[f]
Tube riding/Getting barreled: Riding inside the hollow curl of a wave
Accidental
"Over the falls" redirects here. For other uses, see Over the falls (disambiguation).
Wipeout
Over the falls: When a surfer falls off the board and the wave sucks them up in a circular motion along with the lip of the wave. Also referred to as the "wash cycle", being "pitched over" and being "sucked over"[e]
Wipe out: Falling off, or being knocked off, the surfboard when riding a wave[e]
Rag dolled: When underwater, the power of the wave can shake the surfer around as if they were a rag doll[10]
Tombstone: When a surfer is held underwater and tries to climb up their leash, which positions the board straight up and down[e]
Pearl: Accidentally driving the nose of the board underwater, generally ending the ride[d]
About people and behavior
Grommet on a board with his dad watching.
Dilla: A surfer who is low maintenance, without concern, worry or fuss. One who is confidently secure in being different or unique.[11]
Grom/Grommet/Gremmie: A young surfer[a]
Hang loose: Generally means "chill", "relax" or "be laid back". This message can be sent by raising a hand with the thumb and pinkie fingers up while the index, middle and ring fingers remain folded over the palm, then twisting the wrist back and forth as if waving goodbye, see shaka sign
Hodad: A nonsurfer who pretends to surf and frequents beaches with good surfing[12]
Kook: A wanna-be surfer of limited skill[13][14]
Waxhead: Someone who surfs every day[e]
About the board
Further information on surfboards: Surfboard
Waxing a surfboard
Blank: The block from which a surfboard is created
Deck: The upper surface of the board
Ding: A dent or hole in the surface of the board resulting from accidental damage[a]
Fin or Fins: Fin-shaped inserts on the underside of the back of the board that enable the board to be steered
Leash: A cord that is attached to the back of the board, the other end of which wraps around the surfer's ankle
Nose : The forward tip of the board
Quiver: A surfer's collection of boards for different kinds of waves[15]
Rails: The side edges of the surfboard
Rocker: How concave the surface of the board is from nose to tail
Stringer: The line of wood that runs down the center of a board to hold its rigidity and add strength
Tail: The back end of the board
Wax: Specially formulated surf wax that is applied to upper surface of the board to increase the friction so the surfer's feet do not slip off the board
Leggie: A legrope or leash. The cord that connects your ankle to the tail of surfboard so it isn't washed away when you wipe out. Made of lightweight urethane and available in varying sizes. With thicker ones for big waves and thinner ones for small waves.
Thruster: A three-finned surfboard originally invented back in 1980 by Australian surfer Simon Anderson. It is nowadays the most popular fin design for modern surfboards.
The riding of waves has likely existed since humans began swimming in the ocean. In this sense, bodysurfing is the oldest type of wave-catching. Undoubtedly ancient sailors learned how to ride wave energy on many styles of early boats. Archaeological evidence even suggests that ancient cultures of Peru surfed on reed watercraft for fishing and recreation up to five thousand years ago. However, standing up on what is now called a surfboard is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians. The influences for modern surfing can be directly traced to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.
Peru
Caballito de totora
Chimú vessel representing a fisherman on a caballito de totora (1100–1400 CE)
Archaeologists have found that the practice of riding a vessel with a wave was utilized since the pre-Inca cultures around three to five thousand years ago.[1][2] The Moche culture used the caballito de totora (little horse of totora), with archaeological evidence showing its use around 200 CE.[3]
An early description of the Inca surfing was documented by Jesuit missionary José de Acosta in his 1590 publication Historia natural y moral de las Indias, writing:[4]
It is true to see them go fishing in Callao de Lima, was for me a thing of great recreation, because there were many and each one in a balsilla caballero, or sitting stubbornly cutting the waves of the sea, which is rough where they fish, they looked like the Tritons, or Neptunes, who paint upon the water.
To this day Caballitos de Totora are still used by local fishermen and can also be ridden by tourists for recreational purposes.
West Africa
West Africans (e.g., Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal) and western Central Africans (e.g., Cameroon) independently developed the skill of surfing.[5] Amid the 1640s CE, Michael Hemmersam provided an account of surfing in the Gold Coast: “the parents ‘tie their children to boards and throw them into the water.’”[5] In 1679 CE, Barbot provided an account of surfing among Elmina children in Ghana: “children at Elmina learned “to swim, on bits of boards, or small bundles of rushes, fasten’d under their stomachs, which is a good diversion to the spectators.”[5] James Alexander provided an account of surfing in Accra, Ghana in 1834 CE: “From the beach, meanwhile, might be seen boys swimming into the sea, with light boards under their stomachs. They waited for a surf; and came rolling like a cloud on top of it. But I was told that sharks occasionally dart in behind the rocks and ‘yam’ them.”[5] Thomas Hutchinson provided an account of surfing in southern Cameroon in 1861: “Fishermen rode small dugouts ‘no more than six feet in length, fourteen to sixteen inches in width, and from four to six inches in depth.’”[5]
Polynesia
The art of surfing, known as heʻe nalu (literally, wave sliding)[6] in the Hawaiian language, was recorded in his journal by Joseph Banks aboard HMS Endeavour during the first voyage of James Cook, during the ship's stay in Tahiti in 1769:
...their cheif [sic] amusement was carried on by the stern of an old canoe, with this before them they swam out as far as the outermost breach, then one or two would get into it and opposing the blunt end to the breaking wave were hurried in with incredible swiftness. Sometimes they were carried almost ashore...[7]
Kahaluʻu Bay was the site of an ancient surfing temple.
Surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture and predates European contact. The chief (Ali'i) was traditionally the most skilled wave rider in the community with the best board made from the best wood. The ruling class had the best beaches and the best boards, and the commoners were not allowed on the same beaches, but they could gain prestige by their ability to ride the surf on their boards.
In Tahiti and Samoa, surfing was a popular pastime that was often used as part of warriors' training. Warriors often paddled to surf breaks and were recorded in print by early European historians as spending many hours bravely paddling head-on into large surf and riding waves. Canoes often accompanied surfing parties and the men would often swap between canoeing and paddling boards, and then catch fish after their recreational activities. In Hawai'i, surfing became ingrained into the very fabric of Hawaii'an religion and culture.
The sport was also recorded in print by other European residents and visitors who wrote about and photographed Samoans surfing on planks and single canoe hulls; Samoans referred to surf riding as fa'ase'e or se'egalu. Edward Treager also confirmed Samoan terminology for surfing and surfboards in Samoa. Oral tradition confirms that surfing was also practiced in Tonga, where the late king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV became an expert surfer in his youth.[8] Matt Warshaw, however, says the King began to surf in the 1960s on a board given him by Duke Kahanamoku.[9]
Ancient Hawaii
Hawaiians referred to this art as heʻe nalu which translates into English as "wave sliding." The art began before entering the mysterious ocean as the Hawaiians prayed to the gods for protection and strength to undertake the powerful mystifying ocean. If the ocean was tamed, frustrated surfers would call upon the kahuna (priest), who would aid them in a surfing prayer asking the gods to deliver great surf. Prior to entering the ocean, the priest would also aid the surfers (mainly of the upper class) in undertaking the spiritual ceremony of constructing a surfboard.
Hawaiians would carefully select one of three types of trees. The trees included the koa (Acacia koa), ʻulu (Artocarpus altilis), and wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) trees. Once selected, the surfer would dig the tree out and place fish in the hole as an offering to the gods. Selected craftsmen of the community were then hired to shape, stain, and prepare the board for the surfer. There were three primary shapes: the ʻolo, kikoʻo, and the alaia. The ʻolo is thick in the middle and gradually gets thinner towards the edges. The kikoʻo ranges in length from 370 to 550 cm (12 to 18 ft) and requires great skill to maneuver. The alaia board is around 275 cm (9 ft) long and requires great skill to ride and master. Aside from the preparatory stages prior to entering the water, the most skilled surfers were often of the upper class including chiefs and warriors that surfed amongst the best waves on the island. These upper-class Hawaiians gained respect through their enduring ability to master the waves and this art the Hawaiians referred to as surfing.[10] Some ancient sites still popular today include Kahaluʻu Bay and Holualoa Bay.[11]
Post-contact Hawaii
After contact with the Western World Hawaiian culture was forced to change. While Europeans were preoccupied with exploring and later colonizing the Pacific, they defined the islands as specks of land in a faraway sea.[12] Western diseases spread and colonization began, plantations were built, and immigration started. Local Hawaiians, mixed with imported workers from Asia, were put to work on sugar plantations and Protestant missionaries attempted to turn the population from their traditional beliefs into Christians. Along with the suppression of traditional culture was the suppression of surfing, often viewed as frivolous.
It was not until Waikiki became a tourist destination that surfing began a resurgence in popularity.[when?] Particularly wealthy Americans came to the beach and saw the locals occasionally surfing what had long been an established surf break, Waikiki, and wanted to try it. Mark Twain attempted it but failed in 1866. Jack London tried it while visiting, then chronicled it enthusiastically in an essay entitled "A Royal Sport" published in October 1907. In 1908 Alexander Hume Ford founded the Outrigger Canoe and Surfing Club the first modern organization developed to promote surfing broadly, although it was de facto whites-only and women weren't admitted until 1926. Local Hawaiians started their own club in 1911 called Hui Nalu, meaning "Club of the Waves". But the first surf icons who gained widespread recognition, George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku, became famous for practicing their traditional sport and helped spread it from Waikiki to around the world.
As the news of this new sport began to spread, locals in Waikiki began giving lessons and demonstrations for tourists. This was the basis of the Waikiki Beach Boys, a loose group of mostly native Hawaiians who hung out at the beach, surfed daily, and taught wealthy haole tourists how to ride waves. This was also known as the Hawaiian boarder-land, where white hegemony was uncertain and Natives inverted dominant social categories.[12] A borderland is a place where differences converge and social norms are often fluid. Because state-sanctioned authority is often absent from the borderlands, unique social and cultural identities are formed there. This was the foundation of a continual element of surf culture, repeated around the globe innumerable times and continuing to this day: people who, for at least a time, dedicate most of their daily lives to living on or around the beach and surfing as much as they can. These groups in Hawaii, and following in Australia, California, laid the foundation for modern surf culture around the world.[12]
North America
See also: Surfing in the United States
In July 1885, three teenage Hawaiian princes took a break from their boarding school, St. Mathew's Hall in San Mateo, and came to cool off in Santa Cruz, California. There, David Kawananakoa, Edward Keliʻiahonui, and Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole surfed the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on custom-shaped redwood boards, according to surf historians Kim Stoner and Geoff Dunn.[13] In 1907 George Freeth traveled to California from Hawaii to demonstrate surfboard riding as a publicity stunt to promote Abbot Kinney's resort in Venice, Venice of America. Later that year, Henry Huntington, who gave his name to Huntington Beach, hired Freeth as a lifeguard and to give surfing demonstrations to promote the city of Redondo Beach. Freeth surfed at the Huntington Beach pier for its rededication in 1914. In 1917 Freeth moved to San Diego to work as a swimming instructor at the San Diego Rowing Club. He later worked as a lifeguard at Coronado and Ocean Beach where he also gave surfing exhibitions.[14]
Surfing on the East Coast of the United States began in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina in 1909 when Burke Haywood Bridgers and a colony of surfers introduced surfing to the East Coast.[15] The State of North Carolina honored Burke Haywood Bridgers and the colony of surfers by placing a North Carolina Highway Marker for PIONEER EAST COAST SURFING on Wrightsville Beach and designated Wrightsville Beach as the birthplace of surfing in North Carolina in 2015.[16] North Carolina has the greater weight of published verifiable accurate evidence and impacts a broader geographical area when compared to other east coast states.[17] Burke Haywood Bridgers and the colony of surfers activities are among the earliest appearances of surfboards in the Atlantic Ocean.[18] The early twentieth-century surfers proved that surfing migrated from Hawaii to California and North Carolina about the same time, then Florida. The Wrightsville Beach Museum Waterman Hall of Fame honors, recognizes, and inducts community members for their contributions to the island's watersport culture.
Surf Culture Epicenters
For over a century now intrepid North American surfers have explored and ridden innumerable rugged and unnamed waves all over the vast North American coastline, yet distinct surf cultures tend to form around special small areas of particularly consistent good surf. The most archetypal and original of these is Malibu (both before and after Gidget). Not only is Malibu a rare world-class wave, but being adjacent to Hollywood it became the stereotype of Southern Californian surfing culture for the rest of the United States and the world. As Waikiki represented Hawaii, so Malibu represented California in the popular mindset. Both wave's quality remains intact to this day, but their local culture has gone through many shifts. Great surf epicenters often find their original surf culture quickly overrun by outside popularity, sometimes repeatedly.
Generally there are nine broadly defined continental regions, based on similar conditions: Alaskan, Cascadian, Northern California, Southern California, the Great Lakes, the Gulf Coast, East Coast of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, the North East, and Puerto Rico. Usually Hawaii is considered a separate entity from North America, subdivided by island and region. In professional surfing US mainlanders often use the American flag whereas Hawaiians (of any race) use the Hawaiian state flag.
Australian surfing
See also: Surfing in Australia
In 1910, Tommy Walker returned to Manly Beach, Sydney, with a 300 cm (10 ft) surfboard "bought at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, for two dollars."[19] Walker became an expert rider and in 1912 gave several exhibitions in Sydney.[20]
Surfboard riding received national exposure with the exhibitions by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku in the summer of 1914-1915 at several Sydney beaches. As a current Olympic sprint champion, Kahanamoku was invited to tour the Eastern states for an extensive series of swimming carnivals and at his first appearance in the Domain Pool, Sydney, smashed his previous world record for 100 yards by a full second.[21] Following the first exhibition at Freshwater on 24 December 1914,[22] in the New Year Kahanamoku demonstrated his skill at Freshwater and Manly,[23] followed by appearances at Dee Why[24] and Cronulla.[25]
Duke Kahanamoku's board is now on display in the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club, Sydney, Australia.[26]
Great Britain
Main article: Surfing in the United Kingdom
In 1890, the pioneer in agricultural education John Wrightson reputedly became the first British surfer at Bridlington in Yorkshire when instructed by two Hawaiian students, Princes David Kahalepouli Kawanaankoa Piikoi and Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Pikkoi, studying at his college.[27][28][29]
Modern surfing
Around the start of the 20th century, Hawaiians living close to Waikiki began to revive surfing, and soon re-established surfing as a sport. The revival is linked to real estate development and efforts to boost tourism.[30] The beach was historically a place where haole and Hawaiian worlds collided and violence was sometimes a substitute for mutual understanding.[12] Duke Kahanamoku, "Ambassador of Aloha," Olympic medalist, and avid waterman, helped expose surfing to the world. Kahanamoku's role was later memorialized by a 2002 first class letter rate postage stamp of the United States Postal Service.[31] Author Jack London wrote about the sport after having attempted surfing on his visit to the islands. Surfing progressed tremendously in the 20th century, through innovations in board design and ever-increasing public exposure.
Surfing's development and culture was centered primarily in three locations: Hawaii, Australia, and California, although the first footage of surfing in the UK was in 1929 by Louis Rosenberg and a number of friends after being fascinated by watching some Australian surfers. In 1959 the release of the film Gidget, based on the life of surfer Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, boosted the sport's popularity immensely, moving surfing from an underground culture into a national fad and packing many surf breaks with sudden and previously unheard of crowds. B-movies and surf music such as the Beach Boys and Surfaris based on surfing and Southern California beach culture (Beach Party films) as it exploded, formed most of the world's first ideas of surfing and surfers.[citation needed] This conception was revised again in the 1980s, with newer mainstream portrayals of surfers represented by characters like Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Surfing at Ormond Beach in Oxnard, California, in 1975
The anonymous sleeve notes on the 1962 album Surfin' Safari, the first album to be released on the Capitol label by The Beach Boys, include a rather tongue-in-cheek description of the sport of surfing thus:
"For those not familiar with the latest craze to invade the sun-drenched Pacific coast of Southern California, here is a definition of "surfing" - a water sport in which the participant stands on a floating slab of wood, resembling an ironing board in both size and shape, and attempts to remain perpendicular while being hurtled toward the shore at a rather frightening rate of speed on the crest of a huge wave (especially recommended for teen-agers and all others without the slightest regard for either life or limb)."
Regardless of its usually erroneous portrayal in the media, true surfing culture continued to evolve quietly by itself, changing decade by decade. From the 1960s fad years to the creation and evolution of the short board in the late 60s and early 70s to the performance hotdogging of the neon-drenched 1980s and the epic professional surfing of the 1990s (typified by Kelly Slater, the "Michael Jordan of Surfing"). In 1975, professional contests started.[32] That year Margo Oberg became the first female professional surfer.[32]
Surfing documentaries have been one of the main ways in which surfing culture grows and replenishes itself, not just as a sport but as an art form, the style and quality of surf films have often tracked well the evolution of the sport.
Professional surfing
Defining the scope of professional surfing is difficult, because like in many extreme sports, there is more than one model for what constitutes a professional. There are three main contemporary modes of making money purely as an active surfer: sponsorship, surf contests, and social media influence. Most often all three go together, but sometimes well-known professionals excel in only one.
If a professional surfer is someone who makes money from surfing (not including teaching), then the history of professional surfing dates to perhaps 1959 when the first West Coast Surfing Championships was held in Huntington Beach, California. Previously there had been innumerable amateur competitions, from the ancient Hawaiians themselves who were known to wager on the outcomes, to multiple iterations of surf competition as some form of race (commonly starting from shore, paddling to a buoy, then catching a wave back to shore).
In 1961 the United States Surfing Association (USSA) was founded, arguably the first proto-professional surfing contest organization. This was also about the time when surfing switched from core action: simply riding a quality wave, to a more style-oriented endeavor where turns, tricks, style, and artistry began to be important. Dynamic moves, such as nose-riding, top turns, and cut-backs were becoming even more important than catching the best wave and riding it for the longest possible time, which had previously been the primary goal, and seemed self-evident to earlier surfers.
Through numerous iterations of the surf contest and small sponsorships, very few people ever made a living from surfing alone (by not teaching or producing signature model boards or clothing) until the 1970s. As described in the documentary Bustin' Down the Door much of the prestige and money to be made from contest surfing resided in Hawaii, specifically, the increasingly important epicenter of worldwide performance-surfing: the North Shore of Oahu. But when Australians and South Africans showed up to join the Californians who had been migrating there in waves for nearly 20 years, multiple tensions arose between not only the Americans vs international surfers, but even more powerfully between the local Hawaiians and the haoles generally.
Into the 1980s surfing saw its second boost of wider popular recognition (the first being from Gidget) with new neon colors, increasing shortboard performance, more professional surfers, and a number of surf brands becoming trendy beyond surfing, such as Town & Country Surf Designs and Body Glove. The pro surfers of the 1980s were able to make more money, get more exposure, and generally survive longer with no job other than contest surfing and sponsorship.
In the last few decades there are generally less than 60 men and 30 women who qualify for the highest level of the surf league each year in its modern form, the WSL. There are thousands more surfers competing in various smaller surf contests held continually around the world, the majority of them being for groms (young participants). In the last half century of competitive surfing, nearly all professionals have learned to surf as children and were essentially prodigies, as in most modern professional sports.
In 1920, Duke Kahanamoku, the "Father of Modern Surfing", proposed that the sport be included in the Olympics. Surfing was to be a part of the Olympics for the first time ever in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, allowing athletes from around the world to show their skills in the sport. Before surfing could make its Olympic debut, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to be cancelled and then rescheduled for the year 2021. Surfing is set to appear in the 2021 Olympics with several members of the WSL as well as other amateur surfers for the first time ever at Tsurigasaki Beach in Chiba Japan.[33]
A surfer dropping in
Technological innovations in surfing
Surfing has been an internationally co-developed sport since its early spread beyond Hawaii, and has been highly influenced by (and generally welcoming of) new technology. There are no standards or committees to rule surfboard design or progression. Change has been rampant. Surfers generally pick styles and materials based on performance, feeling, and price. Surfboard shapers can be global name-brand professionals, local artisans, or even backyard amateurs. Unlike many other sports, the high variability and subtle performance differences in the main apparatus, the surfboard, is fundamental to both the experience and history. While many other sports standardize their equipment, in surfing, diversity in craft-design played a huge part in its history and still ongoing culture.
Much of the last century of surf history has been defined by new eras of technology which often fundamentally changed the experience. Surfers themselves have often developed, altered, or anticipated new technology to grant increased access to previously unsurfed waves and places. And unlike many other sports, the secondary equipment became almost as important as the core surfboard, a prime example being the wetsuit. The worldwide history of surfing could easily be divided between pre-wetsuit and post-wetsuit, because it expanded the potential to surf places previously far too cold, which comprised a vast amount of un-surfed worldwide coastline. On a similar basis, surfing history could justifiably be divided between pre-polystyrene and post-polystyrene surfboards, or pre-fin and post-fin as the original Hawaiian boards did not have fins until Tom Blake added one in 1935. Technology has changed surfing repeatedly and dramatically throughout its modern development, generally making the sport more accessible, cheaper, easier, and raising the level of performance.
Much of this change has also come from the fact that surfing was originally, and for many decades into the modern era, primarily a tropical or summertime only warm water sport, and a developed-world sport, making its early range quite limited. But after the arrival of mass-produced fiberglass boards, quality wetsuits, offroad vehicles, and inexpensive international travel, surfing became accessible along many parts of the world's coasts which were previously unthinkable or unknown as surf spots. Travelers thereby introduced the sport and equipment to the local coastal peoples of even very remote places. By the 21st century, much of the worldwide coastline has been explored and local peoples surf in nearly every country with access to waves. Yet unlike many other aspects of human expansion, there remain surf breaks as yet never ridden by humans, often in remote or treacherous corners of the globe, politically unstable areas, or around uninhabited islands, many which might yet reveal great surf spots in the future.
A quiver of surfboards
The Short Board Revolution
The ancient Hawaiians had mainly three types of board: Olo, Alaia, and Paipo. The Olo was 4.5 to 6.096 meters (15 to 20 ft) long and solid wood. They were very difficult to make and reserved for the upper classes. The Alai was only 1.82 or 2.13 meters (6 or 7 ft) long and usually much thinner. The Paipo was even smaller and similar to a modern bodyboard. None of these had a fin.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century nearly all modern surfboards were longboards, generally 2.74 meters (9 ft) or longer, although after the 1930s they began to shift away from being solid dense wood and towards lighter materials like balsa wood, and eventually various forms of polystyrene, which still dominate to this day.
Throughout the decades, shapers had occasionally made smaller boards, often as novelties, experiments, or specifically designed for small-statured people, but the popularity of those designs was slow to rise. During the surfboard production boom of the 1960s, the predominantly male shapers would sometimes construct specifically smaller boards for girls (who are often lighter and shorter, affecting weight/length requirements for paddling). Yet often they ended up surfing those small boards themselves because the style of surfing was different and mid-wave turns were growing in popularity, more easily done on shorter boards.
A fundamental reason for longer, thicker, more buoyant surfboards generally is they paddle faster, and paddle-speed is crucial to wave catching. But in the 1960s faster waves were becoming more popular, waves with narrower take off zones, requiring more skill to drop in. If the surfer could catch a fast wave, then a shorter board was inherently more maneuverable (and by extension more fun).
By the early 1970s, shorter boards began to rise dramatically in popularity, not just as novelties but as fulltime craft, so design innovation was not far behind. The number of fins and their location was experimented with. Various nose and tail shapes were tried. Then, by the 1980s, the styles were refined and coalescing into the modern shortboard just as the second large burst of broader surf-culture popularity within the mainstream was occurring. The 3-fin, 1.82 meters (6-ft-tall)"thruster" shortboard began to take over as the most popular design. A generally narrow board with rather small variance in design was being mass-produced. It nearly always has three fins, a pointed nose, a squash tail, and was approximately the height of the rider.
This basic style of board, with many small modifications, has been the dominant craft since the 1980s and is still the approximation of the modern professional surfboard. In 21st century professional surfing the common boards have slowly become shorter and wider, with a more rounded nose and sometimes 4-fins (very rarely 2-fins and never 1-fin), although non-professionals still regularly mix and match all those options based on personal taste.
Big wave surfing
Main article: Big wave surfing
Although the original Hawaiian surfers would ride large unbreaking ocean swells on their Olo boards, surfing a breaking wave larger than 4.5 to 6.1 meters (15–20 ft) was extremely challenging with pre-modern equipment, if it was attempted at all. But once board design began advancing rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s these larger and faster waves became more accessible. The first truly renowned big wave spot was Oahu's Waimea Bay. As the North Shore of Oahu was being explored for all its various breaks, Waimea was seen as too fast, brutal, and difficult. As detailed in the movie Riding Giants the first documented successful attempt was in October 1957. Once Waimea was finally surfed, it spawned the search for other giant waves around the world, and a devotional subset of surfers who specifically desired to surf very large waves. By the 1990s there were numerous giant waves being surfed all over the world, some regularly reaching the 12.2, 15.2, even 18.3 meters (40-, 50-, 60-ft) range. Big wave surfing bifurcated into two main branches: paddle-in and tow-in. Some waves are so big and quick it is nearly impossible to paddle fast enough to catch them, so surfers started towing behind boats and PWCs in order to catch the wave.
Style versus performance
"What is the purpose of surfing?" has long been philosophically debated in and out of surf culture. Often the entire endeavor has been viewed in the popular media as a waste of time, or the occupation of slackers. For the most part, surfing is agreed to be purely recreational, as it did not develop from, or turn into, a useful mode of daily transportation (as opposed to skiing or skateboarding, which can be both). Therefore in judging and appreciating surfing there has always been varying opinions about what is necessary, stylish, extravagant, and/or functional.
The variety and size of waves varies tremendously, as does surf craft, and to some degree even the medium. Harnessing the momentum of a wave for travel is the loosest definition of surfing, so in popular culture, the term is often applied to many forms of expanded "surfing". Particularly "surfing the web" and "couch surfing" common examples. But also characters like The Silver Surfer have taken the notion of surfing into science fiction.
There are also those who view surfing in a religious context. Certainly for the ancient Hawaiians, this component was important because the ocean was viewed as a deity. Yet also in modern surfing it is common for surfing to refer to it as some form of church or mass.
Surfing's impact on popular culture
Comparatively small and localized surfing cultures have repeatedly generated surprisingly large influence upon popular culture, particularly in the United States of America and Australia, as well as upon the global consciousness of surfing as a form of recreation. Since the expansion of surfing in the mid-20th century, there have been numerous coastal towns that were situated near good surf breaks, whose citizens did not yet know about modern surfing, and so did not even realize it was a rare commodity.
In America and Australia, the culture of surfing has influenced popular culture in periodic fads, starting with novels, movies, and the early-1960s TV show, Gidget. Gidget is often given credit for popularizing surfing as a "slightly strange and hedonistic lifestyle".[34] In film specifically, the surfing image has been so popular that it inspired an entire “beach party/surf film genre”.[35] The attention that surfing has received in popular culture has waxed and waned, much like other niche sports.
Another area of popular culture where surfing has had significant influence is popular music. As many scholars recognize, a large part of surfing’s popularity is from the positively connoted image of “beach parties, rich tans, loose clothing, and surf-ready cars"; in other words, there is "more to surfing than the sea”.[34] This image is very well suited to be represented in popular music, which is why so many popular teen anthems are based on the surfing craze.[34] The Beach Boys, a group whose songs frequently involved “an endless summer filled with surfing, cruising, and beachcombing,” is only one such example.[34] In the first half of the 1960s especially, popular music was dominated by exuberant music featuring the surf craze ("surf rock").[36] Another example is Katy Perry’s Billboard #1 hit song “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg[37] released in 2010, which highlights the same beachside lifestyle first popularized in the 1960s.
Fashions developed within surf culture have had a large worldwide impact numerous times from the 1960s to the present. A number of large clothing brands began as surfing brands, including but not limited to: OP, Stussy, Billabong, Quicksilver, Roxy, Hurley, O'Neill, Ripcurl, RVCA, Vans, Volcom, Reef, and Da Kine. One of the largest influences is probably the worldwide adoption of boardshorts as swim gear for men.
Alternatives to wind-generated waves
Since their invention, surfers have sometimes used wave pools to attempt surfing, but generally, the waves were too small and not well-formed enough for an enjoyable experience. The 1987 movie North Shore started the protagonist in an Arizona wave pool, then going on to Hawaii to try his luck. Both in and out of the movie this was considered basically a joke. But more recently, multiple attempts have been made to construct wave pools specifically designed for surfing. As of 2023 there are only a few around the world open to the public, but there are numerous in development. 2018 was the first year a professional surfing contest was held at a wave pool, specifically: Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch.[38]
Wakeboarding is a popular type of surfing done behind a boat's wake. There are also sometimes standing waves in rivers at high flow which can be surfable. At certain times of year on large rivers, tidal bores are surfable. People have also surfed alongside large cargo ships as their wakes roll into shallower water, and a few people have even surfed the waves caused by calving glaciers. The Wave Bristol opened in The UK as an inland artificial surf site.[39]
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools.
The term surfing refers to a person riding a wave using a board, regardless of the stance. There are several types of boards. The Moche of Peru would often surf on reed craft, while the native peoples of the Pacific surfed waves on alaia, paipo, and other such water craft. Ancient cultures often surfed on their belly and knees, while the modern-day definition of surfing most often refers to a surfer riding a wave standing on a surfboard; this is also referred to as stand-up surfing.
Another prominent form of surfing is body boarding, where a surfer rides the wave on a bodyboard, either lying on their belly, drop knee (one foot and one knee on the board), or sometimes even standing up on a body board. Other types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting (riding inflatable mats) and using foils. Body surfing, in which the wave is caught and ridden using the surfer's own body rather than a board, is very common and is considered by some surfers to be the purest form of surfing. The closest form of body surfing using a board is a handboard which normally has one strap over it to fit on one hand. Surfers who body board, body surf, or handboard feel more drag as they move through the water than stand up surfers do. This holds body surfers into a more turbulent part of the wave (often completely submerged by whitewater). In contrast, surfers who instead ride a hydrofoil feel substantially less drag and may ride unbroken waves in the open ocean.
Three major subdivisions within stand-up surfing are stand-up paddling, long boarding and short boarding with several major differences including the board design and length, the riding style and the kind of wave that is ridden.
In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with big wave surfing), a motorized water vehicle such as a personal watercraft, tows the surfer into the wave front, helping the surfer match a large wave's speed, which is generally a higher speed than a self-propelled surfer can produce. Surfing-related sports such as paddle boarding and sea kayaking that are self-propelled by hand paddles do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kite surfing and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these platforms may also be used to ride waves. Recently with the use of V-drive boats,[clarification needed] Wakesurfing, in which one surfs on the wake of a boat, has emerged.[citation needed] As of 2023, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized a 26.2 m (86 ft) wave ride by Sebastian Steudtner at Nazaré, Portugal as the largest wave ever surfed.[1]
During the winter season in the northern hemisphere, the North Shore of Oahu, the third-largest island of Hawaii, is known for having some of the best waves in the world. Surfers from around the world flock to breaks like Backdoor, Waimea Bay, and Pipeline. However, there are still many popular surf spots around the world: Teahupo'o, located off the coast of Tahiti; Mavericks, California, United States; Cloudbreak, Tavarua Island, Fiji; Superbank, Gold Coast, Australia.[2]
In 2016 surfing was added by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an Olympic sport to begin at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.[3] The first gold medalists of the Tokyo 2020 surfing men and women's competitions were, respectively, the Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira and the American from Hawaii, Carissa Moore.[4][5]
Origins and history
Main article: History of surfing
Peru
Caballitos de totora, reed watercraft used by fishermen for the past 3000 years at Huanchaco, Peru, known for its surf breaks
About three to five thousand years ago, cultures in ancient Peru fished in kayak-like watercraft (mochica) made of reeds that the fishermen surfed back to shore.[6][7] The Moche culture used the caballito de totora (little horse of totora), with archaeological evidence showing its use around 200 CE.[8] An early description of the Inca surfing in Callao was documented by Jesuit missionary José de Acosta in his 1590 publication Historia natural y moral de las Indias, writing:[9]
It is true to see them go fishing in Callao de Lima, was for me a thing of great recreation, because there were many and each one in a balsilla caballero, or sitting stubbornly cutting the waves of the sea, which is rough where they fish, they looked like the Tritons, or Neptunes, who paint upon the water.
Polynesia
Hawaiians surfing, 1858
In Polynesian culture, surfing was an important activity. Modern surfing as we know it today is thought to have originated in Hawaii. The history of surfing dates to c. AD 400 in Polynesia, where Polynesians began to make their way to the Hawaiian Islands from Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands. They brought many of their customs with them including playing in the surf on Paipo (belly/body) boards. It was in Hawaii that the art of standing and surfing upright on boards was invented.[10]
Various European explorers witnessed surfing in Polynesia. Surfing may have been observed by British explorers at Tahiti in 1767. Samuel Wallis and the crew members of HMS Dolphin were the first Britons to visit the island in June of that year. Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks[11] who was part of the first voyage of James Cook on HMS Endeavour, arriving on Tahiti on 10 April 1769. Lieutenant James King was the first person to write about the art of surfing on Hawaii, when he was completing the journals of Captain James Cook (upon Cook's death in 1779).
In Herman Melville's 1849 novel Mardi, based on his experiences in Polynesia earlier that decade, the narrator describes the "Rare Sport at Ohonoo" (title of chap. 90): “For this sport, a surf-board is indispensable: some five feet in length; the width of a man's body; convex on both sides; highly polished; and rounded at the ends. It is held in high estimation; invariably oiled after use; and hung up conspicuously in the dwelling of the owner.”[12] When Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866 he wrote, "In one place, we came upon a large company of naked natives of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing."[13]
References to surf riding on planks and single canoe hulls are also verified for pre-contact Samoa, where surfing was called fa'ase'e or se'egalu (see Augustin Krämer, The Samoa Islands[14]), and Tonga, far pre-dating the practice of surfing by Hawaiians and eastern Polynesians by over a thousand years.
West Africa
West Africans (e.g., Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal) and western Central Africans (e.g., Cameroon) independently developed the skill of surfing.[15] Amid the 1640s CE, Michael Hemmersam provided an account of surfing in the Gold Coast: “the parents ‘tie their children to boards and throw them into the water.’”[15] In 1679 CE, Barbot provided an account of surfing among Elmina children in Ghana: “children at Elmina learned “to swim, on bits of boards, or small bundles of rushes, fasten’d under their stomachs, which is a good diversion to the spectators.”[15] James Alexander provided an account of surfing in Accra, Ghana in 1834 CE: “From the beach, meanwhile, might be seen boys swimming into the sea, with light boards under their stomachs. They waited for a surf; and came rolling like a cloud on top of it. But I was told that sharks occasionally dart in behind the rocks and ‘yam’ them.”[15] Thomas Hutchinson provided an account of surfing in southern Cameroon in 1861: “Fishermen rode small dugouts ‘no more than six feet in length, fourteen to sixteen inches in width, and from four to six inches in depth.’”[15]
California
A woman holding her surfboard about to surf in Morro Bay, California
In July 1885, three teenage Hawaiian princes took a break from their boarding school, St. Matthew's Hall in San Mateo, and came to cool off in Santa Cruz, California. There, David Kawānanakoa, Edward Keliʻiahonui and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole surfed the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on custom-shaped redwood boards, according to surf historians Kim Stoner and Geoff Dunn.[16] In 1890, the pioneer in agricultural education John Wrightson reputedly became the first British surfer when instructed by two Hawaiian students at his college.[17][18][19]
George Freeth (1883–1919), of English and Native Hawaiian descent, is generally credited as the person who had done more than anyone else to renew interest in surfing at Waikiki in the early twentieth century after the sport had declined in popularity in Hawaii during the latter half of the nineteenth century.[20][21][22]
In 1907, the eclectic interests of land developer Abbot Kinney (founder of Venice of America, now Venice, California) helped bring Freeth to California. Freeth had sought the help of the Hawaii Promotion Committee (HPC) in Honolulu to sponsor him on a trip to California to give surfing exhibitions. The HPC arranged through their contacts in Los Angeles to secure a contract for Freeth to perform at Venice of America in July, 1907.[23] Later that year, land baron Henry E. Huntington brought surfing to Redondo Beach. Looking for a way to entice visitors to his own budding resort community south of Venice where he had heavily invested in real estate, he hired Freeth as a lifeguard and to give surfing exhibitions in front of the Hotel Redondo.[21] Another native Hawaiian, Duke Kahanamoku, spread surfing to both the U.S. and Australia, riding the waves after displaying the swimming prowess that won him Olympic gold medals in 1912 and 1920.[24]
Mary Ann Hawkins, inspired by Duke Kahanamoku's surfing during the late 1920s, developed a lifelong passion for surfing. In 1935, her family relocated to Santa Monica, providing her with opportunities to further immerse herself in surfing and paddleboarding.[25] On September 12, 1936, Hawkins achieved a historic milestone by winning California’s first women’s paddleboard race at the Santa Monica Breakwater. She continued to dominate the sport,[25] winning numerous competitions, including the women’s half-mile paddleboard race and the Venice Breakwater event in 1938, both held on the same day.
Hawkins was also a pioneer in tandem surfing, a discipline that highlights synchronized surfing between two individuals on a single board. She gained further recognition in 1939 when she performed exhibition paddleboarding and tandem surfing displays at various Southern California beaches, inspiring a new generation of women surfers. [25]
In January 1939, Hawkins was appointed head of the women’s auxiliary group of the Santa Monica Paddle Club and rose to vice president by January 1940.[25] Her surfing peers frequently lauded her achievements, with "Whitey" Harrison describing her as "the best tandem rider." Throughout her career, Hawkins exemplified grace and athleticism, leaving an indelible mark on the history of women’s surfing and paddleboarding.
In 1975, a professional tour started.[26] That year Margo Oberg became the first female professional surfer.[26]
Surf waves
See also: Ocean surface wave
Pipeline barrel at Pūpūkea, Hawaii
Surfer getting tubed at Sunset on the North Shore of Oahu
A large wave breaking at Mavericks
Swell is generated when the wind blows consistently over a large space of open water, called the wind's fetch. The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind, and the length of its fetch and duration. Because of these factors, the surf tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean traversed by intense low pressure systems.
Local wind conditions affect wave quality since the surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions. Ideal conditions include a light to moderate "offshore" wind, because it blows into the front of the wave, making it a "barrel" or "tube" wave. Waves are left-handed and right-handed depending upon the breaking formation of the wave.
Waves are generally recognized by the surfaces over which they break.[27] For example, there are beach breaks, reef breaks and point breaks.
The most important influence on wave shape is the topography of the seabed directly behind and immediately beneath the breaking wave. Each break is different since each location's underwater topography is unique. At beach breaks, sandbanks change shape from week to week. Surf forecasting is aided by advances in information technology. Mathematical modeling graphically depicts the size and direction of swells around the globe.
Swell regularity varies across the globe and throughout the year. During winter, heavy swells are generated in the mid-latitudes, when the North and South polar fronts shift toward the Equator. The predominantly Westerly winds generate swells that advance Eastward, so waves tend to be largest on West coasts during winter months. However, an endless train of mid-latitude cyclones cause the isobars to become undulated, redirecting swells at regular intervals toward the tropics.
East coasts also receive heavy winter swells when low-pressure cells form in the sub-tropics, where slow moving highs inhibit their movement. These lows produce a shorter fetch than polar fronts, however, they can still generate heavy swells since their slower movement increases the duration of a particular wind direction. The variables of fetch and duration both influence how long wind acts over a wave as it travels since a wave reaching the end of a fetch behaves as if the wind died.
During summer, heavy swells are generated when cyclones form in the tropics. Tropical cyclones form over warm seas, so their occurrence is influenced by El Niño and La Niña cycles. Their movements are unpredictable.
Surf travel and some surf camps offer surfers access to remote, tropical locations, where tradewinds ensure offshore conditions. Since winter swells are generated by mid-latitude cyclones, their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows. Swells arrive in pulses, each lasting for a couple of days, with a few days between each swell.
The availability of free model data from the NOAA has allowed the creation of several surf forecasting websites.
Tube shape and speed
The geometry of tube shape can be represented as a ratio between length and width.
Tube shape is defined by length to width ratio. A perfectly cylindrical vortex has a ratio of 1:1. Other forms include:
Square: <1:1
Round: 1–2:1
Almond: >2:1
Peel or peeling off as a descriptive term for the quality of a break has been defined as "a fast, clean, evenly falling curl line, perfect for surfing, and usually found at pointbreaks."[28]
Tube speed is the rate of advance of the break along the length of the wave, and is the speed at which the surfer must move along the wave to keep up with the advance of the tube.[29] Tube speed can be described using the peel angle and wave celerity. Peel angle is the angle between the wave front and the horizontal projection of the point of break over time, which in a regular break is most easily represented by the line of white water left after the break. A break that closes out, or breaks all at once along its length, leaves white water parallel to the wave front, and has a peel angle of 0°. This is unsurfable as it would require infinite speed to progress along the face fast enough to keep up with the break. A break which advances along the wave face more slowly will leave a line of new white water at an angle to the line of the wave face.[29][30]
V
s
=
c
s
i
n
α
{\displaystyle V_{s}={\frac {c}{sin\alpha }}}[29]
Where:
V
s
=
{\displaystyle V_{s}=}velocity of surfer along the wave face
c
=
{\displaystyle c=}wave celerity (velocity in direction of propagation)
α
=
{\displaystyle \alpha =}peel angle
In most cases a peel angle less than 25° is too fast to surf.[29]
Fast: 30°
Medium: 45°
Slow: 60°
Wave intensity table
FastMediumSlow
SquareThe CobraTeahupooShark Island
RoundSpeedies, GnaralooBanzai Pipeline
AlmondLagundri Bay, SuperbankJeffreys Bay, Bells BeachAngourie Point
Wave intensity
The type of break depends on shoaling rate. Breaking waves can be classified as four basic types: spilling (ξb<0.4), plunging (0.4<ξb<2), collapsing (ξb>2) and surging (ξb>2), and which type occurs depends on the slope of the bottom.[29]
Waves suitable for surfing break as spilling or plunging types, and when they also have a suitable peel angle, their value for surfing is enhanced. Other factors such as wave height and period, and wind strength and direction can also influence steepness and intensity of the break, but the major influence on the type and shape of breaking waves is determined by the slope of the seabed before the break. The breaker type index and Iribarren number allow classification of breaker type as a function of wave steepness and seabed slope.[29]
Artificial reefs
The value of good surf in attracting surf tourism has prompted the construction of artificial reefs and sand bars. Artificial surfing reefs can be built with durable sandbags or concrete, and resemble a submerged breakwater. These artificial reefs not only provide a surfing location, but also dissipate wave energy and shelter the coastline from erosion. Ships such as Seli 1 that have accidentally stranded on sandy bottoms, can create sandbanks that give rise to good waves.[31]
An artificial reef known as Chevron Reef was constructed in El Segundo, California in hopes of creating a new surfing area. However, the reef failed to produce any quality waves and was removed in 2008. In Kovalam, South West India, an artificial reef has successfully provided the local community with a quality lefthander, stabilized coastal soil erosion, and provided good habitat for marine life.[32] ASR Ltd., a New Zealand-based company, constructed the Kovalam reef and is working on another reef in Boscombe, England.
Artificial waves
Surfing a stationary, artificial wave in Southern California
Even with artificial reefs in place, a tourist's vacation time may coincide with a "flat spell", when no waves are available. Completely artificial wave pools aim to solve that problem by controlling all the elements that go into creating perfect surf, however there are only a handful of wave pools that can simulate good surfing waves, owing primarily to construction and operation costs and potential liability. Most wave pools generate waves that are too small and lack the power necessary to surf. The Seagaia Ocean Dome, located in Miyazaki, Japan, was an example of a surfable wave pool. Able to generate waves with up to 3 m (10 ft) faces, the specialized pump held water in 20 vertical tanks positioned along the back edge of the pool. This allowed the waves to be directed as they approach the artificial sea floor. Lefts, Rights, and A-frames could be directed from this pump design providing for rippable surf and barrel rides. The Ocean Dome cost about $2 billion to build and was expensive to maintain.[33] The Ocean Dome was closed in 2007. In England, construction is nearing completion on the Wave,[34] situated near Bristol, which will enable people unable to get to the coast to enjoy the waves in a controlled environment, set in the heart of nature.
There are two main types of artificial waves that exist today. One being artificial or stationary waves which simulate a moving, breaking wave by pumping a layer of water against a smooth structure mimicking the shape of a breaking wave. Because of the velocity of the rushing water, the wave and the surfer can remain stationary while the water rushes by under the surfboard. Artificial waves of this kind provide the opportunity
Wait, what? 14 to 5? What are you talking about?
Red Sox game at Fenway with Matt, Nick (just back from a year in New Zealand), and his girlfriend Sumeena (visiting from Germany, and here for her 21st birthday). The Sox won the night before, and the night after, but they got clobbered the night we went. Oh well, we still had fun watchin the game.
Game summary, pasted from www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/09/08...:
RAYS 14, RED SOX 5
Rays leave Sox in deep trouble
Visitors hammer 5 homers in rout
By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | September 8, 2010
There were cheers, and then there were boos. The cheers came as manager Terry Francona bounded from the dugout to remove starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. The boos were for Matsuzaka, who frustrated the fans and failed to help the Red Sox gain ground against their closest competition.
His performance was a debacle.
And the 14-5 loss led to the first official sign that the Sox have started thinking about 2011. Instead of having Clay Buchholz pitch tonight on short rest, Tim Wakefield will get the start. The watch has started on Boston’s elimination number — the Sox are 7 1/2 games back in the wild-card race — as talk turns to the prospects. The deficit appears too large to overcome, as Matsuzaka was unable to give his team one last grasp at a chance.
“I knew very well that this was a critical game, as far as our chances of advancing to the playoffs,’’ Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “So to allow what happened to happen so early in the game, I can really only apologize to my teammates and to the fans.’’
It was the walks, missed chances, and the long balls that allowed the Rays to clobber the Sox in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Matsuzaka was not the only culprit. The two relievers that followed were equally abysmal. They only added to a parade of Rays running around the bases. The lowlight was a mammoth home run by Evan Longoria in the fifth.
But while it might have gone the farthest (it was last seen headed toward some cars parked in a Lansdowne Street lot), Longoria’s homer wasn’t the only one. After Matsuzaka had allowed two home runs, the relievers one-upped him, yielding three more before the end of the sixth inning. The five round-trippers were a season high for Tampa.
By that point, though, the adding-on hardly mattered. Matsuzaka allowed the game to get out of hand, allowing eight runs on eight hits and four walks in just 4 2/3 innings. There was no coming back from that.
“On a day like today, I didn’t have any life or bite or command on my pitches,’’ Matsuzaka said. “I’m sure that Victor [Martinez] felt that there wasn’t anything that he could try and do either.’’
Although he got through the first two innings unscathed before giving up a two-run homer to Ben Zobrist in the third, it was in the fourth that things started to fall apart.
“Lack of command caught up with him and kind of caught up in a hurry,’’ Francona said. “[Fourth] inning, we got walk, walk, bunt, and we’ve got bases loaded, nobody out. There was a lot of hits and some walks mixed in. That’s not a good combination.’’
After those two walks to start the fourth, B.J. Upton attempted to sacrifice the runners over. But the Sox didn’t take the out, as Martinez coaxed Matsuzaka to throw to third base to get the lead runner. He couldn’t, as Matt Joyce slid in safe.
“Took a chance,’’ Martinez said. “You can’t play this game afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are out there. You can’t play this game being afraid to fail. I called it. I called it to third and we didn’t get the out.’’
The bases were loaded for Jason Bartlett, who walked in a run, the sixth time Boston pitching has done that in the last three games. Matsuzaka allowed an RBI single to Zobrist and a two-run double to Carl Crawford before getting out of the fourth. There was more ugliness in the fifth. Matsuzaka got two quick outs before allowing an infield single to Upton and that home run to Bartlett. He was then showered with boos as he was lifted in favor of Dustin Richardson.
The lefthander walked two batters and committed a throwing error, the major league-high 20th of the season by Sox pitching. That scored a run, ended his outing, and brought in Robert Manuel to face Longoria, who launched his bomb. Dan Johnson and Upton added back-to-back home runs in the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Sox could do little against David Price, who allowed just two hits and two runs over his six innings, with Martinez getting both of the hits. They scored three runs in the eighth, but by then it was too late.
The loss left the Sox thinking about the bigger picture, about the future, not about the postseason, which they’re almost certain to miss.
“It doesn’t look good at all,’’ Martinez said. “But we still have to go out there and keep playing. Keep playing and see what happens. The only thing we can control is keeping coming to the ballpark and keep playing hard. That’s it.’’
The weather toyed with this Test throughout, threatening to submerge Lord's on the second morning, disrupting play on every day bar one, and tantalisingly whisking victory from England on the last afternoon. Not that they could lump all the blame on the clouds. England had bowled beautifully to dismiss India for 201 before lunch on Saturday, but were left to rue a dilatory over-rate on day five. In dwindling light, with rain circling ever closer and Panesar bowling much of the time, they should have managed more than 14 an hour. They conjured nine wickets and came within a whisker of the tenth but, despite the presence of Harry Potter (or his cinematic embodiment, Daniel Radcliffe), there was no magic ending - at least not for England. India survived 96 overs, the longest innings of the match.
At the heart of this enthralling game was cricket's utter unpredictability. On the first day, England's batsmen effortlessly took advantage of a decent wicket and Indian bowling too close to leg stump; in the evening session, the scoreboard read 218 for one. Yet with the weather shifting the balance from bat to ball, the next 38 wickets produced just 845 more runs. The pitch stayed true, but the rain that drowned Friday morning caused the ball to swing as if it were early May, and the pace bowlers revelled in the chance to show off their dark arts. Two in particular cast a spell over the batsmen: Anderson and Zaheer Khan moved the ball both ways, and late, causing havoc. In such conditions, Pietersen's second-innings hundred - he said he had never played better - was a masterpiece, even if it could not quite deliver victory.
England fielded a green attack. Convinced that Tendulkar was susceptible to bounce, the selectors had drafted in the uncapped 6ft 6in Stuart Broad after Steve Harmison exacerbated a hernia injury. Then Hoggard dropped out with a back spasm, and Chris Tremlett, an inch taller than Broad, arrived. Apparently a real handful in the nets, Tremlett was chosen ahead of Broad despite not being in the original squad. He became only the sixth grandson to follow his grandfather into Test cricket: Maurice Tremlett played three times against West Indies in 1947-48. Anderson came in for his first home Test in almost three years, and the combined experience of the bowling quartet - 127 wickets in 37 Tests - was less than Zaheer's 142 in 47, never mind Kumble's 552 in 115. For the first time, England could field none of the five bowlers who wrested back the Ashes in 2005, though they hardly noticed their absence. India played two wicketkeepers, Karthik as a specialist opener.
Vaughan chose to bat under high cloud and, as Strauss and Cook punished wayward bowling, runs flooded the morning session. The good pitch and a bad forecast made a draw seem inevitable. Ganguly removed Cook with an inswinger, his first Test wicket in 18 months, but Strauss - spared on 43 when Karthik spilled a straightforward chance off a crooked cover drive - and Vaughan settled in.
Strauss was on 96 when the pressure caused by a run of 42 international innings without a hundred told. Thinking to end the drought in the grand manner, he shimmied down the wicket to Kumble, who slid the ball through quickly. Dravid pocketed the edge at slip, his 150th Test catch. Even after faltering to 268 for four at the close, England seemed set for a dominant score.
Next morning's monsoon came straight from the Old Testament. By 12.45, after two inches of rain, the outfield looked likelier to host a regatta than a Test. Optimists talked of an hour or two in the evening, pessimists of a washout. The groundstaff fell into a third category: miracle-workers. Thanks to their hard graft - and two miles of drainage installed for £1.25m in 2002 - play resumed at 1.50. Refunding a Friday sell-out would have cost around £1.5m. However, the restart was so astoundingly prompt that the ground was three-quarters empty.
It wasn't just spectators caught by surprise: there was a shock for the batsmen in this post-diluvian world. No cover could have prevented all moisture reaching the pitch, and the combination of swing, the new ball and better direction produced a flurry of wickets. Zaheer, after persistently troubling Pietersen, at last found his edge. He walked immediately, only to see the England balcony gesturing at the giant screen. Pietersen turned back towards the square and, moments later, was controversially reinstated.
Ranjan Madugalle, the referee, gave the official sequence of events: Dhoni dives and clings on; umpire Taufel upholds Zaheer's appeal with Pietersen already heading for the pavilion. But Bucknor, the square-leg umpire, his view impeded by a fielder, doubts whether the ball has carried; he tells Taufel, who refers to the TV umpire. At this point, England team-mates signal to Pietersen that the third umpire is about to make a ruling, which eventually results in a reprieve.
Whatever the precise order, Pietersen made no use of his reinstatement, unambiguously edging Zaheer two deliveries later. Sreesanth also made fine use of the swinging ball to grab three lbws, and England folded in a soggy heap: six wickets fell for 26, five for 12.
Conditions were testing rather than impossible, though Anderson exploited them exquisitely. His dismissal of Ganguly on the third morning was one to replay in the mind on dark winter evenings: after successive outswingers slanted across the lefthander, Anderson bowled what looked like another. But it swung in late and zipped between bat and pad. Bowling with a consistency many thought beyond him, he ended with a Test-best five for 42. Tremlett, although not always making the batsman play, kept things tight. Like England before them, India had squandered a promising position, lurching from 155 for four to 201, to trail by 97. India soon stole two wickets, but the weather stole much of Saturday afternoon.
Then came Pietersen. Shaky at first as left-armers Zaheer and R. P. Singh angled the ball past the bat, he improved his foot movement, and his scratchiness gave way to smooth, confident strokes. They were needed, too: England were 132 for five, and on marshy ground, when Prior joined Pietersen. Together they followed a path to safety in a stand worth 119, picking their way cautiously before striding out once the route was clear. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Pietersen reached his ninth Test hundred, moving from 89 to 103 in four balls, a textbook case of the nerveless nineties. He was less adept at shepherding the tail, though, and once Tremlett made a pair the certainty left his game. Singh, bowling with occasional menace, claimed a maiden Test five-for.
India needed 380 in four sessions, though Monday's forecast was dire. Despite the new ball losing its swing, they soon lost two wickets. Then Panesar trapped Tendulkar, tucking his bat behind his pad, which prompted perhaps the most exuberant celebration seen at Lord's. A blur of arms, legs and broad grin, Panesar pogoed and windmilled his way towards the boundary. By the close, India were 137 for three.
Next morning, while most of the country was awash, Lord's stayed dry. The overnight batsmen fell quickly, but Laxman and Dhoni did not. Not always convincingly or conventionally, Dhoni defied England, though they did whittle away at the other end after lunch. Despite deteriorating light, Vaughan spent an age honing his fields, and almost every over brought another light-meter inspection. Shortly after the eighth wicket fell, England, at last betraying some urgency, resorted exclusively to spin. With the scoreboards dazzling in the dark, Panesar took India's ninth. One ball would do it, but in such murk, each ball might be the last. Panesar was convinced he had Sreesanth lbw but, unlike Hawk-Eye, umpire Bucknor said no. And then, five minutes before the scheduled tea, came the offer of light - and salvation for India.
Posted via email to ☛ HoloChromaCinePhotoRamaScope‽: cdevers.posterous.com/while-there-are-admittedly-other-wa.... While there are admittedly other ways to interpret this, I prefer to think the scoreboard say we're winning 200,000 to 002,462.
• • • •
Red Sox game at Fenway with Matt, Nick (just back from a year in New Zealand), and his girlfriend Sumeena (visiting from Germany, and here for her 21st birthday). The Sox won the night before, and the night after, but they got clobbered the night we went. Oh well, we still had fun watchin the game.
Game summary, pasted from www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/09/08...:
RAYS 14, RED SOX 5
Rays leave Sox in deep trouble
Visitors hammer 5 homers in rout
By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | September 8, 2010
There were cheers, and then there were boos. The cheers came as manager Terry Francona bounded from the dugout to remove starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. The boos were for Matsuzaka, who frustrated the fans and failed to help the Red Sox gain ground against their closest competition.
His performance was a debacle.
And the 14-5 loss led to the first official sign that the Sox have started thinking about 2011. Instead of having Clay Buchholz pitch tonight on short rest, Tim Wakefield will get the start. The watch has started on Boston’s elimination number — the Sox are 7 1/2 games back in the wild-card race — as talk turns to the prospects. The deficit appears too large to overcome, as Matsuzaka was unable to give his team one last grasp at a chance.
“I knew very well that this was a critical game, as far as our chances of advancing to the playoffs,’’ Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “So to allow what happened to happen so early in the game, I can really only apologize to my teammates and to the fans.’’
It was the walks, missed chances, and the long balls that allowed the Rays to clobber the Sox in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Matsuzaka was not the only culprit. The two relievers that followed were equally abysmal. They only added to a parade of Rays running around the bases. The lowlight was a mammoth home run by Evan Longoria in the fifth.
But while it might have gone the farthest (it was last seen headed toward some cars parked in a Lansdowne Street lot), Longoria’s homer wasn’t the only one. After Matsuzaka had allowed two home runs, the relievers one-upped him, yielding three more before the end of the sixth inning. The five round-trippers were a season high for Tampa.
By that point, though, the adding-on hardly mattered. Matsuzaka allowed the game to get out of hand, allowing eight runs on eight hits and four walks in just 4 2/3 innings. There was no coming back from that.
“On a day like today, I didn’t have any life or bite or command on my pitches,’’ Matsuzaka said. “I’m sure that Victor [Martinez] felt that there wasn’t anything that he could try and do either.’’
Although he got through the first two innings unscathed before giving up a two-run homer to Ben Zobrist in the third, it was in the fourth that things started to fall apart.
“Lack of command caught up with him and kind of caught up in a hurry,’’ Francona said. “[Fourth] inning, we got walk, walk, bunt, and we’ve got bases loaded, nobody out. There was a lot of hits and some walks mixed in. That’s not a good combination.’’
After those two walks to start the fourth, B.J. Upton attempted to sacrifice the runners over. But the Sox didn’t take the out, as Martinez coaxed Matsuzaka to throw to third base to get the lead runner. He couldn’t, as Matt Joyce slid in safe.
“Took a chance,’’ Martinez said. “You can’t play this game afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are out there. You can’t play this game being afraid to fail. I called it. I called it to third and we didn’t get the out.’’
The bases were loaded for Jason Bartlett, who walked in a run, the sixth time Boston pitching has done that in the last three games. Matsuzaka allowed an RBI single to Zobrist and a two-run double to Carl Crawford before getting out of the fourth. There was more ugliness in the fifth. Matsuzaka got two quick outs before allowing an infield single to Upton and that home run to Bartlett. He was then showered with boos as he was lifted in favor of Dustin Richardson.
The lefthander walked two batters and committed a throwing error, the major league-high 20th of the season by Sox pitching. That scored a run, ended his outing, and brought in Robert Manuel to face Longoria, who launched his bomb. Dan Johnson and Upton added back-to-back home runs in the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Sox could do little against David Price, who allowed just two hits and two runs over his six innings, with Martinez getting both of the hits. They scored three runs in the eighth, but by then it was too late.
The loss left the Sox thinking about the bigger picture, about the future, not about the postseason, which they’re almost certain to miss.
“It doesn’t look good at all,’’ Martinez said. “But we still have to go out there and keep playing. Keep playing and see what happens. The only thing we can control is keeping coming to the ballpark and keep playing hard. That’s it.’’
Carissa Moore Wins Billabong Rio Pro, Gilmore Knocked Out of ASP World Title Race
BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Sunday, May 15, 2011) – Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, has claimed the Billabong Rio Pro, stop No. 5 of 7 on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season, over Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, in punchy two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves in a hard-fought Final at Barra Da Tijuca.
The electrifying action of the final day of women’s competition at Barra da Tijuca culminated in dramatic fashion with the world’s best female surfers going toe-to-toe with the highly-coveted 2011 ASP Women’s World Title on the line.
Moore and Fitzgibbons nearly matched scores on their opening accounts, but the young Hawaiian notched a solid 8.10 midway through the heat with polished backhand surfing on a lefthander that proved to be enough to solidify Moore’s third elite event victory of the 2011 season.
“I just went out there and had fun and to me there was no pressure in the Final,” Moore said. “I was just stoked to be in the Final regardless of how I finished. Obviously I’m happy that I won. The girls really didn’t go on those lefts, but they worked out for me today.”
Moore, who marched past local favorite Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, to earn her final berth, appeared in her fifth consecutive final out of the five events held this year and her victory at the Billabong Rio Pro extends her lead on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season over current ASP Women’s World No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons.
“I was really nervous that I wouldn’t make the Final because I was up against Silvana (Lima) and she’s the local favorite,” Moore said. ““I’m excited. We have two events left and it’d be nice to just finish really strong.”
Fitzgibbons built momentum throughout the Billabong Rio Pro, winning her non-elimination Round 3 heat before topping ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie Pauline Ado (FRA), 20, and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 22, but was unable to find the score needed to surpass Moore in the final and continues to trail the Oahu prodigy for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title.
“It’s a long year and there are a couple of events to go and it has been great here competing in Rio for the first time,” Fitzgibbons said. “Looking into the next few events it’s really going to be about stepping it up and having fun and focusing on my surfing. Hopefully I can get a few more results.”
Moore and Fitzgibbons remain the only two surfers in contention for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title.
Stephanie Gilmore, reigning four-time ASP World Champion, was lethal in her Quarterfinals heat against Laura Enever (AUS), 19, but was unable to find the score needed to surpass Fitzgibbons in their Semifinals matchup, finishing Equal 3rd overall.
“It was tough work out there,” Gilmore said. “Sally (Fitzgibbons) got a couple and I had some opportunities. I only needed a six and was too deep on that wave that came in at the end. Sally’s in the zone right now.”
Gilmore, who made surfing history by winning four ASP Women’s World Titles in four consecutive attempts, was knocked out of the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title race today, with her failure to advance past Fitzgibbons and into the Final. This historic moment in women’s sport proved emotional for the Australian icon.
“I’m going through so many emotions right now, it’s hard,” Gilmore said. “It’s been a pretty good year and Sally and Carissa (Moore) have been on fire. It’s good for the sport and good for me. I really don’t know what to say.”
Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, put on an impressive performance in front of her hometown crowd to match her best result of 2011. The talented Brazilian finished behind Carissa Moore in their Semifinals matchup and was happy to tie her best result of the season at her home event.
“I’m so excited to have matched my best result in front of my home crowd,” Lima said. “Of course I wanted to make the Final, but I’m so happy with my result and thanks to everyone for all of the support.”
When men’s competition begins, 2010 ASP Rookie of the year Owen Wright (AUS), 21, will surf against Heitor Alves (BRA), 29, and Bobby Martinez (USA), 28, in Heat 1.
A call will be made at 7am local time tomorrow morning for a possible start to men’s Billabong Rio Pro competition.
The Billabong Rio Pro men’s waiting period runs from May 11 through 22 and is webcast LIVE via www.billabongpro.com
For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com.
Billabong Rio Pro Final Results:
1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.87
2 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.80
Billabong Rio Pro Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.67 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 10.33
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.23
Billabong Rio Pro Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.63 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.27
QF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.50 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 9.93
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.44 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.97
QF 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.10 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 9.57
Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 14.33 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 9.30
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.63 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.14
Heat 3: Pauline Ado (FRA) 12.40 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 11.03
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.84 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.24
Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.50, Silvana Lima (BRA) 7.14, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.97
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.83, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.26, Paige Hareb (NZL) 4.66
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.73, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 8.00
Heat 4: Laura Enever (AUS) 11.66, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.00, Coco Ho (HAW) 9.00
ASP Women’s World Title Top 5 (After Billabong Rio Pro):
1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 47,000 pts
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 41,650 pts
3. Tyler Wright (AUS) 30,620 pts
4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 29,350 pts
5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 27,920 pts
Billabong Rio Pro Men's Round 1 Match Ups:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Bobby Martinez (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), TBA
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW), TBA
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), TBA
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS), TBA
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA), Tiago Pires (PRT), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), Chris Davidson (AUS), Cory Lopez (USA)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Taylor Knox (USA)
Photo © ASP / CESTARI
Carissa Moore Wins Billabong Rio Pro, Gilmore Knocked Out of ASP World Title Race
BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Sunday, May 15, 2011) – Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, has claimed the Billabong Rio Pro, stop No. 5 of 7 on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season, over Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, in punchy two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves in a hard-fought Final at Barra Da Tijuca.
The electrifying action of the final day of women’s competition at Barra da Tijuca culminated in dramatic fashion with the world’s best female surfers going toe-to-toe with the highly-coveted 2011 ASP Women’s World Title on the line.
Moore and Fitzgibbons nearly matched scores on their opening accounts, but the young Hawaiian notched a solid 8.10 midway through the heat with polished backhand surfing on a lefthander that proved to be enough to solidify Moore’s third elite event victory of the 2011 season.
“I just went out there and had fun and to me there was no pressure in the Final,” Moore said. “I was just stoked to be in the Final regardless of how I finished. Obviously I’m happy that I won. The girls really didn’t go on those lefts, but they worked out for me today.”
Moore, who marched past local favorite Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, to earn her final berth, appeared in her fifth consecutive final out of the five events held this year and her victory at the Billabong Rio Pro extends her lead on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season over current ASP Women’s World No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons.
“I was really nervous that I wouldn’t make the Final because I was up against Silvana (Lima) and she’s the local favorite,” Moore said. ““I’m excited. We have two events left and it’d be nice to just finish really strong.”
Fitzgibbons built momentum throughout the Billabong Rio Pro, winning her non-elimination Round 3 heat before topping ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie Pauline Ado (FRA), 20, and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 22, but was unable to find the score needed to surpass Moore in the final and continues to trail the Oahu prodigy for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title.
“It’s a long year and there are a couple of events to go and it has been great here competing in Rio for the first time,” Fitzgibbons said. “Looking into the next few events it’s really going to be about stepping it up and having fun and focusing on my surfing. Hopefully I can get a few more results.”
Moore and Fitzgibbons remain the only two surfers in contention for the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title.
Stephanie Gilmore, reigning four-time ASP World Champion, was lethal in her Quarterfinals heat against Laura Enever (AUS), 19, but was unable to find the score needed to surpass Fitzgibbons in their Semifinals matchup, finishing Equal 3rd overall.
“It was tough work out there,” Gilmore said. “Sally (Fitzgibbons) got a couple and I had some opportunities. I only needed a six and was too deep on that wave that came in at the end. Sally’s in the zone right now.”
Gilmore, who made surfing history by winning four ASP Women’s World Titles in four consecutive attempts, was knocked out of the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title race today, with her failure to advance past Fitzgibbons and into the Final. This historic moment in women’s sport proved emotional for the Australian icon.
“I’m going through so many emotions right now, it’s hard,” Gilmore said. “It’s been a pretty good year and Sally and Carissa (Moore) have been on fire. It’s good for the sport and good for me. I really don’t know what to say.”
Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, put on an impressive performance in front of her hometown crowd to match her best result of 2011. The talented Brazilian finished behind Carissa Moore in their Semifinals matchup and was happy to tie her best result of the season at her home event.
“I’m so excited to have matched my best result in front of my home crowd,” Lima said. “Of course I wanted to make the Final, but I’m so happy with my result and thanks to everyone for all of the support.”
When men’s competition begins, 2010 ASP Rookie of the year Owen Wright (AUS), 21, will surf against Heitor Alves (BRA), 29, and Bobby Martinez (USA), 28, in Heat 1.
A call will be made at 7am local time tomorrow morning for a possible start to men’s Billabong Rio Pro competition.
The Billabong Rio Pro men’s waiting period runs from May 11 through 22 and is webcast LIVE via www.billabongpro.com
For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com.
Billabong Rio Pro Final Results:
1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.87
2 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.80
Billabong Rio Pro Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.67 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 10.33
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.23
Billabong Rio Pro Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.63 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.27
QF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.50 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 9.93
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.44 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.97
QF 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.10 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 9.57
Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 14.33 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 9.30
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.63 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.14
Heat 3: Pauline Ado (FRA) 12.40 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 11.03
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.84 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.24
Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.50, Silvana Lima (BRA) 7.14, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.97
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.83, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.26, Paige Hareb (NZL) 4.66
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.73, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 8.00
Heat 4: Laura Enever (AUS) 11.66, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.00, Coco Ho (HAW) 9.00
ASP Women’s World Title Top 5 (After Billabong Rio Pro):
1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 47,000 pts
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 41,650 pts
3. Tyler Wright (AUS) 30,620 pts
4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 29,350 pts
5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 27,920 pts
Billabong Rio Pro Men's Round 1 Match Ups:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Bobby Martinez (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), TBA
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW), TBA
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), TBA
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS), TBA
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA), Tiago Pires (PRT), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), Chris Davidson (AUS), Cory Lopez (USA)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Taylor Knox (USA)
Photo © ASP / CESTARI
CLOUDBREAK, Tavarua/Fiji (Sunday, June 3, 2012) - The long-awaited return of the world?s best surfers to the iconic lefthander of Cloudbreak was realised today as the ASP Top 34 took on the open ocean reef pass for Round 1 of the Volcom Fiji Pro.. .Event No. 4 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Volcom Fiji Pro enjoyed solid six-to-eight foot (2 - 2.5 metre) waves at the primary venue of Cloudbreak today, and there was no shortage of action as the world?s best tore into the conditions on offer.. .Mitch Coleborn (AUS), 25, wildcard into the Volcom Fiji Pro, caused the upset of the day, besting reigning 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 40, as well as dangerous goofy-footer Kai Otton (AUS), 32, in their non-elimination Round 1 bout. After a rough start, including suffering a number of waves on the head, Coleborn rebounded in sensational fashion, grabbing 9.27 followed by an 8.10 for the day?s highest heat total of a 17.37 out of a possible 20. Photo: joliphotos.com
Red Sox game at Fenway with Matt, Nick (just back from a year in New Zealand), and his girlfriend Sumeena (visiting from Germany, and here for her 21st birthday). The Sox won the night before, and the night after, but they got clobbered the night we went. Oh well, we still had fun watchin the game.
Game summary, pasted from www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/09/08...:
RAYS 14, RED SOX 5
Rays leave Sox in deep trouble
Visitors hammer 5 homers in rout
By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | September 8, 2010
There were cheers, and then there were boos. The cheers came as manager Terry Francona bounded from the dugout to remove starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. The boos were for Matsuzaka, who frustrated the fans and failed to help the Red Sox gain ground against their closest competition.
His performance was a debacle.
And the 14-5 loss led to the first official sign that the Sox have started thinking about 2011. Instead of having Clay Buchholz pitch tonight on short rest, Tim Wakefield will get the start. The watch has started on Boston’s elimination number — the Sox are 7 1/2 games back in the wild-card race — as talk turns to the prospects. The deficit appears too large to overcome, as Matsuzaka was unable to give his team one last grasp at a chance.
“I knew very well that this was a critical game, as far as our chances of advancing to the playoffs,’’ Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “So to allow what happened to happen so early in the game, I can really only apologize to my teammates and to the fans.’’
It was the walks, missed chances, and the long balls that allowed the Rays to clobber the Sox in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Matsuzaka was not the only culprit. The two relievers that followed were equally abysmal. They only added to a parade of Rays running around the bases. The lowlight was a mammoth home run by Evan Longoria in the fifth.
But while it might have gone the farthest (it was last seen headed toward some cars parked in a Lansdowne Street lot), Longoria’s homer wasn’t the only one. After Matsuzaka had allowed two home runs, the relievers one-upped him, yielding three more before the end of the sixth inning. The five round-trippers were a season high for Tampa.
By that point, though, the adding-on hardly mattered. Matsuzaka allowed the game to get out of hand, allowing eight runs on eight hits and four walks in just 4 2/3 innings. There was no coming back from that.
“On a day like today, I didn’t have any life or bite or command on my pitches,’’ Matsuzaka said. “I’m sure that Victor [Martinez] felt that there wasn’t anything that he could try and do either.’’
Although he got through the first two innings unscathed before giving up a two-run homer to Ben Zobrist in the third, it was in the fourth that things started to fall apart.
“Lack of command caught up with him and kind of caught up in a hurry,’’ Francona said. “[Fourth] inning, we got walk, walk, bunt, and we’ve got bases loaded, nobody out. There was a lot of hits and some walks mixed in. That’s not a good combination.’’
After those two walks to start the fourth, B.J. Upton attempted to sacrifice the runners over. But the Sox didn’t take the out, as Martinez coaxed Matsuzaka to throw to third base to get the lead runner. He couldn’t, as Matt Joyce slid in safe.
“Took a chance,’’ Martinez said. “You can’t play this game afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are out there. You can’t play this game being afraid to fail. I called it. I called it to third and we didn’t get the out.’’
The bases were loaded for Jason Bartlett, who walked in a run, the sixth time Boston pitching has done that in the last three games. Matsuzaka allowed an RBI single to Zobrist and a two-run double to Carl Crawford before getting out of the fourth. There was more ugliness in the fifth. Matsuzaka got two quick outs before allowing an infield single to Upton and that home run to Bartlett. He was then showered with boos as he was lifted in favor of Dustin Richardson.
The lefthander walked two batters and committed a throwing error, the major league-high 20th of the season by Sox pitching. That scored a run, ended his outing, and brought in Robert Manuel to face Longoria, who launched his bomb. Dan Johnson and Upton added back-to-back home runs in the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Sox could do little against David Price, who allowed just two hits and two runs over his six innings, with Martinez getting both of the hits. They scored three runs in the eighth, but by then it was too late.
The loss left the Sox thinking about the bigger picture, about the future, not about the postseason, which they’re almost certain to miss.
“It doesn’t look good at all,’’ Martinez said. “But we still have to go out there and keep playing. Keep playing and see what happens. The only thing we can control is keeping coming to the ballpark and keep playing hard. That’s it.’’
Posted via email to ☛ HoloChromaCinePhotoRamaScope‽: cdevers.posterous.com/the-view-from-the-ted-williams-seat....
• • • •
Red Sox game at Fenway with Matt, Nick (just back from a year in New Zealand), and his girlfriend Sumeena (visiting from Germany, and here for her 21st birthday). The Sox won the night before, and the night after, but they got clobbered the night we went. Oh well, we still had fun watching the game.
Game summary, pasted from www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/09/08...:
RAYS 14, RED SOX 5
Rays leave Sox in deep trouble
Visitors hammer 5 homers in rout
By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | September 8, 2010
There were cheers, and then there were boos. The cheers came as manager Terry Francona bounded from the dugout to remove starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. The boos were for Matsuzaka, who frustrated the fans and failed to help the Red Sox gain ground against their closest competition.
His performance was a debacle.
And the 14-5 loss led to the first official sign that the Sox have started thinking about 2011. Instead of having Clay Buchholz pitch tonight on short rest, Tim Wakefield will get the start. The watch has started on Boston’s elimination number — the Sox are 7 1/2 games back in the wild-card race — as talk turns to the prospects. The deficit appears too large to overcome, as Matsuzaka was unable to give his team one last grasp at a chance.
“I knew very well that this was a critical game, as far as our chances of advancing to the playoffs,’’ Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “So to allow what happened to happen so early in the game, I can really only apologize to my teammates and to the fans.’’
It was the walks, missed chances, and the long balls that allowed the Rays to clobber the Sox in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Matsuzaka was not the only culprit. The two relievers that followed were equally abysmal. They only added to a parade of Rays running around the bases. The lowlight was a mammoth home run by Evan Longoria in the fifth.
But while it might have gone the farthest (it was last seen headed toward some cars parked in a Lansdowne Street lot), Longoria’s homer wasn’t the only one. After Matsuzaka had allowed two home runs, the relievers one-upped him, yielding three more before the end of the sixth inning. The five round-trippers were a season high for Tampa.
By that point, though, the adding-on hardly mattered. Matsuzaka allowed the game to get out of hand, allowing eight runs on eight hits and four walks in just 4 2/3 innings. There was no coming back from that.
“On a day like today, I didn’t have any life or bite or command on my pitches,’’ Matsuzaka said. “I’m sure that Victor [Martinez] felt that there wasn’t anything that he could try and do either.’’
Although he got through the first two innings unscathed before giving up a two-run homer to Ben Zobrist in the third, it was in the fourth that things started to fall apart.
“Lack of command caught up with him and kind of caught up in a hurry,’’ Francona said. “[Fourth] inning, we got walk, walk, bunt, and we’ve got bases loaded, nobody out. There was a lot of hits and some walks mixed in. That’s not a good combination.’’
After those two walks to start the fourth, B.J. Upton attempted to sacrifice the runners over. But the Sox didn’t take the out, as Martinez coaxed Matsuzaka to throw to third base to get the lead runner. He couldn’t, as Matt Joyce slid in safe.
“Took a chance,’’ Martinez said. “You can’t play this game afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are out there. You can’t play this game being afraid to fail. I called it. I called it to third and we didn’t get the out.’’
The bases were loaded for Jason Bartlett, who walked in a run, the sixth time Boston pitching has done that in the last three games. Matsuzaka allowed an RBI single to Zobrist and a two-run double to Carl Crawford before getting out of the fourth. There was more ugliness in the fifth. Matsuzaka got two quick outs before allowing an infield single to Upton and that home run to Bartlett. He was then showered with boos as he was lifted in favor of Dustin Richardson.
The lefthander walked two batters and committed a throwing error, the major league-high 20th of the season by Sox pitching. That scored a run, ended his outing, and brought in Robert Manuel to face Longoria, who launched his bomb. Dan Johnson and Upton added back-to-back home runs in the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Sox could do little against David Price, who allowed just two hits and two runs over his six innings, with Martinez getting both of the hits. They scored three runs in the eighth, but by then it was too late.
The loss left the Sox thinking about the bigger picture, about the future, not about the postseason, which they’re almost certain to miss.
“It doesn’t look good at all,’’ Martinez said. “But we still have to go out there and keep playing. Keep playing and see what happens. The only thing we can control is keeping coming to the ballpark and keep playing hard. That’s it.’’