tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82046403209651447492024-02-19T02:42:17.711-08:00Laurens County Sports HistoryScott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-40799919056481532242016-06-26T10:21:00.001-07:002016-06-26T10:21:04.823-07:00SHOELESS JOE JACKSON<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
IT'S SO, SHOELESS JOE PLAYED HERE<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97Yzrg1oDkEjvzHENcjTIjL15u-BuFAcMNdZ3hZO98nudnfx1TID-v9pfpK9zoYuCywA8EEDmPa5uBvHL6-u4czff07sFHmt52GR9sPsVEhPgYfhsedglIEBMo80vyIRXOfuuM-edHCM/s1600/MTE5NDg0MDU1MDA4MzQ3NjYz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97Yzrg1oDkEjvzHENcjTIjL15u-BuFAcMNdZ3hZO98nudnfx1TID-v9pfpK9zoYuCywA8EEDmPa5uBvHL6-u4czff07sFHmt52GR9sPsVEhPgYfhsedglIEBMo80vyIRXOfuuM-edHCM/s400/MTE5NDg0MDU1MDA4MzQ3NjYz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Banned from the sport he loved so dearly, Joseph Jefferson Jackson toured the South playing for the love of the game and the bounties of the baseball promoters. Thousands of adoring fans surrounded sandy diamonds throughout the Southeast eager to catch a glimpse of the man they called "Shoeless Joe." Back in 1925, this unjust exile played two games in Dublin, never losing a step from the decade of the 1910s, when Joe Jackson was one of baseball's greatest players.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joe Jackson was born in South Carolina in 1887. At the age of six, he began to work in the textile mills, which were a dominant part of his community's economy. Upon his becoming a teenager, Joe was asked to join the mill's baseball team. Since he worked half of every day in the mill, with an occasional break to play ball, Joe never obtained any degree of education, a misfortune which would haunt him for the rest of his life. On Saturdays he would pick up a few dollars by playing baseball. By the time he was twenty, Joe signed to play semi-pro ball with the Greenville Spinners for a lucrative $75.00 per month. By the end of August, he made it to the major leagues, but disappointedly, Joe only played in five games. Jackson returned to the minor leagues, only to return to the big leagues in 1910 as a member of the Cleveland Indians of the American League.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> As a rookie in 1911, Joe batted .408, the first and only rookie ever to exceed the highly coveted level of batting supremacy. His batting average dipped to .395 in 1912, but the twenty-five-year-old phenom led the league in triples. The following year Jackson led the league in hits and slugging average. In 1915, Jackson was traded to the White Sox for cash and three players. For the next five seasons, Joe Jackson was a terror in the batter's box, never falling below .300.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joe Jackson's colorful nickname was reportedly penned on him during a mill league game against a team from Anderson, South Carolina. Joe supposedly discarded a new pair of spikes when they began to rub blisters on his feet. He played the rest of the game in his stocking feet. During his first plate appearance without shoes, Joe stroked a triple deep into the outfield, prompting an opposing fan to shout, "You shoeless son of gun, you!"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeobOszrBnyxxiSULo8NlOG1wegq8ewDsKTdWHto1Vg_BA2vvKvETAz4uOOtj0nO88AuWPiJ8gzdi28CQvD7jH-CeP4ZVt7JsvRmyebvCFe4vqxihNm0gfGiR-S3WKiPbskcEaJ4o4tE/s1600/0478156001441116182_filepicker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeobOszrBnyxxiSULo8NlOG1wegq8ewDsKTdWHto1Vg_BA2vvKvETAz4uOOtj0nO88AuWPiJ8gzdi28CQvD7jH-CeP4ZVt7JsvRmyebvCFe4vqxihNm0gfGiR-S3WKiPbskcEaJ4o4tE/s400/0478156001441116182_filepicker.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The zenith of Joe's career came in 1919 when his team, the Chicago White Sox, faced the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. The Sox lost the best of nine series, five games to three. During the series, Joe was the only player to hit a home run and played outstanding ball in the field and at the plate. Joe continued to excel in 1920, posting a .385 average and leading the league in triples for the third time. Joe and seven other White Sox players, an octette dubbed the "Black Sox," were implicated in a scandal which accused Joe and his teammates of throwing the series. Joe and the others were suspended from baseball until their fate could be determined.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1921, Joe Jackson was acquitted of any malfeasance in the series by a Chicago jury. Despite his exoneration, he was banned from baseball for life by Kennesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's first commissioner, for his failure to disclose his knowledge of the conspiracy. He returned home to Savannah, where he opened a lucrative dry-cleaning business. But as soon as the temperatures of the spring began to rise, offers for his services on semi-pro teams throughout the South and the North came pouring in.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the summer of 1923, Joe began the season playing in Bastrop, Louisiana. Near the middle of the season, Joe accepted an offer by a team from Americus, Georgia. He led the team to the championship of the South Georgia League, batting .453 in 25 games and .500 in the league championship series over Albany. He even pitched one inning, surrendering one base on balls, but no hits or runs. After the end of the South Georgia League season, Joe played with the railroad team out of Waycross, Georgia. In 1924, Jackson led the Waycross Coast Liners to the Georgia Championship, doubling as the team's manager during the last half of the season.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvfh8NxHPPzQqfurOCY7IUsGVOcusa92XwrrTfPXXKZgDzbWxKCM8Xlc5rAO1pRyLMtWQtAkCB4Q7p5k07_vw72DQeRBcX8Lmrj3Jkha5SxeWs5Cj75QsXunP8B-csKH-QQwXniUvlCI/s1600/1925-waycross-team-gray-1500-clean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvfh8NxHPPzQqfurOCY7IUsGVOcusa92XwrrTfPXXKZgDzbWxKCM8Xlc5rAO1pRyLMtWQtAkCB4Q7p5k07_vw72DQeRBcX8Lmrj3Jkha5SxeWs5Cj75QsXunP8B-csKH-QQwXniUvlCI/s400/1925-waycross-team-gray-1500-clean.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his last full professional season with Waycross in 1925, Joe played center field and managed the Coast Liners to an impressive record of 63-19-3. The Waycross team played teams from Georgia, as well as ones from Florida, Alabama and South Carolina. On June 22, 1925, the Coast Liners played the Right of Ways from Macon, Georgia, a team fielded by the Central of Georgia Railroad, on the 12th District Fairgrounds in Dublin. The ball field, located at the western corner of Telfair and Troup streets, was the scene of a 1918 game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Braves and games between Oglethorpe University and the University of Georgia and the St. Louis "Gas House Gang" Cardinals in 1933 and 1935.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Regretfully, only sketchy details of the game have survived. Joe's team won the first game, 8-7 on a field described as "rough and in very bad condition." While no box score was published in the Macon Telegraph, Jackson was credited with leading his team to victory. After the game, the field was improved for the next day's game, in which the Macon boys won by the score of 11-7. A third game was apparently canceled, and the teams played two more games in Macon the following weekend.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of "Shoeless Joe's" teammates on the 1925 Coast Liner team was William C. Webb. Webb was born in Adrian, Georgia in 1903. He graduated from Adrian High School and played college ball at Sparks Junior College. Webb played under Jackson, whom he described as "a good baseball man." In a 2001 interview with John Bell, author of "Shoeless Summer" and "Georgia Class D Minor League Encyclopedia," Webb said of Jackson "Even though he was not educated, he had the ability to make managerial decisions that almost always turned out well. He was a player's manager, who led by example and had great respect for his players." Webb admired Jackson, who once let the country boy bat with his famous bat "Black Betsy," a hand-fashioned stick of hickory with a slight bend and which sounded like he hit a brick when he struck the ball. Webb told his interviewer that he often had to help the uneducated superstar by assisting him in signing his name on the back of his paychecks. Webb went on to play semi-pro ball well into his thirties.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQd8kmiaDRR1Eu2BC6mOlVWnkADqxrfwT_YS8ZCdRsR91k_9xGwILlO2wSw44DefqVEVYApJLdE2s00rn4Vq1yRSAETm56fxyMELdlhtEaiBx3sacoEAW2PHSVvdM_sBSFCkdWXwLVUAI/s1600/1548_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQd8kmiaDRR1Eu2BC6mOlVWnkADqxrfwT_YS8ZCdRsR91k_9xGwILlO2wSw44DefqVEVYApJLdE2s00rn4Vq1yRSAETm56fxyMELdlhtEaiBx3sacoEAW2PHSVvdM_sBSFCkdWXwLVUAI/s320/1548_a.jpg" width="228" /></a></span></div>
Joe continued to play some mill league and semi-pro ball until 1941, when he played his first and last night games at the age of fifty-four, belting two home runs in a single game, when most men his age have long given up hopes of playing the game of their youth. His statistics after 1925 are very scant. Joe often played under assumed names. Foster Taylor, the former beloved Mayor of Rentz, Georgia, always recalled the time that he played in a game with the great "Shoeless Joe." Joe Jackson operated a liquor store and barbecue restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina until his death at the age of 64 on December 5, 1951.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>More than a half century after his death, sincere and enduring baseball fans and former players are still seeking to add the name of Joseph Jefferson Jackson to the Baseball Hall of Fame. After all is said and done, he was absolved of any wrong doing by a jury of his peers and was a player whose .356 lifetime batting average is the 3rd highest in baseball history. Maybe one day when the summer skies are brightly shining in Cooperstown, New York, the announcer will step up to the podium and announce the name of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson to his rightful place among the ultimate immortals of the country's national pastime.<br />
<br />
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-34641580021964225382016-06-26T10:14:00.002-07:002016-06-26T10:14:27.510-07:00RON GORTON <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>“The Great Gorton”</b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgC1ChM4c8KUbEriSB99RsA4rIfawbazoEYpsQTYigYFS-TGRdlJ8XfGWuaGAaWDFQ1oZ1aM3PChaJafM5ROmPmctBCp-gMb9LQLVGNqgZ3cLZ-lCETopw1FIDM1mRDM5krHpghgZVA8/s1600/GORTON.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgC1ChM4c8KUbEriSB99RsA4rIfawbazoEYpsQTYigYFS-TGRdlJ8XfGWuaGAaWDFQ1oZ1aM3PChaJafM5ROmPmctBCp-gMb9LQLVGNqgZ3cLZ-lCETopw1FIDM1mRDM5krHpghgZVA8/s320/GORTON.01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ron Gorton came to Dublin, Georgia sixty years ago to play baseball. Before he turned twenty-four years old, Ron’s professional baseball career was over. Ron had two strikes against him, but he was not out - not yet. In addition to his short-lived career on the diamond, Ron Gorton worked in a major circus, quarterbacked a major college football team, garnered two boxing championship belts, appeared in a half dozen TV dramas and produced a major motion picture - all before he was thirty years old. This is the story of a former Dublin Irishman baseball player and his remarkably unbelievable career on and off the field.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs09SHJwKh-g3_xOOizQ-S2YTLk5DzgTis9DMF0UqmOLSX8yGLoFlmmEtsFhi3yiammbj4lAP7DdSxDRyqBsSdmBYIj1mORHw0tiGDD6bph7I-h3ERSEAGwE9PpHBAsiE_s__4OWXDvQw/s1600/20160427_204949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs09SHJwKh-g3_xOOizQ-S2YTLk5DzgTis9DMF0UqmOLSX8yGLoFlmmEtsFhi3yiammbj4lAP7DdSxDRyqBsSdmBYIj1mORHw0tiGDD6bph7I-h3ERSEAGwE9PpHBAsiE_s__4OWXDvQw/s200/20160427_204949.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
Ronald Gorton was born on October 3, 1933 in Stamford, Connecticut. Gorton’s star first shined as a member of Gorton High School’s Stamford Black Knights. In his senior year, Ron was class vice president and co-MVP of the football team. In his early teens, the adventurous athlete ran away from home to work in the Barnum and Bailey Circus.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdzozILRwQgB_CCNm9zhZXzu89vpFao8aGBln8r7p66q15RKIUll4buZm9dusfYnOYuvujkKLvy7XiBYtpqY0F4kq8Okm3e8vGprMoqds825vuOo4Q8nMPcMvrJr_oM8VcUE7IWWafAw/s1600/20160427_205339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdzozILRwQgB_CCNm9zhZXzu89vpFao8aGBln8r7p66q15RKIUll4buZm9dusfYnOYuvujkKLvy7XiBYtpqY0F4kq8Okm3e8vGprMoqds825vuOo4Q8nMPcMvrJr_oM8VcUE7IWWafAw/s200/20160427_205339.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“There was nothing he couldn’t do athletically,” his friend Greg Michie told Bob Kennedy of the Stamford Daily Advocate. Teammate Fred Dugan echoed Michie’s belief that Ron could have been an all star at anything he wanted and agreed that Gorton (center left) was always looking toward his next adventure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As a sophomore, Ron Gorton was tapped as the savior of football at Villanova University. He was charged with the task of making the Wildcats the “Notre Dame of the East.” During his first season, he got into a bar fight, left the team and joined the U.S. Army at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, where he served as a military policeman.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PNWOi5AWbo2pJzCHCZVVRTUOWZkqWBurgcIeZO56IvUckw9YM5vv11p5cqpS1ePZyvVPGh5-QlgRqjuzwp3b3KQoqIMsFoIQpNKHqqMa0aDKUj22vUrF41Aosp_IReTejItZmUvBKxw/s1600/20160424_144604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PNWOi5AWbo2pJzCHCZVVRTUOWZkqWBurgcIeZO56IvUckw9YM5vv11p5cqpS1ePZyvVPGh5-QlgRqjuzwp3b3KQoqIMsFoIQpNKHqqMa0aDKUj22vUrF41Aosp_IReTejItZmUvBKxw/s320/20160424_144604.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Gorton (right) lands a hard blow.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc1aHS1RUB3wvzpJfZRakgm9XeLkXd_rbyPfpIHmK-UuyGZCnrbLrb-_qSaoxPJjmKvhHibP4p0Dv72b4c6ig5TdYl_Kp0arV85AMx6QPX-PTeWBWByUIFvBrA0ASpjl796Fd80WAYb8/s1600/20160424_144700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc1aHS1RUB3wvzpJfZRakgm9XeLkXd_rbyPfpIHmK-UuyGZCnrbLrb-_qSaoxPJjmKvhHibP4p0Dv72b4c6ig5TdYl_Kp0arV85AMx6QPX-PTeWBWByUIFvBrA0ASpjl796Fd80WAYb8/s320/20160424_144700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Gorton (left) and his fellow Golden Gloves champs celebrate.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While he was in Atlanta, Ron took up boxing, a wildly popular sport in the 1950s. Once again, Gorton excelled, drawing the attention of the sportswriters, including Jesse Outler of the Atlanta Constitution who dubbed Ron as “The Great Gorton.” Gorton not only fought well, he captured the Golden Gloves championship of Georgia and the Middleweight Championship of the United States Army. While he was in the army, Ron sang and drummed as the “Singing MP” in local night clubs for some walking around, fun money. Ron favored football, but when he learned what the fort’s commanding general Alexander Bolling’s favorite sport was, he poured his soul into baseball. Ron earned a spot on both the All Army baseball and football teams.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYtntIJf1SriLpcWURmovK62i1g1qf-V8dRF849uRYYqsdA5uhxa5Nej92kOy8dDdA80-f-NE6lFiKkbcR9yJ8TOO4nPwYFYw8OQk3VciyFnkknKLbSjqlwvxDGTrtIT3M7KJ2PsWJTc/s1600/20160427_210451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYtntIJf1SriLpcWURmovK62i1g1qf-V8dRF849uRYYqsdA5uhxa5Nej92kOy8dDdA80-f-NE6lFiKkbcR9yJ8TOO4nPwYFYw8OQk3VciyFnkknKLbSjqlwvxDGTrtIT3M7KJ2PsWJTc/s320/20160427_210451.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gorton returned to Villanova in 1955. Based on a strong performance in the season opener against Baylor, Ron, as a junior, was given a chance to become the team’s starting quarterback. Gorton’s best game came against the Indiana Hoosiers when he threw a 77-yard pass to halfback John Bauer, a mark which remains in the top ten longest pass receptions in Villanova history. Gorton and his coach, Frank Reagan, rarely saw eye to eye. Bob Kennedy related the story that Coach Reagan sent Ron into the game to run out the clock with a blowout loss. Gorton threw three straight touchdown passes. When the coach chastised Gorton for disobeying orders, the quarterback scolded the coach for not putting him in earlier and winning the game instead. That incident seemed to bring an end to Gorton’s college career, although it has been reported that he came back to Georgia and played for the Georgia Bulldogs for two weeks.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gorton signed a professional baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who assigned the $4,000.00 bonus baby to the Dublin Irishmen of the Georgia State League. Ron, who was encouraged by four of his army teammates who became major leaguers, had hit .349 in the previous season and was hitting nearly .400 for the Fort McPherson team when he signed in late May of 1956. Gorton played shortstop in 80 games for the Irish, who finished dead last in the Georgia State League in their last year of their existence. He was a steady fielder, but a light hitter with a .230 batting average. Gorton was assigned to Jamestown New York team until he was traded to the Olean Oilers farm team of the Phillies during the 1957 season. Just to keep in shape, Ron played in the Puerto Rican league as Ronaldo Gorton Gonzalez. At the beginning of the 1958 season, the Phillies manager Mayo Smith told Ron that he would have to play catcher if he wanted to remain with the team.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Me, behind the mask! I’ve got to be out there so they can see my face,” Gorton exclaimed as he grabbed his duffle bag and left training camp for good.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCf5jo3QSrTicn0HOT0G1oD334Z-7hXuej8unMb-R4MPA7dyoWwp7h1VqaO1vST2Z_I1IfOHzMX4qxooBqb_kw4xAVUV_6pReDk4rlzPXPa4cWS7jjNUlFU_PagykApyPuXPKriVA7-6s/s1600/20160425_144711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCf5jo3QSrTicn0HOT0G1oD334Z-7hXuej8unMb-R4MPA7dyoWwp7h1VqaO1vST2Z_I1IfOHzMX4qxooBqb_kw4xAVUV_6pReDk4rlzPXPa4cWS7jjNUlFU_PagykApyPuXPKriVA7-6s/s320/20160425_144711.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkwPsL-xXp9mzria0-dco1G4tCXKC8udkWD4sUIaODa_x4pjXNPJ5MaIu_RIoQmk7j4OMWQbCIKaNoqREHuq8tIDjLLAR3mOrlh7_dPg5rZNziZf2js2ioYk7RqG5EyIo-84Kkfb5RcU/s1600/20160425_144931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkwPsL-xXp9mzria0-dco1G4tCXKC8udkWD4sUIaODa_x4pjXNPJ5MaIu_RIoQmk7j4OMWQbCIKaNoqREHuq8tIDjLLAR3mOrlh7_dPg5rZNziZf2js2ioYk7RqG5EyIo-84Kkfb5RcU/s320/20160425_144931.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsd34r7JmuUUOyFeu8M5f29jQmNrIljozYDt1-xgVt3Tfgn5UIwTIpHxM_vtVIOO8S-i_WW-AuJwC0h_uW3ZLDPr1mb-oJKEd_1bm8752UJX7RE6fARXNdjrbLHI95n5ocaLFAUCt1_zk/s1600/20160425_145004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsd34r7JmuUUOyFeu8M5f29jQmNrIljozYDt1-xgVt3Tfgn5UIwTIpHxM_vtVIOO8S-i_WW-AuJwC0h_uW3ZLDPr1mb-oJKEd_1bm8752UJX7RE6fARXNdjrbLHI95n5ocaLFAUCt1_zk/s320/20160425_145004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Ron in an episode of "Sea Hunt" starring Lloyd Bridges. </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gorton was driving around when he saw a sign that the television series Sea Hunt was being filmed there. Gorton pulled in and approached the star, Lloyd Bridges, and told Bridges that he was a great actor. He also spotted a man smoking a cigar and doing nothing. When told that the man was the producer, Ron proclaimed, “That’s what I want to be - a producer!”<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRX0pjaKkMteXcj-1dnlRHEVkVD4TpcUnJ6HK5OH_7qDdBRCOIgb9d2obgwMqLiTT5FWr7xDUoxCGXlbKij9EBXQIKljYqbg-FZIKoMqPM_Ufc6apTb3mzib9MRLvPc9MmZ-brton9cgo/s1600/20160425_152759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRX0pjaKkMteXcj-1dnlRHEVkVD4TpcUnJ6HK5OH_7qDdBRCOIgb9d2obgwMqLiTT5FWr7xDUoxCGXlbKij9EBXQIKljYqbg-FZIKoMqPM_Ufc6apTb3mzib9MRLvPc9MmZ-brton9cgo/s320/20160425_152759.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtH0EcdAx7Bz9_KO7dhG0k03V8dd_Da21RL9EA-Hf-41xOs0Ae3PQsjyO6RWbIcDacfmlqWR2lLHiqPhc-e5C5eqL1fudyrarI8CrYZwjMPGdQ73rIweDQOBi-AZ2PHEH0qeYXSnJ7aRA/s1600/20160425_152850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtH0EcdAx7Bz9_KO7dhG0k03V8dd_Da21RL9EA-Hf-41xOs0Ae3PQsjyO6RWbIcDacfmlqWR2lLHiqPhc-e5C5eqL1fudyrarI8CrYZwjMPGdQ73rIweDQOBi-AZ2PHEH0qeYXSnJ7aRA/s320/20160425_152850.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeafiyJScUbnqOYFSPq-WLkXo7eNyEEFjURJEm4-C4P8_mtxKyQbbGbmoA-ujRXJLU_YtPNTliRotCH-hhYV2NzCarecL_Uue01l-x-Y904YV8x_BJp2y4aiBz9g_SLkzjDhyphenhyphenmMLz5vA4/s1600/20160425_153047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeafiyJScUbnqOYFSPq-WLkXo7eNyEEFjURJEm4-C4P8_mtxKyQbbGbmoA-ujRXJLU_YtPNTliRotCH-hhYV2NzCarecL_Uue01l-x-Y904YV8x_BJp2y4aiBz9g_SLkzjDhyphenhyphenmMLz5vA4/s320/20160425_153047.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Ron in an episode of "Highway Patrol" with Broderick Crawford</b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gorton appeared in two episodes of Sea Hunt along with single episodes of Highway Patrol, M Squad, Wagon Train, The Rough Riders and Bat Masterson.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8g9rfARwUW7O2J5rSwAytqwIYIVAWvriFB1_6_eRnGpoBOp1QaV60XM-vOqZhCOBGwZ9BsBrSjVFeSqFvoTxgbwO0ghWxCUOjNa9Yy0CXq7i76xu_5h9TOjCb-Xuct7Z5XSvUlC6jRXo/s1600/GORTON.PANIC.BUTTON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8g9rfARwUW7O2J5rSwAytqwIYIVAWvriFB1_6_eRnGpoBOp1QaV60XM-vOqZhCOBGwZ9BsBrSjVFeSqFvoTxgbwO0ghWxCUOjNa9Yy0CXq7i76xu_5h9TOjCb-Xuct7Z5XSvUlC6jRXo/s320/GORTON.PANIC.BUTTON.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With his irresistible charm and compelling personality, Ron Gorton achieved his dream of being the producer of a major motion picture. He set up a suite of plush offices in a swanky office building in New York. Ron hired mega stars Maurice Chevalier, Eleanor Parker, Jayne Mansfield and Mike Conners (of Mannix fame) to star in his first movie, “Panic Button.” The comedy, while not a big success, did receive some favorable reviews.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Buoyed by the success of “Panic Button,” Gorton, who seemed to find enough money to produce his movies, planned to begin production of “Jason.” He was making arrangements to hire Frederic March, Betty Davis, Mickey Rooney and his first cousin, Jack Palance as the stars of a movie, where he would portray himself in the title role. The project never materialized.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrADttvB5KzTpmTpI8dqHZcWGuC6XzXFh7jYNANgqZynpBAG2XpAhcIwCZ_pbz3nq7ukexAqCBnIA_HolRjer-zduTRvmqGm5hVmzrNvpQyzP7FneUJXUzi41FrfETZnHybGMGpPrNXI/s1600/Superfly_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrADttvB5KzTpmTpI8dqHZcWGuC6XzXFh7jYNANgqZynpBAG2XpAhcIwCZ_pbz3nq7ukexAqCBnIA_HolRjer-zduTRvmqGm5hVmzrNvpQyzP7FneUJXUzi41FrfETZnHybGMGpPrNXI/s200/Superfly_poster.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ron Gorton worked with his close friend Sig Shore in producing the 1972 black exploitation film, “Superfly.” In 1975, he teamed with Shore to produce, “That’s The Way of the World,” a music industry film, starring Earth, Wind & Fire. His 1984 film, “The Act,” starred Eddie Albert and Jill St. John. His last film was “A Walk with Death,” which he co-produced with his son, Ron, Jr., who also starred in the movie.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Always a promoter, it seemed only natural that Ron would venture into sports promotions. In January of 1969, he produced the first American “College All Star” Bowl in Tampa in January 1969 which was sponsored by the Tampa Bay area Lions Clubs until 1977.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Later that year, Ron Gorton almost pulled off one of the greatest boxing matches when he secured what was to be the first bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Tampa officials and citizens, objecting to Ali’s stance on religion, the military and Vietnam, forced the cancellation of the highly heralded event, which eventually took place in New York in 1971.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gorton claimed some credit for the formation of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but never realized his dream of being an NFL or MLB owner, nor did he ever become the governor of his native state of Connecticut.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4W00yfSzy8ZsZhgiiN1JMUvzuGsoZy0Ta2dLk0wmbT-BWt3pRx4Ob6Eu2Qs2oMGAJzrdAFFmH8IrZ6xZKJBWKROZNmu4KVxAAumVIfeD8IaJbEkYj9AJfLPb6GBKrwNpAuq5hK1mPZI/s1600/GORTON.SOUL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4W00yfSzy8ZsZhgiiN1JMUvzuGsoZy0Ta2dLk0wmbT-BWt3pRx4Ob6Eu2Qs2oMGAJzrdAFFmH8IrZ6xZKJBWKROZNmu4KVxAAumVIfeD8IaJbEkYj9AJfLPb6GBKrwNpAuq5hK1mPZI/s320/GORTON.SOUL.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The decade of the seventies saw Ron turn to writing. 1977's “The Soul” was a novel complete with exorcism, murder and the supernatural. Based partially on his life as a boy, Ron began a revolutionary war against organized religion and the concept of a wrathful God. In 1978, he renewed his attack on traditional religion by publishing “Lawyers of Hell.” Gorton’s attacks on televangelism led to many talk show appearances including ones on “The Larry King Show” and “Oprah.” The last of the trilogy was his 1989 book, “The Hucksters of Holiness.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUEpML2DlwX1RhJuDuIMOMTxy-tkV9Ep_bH27S7H0hWFVEiuPF3wG8ZLcH41Cz9BOm7Wq-j3oE6KpeJZKFFM-szWBm-0RFsnr_L2qhd-D-GrsR4Z_iHtWsdMRdYiqePdDM3aeLXba4w4/s1600/GORTON.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUEpML2DlwX1RhJuDuIMOMTxy-tkV9Ep_bH27S7H0hWFVEiuPF3wG8ZLcH41Cz9BOm7Wq-j3oE6KpeJZKFFM-szWBm-0RFsnr_L2qhd-D-GrsR4Z_iHtWsdMRdYiqePdDM3aeLXba4w4/s320/GORTON.02.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ron Gorton was indeed a man of many talents - a true Renaissance man. What he lacked in patience and stability, Gorton more than made up with his extraordinary brilliance, unparalleled talent, indestructible self confidence and dogged determination. He died<br />
on January 31, 2003 in his home in Clearwater, Florida.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_0IXzNb55Z8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_0IXzNb55Z8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Ron's appearance on Sea Hunt episode</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>"Chain of Evidence" </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>beginning at 02:48.</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B6uxY7T_8wM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6uxY7T_8wM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Preview trailer of "Panic Button"</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JxklLiNCNdk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JxklLiNCNdk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Trailer - "That's The Way of the World" </b></div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-74563104930313661542015-06-19T18:41:00.001-07:002015-06-19T18:41:57.873-07:00A DRAFT REPEAT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A DRAFT THREEPEAT<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is indeed rare that within the space of 357 days that three athletes from three adjoining rural counties are selected in the first round of major sports drafts. Such was the case between May 8,2014 and April 30, 2015 during two NFL drafts and one NBA draft. As for now, I will say that this triple take has never happened before. I will wait until one of you sports trivia experts quickly prove me wrong. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinM0uhoUtqdwl5BUnAqmjwr2497xjvRMuPATdT6_vTt6u3bmO1MM9UKUJRmy7IaEUMCvvJGsj6P3pc5RhZtobxClAU-WHf_t8l6v9VdG35wYcR4xt3oncN3wSFfGLw7rDA-FYU8B2mX_5v/s1600/dennard.margueze.04.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinM0uhoUtqdwl5BUnAqmjwr2497xjvRMuPATdT6_vTt6u3bmO1MM9UKUJRmy7IaEUMCvvJGsj6P3pc5RhZtobxClAU-WHf_t8l6v9VdG35wYcR4xt3oncN3wSFfGLw7rDA-FYU8B2mX_5v/s320/dennard.margueze.04.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It all began on May 8, 2014 when the Cincinnati Bengals chose Darqueze Dennard of Twiggs County, Georgia in the NFL’s annual draft. Six weeks later on June 26, the San Diego Clippers picked Brian Craig, aka “C.J.”, Wilcox, a native of Dublin, Georgia, as their first pick in the 2014 NBA draft. To complete the triad, the Pittsburgh Steelers, tabbed Alvin “Bud” Dupree from neighboring Wilkinson County as their first round pick in this year’s NFL draft.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Darqueze Dennard hails from the tiny Twiggs County town of Dry Branch, Georgia. This rather light defensive back was the 24th choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in last year’s NFL Draft. Dennard was a member of the 2013 Big Ten champion and 2014 Rose Bowl champion Michigan State Spartans. A unanimous All-American choice in 2013, Dennard was selected by the Jim Thorpe Association as the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best collegiate defensive back. Dennard was among the top five finalists for the Football Writers Association of America’s Bronco Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s best defensive college player.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayEZpLT11YBJ3OHjGBbTyhFZtKUqDVcwvRw1v2TzaJKpk7kpyeTJqyqrkhirKZ2Efxm05wUZDJtRdPkZeTXP8Rd9FmeF3rgE1VgEJXe29ttcLB95CLr0A_l-udqRnDeVZn-xytRsNXxY1/s1600/dennard.margueze.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayEZpLT11YBJ3OHjGBbTyhFZtKUqDVcwvRw1v2TzaJKpk7kpyeTJqyqrkhirKZ2Efxm05wUZDJtRdPkZeTXP8Rd9FmeF3rgE1VgEJXe29ttcLB95CLr0A_l-udqRnDeVZn-xytRsNXxY1/s400/dennard.margueze.01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxyD44aFHQ5VaSQgyEkksBs6k0u6OGhWVrKgiqOo8IVjcvzwnuxLWFn9kxxMRx0veMfDyqIEqKT1jEOyRYAIJhUaoNd0snLhwreVEwVtoFNDD-UfyRc4CSMHncmmMeNxDXOdG_pbrcIg8/s1600/dennard.margueze.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxyD44aFHQ5VaSQgyEkksBs6k0u6OGhWVrKgiqOo8IVjcvzwnuxLWFn9kxxMRx0veMfDyqIEqKT1jEOyRYAIJhUaoNd0snLhwreVEwVtoFNDD-UfyRc4CSMHncmmMeNxDXOdG_pbrcIg8/s320/dennard.margueze.03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A three-sport star for the Twiggs County Cobras, Dennard played both defensive back and wide receiver. Although his stats as an offensive player were good, a few college scouts saw more promise in his defensive ability to read the quarterback and his speed in moving toward the football. In his senior year, Dennard finished second in the Class A 100-meter dash.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Considered only as a two-star recruit, Michigan State took a chance on Dennard, who missed nearly half of his freshman season due to an injury. As a sophomore, Dennard began to show the skills his recruiters had seen in him. Two of his 42 tackles came against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2012 Outback Bowl. Dennard continued to improve during his junior season and finished his final season with 62 tackles.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNwhUJCPsCcZxw6QOk3x2AO5vobuZT1RCTMi8yczasBJW4ffFGmKHlnb0pITJQHEsVdkFzipAAOdB4XRyYO69ap60YdQvOHt4yuTLVw3EPpbExPn2EccQhpKy6xMAUzfbo1HAXpNgSrhN/s1600/wilcox.c.j.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNwhUJCPsCcZxw6QOk3x2AO5vobuZT1RCTMi8yczasBJW4ffFGmKHlnb0pITJQHEsVdkFzipAAOdB4XRyYO69ap60YdQvOHt4yuTLVw3EPpbExPn2EccQhpKy6xMAUzfbo1HAXpNgSrhN/s320/wilcox.c.j.01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brian Craig "C. J." Wilcox was born in Dublin, Georgia on December 30, 1990. Raised by his grandmother down the road in Eastman, Wilcox moved to Utah with his father Craig Wilcox, a Dodge County basketball star and former BYU basketball player. The 6'6" shooting guard was the 28th pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Young Wilcox didn’t take long to prove that he was a “chip of the old block. In his preteens, Wilcox began to stand out in AAU games. He played high school ball at Pleasant Grove High Vikings, where he averaged 22.2 points per game. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Utah colleges began to take notice, most notably. Utah, Utah State and Brigham Young. Wilcox decided to leave home and sign with the University of Washington Huskies. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FdDfcQ1DSlS2vkZW2-LYsy6W7FRWRBxzN7ABOmtnlRdWbeFiNJ4bm_PQysnBo5eSZ-cKnAQQ_t9Nje-K3Zpr1MvOOarluLDlMrt-z0MBnh-4dQIlU_1Ggyn0c-naYgms1w718LmbahJ5/s1600/wilcox.c.j.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FdDfcQ1DSlS2vkZW2-LYsy6W7FRWRBxzN7ABOmtnlRdWbeFiNJ4bm_PQysnBo5eSZ-cKnAQQ_t9Nje-K3Zpr1MvOOarluLDlMrt-z0MBnh-4dQIlU_1Ggyn0c-naYgms1w718LmbahJ5/s320/wilcox.c.j.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After being redshirted in his first season in 2009-10, Wilcox was named to the Pac-10 All Freshman Team. As a sophomore, Wilcox was tabbed as an Honorable Mention to the All Pac-10 team for his deadly three-point shooting. Wilcox moved up to the Second Team All Pac-12 during his junior season after finishing with the 11th highest single season point total in Huskie history.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the second time, Wilcox was selected to the Second Team All Pac-12 despite the fact that he finished his career as the second highest scorer, fifth in blocked shots, first in three-pointers (6th in Pac-12 history,) and ranks as one of only three players in conference history to score 1700 points. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhifMVK9ks074sQxJfBRaBxiM6VAtG-vyvbIn87cqj1dkf3ny2QgxDaQthGz2QNAzQS3Frchp4X31MieCXIYCv7UxuiwoNTSDrL2bZ2PpaNv97vti0DXDfLhmgIlXswpLt9dRQfTBIrLU/s1600/wilcox.c.j.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhifMVK9ks074sQxJfBRaBxiM6VAtG-vyvbIn87cqj1dkf3ny2QgxDaQthGz2QNAzQS3Frchp4X31MieCXIYCv7UxuiwoNTSDrL2bZ2PpaNv97vti0DXDfLhmgIlXswpLt9dRQfTBIrLU/s400/wilcox.c.j.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbkgkegNqrt0CVk-Jk3x8vT-VIKWRw3J2SA1K978etZXzlduT0YOXiaejE2kPXP21U8ytNOXZsro33vygjL6y0TxERt2yijMIm_VHKtMcHL2toz8jPIe5EyPFPx4HHU1cy8l7dOa4Butoq/s1600/dupree.bud.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbkgkegNqrt0CVk-Jk3x8vT-VIKWRw3J2SA1K978etZXzlduT0YOXiaejE2kPXP21U8ytNOXZsro33vygjL6y0TxERt2yijMIm_VHKtMcHL2toz8jPIe5EyPFPx4HHU1cy8l7dOa4Butoq/s320/dupree.bud.01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Alvin Dupree - his friends call him “Bud” - was born in Macon, Georgia and grew up in Wilkinson County, Georgia. Dupree was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 22nd pick in the first round of last month’s NFL draft. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dupree attended Wilkinson County High School in Irwinton, Georgia. During his senior season for the Warriors, Dupree played both ways, scored 10 touchdowns and garnered more than more than 1000 yards in receiving yards. Only a three-star recruit, the six-foot, four-inch Dupree, a first team all state player, tackled 62 runners and sacked the opposing quarterbacks, 10 times.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVJKev8K2ap5OhMUpM9-MrsRU7asGI6X3fYJRlr_nD4-d5KemblbwjyJLsJd4Tv01RkVldoIAAwE6Q9EEcyOIgBY-AZo6T3zLYIZSCmA3JQhk3HF96g-dBwpMJvdzGmMfafIQXyRNGP2m/s1600/dupree.bud.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVJKev8K2ap5OhMUpM9-MrsRU7asGI6X3fYJRlr_nD4-d5KemblbwjyJLsJd4Tv01RkVldoIAAwE6Q9EEcyOIgBY-AZo6T3zLYIZSCmA3JQhk3HF96g-dBwpMJvdzGmMfafIQXyRNGP2m/s1600/dupree.bud.04.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dupree signed with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. In his freshman year, the 269-pound defensive end, played in twelve games. In the same number of games in his sophomore season, the big lineman jumped from 21 tackles to 91 tackles for a career season high. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A steady performer on defense, Dupree was named to the first team of the All Southeastern Conference in his senior season in 2014 finishing his career with 247 tackles and 23.5 sacks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZo2kAgnmgqldz6_S1aso5SW0XkgK86Gn8ZUST901wEpNnbuuKyWDQ5Kp46mSQPVBzKXgfSXYBwxZLmnCi4aF6jvQRPIQy_Y_kAZ9o_lzdMkq1YsiczolKqL16eBh7-7h4CAi_6IGMHck/s1600/dupree.bud.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZo2kAgnmgqldz6_S1aso5SW0XkgK86Gn8ZUST901wEpNnbuuKyWDQ5Kp46mSQPVBzKXgfSXYBwxZLmnCi4aF6jvQRPIQy_Y_kAZ9o_lzdMkq1YsiczolKqL16eBh7-7h4CAi_6IGMHck/s1600/dupree.bud.02.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The book has yet to be written on Darqueze Dennard, “C.J.” Wilcox and “Bud” Dupree. Dennard, hampered by the lack of playing time in his rookie season, tackled opposing players seventeen times in four games. Dupree, plagued by injuries which forced him to start the 2014-15 season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, managed only to appear in only 21 games this season and scored two points as he looks forward to the fall and a chance to play full time. And, of course, the recently drafted “Bud” Dupree has yet to don a Steeler uniform.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is well worth remembering that Wilcox and Dupree were only three star recruits out of high school while Dennard was only rated as a two-star player. Only one of the three, Dennard, were chosen as an All-American and Wilcox didn’t make the first all conference team.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9KljcfrJ5GGBo4an6yBZbKhzqldcEojPRVpGFQnOcXxGcDNwJTSQPiqWron-KoWCY5hZZ69cG_No7QQlQrXjKDUfv2EBXcZSB3IZhSoCSPS_GgyErzzkfn8IxJabI6zS0N8LG9Yy7q4m/s1600/thomas.demaryius.draft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9KljcfrJ5GGBo4an6yBZbKhzqldcEojPRVpGFQnOcXxGcDNwJTSQPiqWron-KoWCY5hZZ69cG_No7QQlQrXjKDUfv2EBXcZSB3IZhSoCSPS_GgyErzzkfn8IxJabI6zS0N8LG9Yy7q4m/s320/thomas.demaryius.draft.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It shall also be noted that Demaryius “Bay Bay” Thomas (left) was the first person from this area to be drafted in the first round of a major professional league draft when he became the 22nd pick of the Denver Broncos of the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. Of the four area players in five years, Thomas was the most highly heralded both coming out of high school and college.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTqcPaeChvY84W2PAWHeK199wZ7vTxqeO77vui9pqMp1hRqfj-CVw9K5lwod31jIyZzLaveyqqFxp3ZG2pWwesEYotskZ3VRnkp2Syb8bvqw7CwSsj33mNkJdHCqjl_FzvU8u50QtfUqs/s1600/brown.kevin.ranges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTqcPaeChvY84W2PAWHeK199wZ7vTxqeO77vui9pqMp1hRqfj-CVw9K5lwod31jIyZzLaveyqqFxp3ZG2pWwesEYotskZ3VRnkp2Syb8bvqw7CwSsj33mNkJdHCqjl_FzvU8u50QtfUqs/s1600/brown.kevin.ranges.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The record of being the highest pick from this area goes to McIntyre’s Georgia’s Kevin Brown, (left) who was selected by the Texas Rangers as the 4th overall pick in the 1986 MLB draft.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But I must say that coming in second in the ranks of highest selected local player in a professional draft goes to my classmate Tina Price Cochran, who was selected as the 15th overall pick in the 1978 Women’s Professional Basketball League. The former Dublin and University of Georgia basketball and tennis star was chosen by the team from Washington, D.C, which was relocated and renamed the Dayton Rockettes. Tina (below) gave up basketball and tennis to return home to Dublin to raise a fine family and share her blessings with her students in Dublin city schools. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Nnv5-rmClPvjZD_Pa6FhftXsw4pSSjcE4h_bf5Bz6uFNi0X1z_fD78YQ0HqoxfPtkLajEAFCwA_pK_5tucHFXNSEnz476oMBOZgZ6GNdqw82CkjUwODJfSiEa-BnHN0Ubd04GqTnpwH8/s1600/Price.tina.uga.1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Nnv5-rmClPvjZD_Pa6FhftXsw4pSSjcE4h_bf5Bz6uFNi0X1z_fD78YQ0HqoxfPtkLajEAFCwA_pK_5tucHFXNSEnz476oMBOZgZ6GNdqw82CkjUwODJfSiEa-BnHN0Ubd04GqTnpwH8/s400/Price.tina.uga.1b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-11067558701271016362015-05-11T18:19:00.001-07:002015-05-11T18:19:28.101-07:00THE RETURN OF THE GAS HOUSE GANG<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>THE RETURN OF THE GAS HOUSE GANG</b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwpjHofjBRbrxLvunMdf4zWez2GR44Gfqw3wk4eS9sykuJTeAm2pbnnfZxciXIOmEOM38aD08WXzYwV_-lce29PvRVMFdlIO7MfiVd61TUp80AfHxcjqsR9YKyginbxH4_D4hTsPK8-xs/s1600/7039431875_d1041c46df_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwpjHofjBRbrxLvunMdf4zWez2GR44Gfqw3wk4eS9sykuJTeAm2pbnnfZxciXIOmEOM38aD08WXzYwV_-lce29PvRVMFdlIO7MfiVd61TUp80AfHxcjqsR9YKyginbxH4_D4hTsPK8-xs/s1600/7039431875_d1041c46df_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was unanimous. The Lions Club voted to sponsor a return visit to the Dublin Homecoming Day. The 1935, held eighty years ago this month, would feature as the opponent, the University of Georgia. Dubliners were thrilled when it was announced that Dean would pitch in Dublin. Dizzy Dean had become one of the most popular players in baseball. The tall, amiable, and talented righthander drew a crowd everywhere he went. During this period, his popularity was only equaled by Babe Ruth, although he was not very popular with opposing players because of his taunting and high self esteem. His career spanned 12 years from 1930 to 1941. He had to retire because of arm problems. He pitched only four innings during a comeback attempt in 1947. In 1934 and 1935, he won 58 games and lost only 19. Despite his short career, he had 150 wins and a .644 winning percentage, one of the highest in history. "Ole Diz" regained his popularity in the 1960's when he was the color man on the Yankees and Braves games. Diz always had a funny story to tell. He coined expressions such has "He slud into second" and "Powder River". Dizzy's trademark was his bellowing rendition of "The Wabash Cannonball" in the late innings of the game. Dizzy was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953. From 1932 to 1937, Diz was as good as anypitcher in baseball history. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeOoBjJ3huQiAqxaHT9mifFWH4mZ_XItYbg17kgoS1xRzR91OEBlemBmtkO5xhoszCJSUTG7SPectwgT0MzP2VPqD3RR5WWAFA0whxqD-dLi4zZEeuJK488iKltYPYygoLjs26w8jmwSL/s1600/DUROCHER.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeOoBjJ3huQiAqxaHT9mifFWH4mZ_XItYbg17kgoS1xRzR91OEBlemBmtkO5xhoszCJSUTG7SPectwgT0MzP2VPqD3RR5WWAFA0whxqD-dLi4zZEeuJK488iKltYPYygoLjs26w8jmwSL/s1600/DUROCHER.jpeg" width="160" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Cardinals fielded a team with Hall of Famers; Joe Medwick, Frankie Frisch, Leo Durocher, and Jesse Haines. Joe Medwick, .324 lifetime batting average (34th all time) and 540 doubles (12th all time), was one of the best outfielders of 1930s. He was the NL MVP in 1937 and the last National Leaguer to win the Triple Crown. Frankie Frisch was one of the better all around players in the 20s and 30s. He was a member of eight NL World Series teams - more than any other player, a .300 hitter thirteen times, a scorer of 100 runs seven times, 1931 NL MVP, a lifetime .316 hitter, and 25th on the all time hiT list with 2880. Jesse "Pop" Haines, the elder member of the team at 42, threw his knuckleball for 210 wins and 209 complete games. In the days before the Cy Young Award, he might have won the Best Pitcher Award in 1927, leading the league in complete games and shutouts and second in wins and winning percentage. Leo Durocher (LEFT) was one of the most famous and colorful managers in baseball history. Pepper Martin was one of the most speedy, colorful and hustling players in the thirties. They joined Jimmy "Ripper" Collins, a .300+ hitter four times and NL Homerun Champ in 1934, Paul "Daffy" Dean, 1934 Rookie of the Year, and Spud Davis, a steady .308 hitter who has the 3rd highest lifetime batting average for a catcher, to round out the team. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhse_xyO2TLLNdoy8_2ws8nytXcbtbuDCgdREPxm1JQ98qKMYDkmSjdRtCKarBJo2IWa-U0Q8-CEug49vkmcODwg-ZhpPFCLUOPkk9pFwQjLo5lnZtzDwZn2XnkxyG3UhyPTXLf_o5w9y6M/s1600/DEAN.DIZZY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhse_xyO2TLLNdoy8_2ws8nytXcbtbuDCgdREPxm1JQ98qKMYDkmSjdRtCKarBJo2IWa-U0Q8-CEug49vkmcODwg-ZhpPFCLUOPkk9pFwQjLo5lnZtzDwZn2XnkxyG3UhyPTXLf_o5w9y6M/s1600/DEAN.DIZZY.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
The Cardinals arrived in town on April 2, 1935, at 9:00 a.m. in three Pullman cars from <span style="text-align: justify;">Bradenton, Florida. Paul Dean had lost a close game to Yankee great, Lefty Gomez, the day </span><span style="text-align: justify;">before. They went to the Fred Roberts Hotel on Academy Avenue to check into their rooms. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Dizzy (LEFT), Paul, and Player/Mgr. Frisch were whisked off to the school auditorium up on the hill where the City Hall now stands. Dizzy, speaking first, told the house packed with </span><span style="text-align: justify;">youngsters and fans, "If you want to be a baseball star like some of the Cardinals, don't </span><span style="text-align: justify;">smoke or drink." Daffy shyly rose to speak. He grabbed the attention of the admiring kids </span><span style="text-align: justify;">when he told them, " I want to say that you should get all the education you can. I never </span><span style="text-align: justify;">had the chance to get an education myself, but if you ever want to become anything, to get </span><span style="text-align: justify;">somewhere, you better get all the education you can." Paul had said this many times before. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">As Paul returned to his seat, he looked to Dizzy for approval. The crowd signaled its </span><span style="text-align: justify;">approval with a tremendous roar. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ74Fwzy4Zo0gR6jnGl3tf7ZrFlH91-JNUdUqQeCdmXrIhcb34J7xkJxrYOw1zs-5rHCBqSAVY3bRZZPVrm1JdXAld4eOKyRSXCBHoHSEC2yUH2kBJTO7qfyYQ7Q88m9wZUk8QNfNdSbU/s1600/FRISCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ74Fwzy4Zo0gR6jnGl3tf7ZrFlH91-JNUdUqQeCdmXrIhcb34J7xkJxrYOw1zs-5rHCBqSAVY3bRZZPVrm1JdXAld4eOKyRSXCBHoHSEC2yUH2kBJTO7qfyYQ7Q88m9wZUk8QNfNdSbU/s1600/FRISCH.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As the Deans were walking back to the hotel they were followed by hundreds of kids, Frankie Frisch (LEFT), and Bobby Norris of the Macon Telegraph. Paul said, "You know, I've had to do that fifty times I guess. Sometimes I think it gets monotonous, but every time I get up before a bunch of kids like that, and they applaud, it gives me goose pimples." Dizzy nodded in approval. Dizzy and Paul signed well over a thousand autographs that day. The popular Frankie Frisch only signed a few dozen, mostly when the Deans weren't around. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRH9TFQnEosWfRj_ppdgd9e8DuPg-wVAbUZBuDn8qCap1n_a_IACQGtmYUwVbx6vQYHPhuu-rEki8Vp2ZfXQGIJZn-N0K99APY6wa-f0GUPueSGfyZFRSTow34BXLQ2OSv2bA5pn84Xr59/s1600/DEAN.PAUL.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRH9TFQnEosWfRj_ppdgd9e8DuPg-wVAbUZBuDn8qCap1n_a_IACQGtmYUwVbx6vQYHPhuu-rEki8Vp2ZfXQGIJZn-N0K99APY6wa-f0GUPueSGfyZFRSTow34BXLQ2OSv2bA5pn84Xr59/s1600/DEAN.PAUL.jpeg" width="157" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dizzy and Paul (LEFT) slipped off into the lounge to get a rest before lunch. They sat down with Jesse Haines and Burgess Whitehead for a game of Bridge. The upcoming year was the topic of conversation. Dizzy was worried about the Giants while shuffling the cards. The old veteran Haines asked Dizzy, "Diz, are you going to rub the spots off those cards?" Diz stared at Haines and dealt the next hand. After a few hands, Dizzy walked around town and finally admitted he would be happy to win 23 games this year. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8mYJ0rHXsx2sNFXQjWELMEH6zy7ukW0LpRoaEru8wW75NPiICXJMptXHwF7QHYlzCgLB4zvCS3YrKfADdgsC2QU7uAi9KrqPYcayf8ZTQU9w-sZBBkKHOP9EbDI8IfaYF5yUFEqx89Tx/s1600/PEPPER.MARTIN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8mYJ0rHXsx2sNFXQjWELMEH6zy7ukW0LpRoaEru8wW75NPiICXJMptXHwF7QHYlzCgLB4zvCS3YrKfADdgsC2QU7uAi9KrqPYcayf8ZTQU9w-sZBBkKHOP9EbDI8IfaYF5yUFEqx89Tx/s1600/PEPPER.MARTIN.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>
The weather was perfect! By noon, the 3000 seats were crammed. Another 3000 fans walled the outfield fences. The Cardinals took the field with Dizzy Dean on the mound. The Bulldogs were coached by former Lanier High School and University of Georgia Football Star, Vernon "Catfish" Smith. His assistant actually coached the team that day. Dean struck out Jimmy Moore. Ennis singled through Pepper Martin's legs. E.J. Moore flied out to center and Andy Anderson struck out to end the inning. Pepper Martin (LEFT) led off with a 373 foot double off the left field fence. Frankie Frisch singled, scoring Martin. Rip Collins then followed with a ground rule double into the crowd, scoring Frisch. Martin doubled off the wall again but failed to score in the 2nd inning. Five singles by Frisch, Medwick (BELOW), Collins, Durocher, and Dean led to three runs in the third inning. Three successive doubles by Frisch, Medwick, and Collins accounted for four more runs in the 4th inning.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSSmM9CpVRjh6lGu-Lnza3wZMG2wz5NO6CL-q36EkBkcqVRb2D4IJFadEPvBCGtlauUVKUDy_pfpQ9YtDvna6RUOJQ1TGU6Nh8uPeaaxXakddAvqtB-TqxSD115XI-_ZNMKfVgs98UOre/s1600/medwick1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSSmM9CpVRjh6lGu-Lnza3wZMG2wz5NO6CL-q36EkBkcqVRb2D4IJFadEPvBCGtlauUVKUDy_pfpQ9YtDvna6RUOJQ1TGU6Nh8uPeaaxXakddAvqtB-TqxSD115XI-_ZNMKfVgs98UOre/s1600/medwick1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Dizzy lasted until the 5th inning when he gave up three runs and ran his hit total to <span style="text-align: justify;">seven. Dizzy was probably drained from all the pre-game excitement. Ed Heusser came in </span><span style="text-align: justify;">and finished the game. Bishop relieved the Bulldog pitcher, Nichols in the 5th. The </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Cardinals picked up two runs in the 8th when Wilson and Worthington doubled and scored. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The Bulldogs picked up one run in the 8th and 9th innings. The final score was Cardinals </span><span style="text-align: justify;">11, Bulldogs 5. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5EodZaSKG9nTAsKfyer8F-KkLqTmqzaDuDz8SrhoBCQC7OGcD64SrTXvq816D_vKL4jUKWrmUydDqfzMtTpGkxly3p8nUJLGuXmIt7aBXHd5HouSM19eb1LWlz0UBIcA5x3BQe8sN1_v/s1600/7039432749_c4db296da2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5EodZaSKG9nTAsKfyer8F-KkLqTmqzaDuDz8SrhoBCQC7OGcD64SrTXvq816D_vKL4jUKWrmUydDqfzMtTpGkxly3p8nUJLGuXmIt7aBXHd5HouSM19eb1LWlz0UBIcA5x3BQe8sN1_v/s1600/7039432749_c4db296da2_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The game also had its humorous moments. The base umpire Bill Delancey, a Cardinal back up catcher, swung at Dizzy. A couple of the Cardinals ran to his defense pretending to knock the umpire flat on his back. One of Dizzy's teammates threw a cup of water on him after he got "dizzy" over a bad play. One fan, dressed in a hunter's green suit, hat, and suede shoes stood out even more with his lavender shirt. Some men could hardly keep their eyes on the game for the hundreds of pretty girls. Former Dublin dignitaries such as Tom Linder, Agricultural Commissioner; Hal Stanley, Prison Commissioner; Vivian Stanley, Secretary of Commerce; and Peter Twitty, Game and Fish Commissioner were in attendance. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH91INMGTN52to4GOESPLTl6tN8Ais29Fr_BllreKdQDVQhLUYdhn1n2EoxPfnaFlpkGY1xtS7BeCf9I7Jus9j7laDsdZA38jMSiPpUTUQwCwNK6vYsnyWuZI09vbhzVgM8xH1MaOE5th1/s1600/GAS.HOUSE.GANG.1935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH91INMGTN52to4GOESPLTl6tN8Ais29Fr_BllreKdQDVQhLUYdhn1n2EoxPfnaFlpkGY1xtS7BeCf9I7Jus9j7laDsdZA38jMSiPpUTUQwCwNK6vYsnyWuZI09vbhzVgM8xH1MaOE5th1/s1600/GAS.HOUSE.GANG.1935.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The excitement didn't end after the game. Kids by the hundreds followed the teams back to the Fred Roberts Hotel to wait on the Cardinals to come down and autograph balls, cards, and other items. A local man, Tom Pritchett, was asked if he was a ball player. He nodded yes and signed over a dozen times in the presence of an amused Clarence Carroll and Cicero Walker. The Boy Scouts served as "Gophers" for the players. Jule Greene ran errands for Dizzy Dean. One little boy asked a man, "Are you Dizzy or Daffy?" The man sent the boy away by saying, "I may be a little dizzy and daffy, but I'm not of the Dean variety." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAbpTL7zrjrnw8Iu0YU27jzFlAxcU-WRF7PxlJuUnIqV3G-U7vMp82UdzTy1y1ZxVl5XDZ50cU93thI1xUej_t8N428UAQdGrSB1DMfOFiCXrekoKDVn_nKMXI9goSBoy0INPRexR0-aD/s1600/DEAN.TIME.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAbpTL7zrjrnw8Iu0YU27jzFlAxcU-WRF7PxlJuUnIqV3G-U7vMp82UdzTy1y1ZxVl5XDZ50cU93thI1xUej_t8N428UAQdGrSB1DMfOFiCXrekoKDVn_nKMXI9goSBoy0INPRexR0-aD/s1600/DEAN.TIME.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The teams were entertained that night with an informal dance at the Country Club. After a good night's rest, the Bulldogs returned to Athens and the Cardinals headed west for another season. Well, most of the Cardinals had a good night's rest. Ole Diz really enjoyed himself at the dance. Diz slipped off with some locals to Frank's Place, which was located on the site of the Oaks Shopping center, for some stronger refreshments. According to "Time" Magazine, Dizzy missed the train the next morning drawing a $100.00 fine. Not to be outdone, Dizzy announced his retirement after the season. The Cardinals finished second that year, four games behind the Chicago Cubs. Dizzy won 28 games and led the league in strikeouts while Daffy gathered 19 wins. Joe Medwick finished near the top of the league with a batting average of .353. Ripper Collins had one of his best seasons, batting .313, with 23 homeruns, and 122 runs batted in.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tiftqgiCzb4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tiftqgiCzb4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
1934 St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
World Series</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7FSYUNxSnnE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7FSYUNxSnnE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Dizzy Dean</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gd_mrU7fF70/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gd_mrU7fF70?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The Gas House Gang</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-82376500221503500102015-04-12T17:18:00.001-07:002015-04-12T17:18:56.712-07:00THE BATTLING BOOSTERS OF 1929<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We Are The Champions!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyexKmlAHso35Qb09wk4s-fqiQNOlsFkGJhNWjGLwm0k4o1A602Sp6ZGHFfjh0lMMrpfGBsh2usPf6mhE8jxP2_ZqWOQpgkPMUxUjIlXQDoUtOSP4w8PSxPsrlnNwzgFOTNoRggKLdEst/s1600/osborne.tiny.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyexKmlAHso35Qb09wk4s-fqiQNOlsFkGJhNWjGLwm0k4o1A602Sp6ZGHFfjh0lMMrpfGBsh2usPf6mhE8jxP2_ZqWOQpgkPMUxUjIlXQDoUtOSP4w8PSxPsrlnNwzgFOTNoRggKLdEst/s1600/osborne.tiny.01.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The 1929 edition of the Dublin Boosters had no choice but to fight. From the first to the last game of the season, this ragtag congregation of old professionals, former minor leaguers and good ol' country ball players had to scrap, claw and struggle their way out of the abyss of last place from day one. In point of fact, when the first games of the South East Georgia League were played on June 4, 1929, the team from Dublin had not even entered the league.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
In the early decades of the 20th Century, baseball was king. Almost every Georgia town had a team. Some were strictly amateurs. Others were semi pros, who played for little or nothing but the sheer love of the game. A few Georgia cities like Atlanta, Macon, Savannah, Augusta and Columbus boasted minor league professional teams.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
(Tiny Osborne - above) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Dublin was no exception. In years past, local men formed a team formed of primarily truly local players. Every once in a while, a former professional or collegiate player might by charmed or lured by the payment of folding money to join the local aggregation for the summer. Among some of the more popular of the former collegiate athletes were Wally Butts, a teacher at GMC and Joshua Cody, the basketball and football coach at Mercer. Butts went on to become a legend as the iconic football coach of the University of Georgia over four decades. Cody, an All American lineman at Vanderbilt, went on to coach football at Vanderbilt, Florida and Temple.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
The Southeast Georgia League, in the first season of its two-year existence, was composed of teams from Fitzgerald, Douglas, Eastman, Vidalia, Helena and Cochran. Representatives from each team met in Dublin with Dr. C.J. Bedingfield, who called a meeting of twenty or so of the Dubln's most rapid and wealthy baseball fans. The group unanimously agreed to replace the team from Cochran, which never really got off the ground and folded within its first ten days in the league. To manage the team, the team's owners hired R.T. Peacock, Sr., a local Chevrolet dealer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
It was to say the least an inauspicious and horrible start for the Dublin Boosters, who lost their first three games and put themselves in the cellar right from the beginning. By the end of June, the Irishmen won three in a row, played .500 ball, and managed to crawl out of the cellar to a respectable 7 and 7 record, placing fourth during the first half of the season.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
The second half of the season was a different story. Under the new management of T.A. Curry, Sr. and Izzie Bashinski, Dublin won the first game against Helena and never looked back. The Dublin nine captured five straight wins before losing a close game to Fitzgerald. The Irishmen slumped into second place after playing .500 ball during the next ten games.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
It was on the 1st day of August when the Boosters turned it up a notch or two. With a 15-8 thrashing of first place Fitzgerald and a 2-1 slim victory again the next day, the Boosters moved into first place and won five games in a row for the second time that season.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
The boys from Fitzgerald keep fighting as well going toe to toe with Dublin and wound up in a tie for the second half of the season. A best two of three series was set for August 13 and 14 with the first game in Dublin and the second in Fitzgerald.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
After Fitzgerald jumped on Boosters starter Earnest Osborne for two runs in the first inning, the Irish pitcher settled down and held the Fitzgerald nine scoreless for the rest of the game. With singles and walks, the Boosters whittled the lead and took the first game 7-2. The Dublin boys made sure that there was no coin toss for the location of the third game when they eked out a 7-6 victory to clinch a trip to the championship series against the first half champs from Douglas.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Charlie Morgan, a Macon prep and college star who spent a year as the catcher of the Toledo Mudhens, was chosen to umpire the league championship series along with George Sears of Alamo.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Dublin, behind the pitching of Clark and the catching of M.C. Dowda, defeated Douglas 4-2 in Douglas to take the first game of the seven game series. The teams returned to Dublin the following day in front of a very large crowd at the 12th District Fairgrounds. Despite Osborne giving up a few early runs, the Boosters pounded the Douglas pitchers Tully and Baker to take a 12-5 win.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
The teams moved to a neutral location in Fitzgerald for the third game, which saw Fitzgerald slaughter the Boosters 12-0. In the fourth game, Dublin pitcher Carter silenced the home team Douglas batters, while Patterson drove in both Dublin runs. Defensively Dublin's Lynwood Mallard, a former Mercer University star athlete, gunned down a Douglas runner at the plate to preserve the 2-1 victory and a 3-1 lead in the series.<br />
<br />
<br />
Mallard, a member of the Mercer and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, was the top athlete at Macon's Lanier High School in 1926 and helped lead
Lanier High to the GIAA state championship in basketball while averaging 17
points per game. He lettered in four sports at Lanier and at Mercer
University and was named to Mercer's all‐time football team and was Mercer's leading scorer
during his three years of basketball. "Baggy" Mallard was a fine baseball player averaging .347 at
the plate...Later played for the Johnstown, Tennessee squad in the Middle
Atlantic League.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The 5th game was played in Dublin on August 21. The game was close through the first eight innings. In the bottom of the 9th with Dublin trailing 3-2, Eldon Carlyle, who batted .442 in the season and signed to play with the Atlanta Crackers, walked. It shall be noted that Carlyle, who made it to New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association, was the brother of major leaguers, Cleo and Roy, the latter of who is given credit for the longest (618 feet) home run in major league history.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Osborne, running for Carlyle, made it to third when the Douglas second sacker fumbled Walker's hot grounder and threw wild to first. Parks sent a single with eyes which eluded an errant Douglas outfielder allowing Osborne and Walker to score, setting off a near riot in the Dublin stands. The boys from Dublin had done it! They were league champs!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Without a doubt, the most valuable player for Dublin was one Earnest Osborne.(Above) Facetiously dubbed "Tiny" by his teammates and fans, this six-foot, four-inch, two hundred and fifteen-pound pitcher led his team to victory. "Tiny," a 36-year old native of Porterdale, Georgia, began playing in the minor leagues in Augusta, Georgia in 1919. Osborne joined the Chicago Cubs in 1922. In his rookie season, he posted a 9-5 record pitching to Hall of Fame catcher Gabby Hartnett. Osborne, who pitched along the side of Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander, finished with the 2nd best record of hits per nine innings, 3rd best record of strikeouts per inning and 4th most games saved and played in the National League. In a dubious category, "Tiny" led the NL in the most batters hit by a pitch (12), a feat which did not subject him to being charged on the mound because of his tremendous size.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Osborne slipped to 5-15 in his second season before he was traded during the 1924 season to the Brooklyn "Robins" Dodgers. After going 14 and 20 in a rotation which included Hall of Famers Burleigh Grimes and Dazzy Vance, "Tiny" left major league baseball. In his early thirties, Osborne pitched in the Southern Association with the Nashville Volunteers and New Orleans Pelicans and the Three I League and the Macon Peaches of the South Atlantic League in 1928 before coming to Dublin in the summer of 1929.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU-3Zyfm7NtTC2vd_YdGzouB5f_-gTm7XM7WE_o-_27sgIC9c_u-XN-273XfIxgSBbY8PIiyF0tpGs779l-Woy3xUFTsltwldASgjfVSRCnYr-AGQoQK9KJE7od8Cm19HQpjOtDP4fvmB/s1600/osborne.tiny.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU-3Zyfm7NtTC2vd_YdGzouB5f_-gTm7XM7WE_o-_27sgIC9c_u-XN-273XfIxgSBbY8PIiyF0tpGs779l-Woy3xUFTsltwldASgjfVSRCnYr-AGQoQK9KJE7od8Cm19HQpjOtDP4fvmB/s1600/osborne.tiny.03.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Osborne's career highlights included earning a save in the August 25, 1922 game between the Cubs and the Phillies which ended with a 26 to 23 victory for the Cubs and the highest scoring game in major league baseball history. Known for having a large pair of hands, Osborne was once photographed by the Sporting News holding five baseballs in his pitching hand. Osborne won his very last game for the Jackson Mississipians of the East Dixie League in 1935 at the age of 42. His son, Ernest Jr. played in the minor leagues and his grandson Bobo played seven seasons in the majors. "Tiny" died in 1969 in Atlanta.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
In a time when Dubliners were looking for looking for something good in the dark years of the Depression, the Dublin Boosters had gone from worst to first in their first year of existence. They were the champions! The next year, Dublin lost in the league championship to Fitzgerald in the league's final game. </div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-52075028353265775712015-03-28T17:09:00.001-07:002015-03-28T17:09:19.421-07:00THE SAVIOR OF GEORGIA FOOTBALL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You may have never heard of Richard Von Gammon. But, when he died one hundred and ten years ago today, football in Georgia was nearly forced out of existence by the bereaved legislature of this state. Throughout Georgia and across the nation, a congregation of ministers cried out for the abolition of this most violent and vicious game. Without the aid of Von Gammon's mother and Bulldog captain William B. Kent, football in Georgia may have ended, if only for a little while.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was a typical fall day on the 30th day of October 1897. The bleachers and sidelines of Atlanta's Brisbine Park were crammed with spectators to see if the undefeated Georgia Bulldogs, inspired by a trouncing of Georgia Tech the week before, could defeat the powerful Cavaliers of Virginia in a contest for superiority of southern football. Georgia had just completed the team's first perfect season, albeit they only played four games and won them all. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Richard Van Gammon, a well-liked fraternity fellow and outstanding quarterback from Rome, Georgia, kicked off to Virginia to open the contest. In the second half with Virginia in command of the game, Van Gammon, playing defensive back, sprinted toward a Virginia runner. Before he could make the tackle, the helmetless Bulldog was overrun by a wall of blockers, said to have been joined in a flying wedge formation with arms locked and bearing down upon him with all the force of an equine stampede.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Van Gammon dove to tackle the Cavalier runner and struck the ground headfirst. The Virginians trampled over his motionless body. For several excruciating minutes, players and coaches vainly attempted to revive the fallen star. At first it appeared as if Von Gammon was completely paralyzed, his eyes gazing blindly into the autumn sky. Eventually he was revived and helped to the sidelines, where he was examined by physicians who were attending the game. The doctors decided to transport Von Gammon to Grady Hospital for further examination and diagnosis. After he arrived at the hospital, Richard's temperature soared up toward 109 degrees. With his brain swollen to intolerable limits, Von Gammon never regained consciousness and died.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Just days after the fallen footballer's funeral, mass hysteria swept throughout the Georgia legislature. Fueled by intense lobbying by a host of ministers and a nationwide cry against the barbaric deaths that football had caused across the country, the lawmakers adopted a near unanimous ban on football in the state. The bill was sent to Georgia governor W.Y. Atkinson for his signature.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was then when Van Gammon's mother and Bulldog captain William Kent issued an appeal for the governor not to sign the ban. The people of Athens, most of the university's faculty and even some Georgia players thought it was best to put an end to football at Georgia forever. Mrs. Von Gammon wrote a letter to Governor Atkinson pleading to him not to allow her son's death to end the game he so dearly loved. Aided by a poignant and stern letter from renowned Georgia professor and the team's first coach, Dr. Charles Herty, who advocated the necessity of sports to promote physical health, and the persistence of Captain Kent, the governor never signed the bill. Though football ended for the 1897 season after three games - they only played four or five games anyway - the games would resume the following year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>William B. Kent was born in Montgomery County, Georgia on January 30, 1870. This son of William Kent and Martha Beckwith Kent entered Mercer University as a freshman at the ripe old age of twenty-three in 1893. After playing football at the Baptist college for a single season, Kent transferred to Athens for the 1894 season, where he played guard. In 1896, William was moved to right tackle by Georgia coach Pop Warner, who went on to iconic status as the coach of Jim Thorpe of the Carlisle Indians, as well as successful stints at Pittsburgh and Stanford. Kent, at five feet eleven inches in height and weighing in at 185 pounds, was one of the strongest men at the college. In his junior season at Georgia in 1896, Kent was named president of the Athletic Association and captain of the football team for his senior year. As president of the Athletic Association, Kent led the organization out of its bankrupt position onto solid financial ground. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Off the field Kent excelled as an editor of the Pandora, the university's yearbook, as well as serving with highest honor of the Demosthenian Literary Society and as a commissioned officer in the military department. Considered one of the most popular men on campus - there were very few, if any, women enrolled as students in those days - William was known to have been a man of high moral character and a leader in the Young Men's Christian Association and his Sunday school class at the Baptist Church in Athens. During his semesters at Georgia, Kent served as president of eight organizations.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kent, a self-made man, studied law, literature and bookkeeping. To pay for his studies, he taught school and even sold lightning rods one summer. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While he was in Athens, William met and married Miss Senie Griffith, daughter of Clarke County state representative F.P. Griffeth. Following her death, Kent married Lallie Calhoun, a member of one of Montgomery County's oldest and most prominent families.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After his graduation from Georgia, Kent was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in that portion of Montgomery County, which would later become Wheeler County in 1912. In addition to his duties as an attorney, Kent served as both solicitor and judge of the City Court of Mt. Vernon, a state court assigned to handle misdemeanor offenses and minor civil claims.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1910, Kent, the former football hero, was elected to represent Montgomery County in the Georgia legislature. While in the House of Representatives, Kent introduced a bill to carve out that portion of his county lying on the western side of the Oconee to form a new county, purportedly to be named Kent County, not in his own honor, but in honor of his father, an early settler of the area. The name of the new county was Wheeler instead, named in honor of Confederate cavalry general Joseph Wheeler. Kent was chosen to serve as the first judge of the Wheeler County Court of Ordinary, or as it is today known, the Probate Court. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>William B. Kent died on November 21, 1949. He is buried in Oconee Cemetery in Athens, Georgia in a town where football is king on autumn Saturdays. Perhaps the epitaph on his tombstone should read, "here lies William B. Kent, the Savior of Georgia football." </div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-90833992384164658652015-01-08T17:22:00.002-08:002015-01-08T17:22:26.649-08:00HUBERT MIZELL <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<br /></div>
<br />
HUBERT MIZELL<br />
A Legend That Never Ends<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDm8GDEqTqN57J7c89E5jmIW6E8sbHvYJVfjY083UlEliF-QQZUV4WArVVH53LR0jd3sqEEMaswIAcmLvvp7VuTQjy4RAbTc2WeQNX14ZhJtqKzldfn6HyjoF3WVqbaRMgLLtbWowAzsEg/s1600/Hubert-Web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDm8GDEqTqN57J7c89E5jmIW6E8sbHvYJVfjY083UlEliF-QQZUV4WArVVH53LR0jd3sqEEMaswIAcmLvvp7VuTQjy4RAbTc2WeQNX14ZhJtqKzldfn6HyjoF3WVqbaRMgLLtbWowAzsEg/s1600/Hubert-Web.jpg" height="400" width="305" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In a world where cliches are never cliche, Hubert Mizell has seen it all. For the last fifty years, he has written about courage, loyalty and self-sacrifice. Hubert has told stories of leadership, teamwork and the triumph of the human spirit. He loves sports and loves to write about the events which keep on taking us out to the old ball game. For this Dublin native, his dream to become a sportswriter has come true, more than he could ever imagine.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hubert Coleman Mizell was born in Dublin, Georgia in 1939. His parents, Leon Mozart Mizell and Annie Mae Williams Mizell, named him for Dr. Alfred Coleman, the doctor who delivered him. Hubert grew up in the days of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Joe Louis. As a child of a poor family, Hubert lived in eleven towns and in twenty-seven buildings. His father left school after the end of the 5th grade. A saw mill accident left the elder Mizell with a severely mangled arm, relegating him work at strenuous jobs, often enduring eighty-four-hour work weeks. Hubert's mother worked whenever and wherever she could to help make ends meet to support the family, which included Hubert's baby sister Linda. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Hubert was seven, the Mizells moved to Jacksonville, Florida. A trip to the Georgia-Florida game, long before it became the wild spectacle it is today, sparked young country boy's love of sports. At the age of fourteen, Hubert took a job as an usher and later as a scorekeeper at Wolfson Park, home of the Jacksonville Tars. Playing for the Tars that year was a young kid by the name of Henry Louis. You know him better has Henry "Hank" Aaron. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before he completed high school, Mizell developed a relationship with the Times-Union, Jacksonville's leading newspaper. At first he worked as a sport's copy editor. During his spare time, Hubert studied and carefully analyzed the writings of the nation's greatest sportswriters. After his college days at the University of Florida were over, Hubert returned to the Times-Union as the High School Sports Editor. In 1964, he took a job in the public relations department of the Gator Bowl.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1967, Hubert came of retirement as a sportswriter for the first time. He returned to the Times-Union as its Florida Sports Editor. In addition to his duties in the sports department, Mizell covered hurricanes and even the 1972 Republican National Convention. Later in the 1970s, Hubert became the state sports editor of the Times-Union.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXw_ayHeiEsv61Wy8_SEE3FdNlIO08WWJre8nsz6JOWAESrs_0ZMtPr3R2ysu0i5TbaVvGnpGmW74542Eo82tNuEruoGhzNvCyBY1L9cTpHTQeXM_2oQaKVgCLhsyT-NfF3qci2GgqJ0-/s1600/c4s_mizell060611_178367a_8col.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXw_ayHeiEsv61Wy8_SEE3FdNlIO08WWJre8nsz6JOWAESrs_0ZMtPr3R2ysu0i5TbaVvGnpGmW74542Eo82tNuEruoGhzNvCyBY1L9cTpHTQeXM_2oQaKVgCLhsyT-NfF3qci2GgqJ0-/s1600/c4s_mizell060611_178367a_8col.jpg" height="305" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hubert Mizell's first major sports assignment came in the late summer of 1972. Hubert witnessed swimmer Mark Spitz's world record seven gold medal performance and the emergence of one of the world's greatest gymnasts, Olga Korbut. He was there when the zebras gave the Russian team three unwarranted chances to defeat the US basketball team in one of the most controversial games in Olympic history. Hubert was an eye witness to one of the darkest moments, not only in Olympic history, but in the history of sports. Working closely with a young Peter Jenkins of ABC News, Hubert saw the hooded gunmen who killed eleven Israeli athletes. He was stationed at the airport when their corpses were sent back home. "It was like a punch in the stomach," Mizell remembered. Hubert still lists the '72 Olympics as the highlight of his career.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Being based in the subtropical climate of Florida, Hubert normally didn't cover hockey games. But in the winter of 1980, Hubert was in Lake Placid, New York, covering the first of his four Winter Olympic games. Mizell and the corps of sportswriters, normally trained to be neutral in their coverage of sports, shivered in emotion as they witnessed, in Mizell's words, "the most colossal upset in the history of sports." Mizell still rates the game in which the upstart US team defeated the heavily favored Russians as the No. 1 game he has ever covered. In 1986, he moved to Atlanta and took a job as a feature writer and television critic for the Atlanta Constitution. It wasn't long before Hubert decided to return to Florida and the love of his life.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mizell was present at one of baseball's most memorable games, not because of the score or the events which transpired on the field. It was late in the afternoon on October 17, 1989. The Giants and Athletics were preparing to play their 3rd World Series game when the stadium began to shake violently. Hubert hit the floor and then the lights went out. He managed to make it out of the stadium safely, writing his column on the hood of an ABC -TV truck. The calamitous earthquake was the most frightening thing Hubert ever witnessed in sports.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>During his fifty years in journalism and sports, Hubert has attended nearly fifty college football bowl games, forty Masters golf tournaments and more than thirty college basketball final fours and Super Bowls. He has been in attendance at more than a dozen U.S. Golf Opens and Kentucky Derbies. Hubert has crossed the Atlantic to witness a half dozen or more British Open golf tournaments and even more Wimbledon tennis tournaments. Mizell has covered six summer Olympic games and four of the winter games. The number of the other sports events he has seen is virtually incalculable.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>College football and golf are Hubert's favorite sports. He loves going to Notre Dame to watch a football game the best, though he does rank Grant Field as number nine and between the hedges at Sanford Stadium as his sixth most favorite college football venue. He lists Arnold Palmer, Steve Young, Pete Maravich, Jack Nicklaus, Magic Johnson and Richard Petty as his favorite athletes. Interestingly, he list former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Lee Roy Selmon as the most honorable athlete he has known. Nancy Lopez is a close second in his mind. Among the most mesmerizing interviewees, Mizell lists Muhammad Ali, Bobby Jones, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Red Grange, Charles Atlas and Jesse Owens. His favorite sportscasters include Pat Summerall, Jim McKay, Bob Costas, Jack Whitaker and Howard Cossell.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Frequently honored by his colleagues, Hubert has served on the ESPY committee of ESPN Sports, which annually honors the best of the best in sports. Mizell was a charter inductee into the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame. In 1980, his fellow sportswriters elected him as president of the Associated Press Sports Writers Association. Chris Berman of ESPN remembered Hubert for being kind in helping him out when he first got into broadcasting. Veteran St. Louis announcer Jack Buck said, "Everybody loves Hubert, especially the athletes - they trusted him." Jack Nicklaus said "Hubert tried to do the right thing and be in the right place at the right time." Fellow golfer Gary Player echoed Nicklaus, "He's been a tremendous contributor to golf, but he's been a great gentleman. Really a nice man and you can't say much more about a person than that."<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SFIpnMLXEhshIaYjOusHZtsvUeSF81-uHN5l1TGOSF7a7s8y7_CSS96LrmMQJGQEOvUWGdC3JP-SM96EZfd3f6Gf5ccRGhdNaLVXqjpX0FNxzkkxV2beF5HCrgsj0wL3W0I5nAowv9lT/s1600/Hubert-Mizell-desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SFIpnMLXEhshIaYjOusHZtsvUeSF81-uHN5l1TGOSF7a7s8y7_CSS96LrmMQJGQEOvUWGdC3JP-SM96EZfd3f6Gf5ccRGhdNaLVXqjpX0FNxzkkxV2beF5HCrgsj0wL3W0I5nAowv9lT/s1600/Hubert-Mizell-desk.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hubert retired from sports writing, at least partially, in 2001. He and his wife moved to Virginia and the promise of peace and quiet. Hubert did continue to write a weekly column for the St. Petersburg Times until the end of 2004. He planned to retire, but Hubert couldn't leave sports. He returned to the sports room last year and writes today for the Gainesville Sun. This past April Hubert Mizell was honored by the Augusta National Golf Club, which awarded him and thirteen other writers and broadcasters with the first "Masters Major Achievement Award." According to the editors of Sports Cliches dot com., a sportswriter must be around for at least thirty years to qualify as a legend. Hubert Mizell is twenty years beyond that level and still going strong, watching and writing about the greatest legends in the games we play. </div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-57514400763287006312015-01-08T16:35:00.002-08:002015-01-08T16:35:53.998-08:00BILL ROBINSON <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">A Baseball Survivor</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrF3qegv9OOxjbud9jxjrJYLLuZMI8t5pIs1ofPKzzJe-iKCwFVgwbuIRGCwCy62CrLiFtWdNyqF9ZD_Nv5i5XZ4pNsLrUiKbJe_GMQQfJcd8pG_qk3PXhbkIhVFqj7cOJWb2XhKxkhI/s1600/BILL.ROBINSON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrF3qegv9OOxjbud9jxjrJYLLuZMI8t5pIs1ofPKzzJe-iKCwFVgwbuIRGCwCy62CrLiFtWdNyqF9ZD_Nv5i5XZ4pNsLrUiKbJe_GMQQfJcd8pG_qk3PXhbkIhVFqj7cOJWb2XhKxkhI/s1600/BILL.ROBINSON.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bill Robinson died on the last Sunday in July. Unless you are an "old school" baseball fan, you probably wouldn't even know his name. Robinson, the biggest star of the 1962 Dublin Braves team, was revered by those who knew him as a decent man, one who was a well-respected hitting instructor and coach. His pupils won two world championships. A sixteen-year veteran of the big leagues, Robinson won a World Series ring of his own with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. This is the story of a man who was once billed as "the black Mickey Mantle" and survived the intense pressures of major league baseball for a successful 47-year career in "America's pastime." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>William Henry "Bill" Robinson was born on June 26, 1943 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. After high school, Bill was signed by the Milwaukee Braves and assigned to their farm team in Wellsville. At the age of 18, Bill Robinson was ranked by scouts as one of the best rookie outfielders ever, better than Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson. At first, his future in baseball seemed dim. After a poor season in Eau Claire, Robinson was assigned to the Dublin Braves in the Georgia Florida League. In his first game with Dublin, Robinson impressed the fans with a single and a double to drive in four runs. Under the tutelage of the wily veteran manager Bill Steinecke, Robinson reversed his downward spiral and posted a highly respectable .304 average with 21 extra-base hits in 207 at bats. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Following a system wide reorganization of the minor league farm systems, Robinson was assigned to the Waycross Braves in 1963. Bill's star continued to rise with a .316 average at Waycross and a .348 average with Yakima in 1964. Facing stiffer competition, Robinson's stats tailed off with the Atlanta Crackers the following year. An International League all-star with the Richmond Braves in '66, Robinson excited the big league team in Atlanta and scouts around the country with an outstanding .312 average, 20 home runs and 79 runs batted in. After five years of bus riding and hectic living, Robinson finally made it to the majors during a late season call up in the Braves' first season in Atlanta on September 20, 1966. In 11 at bats, he garnered three hits.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmM8HeV3U5Bb_btOFPbXcrnCKNpWeTJHKkNo9wd2Zji1xd1gu7h_LBO-92n1AH7HL7bfF3TN9x9OyuBs2gN19jRQz6LhmgcjI6eINHIkThNi4QU-yMx1tNcqmcsie1xXUBoRzUJNYvY8/s1600/BILL%20ROBINSON%20YANKEES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmM8HeV3U5Bb_btOFPbXcrnCKNpWeTJHKkNo9wd2Zji1xd1gu7h_LBO-92n1AH7HL7bfF3TN9x9OyuBs2gN19jRQz6LhmgcjI6eINHIkThNi4QU-yMx1tNcqmcsie1xXUBoRzUJNYvY8/s1600/BILL%20ROBINSON%20YANKEES.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With Roger Maris being traded to the Cardinals and the future of an aging and aching Mickey Mantle in doubt, New York Yankee manager Ralph Houk salivated at the thought of Robinson in his outfield. "He has the best arm I have ever seen," Houk told a reporter for the Washington Post. On November 29, 1966, the Yankees traded the veteran third sacker Clete Boyer to the Braves for the young Robinson, who carried with him a .298 average, a rocket arm and the possessed the power to become what the Yankees hoped would be "the black Mickey Mantle."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>An early indicator of Robinson's throwing ability was his skill in throwing rocks at his antagonists. Somewhat of a runt in comparison to the bullies of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, Robinson compensated for his scrawniness. "When I was about 10 years old, there was one boy who used to beat me up all the time. One day I waited at the top of a hill and split his head open with a rock from 20 yards. I guess I could hit a guy with a rock at a hundred yards. I was pretty accurate," Robinson chuckled. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After developing a soreness in his right throwing arm in the Venezuelan winter ball league, Robinson underwent elbow surgery in the winter of 1967. Robinson struggled in his rookie season. With manager Houk's unfaltering patience and encouragement, Bill Robinson once again reversed his slump and surged to bat .260 in the second half of the 1967 campaign. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Robinson's sophomore season with the Yankees mirrored his rookie season. Mired in a horrific slump at the all-star break, Bill silenced his doubters with a .282 second half, and solidified a starting position for the 1969 season. Robinson returned his blessings to the community by actively participating in youth programs in New York. After a dismal season in '69, Robinson feared his baseball career was over. At the age of twenty-six, Bill appeared to be headed for the verge of obscurity. Yankee fans, instinctively and unmercifully, booed Bill. The pressure to replace "the Mick" was unbearable. After three average seasons in the minors with Syracuse, Tuscon and Eugene, Robinson finally returned to the major leagues toward the end of the 1972 season with the Philadelphia Phillies, who hoped to capitalize on his resurgent power hitting.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Robinson, who could play all three outfield positions, led the Pacific Coast League in rbi at the time of his call up to the Phillies. With the pressure of being expected to perform with the legendary Yankees gone, Robinson returned to his youthful form. He hated to go to the ball park (in New York) where he tried too hard to perform up to the impossible standards set for him by management and fans alike. Frustration led to more frustration. The White Sox had assigned Bill to their Tuscon team in 1971. Robinson felt he was lied to by the Chicago team and actually quit baseball, only to be traded to the Phillies, a move which rejuvenated his career.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooGvWIoY4i70PPW_qTEP8PmxfFyqFxOgr-UuzmTlRLJ_3WHWg7PpRfEdq9O7jSGoClxtIoHterBO2X5lu699rGVgJSxzCIIURKd17odvQyz4BK0KwBZf_o0MdOViTyc_QoUXAMYjurGM/s1600/$(KGrHqFHJDcFJe)LkMD-BS(2LJT4Vg~~60_57.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooGvWIoY4i70PPW_qTEP8PmxfFyqFxOgr-UuzmTlRLJ_3WHWg7PpRfEdq9O7jSGoClxtIoHterBO2X5lu699rGVgJSxzCIIURKd17odvQyz4BK0KwBZf_o0MdOViTyc_QoUXAMYjurGM/s1600/$(KGrHqFHJDcFJe)LkMD-BS(2LJT4Vg~~60_57.JPG" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Robinson shed his demons and began to enjoy baseball again. Wally Moses, a native of Montgomery County, Georgia and the Phil's hitting instructor, resurrected Robinson's natural hitting style. Bill entered the 1973 season, hoping just to remain on the team for 52 days to qualify for a pension. Little did "Robby" know he would still be around a decade later. 1973 was Bill's best season so far. He batted .288 and hit 25 home runs. Seventh in at bats per home run, ninth in slugging percentage and tenth in extra base hits in the National League, Robinson appeared headed for stardom at the age of thirty. But Robinson's roller coaster career took another dip in 1974 and he was traded to the cross state rival Pittsburgh Pirates in the off season.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A valuable substitute outfielder, Robinson played well for the Pirates and played for the Bucs in the 1975 post season playoffs against the Cincinnati Reds. Though Bill accepted his job as utility outfielder, he wanted to play full time. When Pirate outfielder Dave Parker went down in May 1975, Robinson got his shot at starting in Pirate outfield. Robby was asked to play third base when Richie Hebner went on the disabled list. Bill enjoyed playing on the hot corner as it kept him more involved in the game. Bill Robinson responded to the challenge both eagerly and favorably, since the Pirates had a trio of outfield stars. Though he ended the 1976 season with a .303 batting average, Robinson went into August batting at an amazing clip of.340. With 64 rbi and 21 home runs, Bill Robinson was chosen as the team's most valuable player and finished 21st in the balloting for the National League's Most Valuable Player. Robinson had reached the prime of his career. Suddenly, at the age of 33, he was on the verge of becoming a superstar.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSJOzJAXHw-PqgKoKNerM2zVXIYb22tVgurPjduCwi5vjpkfVnJupHl8vV4xN54kuLGV8iy7w6YuCYiRiLQ3eq6As8W0SDABu8fwmSYWigOlv-hEBflX70akmyXLRIA7jdi4JiAcxmWE/s1600/BILL%20ROBINSON%20PIRATES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSJOzJAXHw-PqgKoKNerM2zVXIYb22tVgurPjduCwi5vjpkfVnJupHl8vV4xN54kuLGV8iy7w6YuCYiRiLQ3eq6As8W0SDABu8fwmSYWigOlv-hEBflX70akmyXLRIA7jdi4JiAcxmWE/s1600/BILL%20ROBINSON%20PIRATES.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bill Robinson entered the 1977 season, his 10th full year in the majors, with high expectations. A series of ham string injuries, a bad shoulder and an aching leg couldn't hinder his determination to show his 1976 season was no fluke. Though he wasn't considered for the 1976 all star team with a .335 average, Robinson thought he might have a chance in 1977. Robinson was devastated when his name didn't appear on the 1977 ballot. Thoroughly disgusted at what he termed as a farce of a voting system, Robinson vowed not to play, even if was selected as a substitute.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Robinson continued to excel. He got his first ever on screen interview with the venerable Howard Cosell on Monday Night Baseball. Bill told the bumptious Cosell that he had alleviated the pressure and went up to the plate without any worries. When called upon after first baseman Willie Stargell was scratched from the lineup due to an injury, Robinson moved across the diamond for the good of the team. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1977 was Robinson's career year. Eleventh in the balloting for the NL Most Valuable Player, Robinson finished eighth in the league in slugging percentage and runs batted in, and sixth in doubles posted career highs in home runs (26), runs batted in (104) and batting average (.304.) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bill Robinson returned to the outfield in 1978, replacing Al Oliver, who had been traded to Texas. With a contract extension in hand removing him from the bottom of the pay list for regular players, Robinson looked to improve on his totals of the '77 season. After getting off to a hot start, a nagging thumb injury altered his outstanding swing. After six seasons of virtual serenity, the pressure began to nag at Bill once again. His hitting had gone from consistently torrid to woefully inconsistent.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXc7S8ITCKeQ4YGCR0UoBS6ZimxXXX1UbatJL9fsNQ3YaN9nlk37TkrUHkTD6wFr5e1KQ5dJF5J-AhhvDw-6Q-K-W5LWK3adTY1lLh38jOkXzHnzoJA4fe4apmh-Vk5a7xgKwO80_zVU/s1600/Bill.Robinson.4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXc7S8ITCKeQ4YGCR0UoBS6ZimxXXX1UbatJL9fsNQ3YaN9nlk37TkrUHkTD6wFr5e1KQ5dJF5J-AhhvDw-6Q-K-W5LWK3adTY1lLh38jOkXzHnzoJA4fe4apmh-Vk5a7xgKwO80_zVU/s1600/Bill.Robinson.4.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Pirates began acquiring new players to step in, just in case Robinson faltered in 1979. His average dropped to .246, the third worst of his career. Just when it looked like he would once again fail, Robinson turned it up and moved to the top of the team's offensive statistical categories. Robinson's return to brilliance helped the Pirates to win the National League's Eastern Division pennant.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Pirates adopted the song We Are Family as their theme song for 1979. The Pirates easily swept the powerful Reds to face the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. In a rematch of the '71 series, the Pirates won in the seventh and deciding game. Hitless in three at bats in the league championship series, Robinson got five hits in the series to win his first World Series championship ring.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Still considered a good utility player, the Pirates held onto the aging Robinson after his home run total fell to 12 in the 1980 season, though he did hit .287. Nagging injuries to Willie Stargell and Dave Parker kept Robinson in the lineup despite the fact that he was 37 and was beginning to slow down. Robinson didn't disappoint Pirate manger Chuck Tanner and played another solid season for the Pirates.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The end of Robinson's career began in the spring of 1981 when he underwent surgery for the repair of his right Achilles tendon. Bill never regained his quick bat and posted the lowest average of his National League career. After 31 games with the Pirates, Robinson returned to Philadelphia for the remainder of the 1982 season. At the end of the season, Robinson, approaching his 40th birthday, filed for free agency. He was resigned by the Phillies and played only in ten games before being released on June 9, 1983, seventeen days after his final game on May 23, 1983. The Phillies respected Robinson's knowledge of him and retained him as a minor league hitting instructor. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his sixteen seasons in the major leagues, Robinson had 1127 hits, 166 home runs and drove in 641 runs. He hit 104 round trippers in the minors along with 514 runs batted in. His career batting average of .258 in 1472 games was not a true reflection of his outstanding career in the 1970s when he was a better than average hitter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3W1Oc9s9TExoXXvp7n1Kmfig52Ga3KLbVg7ytySYrRuk0apmPYW9BqZV98I1rFW3LaMQ4r8jk9ONJsounvFMakz2nzzPqY4VjPpcz-r92fAlsfgy4c76LvfHXitY-mdwTkpG7y2MUrY/s1600/!Bg1cHp!!Wk~%24(KGrHqIOKiQEryFkcOTzBLG0H1VZsQ~~_35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3W1Oc9s9TExoXXvp7n1Kmfig52Ga3KLbVg7ytySYrRuk0apmPYW9BqZV98I1rFW3LaMQ4r8jk9ONJsounvFMakz2nzzPqY4VjPpcz-r92fAlsfgy4c76LvfHXitY-mdwTkpG7y2MUrY/s1600/!Bg1cHp!!Wk~%24(KGrHqIOKiQEryFkcOTzBLG0H1VZsQ~~_35.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At the end of the '83 season, Robinson was wooed by the Mets as their new batting coach. With the likes of Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez and George Foster in the Met's lineup, Robinson wasn't about to begin making changes in his slugger's swings. "I don't have any complicated ideas about hitting,"Robinson said. "Mine is a very simple approach, mostly mental," said Robinson, who was manager Dave Johnson's first choice because of his ability as a teacher of hitting.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Facing the brink of elimination in the 6th game of the 1986 World Series, the Mets rallied and took advantage of one of the greatest blunders in World Series history to send the series into the seventh and deciding game, which the Mets won. Robinson had once again returned to the top of his form, this time as the man who taught the world champions the art of hitting. Robinson remained with the Mets until the end of the 1989 season when the team made wholesale changes in their coaching staff.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1990, the producers of Baseball Tonight hired Robinson for his insightful commentary on major league baseball. After a two-year stint with ESPN, Robinson returned full time to baseball. Robinson worked for the Phillies minor league organization as a manager and coach from 1994 though 1999. Bill returned to the Yankees organization as a minor league hitting instructor for its Columbus team from 1999 to 2001. He accepted the offer of the Florida Marlins to serve as their hitting coach for the 2002 season. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0HyPkms4xBxIwCV0SyBxXWdSqoAel1QVy7zJCGRCWrHfvst9jOonhgo5t-prqV8pcgwAEmlO2l1Moimrk_KQfOm-YfxiKI6EkFz7pREMZ8NSstVIjAd0lJui0YliMOBSFnTMoYh16GQ/s1600/RobinsonBill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0HyPkms4xBxIwCV0SyBxXWdSqoAel1QVy7zJCGRCWrHfvst9jOonhgo5t-prqV8pcgwAEmlO2l1Moimrk_KQfOm-YfxiKI6EkFz7pREMZ8NSstVIjAd0lJui0YliMOBSFnTMoYh16GQ/s1600/RobinsonBill.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Once again in 2003, Robinson's pupils, the surprising Florida Marlins, shocked the baseball world by capturing the World Series title, earning Robinson his third and final World Series ring.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After four seasons with the Marlins, Robinson was hired as the hitting instructor for the Dodger's minor league system. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On July 29, 2007, Robinson failed to show up for an appointment in Las Vegas to discuss hitting. He had complained about his heart after throwing batting practice and went back to his hotel room to rest. A friend found him dead. Apparently his heart simply gave out. His Bible was lying open in front of him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jeff Wilpon, the CEO of the Mets described Robinson as "a devoted family man, a consummate professional and one of the classiest men in our sport." "Bill was a wonderful family man and a great player, manager and coach. He was a friend to everyone he met," said Dodger general manager Ned Colletti. </div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-32516183326870807462014-12-28T10:00:00.002-08:002014-12-28T10:00:48.690-08:00SHELTON SUTTON <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ENSIGN SHELTON SUTTON<br />
"The Unsolved Mystery of a Hero at Sea"<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shelton Sutton was a hero. To his two hometowns of Brewton and Vidalia, he was a hero. To his parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, he was also a hero. To many Georgia Tech fans of his day, Shelton was a hero. The United States Navy considered him a hero. But the answer remains, why was he a hero?<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shelton Beverly Sutton, Jr. was born in Brewton, Georgia on August 21, 1919. His father worked as a mechanic. The Suttons left Laurens County when Shelton, Jr. or "Slim" was a young boy. They wound up in Vidalia, Georgia, where Slim became a star football player for Vidalia High School in the mid 1930s.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Slim's extraordinary athletic ability enabled him to earn a spot on the roster of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 1939. Slim was a substitute offensive lineman on Georgia Tech's best team of the 1930s. The Jackets (8-2) won a share of the SEC Championship with a perfect conference record, losing only to Notre Dame, the nation's second best team that season, and to a very powerful Duke team by one point. The "Ramblin Wrecks" put an exclamation point on the season when a victory of Big Six Champion Missouri in the Orange Bowl. Sutton made his way into the starting lineup in 1940 as the team's center. Tech suffered through a 3-7 season, with the year's only highlights coming in a six-point loss to Notre Dame and a post season win over California by the score of 13-0. Playing at guard beside Slim was Wexler "Wex" Jordan of Dublin.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By 1941, Sutton came into his own as a suitable center. Losing to five top twenty teams, the Jackets suffered through a 3-6 season. Slim's last game was a heartbreaking 21-0 loss to intrastate rival Georgia. What made it even worse was that he was ejected from the game for an offense he really didn't deserve. Sutton tackled Georgia back Lamar Davis, grabbing him around the mouth and cutting off his breathing. Lamar bit Sutton's finger to break the deadlock. Sutton, sensing the amputation of a part of his hand, violently shoved Davis's head back. A nearby official noticed only the shove and promptly sent Sutton back to the bench. Sutton walked toward Davis and shook his finger at him chastising him for not telling the referee that he had Slim's finger in his mouth. Tech Coach Bobby Dodd ran out toward Sutton to reprimand the Tech center for being thrown out the game. Dodd's rage evolved into laughter when Slim told the soon to be iconic coach what really happened out on the field.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Georgia Tech was supposed to play another game, another post season game against California. But something happened the next weekend that would change Slim Sutton's life and the entire course of the world's history. Just eight days after he played his last football game, the Japanese air force bombed Pearl Harbor. Sutton and Jordan along with many of their teammates enlisted in the Navy. Before he left for military service, Slim graduated from Tech with cum laude honors. Many of the Tech players participated in Naval ROTC at Tech. In fact, Center Sutton became Ensign Sutton of the United States Naval Reserve on April 21, 1941. Owing to the loss of many of their team's top players, Tech's request to cancel the late December game with California was granted.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the weeks after the war began, Sutton reported to duty with the Naval Reserve. On February 12, 1942, he was ordered to report to the Commandant of the Third Naval District for active duty. Just two days later, the U.S.S. Juneau, a light cruiser, was commissioned by the U.S. Navy. Sutton reported for duty aboard the U.S.S. Juneau on March 2, 1942. The Juneau served off the Martinique and the Guadeloupe Islands in blockade maneuvers and remained in the Atlantic Ocean until August 22nd. The Juneau was assigned to Task Force 17 and then Task Force 61. The ship's first major action came in the victorious Battle of Santa Cruz Island on October 26th.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On November 8th, the Juneau joined Task Force 67 to escort reinforcements to Guadalcanal Island. Japanese fighters began to attack the ship, which repulsed six planes with little damage. Early in the morning of Friday the 13th, a Japanese force engaged the Juneau's group. The Juneau suffered moderate damage from a torpedo, but managed to limp away from the enemy ships under her own power. Around eleven o'clock in the morning, a Japanese submarine fired three torpedoes at the wounded ship. The Juneau's helmsman managed to avoid the first two, but a third torpedo struck the ship in the exact same spot it had been damaged earlier in the morning. There was a tremendous explosion. The ship broke into. In twenty seconds, she was under water. The Juneau's sister ships, the U.S.S. Helena and the U.S.S. San Francisco, both damaged, steamed ahead fearing a similar fate. There was no time to look for survivors.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of the nearly seven hundred man crew, only about one hundred sailors survived the explosion. For eight horrific days, the survivors treaded water and fought off thirst, hunger and sharks as best they could. Only ten survived. Also onboard the Juneau was Albert, Francis, George, Joseph, and Madison, the five sons of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa. George, still nursing his wounds from the early morning action, managed to make it to a life raft. The other four brothers were killed instantly in the explosion. George died after five days in the water. The brothers were immortalized in the Hollywood movie, The Fighting Sullivans. Their deaths led to a directive by President Franklin Roosevelt that if any family lost two sons, then the remaining sons were to be removed from the military and sent home to their families. This directive is portrayed in the movie Saving Private Ryan. Private Ryan, actually Sergeant Niland, lost two of his brothers and was thought to have lost another. The stories of the Sullivans and the Nilands were the inspiration for Saving Private Ryan.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Navy withheld details of the sinking of the Juneau. It was nearly four weeks later when the news arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sutton that their son was missing in action. Slim's body was never found. Ensign Sutton was one of the first Toombs Countians to lose their lives in the war. The abandonment of one hundred survivors was withheld from the public for a long time, making it one of the war's and the U.S. Navy's most secret scandals. It wasn't until 1994 when Dan Kurzman published Left to Die, the first true and complete account of the tragedy of the U.S.S. Juneau.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On August 6, 1944 in Tampa, Florida, Lillie Mae Sutton broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow of the U.S.S. Sutton, which was named in her son's honor. The Sutton served in the Atlantic until 1948, when she was taken out of service. The ship was lent to the Republic of South Korea in 1956 and was used by the Korean Navy as The Kang Won until 1974. Ensign Beverly Sutton was one of ten members of the crew who were selected by the U.S. Navy to have a ship named in their honor. He joined Captain L.K. Swenson, Commander William M. Hobby of Sylvania, Ga., Lt. Cmdr. T.O. Oberrender, Lt. H.C. Gearing, III and of course, the "Sullivan Brothers," in being afforded such a distinct honor. Lt. Cmdr. J.G. Neff was lauded by the U.S. Naval Hospital in Dublin with a street named in his honor.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> At the cruise ship dock at Juneau, Alaska stands a monument with the name of S.B. Sutton and the names of his fellow crewmen of the U.S.S. Juneau. His name also can be found on a monument at Fort William McKinley in Manila, the Philippines. But of a more local importance, among the hundreds of graves at the Brewton Cemetery, is a cenotaph marker commemorating the life of a man who lived as a hero and died as hero.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Could Slim have survived the catastrophic explosion? No one alive seems to know. My guess is that he did and that this Laurens Countian helped the survivors to escape the inferno toward what they believed was safety. Otherwise, why would the Navy have selected Ensign Shelton Sutton as the only junior officer aboard the Juneau with the naming of a ship in his honor? Perhaps one day the mystery will finally be solved.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Postcript: Exactly 364 days later on Veteran's Day, 1943 Slim Sutton's teammate Wex Jordan was killed in a training accident off the coast of San Diego, California. </div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-91263839409183548592014-12-28T09:59:00.001-08:002014-12-28T09:59:47.499-08:00MORE THAN JUST A FOOTBALL GAME<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
MORE THAN JUST A FOOTBALL GAME<br />
<br />
<br />
For the last 517 Tuesdays I have chronicled the events of the past which have shaped our lives and guided us through the uncertainty of the future. Today, just for<br />
once, I ask leave to explain what the game of football means to the community of Dublin and what some of our senior players have meant to me personally. Football is more than a game. It is molded around many of the basic essentials of a successful life. Among these are teamwork, finishing a job, achieving a goal, perseverance, honor, dedication, contributing, problem solving and admittedly, having a great time. A friend of mine, Pete Tyre, was a member of two of Dublin's state championship teams. He was at every practice and every game but never played a down. When asked about the impact that football had on his life, Pete said that "football and Boy Scouts got me through the horrors of Vietnam."<br />
<br />
This Saturday afternoon, in the first day time and the first Saturday game in Shamrock Bowl history, some of Dublin's finest young men will strap on the "green and the gold"for the last time in the first state championship game ever to be played in Dublin. The first three state championship games, all victories, were played on neutral sites. The last three, all losses, were played on the opponent's field. There is a saying that everything bad or good happens in threes. So we've lost three in a row. Now is the time to begin another trio of state championships.<br />
<br />
My connection to this year's team comes through my son Scotty. Through baseball, Boy Scouts and the band I have come to know, and yes admire, many of the<br />
seniors of this year's team. Over the last ten years, I have watched these young boys<br />
mature into young men. They are a part of me. They will always be a part of me.<br />
<br />
I first met Chris Williams on the ball field at Little Hilburn Park. He was a little<br />
chubby and not very fast on his feet. But immediately Chris showed one of his most<br />
endearing and enduring qualities. It seemed like he always had a smile permanently<br />
cemented on his round face. Well mannered and always well behaved, Chris was and<br />
still is a compliment to his parents Luther and Valencia Williams, who were there at<br />
every ball game and every Cub Scout outing. Chris got stronger and faster and could knock a baseball as hard as anyone. Chris is one of those kids you might not think of as being a member of the band. He played saxophone in the band until he settled solely on football as his number one extra curricular activity. This once teddy bear like kid will now knock your head off if you aren't wearing a green and gold uniform.<br />
<br />
I also met Tyler Josey on the ball field. At the age of eight, Tyler, with his "Boog<br />
Powell" physique and a buzz cut towered over the rest of the kids in the league. I think I actually ordered him an XL jersey. Tyler played first base and could catch nearly every ball thrown his way. He never managed to get under the ball to lift it out of the park. But, I'll guarantee you if there was no fence and no Big Hilburn park next door, his line drives would have rolled into C.W. Anderson's side yard on Hodges Street. I'll never forget the sight of Tyler rambling around the bases, his freckled face smiling and his parents cheering him on. When I saw him four years later in the halls of Dublin Middle School, Tyler was as tall as I am. I knew right there and then that this kid was going to be a very good football player some day.<br />
<br />
There is a trio of seniors who never seem to draw the attention of the sportswriters. I never coached only one of these young men, but my teams did play<br />
against two of them on many occasions. Thomas Cox was always as fast as greased<br />
lightning. As a pitcher, Thomas had one of the best and most wicked breaking balls<br />
you've ever seen in a young kid. On the soccer field, where his true talents shine, Thomas is always one of the first to get down the field, with or without the ball. Just<br />
watch him on the kick off teams, he is usually the first one down and always manages to perform his assignment. He's also a pretty fair defensive back in his own right and<br />
somehow despite the rigors of football and soccer, he manages to be one of the top<br />
students in his class. Then there's Josh Tarpley. "J.T.," the consummate team player, has persevered and this year took over the job of being the team's short snapper. Considering the fact that in the Dome the Irish set the state all time season scoring record, "J.T." just may have snapped more extra points in a season than anyone in Georgia high school history. Izell Stephens and Miles Allen are also team players. These kind young men with kind hearts l unselfishly play wherever it is necessary to help their team win.<br />
<br />
The team's quarterback, Ben Cochran, carries the dogged intelligent athleticism<br />
of his mother and the courage and leadership of his father. As an 8th grader, Ben<br />
pitched a near-perfect game and was snaring nearly every ground ball in the second<br />
game of a doubleheader to lead his team to the Middle Georgia Middle School Championship. At last year's graduation ceremony, I observed Ben, dapperly dressed in a tux as a part of his duties as a marshal, take the arm of a special ed graduate who lost her way back to her seat. Ben escorted the young lady back to her seat as if she was the queen of homecoming. I have never been more proud of Ben than I was that night.<br />
<br />
No one and I mean no one, plays with more determination than Jesse Coxwell. I have seen Jesse time and time again, dive, push, throw, stretch, play while hurting and hustle with the best of them. Hampered by a nagging injury this season, Jesse is a smart sentinel in the defensive backfield. Making less mistakes than his father has hairs on the top of his head, Jessie is more than aptly ready at a moment's notice to take over the duties of quarterback if necessary.<br />
<br />
If you don't believe in angels in the outfield, then you don't know Drew Griggs.<br />
At the point of death two springs ago and buttressed with an army of empathetic supporters, Drew battled back to excel both on the diamond and on the gridiron. Check him out as the long snapper. After he snaps the ball, he is almost always the first Irish defender to reach and tackle or hinder the receiver. Drew has stepped up and taken his place in the long line of place kickers in Dublin football history. Will Griffith is a combination of Larry Csonka and Dick Butkus. It's too bad that the good Lord didn't see fit to bless him with an enormous frame to accommodate his bullish style of play. Pound for pound, no one runs harder and hits harder than "Willie G." <br />
<br />
Brian Wilcher, another former sax player in the band, might be considered the best athlete on the team. I once watched him lead a seven-man baseball team into a close contest with the best nine-man team in the league. Had he stayed with baseball, he would have certainly been a star in that sport as well. If you do the math and Coach Holmes let Brian carry the ball twenty five to thirty times a game as many team's number one tail backs do, Brian would easily be approaching 3000 rushing yards by now. I used to watch Thomas Barnes as he would come into elementary school. There was something about his demeanor that stood out from many of the other kids. Now sporting a goatee and the bronze face of a Roman warrior, this quiet man came almost out of nowhere three years ago to become one the most important driving forces in this team's successes on both defense and offense in the last three seasons. His leadership and aggressive style of play was a leading factor in the Irish basketball team's state championship this past spring.<br />
<br />
I think I met Michael Hall one time. I hope to meet him on more occasions. This<br />
young man, with blazing speed, brute strength and a brilliant mind, spends many moments of his precious spare time after practice to tutor those kids who can't seem to keep up with the arduous standards of school work. Michael has helped to organize a S.W.A.T. team and enlisted other seniors to help others in their studies. I really don't know Tony Smith, though I hear Billy Beacham calling his name over the loudspeaker a lot. I do know he loves to come by the concession stand after the game and ask for a piece of left over pizza. Tony, if we have any pizza left Saturday night, you can have a whole one.<br />
<br />
I don't know Brandon Edmond or Jamon Morris. I do know it's difficult to tell them apart as their single digit numbered uniforms are hard to differentiate as the fly down the field. I would like to get to know Brandon Taylor and Tim Wells. I hear great things about them as players and persons as well. As for Nick Davis, Sammie Daniel, Grant Hingst, Derelle Lewis and Kenyardo O'Neal, I wish I knew you better as well. I do admire your dedication to the team.<br />
<br />
The boys in the band are pumped too. It's their last football game as well. Scotty<br />
will eat his turkey sandwich for lunch instead of supper as he has for the last three<br />
seasons. It didn't work against Cook last year and he had to eat a standard Bryan's sub before the dome loss to Buford. He will join Paul and Heath in driving the fight song rhythms. Sris and Tim will sing melodies on their saxes. Jeremy, Matt, Joey and Josh will be blasting their horns rooting their classmates on. Meanwhile Kentaro, on tuba, will keep the bass line pumping. Nelson Carswell, IV, the unofficial leader in the student section and the team's 12th man, will be painted in green and waving the Irish battle flag. Nelson's indomitable spirit and unbridled enthusiasm has become a special and integral part of Dublin Irish football.<br />
<br />
Here's my prediction for the game this Saturday afternoon. Dublin will play with<br />
the same intensity, determination, heart and discipline they have displayed in the past three seasons. Many people associate luck with being Irish. This year's incomparable team has relied on meticulous and exhausting preparation rather than an enchanted pot of gold. Nevertheless, bring all your good luck charms. Our angels will be there too. They sit up in the trees in the north end zone in the bowl's best seats. Look carefully. You may see a few of them rattling limbs and whistling after every Irish first down. <br />
<br />
I do know this. When I turn off the light in the concession stand for the last time,<br />
there will be tears in my eyes and the eyes of many others. For no matter what the final scoreboard reads, ours will be tears of joy and our Irish eyes, well as always, they will be smiling, and you'll hear the angels singing "Go Irish!"<br />
<br />
<br />
06-46<br />
<br />
TRUE CHAMPIONS<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was right in my prediction of the outcome of last Saturday's state championship game at the Shamrock Bowl. The Dublin Irish played with the same intensity, determination, heart and discipline they have displayed in the past three seasons. All season long the players and the coaches kept their eyes on a single solitary goal. They did not set out to score more points in a single season than any other team in the history of Georgia, colleges and professional included. They did not desire to score more points in the playoffs than any other team in Georgia history. Nor did they make it their goal to score more points and win by the largest margin in the history of high school football play in the Georgia Dome. Their ultimate goal was to finish what they had started and win a state championship. In the cooling darkness of a warm mid December evening they did just that.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most people can't understand the concept which the Georgia High School Association has adopted concerning ties after the end of regulation play of championship football games. It is a rule which has been in effect for at least forty-nine years. It first happened in 1958 when Avondale and Thomasville were named co-champions. It happened again in 1969, 1978, 1991 and as recently as 2004 when Hawkinsville and Clinch County, two great teams, battled to a draw at the end of the fourth quarter. Last Saturday, it happened twice. Roswell and Peachtree Ridge were named co-champions of Class 5A following a tie in their championship game. Regardless of the reasoning behind the rule, a rule is a rule. It is just as much a part of the game as having two feet in bounds or being able to interfere with a receiver on a Hail Mary pass in the end zone and give the offended team the ball back fifteen yards from the original line of scrimmage.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I first arrived at the Shamrock Bowl just after 8:00 on Saturday morning. I had been there with my son and two of my loyal band boosters three hours the night before getting the concession stands ready for the game the next day. As I topped the hill by the fire department, I began to notice the tailgaters were already there. A motor home had been in the Century Club parking lot all night, parked in a strategic location on the slope outside the fence where it's occupants and guests could shed their shoes, climb on top and get an optimal and free view of the spectacle about to unfold. My trusted and loyal fellow band boosters had six hours to get ready for the onslaught of thirsty and hungry fans who were scheduled to come through the gate at 2:00. Did we have enough food? We ordered as much as we could store. When I think about it, every restaurant in Dublin could not accommodate eight thousand people in four hours.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I walked up the hill to see a line forming sometime around 11:00. My friends Ronnie and Renee Green were the first to station themselves within inches of the gate. I noticed everyone was sitting down, enjoying the moments. Someone even brought along a bingo game to pass the time. As we scurried about trying to meet the deadline, the aroma of steaks and burgers on the grill and the rapidly warming sunlight made things more pleasant. It was as if the Super Bowl had come to Dublin. By 12:30, the line continued to grow as if there was a big sale going on inside. Everyone in the line began to stand. By 1:45 the line was so enormous the game manager decided to open the gates fifteen minutes early. I saw hundreds of people running or walking as fast as they could to stake out their usual seats. It seemed like a bomb had gone off out in the parking lot. Only the reserved seat holders knew they had a seat for sure. Within thirty minutes and with one hundred and five minutes before kickoff to go, the home stands and the imported baseball bleachers were crammed to near capacity. One by one and then by the dozens people began to line up at the concession stand. Drinks were sold so rapidly, you might have thought that the stand was in the middle of the Arizona desert. There wasn't enough ice to cool the thousand gallons of drinks.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But at 4:00 the highly anticipated match between Dublin and Charlton County began. As I focused my camera toward the south end zone, I was amazed at the immense congregation on the hill. Never before had so many people come to a football game in Dublin. I was dumbstruck. I couldn't believe what was unfolding before my eyes. I was nervous. We were all nervous. Those nerves subsided once Dublin jumped to an early 10-0 lead. I will admit that I laid down face up on the slope next to the band. It was the near the same place where I used to sneak under the fence forty years ago on Sunday afternoons to play football where my heroes did. In the clear blue late autumn sky I noticed a jet airliner passing above, its occupants and crew oblivious as to what was going on thirty thousand feet below them.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As the second quarter ended, Irish fans were smiling. The band stepped it up and put on one of its best performances of the season. I could have announced the show from the booth but I wanted to be on the field with my kids for one final time. I checked back in the concession stand and we had made it through half time. We did sell out the supply of all the peanuts we could order. Everything was going well and then it happened.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Charlton County, the two-time defending state champions, roared back with a vengeance. The state appointed public address announcer kept on calling out positive plays as the boys from South Georgia moved the ball with relative ease. With a touchdown within their grasp, the Irish defense formed a stone wall and kept the ball out of the end zone when Thomas Barnes intercepted a pass and kept the Irish ahead. Drew Griggs kicked the ball through the middle of the uprights in the south end zone to give the Irish a 13-0 lead. Buried between the "B" and the "L" in that end zone was a shiny penny, found heads up lying next to the curb of the Friendly Gus Store on Claxton Dairy Road just two days before. I buried it there as a good luck piece early Saturday morning while no one was looking. My son Scotty said he hoped that Drew would kick the winning field goal. Well he did.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Dublin couldn't move the ball against the stingy Charlton defense. Once again Charlton came back down the field. Charlton's champions would not relent and scored. Another touchdown brought the score to 13-13. Dwight Dasher, the Indian quarterback, punter and place kicker lined up to put his team in the lead. Brandon Edmond managed to get the tips of his fingers on the ball and the conversion attempt failed. The score was still knotted at 13-13. Maybe the lucky penny worked.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then the Irish stepped up like the true champions they are. One time-consuming play after another exhausted the score board clock. The drive stalled in the middle of the field. Coach Roger Holmes made a decision. It was his decision, the right decision. He was not conceding defeat, he was playing to win. Let every true Dublin football fan shun the doubters, nay sayers and skeptics. Many of them couldn't coach a team of grown men and beat the Dublin Irish. After all, a major reason why there were some eight thousand people there Saturday afternoon was the countless days of preparation and brilliant planning that Dublin's coaching staff put in to get our team to the championship game. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As the clock ticked down to 0:00, I knew our team had just won the state championship. Many were expecting an overtime session. As I looked around, I saw no cheering, only wide eyes and open mouths in stunned disbelief as the announcer proclaimed both teams as state champions. As parents, classmates and friends swarmed the field, I remained with the band. When director Louis Foster announced the next band song was "Last Night," I made my way down to the field. Just as I promised, I danced the twist on the field after we had won the championship. My partners deserted me and I was forced to dance solo and endure alone the laughs on the faces of those around me.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I then walked to the center of the field trying to congratulate the kids whom I have known and grown to admire over the last ten years. No one was smiling. Tears were streaming down from their eyes. Ben Cochran was sobbing uncontrollably as Johnny Payne attempted to get his thoughts on the game. It seemed as if he had let the team down. He didn't. I saw Tina Cochran crying. She couldn't understand why her son was crying. I tried to comfort her. I hugged her. We hadn't been that close since we slow danced to the long version of the Beatles' Let it Be some thirty eight football seasons ago on the dance floor of the un air-conditioned Shanty. Guy Cochran was holding back his tears as well. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I found nearly everyone I hugged was crying. I kept looking for Chris Williams, but never found him. I only found out later that he injured himself twice during the game and was unable to play at the end of the game. I too began to sob when I hugged Tyler Josey, whom I coached ten years before. He smiled a little as he towered over me. Other mothers were crying. Some daddies were too. But I kept on saying, "It's a win! It's a win! It's a win!" Few remember that the first game ever played in the bowl was a 13-13 tie.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I turned off the light in the concession stand and got in my truck to go to Ruby Tuesday's to celebrate another Irish victory with my fellow band boosters. I took the long way around to avoid the long caravan of vehicles headed south to Folkston. It has been a tradition for the last two years. This time the place was crowded with a mixture of Dublin and Charlton fans. We complimented our guests at the next table on the play of their team and their band. They returned the compliment. They were happy and we were happy.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On Sunday morning I drove out to the Shamrock Bowl just to see the place one more time. Forty years ago I did the same thing on the morning after the game. I expected to see a gang of probationers stuffing trash into bags. The bowl was empty. The only evidence that a game had been played there fourteen hours before was the saturation of the bleachers with peanut hulls, spilled popcorn, empty nacho containers, candy wrappers and partially eaten slices of pizza. As I scanned the concrete for extra copies of over priced generic programs, I observed newspapers, magazines and other items brought in by fans to pass the pre game hours. I picked up shakers and gold megaphones, their shouts long dissipated. I must have picked up two dozen discarded tickets, the once highly desired piece of paper that caused people to stand in line for hours and criticize school officials, who sold all the tickets they could get their hands on. There was an empty drink bottle under nearly every seat. But my eagle eyes never spotted a single cent lying on the ground. Maybe everyone kept their lucky pennies in their pockets. I do have to say that the band sections on both sides of the stadium were literally free of litter.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As an alumni, band booster president and school board member, I am extremely proud of the young men of the Dublin Irish football team. Through the leadership and dedication of a unparalleled coaching staff, these champions finished the job. They achieved their goal. No asterisk, no "yea, but," no vent poster, and no one, and I mean no one, can ever take it away from them. They are champions, true champions. </div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-54133038836663517952014-12-28T09:57:00.001-08:002014-12-28T09:57:33.922-08:00JIMMY BIVINS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Best Boxer You Never Heard Of</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiieEdsZUBpeJ55HffbvJtT_3mtwsEIkhiJEJ5uvFqiMFcaoFwVtKQ9gKNMHWg8kQoUAAi0_-gT59HLqadiuNRVZAkgw6aFXOvJwsfRdgYl4H8BpNMwRvYRJAx1T0RjuLlq-6eMBGiW0AI/s1600/Jimmy_Bivins.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiieEdsZUBpeJ55HffbvJtT_3mtwsEIkhiJEJ5uvFqiMFcaoFwVtKQ9gKNMHWg8kQoUAAi0_-gT59HLqadiuNRVZAkgw6aFXOvJwsfRdgYl4H8BpNMwRvYRJAx1T0RjuLlq-6eMBGiW0AI/s1600/Jimmy_Bivins.JPG" height="400" width="295" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Time and even his own daughter almost erased the memory of Jimmy Bivins from the minds of boxing fans. Though you have probably never heard of him, Bivins, a native of Twiggs County, is regarded as one of the best boxers of his era. While he never won a championship, Jimmy Bivins, is regarded by experts as one of the best Light Heavyweight Fighters of the 20th Century.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>James Louis “Jimmy” Bivins was born in Dry Branch, Georgia on December 6, 1919. His parents, Allen and Fleta, lived on their farm on the Old Griswoldville Road in the Smith District of northwestern Twiggs County. The Bivins joined many other African American families who migrated to work in the industrial complexes of the Northeast and Midwest, leaving their boll weevil infested red clay farm behind.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Bivins moved to East 53rd Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Allen worked as a fireman for the Ohio Cleaning Company. James and his sisters Viola, Maria and Fanny May attended the neighborhood school. It was in when he was in his teens when Jimmy learned how to box. In his first celebrated match, Jimmy lost to Storace Cozy in the third round of the 147-pound class in the AAU Championship in San Francisco. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bivins entered the world of professional boxing as middleweight. His first professional fight came in Cleveland on January 15, 1940 with a one round TKO over Emory Morgan. His sixth straight professional victory came in April in Chicago in an eight-round decision over Nate Bolden. Bivin’s remarkable streak of 19 consecutive wins, highlighted by ten-round victory over Charley Burley, ended in his last match of the year, when he lost a rematch with Anton Christoforidis. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazKjxYwA8eEE3Nx565eJtod9UQpf0EzFhZXqp-_okLYSVwfF26KTzK-l0axkWYJEKM1AU-wmMz-uTbBqxPEvNPEOHE9ROYBc_c-0gS4RHPkL5XwWIC0cDe5vktEoW1PCaHOf8_KUzXWM/s1600/bivins_pose_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazKjxYwA8eEE3Nx565eJtod9UQpf0EzFhZXqp-_okLYSVwfF26KTzK-l0axkWYJEKM1AU-wmMz-uTbBqxPEvNPEOHE9ROYBc_c-0gS4RHPkL5XwWIC0cDe5vktEoW1PCaHOf8_KUzXWM/s1600/bivins_pose_01.jpg" height="400" width="317" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jimmy picked up right where he left off in 1941. As a light heavyweight, he won six of eight bouts. In his fourth and probably the most important match of his early career, Bivins beat Joey Maxim in a ten-round decision in a match fought at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Maxim won the world light heavyweight championship in 1950. In defense of his title in 1952, Maxim, a native of Cleveland, beat challenger Sugar Ray Robinson in the only one of his 201 matches where he failed to answer the bell. Bivins ended 1942 with a record of seven wins and one loss. Ring magazine named him the number one contender in the heavyweight and light heavyweight classifications. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his opening bout of 1943, Bivins defeated Ezzard Charles, a fellow Georgian and regarded as the third greatest light heavyweight of the 20th Century, in ten rounds. Bivins continued his meteoric career completing the year with eight victories and no defeats. His win over Ami Mauriello earned Jimmy the Duration Heavyweight Title. Bivins won his only match in 1944, a year which saw few matches while he served in the United States Army. During that last full year of the war, Jimmy Bivins was known as the interim or unofficial Heavyweight Champion of the World. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JmBHz6vDwuA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jimmy’s greatest victory came on August 22, 1945 in his adopted hometown of Cleveland. In a six round technical knockout, he defeated Archie Moore, selected by the Associated Press as the best light heavyweight of the 20th Century. He ended the war years with an astonishing record of 48 victories, two defeats and a draw.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cMvfNnDPDGqB9Q82pqZlxuhOxTg6Jm6-5s4UoCjEg4otbVSWBqE65-6flxrdd60DthidkcUw6bfstgS-tqPwtICaTMMH3iYhHl2bLEMVlatOhJGSIXC6XxZPzJXrz6C1gutzFI18gOo/s1600/bivins-jimmy-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cMvfNnDPDGqB9Q82pqZlxuhOxTg6Jm6-5s4UoCjEg4otbVSWBqE65-6flxrdd60DthidkcUw6bfstgS-tqPwtICaTMMH3iYhHl2bLEMVlatOhJGSIXC6XxZPzJXrz6C1gutzFI18gOo/s1600/bivins-jimmy-11.jpg" height="400" width="301" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bivins ran his win total to fifty-two before a devastating loss to Jersey Joe Walcott in the winter of 1946. Until that point, Bivins had not lost a boxing match since June 22, 1942. Jimmy lost again in June and didn’t fight until two weeks before Thanksgiving when he was defeated by Ezzard Charles in the tenth round for his third consecutive loss. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1947, Jimmy Bivins regained his winning style and won ten matches and only losing one. He carried a five match winning streak into a rematch with Archie Moore, which he lost in the 10th round. Just sixteen days later, he lost another ten round bout with Ezzard Charles. After a six round exhibition match with the great Joe Louis on November 17, 1948, Jimmy lost his third match of the year, a defeat by fellow Clevelander Joey Maxim. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jimmy Bivins continued to win, garnering six wins in eight matches in 1949. By 1949, his competition was becoming less noteworthy. After winning one of only two bouts in 1950, once again Bivins put together seven match winning streak, which came to a screeching halt on August 15, 1951, when he lost a heavyweight match to Joe Louis. His only consolation was his winnings. Though he lost the match to one of the greatest fights ever, Bivins was paid $40,000.00 his largest cash prize ever. His last great fight came in Chicago on November 26, 1952 when he lost to Ezzard Charles. For the rest of his career, Jimmy could only manage to fight small time fighters. He won his last four bouts, his final victory coming at home in Cleveland on October 28, 1955. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dl1ul8hpGFQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After his retirement, Jimmy drove a bread truck for his day job. But boxing was in his blood. He trained amateur boxers in the Cleveland area for many years. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the darkest moments in Jimmy Bivins’ life came not on the mat of a boxing room, but in the home of his own daughter. Forced to live with his daughter after the death of his wife, Bivins was horribly mistreated by his daughter and her husband. When Bivins failed to show up at the local gym, concerned friends went out to look for him. Bivins was found in the attic of his daughter’s home, bundled in a urine-stained blanket, missing a portion of his finger, blind in one eye and emaciated down to 110 pounds. It was the athlete in him that guided him through one of the toughest battles of his life. Just like he did in the 1940s, Jimmy battled and won, regaining his old fighting weight. His former pupil Gary Hovrath helped to bring his mentor back to the gym. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Hhc4yoYlZG_Fbun12IHq7mf1hKzJ8LSbEOHgOBs6lr7uH9-yiaXoAMaXgrI_8CqMQ1TINbjFwydhKa75pju3EAnts0L57ofvbWkxmZhCMMQGHx5VP5TGHtSXe41xMaf2hSC49RziwWk/s1600/Jimmy-Bivins-dies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Hhc4yoYlZG_Fbun12IHq7mf1hKzJ8LSbEOHgOBs6lr7uH9-yiaXoAMaXgrI_8CqMQ1TINbjFwydhKa75pju3EAnts0L57ofvbWkxmZhCMMQGHx5VP5TGHtSXe41xMaf2hSC49RziwWk/s1600/Jimmy-Bivins-dies.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his 112 fight career, the 175-pound 5-foot 9 inch tall Bivins posted an illustrious record of 86 victories (thirty one by knockouts,) twenty-five losses, and one draw. He fought seven members of the Boxing Hall of Fame, defeating four of them. He squared off against eleven world champions, defeated eight of them, including Joey Maxim, Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Though he never won a boxing title, the voters of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999 recognized the remarkable achievements of Jimmy Bivins during the 1940s. A five-man panel appointed by the Associated Press named Jimmy as the fifth greatest light heavyweight boxer of the 20th Century. In commenting on his induction, the quiet Bivins remarked, “I knew one of these days they would recognize me. I did the best I could. I’m glad it was appreciated.” </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-90412691596540513652014-11-22T22:07:00.002-08:002014-11-22T22:07:42.680-08:00HUGH RADCLIFFE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">King of the K's</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDL7x3pbTImWPNKC4cgONFxorlkVL7FR8fTTvoVxZbMqMuUXyQ6MvqB97CgEdhzeKVrlnqyjAuIgQv-AcVAOum-BkhIjaX7JaApPD7PCbs0khObCRfZ7CW1RxTVu0A2l1YXamwa0TJveb/s1600/Hugh.radcliffe%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDL7x3pbTImWPNKC4cgONFxorlkVL7FR8fTTvoVxZbMqMuUXyQ6MvqB97CgEdhzeKVrlnqyjAuIgQv-AcVAOum-BkhIjaX7JaApPD7PCbs0khObCRfZ7CW1RxTVu0A2l1YXamwa0TJveb/s1600/Hugh.radcliffe%5B1%5D.jpg" height="400" width="185" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most of you who are baseball fans know that Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood hold the record for the most strikeouts in a regulation 9-inning major league game with 2o. You would have to be a baseball purist to know that Tom Cheney set the game record with 21 strikeouts in a 16-inning game. Cristen Vitek of Baylor and Eileen Canney of Northwestern hold the NCAA record for 28 strikeouts in a game in sixteen and eighteen innings respectively. But how many of you know that a former Dexter kid struck out 28 batters in a 9-inning high school game for a world record. Millard Whittle of Dexter remembers. Mr. Whittle remembers a lot about a lot of things. After all, he has been around these parts for more than ninety years. Mr. Whittle called me and related the story of Hugh Frank Radcliffe. I was hooked and logged onto the Internet as fast as I could to see what I could find.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hugh Frank Radcliffe was born on November 27, 1928 in Fort Valley, Georgia. He spent his early years in the Dexter community. Sometime during the end of the Great Depression, the Radcliffes moved to Thomaston, Georgia. Hugh attended Robert E. Lee Institute in Thomaston. Hugh, or Frank, or "Redbone," as his friends called him, was a four-sport star at R.E. Lee. Radcliffe was an all state and all South end and the best kicker in Georgia. He was an all state guard in basketball and a state champion in the pole vault. But his main sport was baseball. Now you will see why.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hugh was considered big for his day standing six feet one and one half inches tall without his cleats on and tipping the scale at 185 pounds. He was as clean cut as any teenager could be. His coach described him as unimpressed with accolades and one who disdained alcohol, tobacco and even ice cream sodas.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was the year 1948. Hugh was just about half way through his senior year in high school. As a sophomore, Hugh led his team to the Georgia and Regional American Legion titles. The game was to be played in Macon, Georgia. The Rebels' opponents that day were the Poets from Lanier High School in Macon. The Poets, including future big leager Coot Veal, were no slouches. The team had a winning tradition for many years. The Poets no longer had Billy Henderson, a former Dublinite and a high school All-American baseball player. Sporting a five-game winning streak, Lanier was always a strong team. The date was April 19th. The place was Silvertown Ballpark.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAFpoIZUouQyIr5SM9YVayD6oCWjLR2vrJxYWxwORpM1XzgElXxnd5CV8biWDl-IW8VFcrjLZEfZGG6_a0dwwJopsmNkxjIcb-Pk52kmrEIO46IUfC2EyYu_Ks4rq8-jyxv6kl8w8tSNx/s1600/hugh.radcliffe.4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAFpoIZUouQyIr5SM9YVayD6oCWjLR2vrJxYWxwORpM1XzgElXxnd5CV8biWDl-IW8VFcrjLZEfZGG6_a0dwwJopsmNkxjIcb-Pk52kmrEIO46IUfC2EyYu_Ks4rq8-jyxv6kl8w8tSNx/s1600/hugh.radcliffe.4.jpg" height="400" width="283" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hugh struck out three batters to end the first inning. The fans and coaches all must have said, "well, Frank's on today." Then he struck out three batters in the second. Somewhere during the game he struck out four batters in one inning. Some of you might say, "how can that be?" Well, the reason is simple. Under baseball rules, when a catcher drops a third strike and first base is not occupied and there is less than two outs, the runner can advance to first base. The catcher, or another fielder, must retrieve the ball and throw it to first base. If the runner beats the throw, he is awarded first base, but the pitcher is given credit for a strikeout. Usually an error is given to the catcher or the pitcher for allowing the runner to advance. But, enough of the rules, back to the game.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Radcliffe struck out at least three batters in every inning for the rest of game. High school boys played the old-fashioned game with nine innings. They play only seven today to give the boys more time to study, as if they were going home after a long ball game and crack open a chemistry text book. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But before you think that every Poet batter struck out, you would be wrong. In all, only ten balls were touched by a Poet bat. Seven were fouled off. One Lanier batter managed to get a hit. Rebel Coach J.E. Richards commented on the single safety by charging it to an inattentive fielder "who was too accustomed to watching Radcliffe playing the game by himself." Two other balls were mishandled by Hugh's teammates. The Rebels plated ten runners and won the game 10-0. The Macon Telegraph's very brief account of the game credited the Poets with two hits and two dropped third strikes by Rebel catcher Whitten.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Word of "the one in a million feat" got out and scouts from colleges and professional ball clubs descended upon Thomaston like flies at a church picnic. When these old baseball veterans saw Hugh pitch, they drooled. They had plenty of opportunities to drool. Not since School Boy Rowe and Bob Feller came into the limelight in the early 1930s had such a young pitcher drawn so much attention. Scouts from the Tigers, Indians, Reds, Senators, Yankees, Pirates, Athletics and Crackers came to watch the sizzling sensation.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At the end of R.E. Lee's eighth game of the season, Radcliffe posted a record of six wins and no losses. On May 19th, Radcliffe took the mound to face nearby Griffin High School. Two thousand people showed up for the game, a high school game! The right-handed hurler didn't disappoint the crowd. Twenty-five Griffin batters were sent back to the dugout with a "K" by their name in the scorekeeper's book. Radcliffe had an off day, giving up three, but his offensive gave him eighteen runs, so the outcome of the game was never in doubt. Radcliffe boosted his season totals to 210 strikeouts in 81.67 innings, or 2.57 strikeouts per inning an astonishing 23.13 per game. During his senior season, he threw three no-hitters, allowing only 18 hits and giving up three unearned runs for a mind-boggling ERA of 0.37. During that magical season, Radcliffe struck out 50 consecutive batters and 97 in four nine-inning games. By the way, Hugh hit .450 that season.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With all of the praise and accolades piled on him, Radcliffe's high school career game to a disappointing end. He lost in front of 4,000 fans in the first game of the playoffs, 8-6. Many of them came to the game on the twenty-six buses parked out in the parking lots and down the streets. The scouts blamed it on the team and their nine errors, not due to their highly sought after prize, who struck out twenty-four.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzAxE-nc5ZZwJx5kJsDrkXAHbGdozmyNJ45kjIdawp87J-aqy4b0cuXJhYFyD89X5BbFcJrOGvAdBWjxm28CMq18qia5X_85IsMJGvHkgWR00ruVcbS_Mu9rRb3cQ-FFEs_2TxqoearIt/s1600/HUGH.RADCLIFFE.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzAxE-nc5ZZwJx5kJsDrkXAHbGdozmyNJ45kjIdawp87J-aqy4b0cuXJhYFyD89X5BbFcJrOGvAdBWjxm28CMq18qia5X_85IsMJGvHkgWR00ruVcbS_Mu9rRb3cQ-FFEs_2TxqoearIt/s1600/HUGH.RADCLIFFE.03.jpg" height="400" width="273" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Philadelphia Phillies won the bidding war between 14 teams, satisfying Hugh and especially his mother. The young fireballer was assigned to the Phillies' Wilmington, Delaware club with a forty thousand-dollar check in the bank. Radcliffe pitched well and was moved up to Toronto. Soon Frank became the property of the New York Yankees and enjoyed a brief stint with the big club before returning to the minor league with the Syracuse Chiefs, Kansas City Blues and the Birmingham Barons in addition to assignments in Binghamton and Beaumont. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hugh Radcliffe didn't make it to the current National High School record book. I guess they don't go back that far, or they just don't have folks like Millard Whittle to remind them of that spring day nearly sixty years ago when a Dexter boy became the "King of Ks," the "Wizard of Whiffs" and the "Sultan of Strikeouts."</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-13918187794044345212014-05-15T18:19:00.002-07:002014-05-15T18:19:16.573-07:00LARRY FOSS <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: medium;">All You Have To Do Is Dream</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGYGBTovECYEe_C5hsOu9OPd69vddxiimG65DVpsWoX8I-P2rPhwFgz4gJR12keOm4r-L70S8g6OoHXjCTs8m4sv-zghZT6MG3rgpDqrbxXgf283T6LYcLRypZ6eaMrx2H5U0fObnYTSf/s1600/Larry_Foss1961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGYGBTovECYEe_C5hsOu9OPd69vddxiimG65DVpsWoX8I-P2rPhwFgz4gJR12keOm4r-L70S8g6OoHXjCTs8m4sv-zghZT6MG3rgpDqrbxXgf283T6LYcLRypZ6eaMrx2H5U0fObnYTSf/s1600/Larry_Foss1961.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Every kid whoever picked up a baseball has dreamed that one day he would pitch in the major leagues. Tens of millions of tried, only a dozen thousand or so have ever toed the rubber of a big league mound and thrown his best pitch toward an awaiting slugger. This is the story of Larry Foss, a former Dublin Irish pitcher, and who he achieved his dream of becoming a major league pitcher and in the process winning his very first game against one of the game's most feared and revered pitchers, only to lose all of his remaining games on the worst team in professional baseball history.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Larry Curtis Foss was born in Castleton, Kansas on April 18, 1936, seventy years ago today. Foss was drafted out of West High School in Wichita by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Inthe summer before his senior year at West High, Foss grew an amazing eight inches to a height of six feet two inches, a stature which greatly helped the speed of his pitches. The young pitcher was assigned to the Dublin Irish, the organization's Class D entry in the Georgia State League. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>During the 1955 season Foss appeared in 23 games posting an average record of four wins and four losses. His earned run average of 5.51 runs per game was not good and his future in baseball was in doubt. In eighty innings of pitching, he gave up 72 hits and 82 bases on balls. His strikeout ratio of seven per game was not too bad for a 19-year-old hurler more than a thousand miles away from home. There were no designated hitters in that era and Foss was expected to hit as well as pitch. In 28 at bats, he managed to bat a respectable .250 with seven runs batted in. In a sign of times to come, Foss ended his first year in professional baseball playing on one of the worst minor league teams ever assembled in Dublin. The Irish finished fifth out of six teams that season under the helm of George Kinnamon. George Arent, the team's best offensive player that year, couldn't break the .300 mark, finishing with a batting average of .294. Jim Hardison was one of the league's best pitchers, but couldn't help Foss from the bench.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Foss bounced around the minor leagues for six more seasons. His first taste of being in the major leagues came on March 11, 1960 when he came in relief against the Baltimore Orioles. He had control problems, but managed to give up only one run in two innings. Four days later he was brought in relief against the Kansas City Athletics. The first eight Athletics batters reached base. Ten runs scored. Foss's teammates got him off the hook when they scored eleven more runs to win the game. A March 25th appearance wasn't much better. He gave up four straight walks against the Senators before being pulled from the game. But Larry Foss refused to give up. He worked hard and pitched well for the Asheville Pirates of the Sally League. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Just when it looked as if he would never pitch in the majors, Larry got a call from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the last weeks of September 1961. He was numb and exhilarated at the same time. Foss drove from Asheville, North Carolina to join the Pirates. The Pirates, the 1960 World Series Champions, were in a slump. With the memories of Bill Mazeroski's championship winning walk off home run against the Yankees still fresh in their minds, the Bucs lingered in sixth place in the eight team National League.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Foss remembered, "I get into the clubhouse and Danny Murtaugh, (the Pirates manager), says, "You're pitching tonight." Not only was he pitching, but he was starting. What the young pitcher didn't realize was that his opponent that night was a another 25- year-old pitcher for the Cardinals, Bob Gibson. Though he was still striving for his abominable hard driving style which catapulted him to the position as the National League's best pitcher and eventually into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Gibson was still an imposing opponent. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was a cool evening in Pittsburgh on September 18th. As he took his warmup pitches, Foss peered around the vast confines of Forbes Field. Tradition was all around him. The pressure was on. It must have seemed to Larry that it was now or never. He walked Curt Flood, Julian Javier and Bill White to load the bases. The first three pitches to the cleanup hitter Ken Boyer veered outside the strike zone. Then somehow Larry gathered himself and managed to get out of the inning without a single Cardinal runner crossing the plate. The Pirates took the lead, which they held until the fifth inning when Foss gave up the first run of his career. The Pirates bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the inning and five more in the seventh stanza. Foss pitched to two batters in the eight before being relieved by Harvey Haddix and Elroy Face, two of the game's best relievers. The Pirates held on to win 8-6. Foss gave up three runs, two of them earned. He struck out five and walked six. Larry had done it. He won his very first major league game and beat Bob Gibson and held the legendary Stan Musial to one hit in the process. He never won another regular season game.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two weeks later, Larry took the mound against the Cincinnati Reds. Foss gave up three runs in the first inning and three more in the sixth lowering his record to 1 and 1. A third start resulted in a no decision. At the end of his first season, Larry Foss had accumulated a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 5.87.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After a stint in the winter Dominican League in 1961, Larry returned to the Pirates spring training camp in 1962 with high hopes of making the team's roster. Larry returned to his superb form of his first start when he pitched three scoreless innings against the Mets. His blazing fastball caught the eye of the venerable Met manager Casey Stengel, who had led the New York Yankees to an unprecedented string of World Championships, but who was then managing the cross town Mets in their inaugural season. Foss won his next game against the Twins. Larry didn't make the roster, but enjoyed a good season at Asheville with a record of 10-5. He was placed on waivers by the Pirates. Stengel, one of the game's greatest sages, remembered Foss, whom he called "Foos" and convinced the team's general manager to pick up the promising rookie for the $20,000.00 wavier price.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Larry Foss pitched his first game for the 1962 Mets. He lost to the Colt .45s on September 19th. Larry pitched well in relief in a 3-2 loss to the Cubs 9 days later. The Mets lost 120 of 160 games that year, the worst team record in the history of major league baseball. He returned to training camp in 1963. His last appearance for the Mets came on April 3, 1963, when he gave up one run in one inning against the Reds. He was picked up by the Milwaukee Braves and assigned to their Denver AAA team. Larry left professional baseball with arm problems, but pitched his hometown Service Auto Glass team to the 1964 National Baseball Congress World Series championship. He worked in the oil and gas business for twenty plus years before moving to the mountains of Colorado, where he enjoyed fishing and hunting. Larry Foss returned to Wichita in 1993 to open a sporting goods store. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjS5kppEtIfQqd7cxbg9wfAvk_VDzV8mjNFmVYhji0DqSm6I4oftGWnjT-qqLEvhMLJKYnRt3b0c4K0shkk5gGIWdyS63kspAXb7zYdNZYVciF0shyphenhyphenh71XwSyqKY0mzNFXGcFlc5TGJsE/s1600/Larry_Foss1961a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjS5kppEtIfQqd7cxbg9wfAvk_VDzV8mjNFmVYhji0DqSm6I4oftGWnjT-qqLEvhMLJKYnRt3b0c4K0shkk5gGIWdyS63kspAXb7zYdNZYVciF0shyphenhyphenh71XwSyqKY0mzNFXGcFlc5TGJsE/s1600/Larry_Foss1961a.jpg" width="315" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Larry Foss loved baseball. Despite his short major league career he fondly remembers his victory against Bob Gibson, his favorite pitcher, and being a member of the hapless 1962 Mets. He told a reporter from the Wichita Eagle, I had no idea that team would become as legendary as it has. I would have grabbed a jersey or something or gotten some balls autographed." All he has to remind him of being a member of baseball's worst team is his old cap. But dreams do come true. Hard work and determination can take you to high places. All you have to do is dream. Happy Birthday Larry!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-87990026044319214132014-05-15T18:18:00.001-07:002014-05-15T18:18:29.334-07:00WRESTLEMANIA 1914 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pY0qFPn3LLxRXnPVEKsud-p4Qw0F-XWmXrHRoC34zPYNCMmvafUwPYQye79mYmj9P9XtI318YPQ4Au-Cyp-i60dq_qmyoYbC9s0DxcQdk0DKa6Uj48oAkIZO5RJkI0VFn1oZZ3stQMlS/s1600/BERTHA.THEATER.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pY0qFPn3LLxRXnPVEKsud-p4Qw0F-XWmXrHRoC34zPYNCMmvafUwPYQye79mYmj9P9XtI318YPQ4Au-Cyp-i60dq_qmyoYbC9s0DxcQdk0DKa6Uj48oAkIZO5RJkI0VFn1oZZ3stQMlS/s1600/BERTHA.THEATER.01.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>During eight weeks in the spring of 1914, brawny behemoths climbed into the ring on the stage of Dublin’s elegant Bertha Theater to battle each other to determine just who was the best wrestler in the land. In April and May 1914, several of the country’s greatest wrestlers fought it out in a series of matches under the promotion of Harry P. Diggs, the Bertha’s manager and an amateur song writer.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Big time wrestling debuted in the Middle Georgia area in the autumn of 1913 when “Big Jack” Leon defeated Gus Kerveras at the Old Armory in Macon. For the next seven months, Diggs’ wrestlers fought it out in Macon, Columbus and Dublin. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zQdSdYLDGaqgp9a2huoztS0irgvUnL2FMBPTn1lIcukLSOwWDZALNQwzfzfBvd6araVWuZ64kqFyYsQLEg8wL5EDleH408LBm_6xOVuvx8wWXpX_xXCFRCqzw8wxIXC6KV-VPsPU994H/s1600/ben.roller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zQdSdYLDGaqgp9a2huoztS0irgvUnL2FMBPTn1lIcukLSOwWDZALNQwzfzfBvd6araVWuZ64kqFyYsQLEg8wL5EDleH408LBm_6xOVuvx8wWXpX_xXCFRCqzw8wxIXC6KV-VPsPU994H/s1600/ben.roller.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first match at the Bertha came on the evening of April 3, 1914 in a bout which pitted Dr. Ben F. Roller, (LEFT) a real physician, against Billy Jenkins and Mort Henderson. Handicapped from the start, Roller had to wrestle the men back to back - Henderson being his greatest nemesis. Roller, a former professional football player, easily took Jenkins in 16 minutes. Still weary from wrestling Zbyszko in Birmingham the week before, Henderson held his own against his famous opponent Roller, a three time American Heavyweight Champion. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The following year, Henderson would try something new in the wrestling arena. He was credited with being the first wrestler to don a mask to hide his identity, wrestling as “The Masked Marvel.”<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A rematch was set for April 9 in what promoter Diggs proclaimed as “The American Championship.” With several Maconites who had come down on a special M.D. & S. train in attendance, Roller was “at his best from start to finish, and the champion’s best is about the best there is in the wrestling business,” wrote the Courier Herald. Roller took the first round in 51 minutes with a leg and arm hold. In the second round, a Courier Herald writer wrote, “The doctor went after Mort like a large sized tornado” in defeating Henderson, who had gone toe to toe with Jack Leon in Macon the night before, in less than ten minutes before a near capacity crowd. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Greek wrestler Gus Kerveras jumped into the ring and urged the champion to go another round. Roller’s manager, Billy Sandow, a professional wrestler himself and one of the sport’s most well known managers, objected as Roller had already fought enough during the evening. Sandow did agree to allow his champ, to return to the ring the following night to fight the grandiose Greek.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Roller, a clean sportsman and of Greek ancestry himself, kept his word and climbed into the ring the next evening. “The bout was a cross between science on one side and plain every day ‘head buttin’ on the other,” a Courier Herald writer reported. Despite his aggressive manner, the powerful Kervarus, not exactly a fan favorite by the small crowd, was defeated for the first time by Roller, who won the first fall in 48 minutes and the second one in only 4 minutes.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The third week of the season featured a match in which Henderson, Dublin’s favorite wrestler, defeated Paul Sampson, a giant German journeyman wrestler.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXhQbm6a-9Wq_ITeBoSDJWjXdMOwaXVqy35_biuJ1HQm5m_ApMj9-r2imiF4e67cGaI0zf-rQ1fwblHauw-Z9XaL0Xmd0PUv5qRbpZzwYogISFlh53V7oGZMdGbmOYIVF_F7YFRCmruYT/s1600/BERTHA.THEATER.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXhQbm6a-9Wq_ITeBoSDJWjXdMOwaXVqy35_biuJ1HQm5m_ApMj9-r2imiF4e67cGaI0zf-rQ1fwblHauw-Z9XaL0Xmd0PUv5qRbpZzwYogISFlh53V7oGZMdGbmOYIVF_F7YFRCmruYT/s1600/BERTHA.THEATER.02.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another “championship bout” was on the card for the fourth week. Promoters, who expected Dublin’s largest wrestling crowd ever, provided for a special train for fans to leave Macon at 6:00 o’clock and return to Macon a half-hour after the match was over all for the sum of $3.00 for the train ride and a ringside ticket. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqQjC6tjzbwRnlQmr08RRJPugwshnW9xGZ5VdZjG442iX8lv5-H-RBnsrirA9jYhY_94e1tWCphn4C5QuI7ccectpq4AVJbd8YSTfE-syd_1BeL9pEx84CaPfo4NFZfItYgvES69qbC21/s1600/220_wrestlerMasked-Marvel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqQjC6tjzbwRnlQmr08RRJPugwshnW9xGZ5VdZjG442iX8lv5-H-RBnsrirA9jYhY_94e1tWCphn4C5QuI7ccectpq4AVJbd8YSTfE-syd_1BeL9pEx84CaPfo4NFZfItYgvES69qbC21/s1600/220_wrestlerMasked-Marvel.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mort Henderson’s (LEFT AS THE MASKED MARVEL) throng of local supporters filled the Bertha Theater. His opponent was Jack Leon, a wrestler on the rise, who was making his first appearance in Dublin. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYqvbZPZzxE9yFgmEz8ep_qqn6WkoTctesgYABRD8nGMEg8DyuxmbO_Tm7DguSgUQwjlIkE_1BjzN0FXr-dnhSyxyiN_GmXegyh_0NwV5GTIjqYCe5ozOSlosJTMsqkG1KejTK2ggaC5I/s1600/jack.leon..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYqvbZPZzxE9yFgmEz8ep_qqn6WkoTctesgYABRD8nGMEg8DyuxmbO_Tm7DguSgUQwjlIkE_1BjzN0FXr-dnhSyxyiN_GmXegyh_0NwV5GTIjqYCe5ozOSlosJTMsqkG1KejTK2ggaC5I/s1600/jack.leon..jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Leon, a long-legged, ugly-looking, big boned, Swedish, bulldog of a wrestler, was on his game, taking the offensive from the beginning. Henderson’s supporters hoped that Leon (LEFT) would wear himself out with his strong efforts. Those hopes were dashed at the 49 minute point of the 60 minute round. The second and deciding fall came when Henderson fell half way through the round.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The final match of the 1914 wrestling season came on May 22, 1914. Jack Leon, still celebrating his championship victory over Mort Henderson three weeks before at the Bertha, was slated to fight Ed “The Strangler” Lewis. Diggs, in order to boost the attendance in the final fight, offered a purse of $300.00 to the wrestlers in addition to their share of the gate receipts. Diggs, backed by wealthy, prominent Dublin boosters, was once again boosting the encounter as the most sensational match ever held in Dublin. All women were admitted free of charge.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Eddie Lewis, who by the way is a handsome youngster, beside a strangler of international fame, is one of the classiest and fastest wrestlers in the business,” proclaimed the Courier Herald.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOPuzjYaCy8ObNc6zfZd2nUgBBEREWbQ5YFfy6IrZJSyAvagF10oKB8yufqS9Gb2Vs8X8NcLmFY5DzjYPgvKaVOp_kTqVH8ayScMHNVCQGSUPhudmeA4zyS9LF9K7R2ibAZA7nTABZc3m/s1600/ed.strangler.lewis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOPuzjYaCy8ObNc6zfZd2nUgBBEREWbQ5YFfy6IrZJSyAvagF10oKB8yufqS9Gb2Vs8X8NcLmFY5DzjYPgvKaVOp_kTqVH8ayScMHNVCQGSUPhudmeA4zyS9LF9K7R2ibAZA7nTABZc3m/s1600/ed.strangler.lewis.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The writer was correct. Lewis (LEFT) used his strangle hold to win six World Heavyweight Championships and a have dozen state and regional championships. “The Strangler” was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002. Lewis’ manager, Billy Sandow, once issued a $10,000 challenge to Jack Dempsey that Lewis could beat him in any ring anywhere in 20 minutes or less.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lewis took the first round when he used his patented “strangle hold” on Leon a quarter of the way through the first round. Leon turned the momentum in his favor, when he caught Lewis in a half Nelson nearly half way through the second stanza. <br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Referee Harry Diggs called the match for Lewis, when once again, the “Strangler” put his strangle hold on Leon at the twenty minute mark for the victory. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdUTUlx9vTLGxid1WvmnUpZ3SgJnlZYB1Md4t4OMrW6sAdtS71r9XtGVerppJz-D-M1EQLPhyMu5rY_hfxIIFtQnTJc5l9j3e8d65PrhoaDl0tUZeASJXK7yjzh-sqCRP-XGL14DOiCva/s1600/lemarin.constant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdUTUlx9vTLGxid1WvmnUpZ3SgJnlZYB1Md4t4OMrW6sAdtS71r9XtGVerppJz-D-M1EQLPhyMu5rY_hfxIIFtQnTJc5l9j3e8d65PrhoaDl0tUZeASJXK7yjzh-sqCRP-XGL14DOiCva/s1600/lemarin.constant.jpg" height="141" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That summer, the voters of Dublin inexplicably decided to ban wrestling at the Bertha Theater. Just when Wrestlemania was peaking and fans were thrilled every week, it was all but gone from the city. Dr. Roller did return to Dublin two years later in 1916 to defeat the Frenchman, Constant Lemarin, (LEFT)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wrestlemania never really returned to Dublin. In the 1920s and throughout the 1930s, boxing became the pugilistic preference of Dublin’s contact sport fans. Over the years, promoters booked matches in high school gyms and in the Laurens County Ag Center to entertain a new generation of wrestlemaniacs. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But, none of these overly fake wrestling matches can compare to those days of a century ago when Dublin, along with Macon and Columbus, featured some of the best wrestlers in the country in Wrestlemania 1914.</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-47674778142790688632014-05-15T18:11:00.002-07:002014-05-15T18:11:57.355-07:00THE BLOOMER GIRLS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Baseball’s Barnstorming Belles</span></b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A century ago, baseball teams with women players were somewhat of a novelty. The all-women teams, with the exception of one or two essential male players, made a nearly modest living traveling throughout the country, playing in big cities and little towns against all male teams, usually a squad formed from local boys and young men. Such was the case with the Indianapolis Star Bloomer Girls, who traveled through Georgia in the spring of 1914, stopped in Dublin for a contest against our local team.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNM-Ko8WkDoap6FQclK-v2tatWLBQHKdne5sz8Yq5QPOWI7_HHFIYP_hG9834CtMni8goFcH4mcUc_OuOfEGBFeEIH0ACYHOBafht84Tfz7dOU1tVU6Ls8KJ7P19IwSXLHk6k8NZdxTlY/s1600/$_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNM-Ko8WkDoap6FQclK-v2tatWLBQHKdne5sz8Yq5QPOWI7_HHFIYP_hG9834CtMni8goFcH4mcUc_OuOfEGBFeEIH0ACYHOBafht84Tfz7dOU1tVU6Ls8KJ7P19IwSXLHk6k8NZdxTlY/s1600/$_3.JPG" height="400" width="343" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Bloomer Girls” teams were formed in different parts of the country from New England to the Mid West. The teams were not all women. Many hired a male player, “a topper” to pitch or catch. Among three of the most famous toppers, some of whom wore wavy wigs, were Hall of Fame infielder Rogers Hornsby, who would return to Dublin with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933, Smoky Joe Wood a star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the years before World War I and another Hall of Fame pitcher, Grover Cleveland Alexander. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Named for Adelaide Bloomer, a woman’s rights activist, the Bloomer Girls began in the 1890s and lasted for more than four decades when women’s professional baseball teams disbanded in the mid 1930s. The Girls, who originally wore loose-fitting bloomer pants before switching to more traditional baseball pants, helped to introduce night baseball games in the early 1900s. Used to playing at night, the blinding glare of the arc lights often gave the Bloomer Girls a decided advantage to their daylight playing competitors. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After spending the winter training in Cuba, the Bloomer Girls, managed by Frank Schmalz - the brother of former Cincinnati Reds owner George Schmalz, began a grueling schedule in February 1914, playing first in New Orleans and then playing on most days across the Deep South. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eastman was the first stop on the Georgia schedule for the Bloomer Girls, who billed themselves as the “Lady Champions of the World,” on April 20, 1914. One thousand or more baseball fans and curious spectators witnessed the Eastman Boys jump out to an early 5-0 lead at the end of three innings. The Bloomer Girls committed eight errors in the game, but managed to pull within two runs with a three-run six inning. Eastman’s catcher Wright had a big day with three hits, while Eastman starting pitcher, Henry Skelton, held the Girls in check for most of the game. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Star Bloomer Girls traveled from Eastman to Dublin by train for a game on the afternoon of April 21, 1914. Under fair, warming skies the teams took the field, most likely at the 12th District Fairgrounds at the corner of Telfair and Troup Streets. There may have been as many as 1500 fans on hand to see the game.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although no specific accounts of the game have survived, the Dublin boys scored single runs in the first and third innings before plating four to take a commanding 6- 0lead in the bottom of the 5th inning. With outstanding fielding, the Dublin boys held the Girls to a single run in the top of the 8th, taking an easy 7-1 victory with the pitching of Whetor. Margaret “Peg” Cunningham, the left-handed, nineteen-year-old, star pitcher for the Girls, started for the Bloomers until she was relieved by Loyd, who pitched well in relief. The Dublin boys boasted that they had the second greatest victory by a Georgia team against the Bloomers, only a single run behind the boys from LaGrange. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4VQHzLvVkWYxPSdxGHQ8QDIL_FSccIXZ1WXOIRcJgU-g5FOSBVFlNyqUPzkvx8XzHLQKN-gN-pJLV97F9zPqZviIMPTn5zjM5_tyzCXL_vXryyEsvHvC_1FU1tkSKkNQyEKke7h-PGVR/s1600/pl_004272014_2058_46779_164+copy.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4VQHzLvVkWYxPSdxGHQ8QDIL_FSccIXZ1WXOIRcJgU-g5FOSBVFlNyqUPzkvx8XzHLQKN-gN-pJLV97F9zPqZviIMPTn5zjM5_tyzCXL_vXryyEsvHvC_1FU1tkSKkNQyEKke7h-PGVR/s1600/pl_004272014_2058_46779_164+copy.tif" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Margaret "Peg" Cunningham and Minnie Fay Phelan, Feb. 1914</span></div>
<br />
Among the girls playing in Dublin that day were: Selma Wanbaum, an eight-year veteran at first base, “Happy” Murphy, the team comedian and second baseman with six year’s experience, and third baseman Elizabeth “Lizzie” Fargo. Playing left field was “Carrie Nation,” aka Mae Arbaugh, who reportedly played in 6,486 professional baseball games (and at least 4600 as reported by Baseball Magazine in 1931.) If true, Arbaugh would have surpassed Pete Rose for the most games played by a professional baseball player. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Marie Dierl took center field and Watsworth, right field. Minnie Fay Phelan, sister of Chicago Cub infielder, Art Phelan, and the Girls’ right handed pitcher, once pitched a 3-2, 14-inning complete game against the men of Syracuse. Jack Reilly, a semi-pro player, was the sole male member of the team and usually played the key stone position at shortstop. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Margaret Cunningham was regarded as the best female pitcher of her day. Seems that Margaret learned how to pitch under the mentorship of Ed Walsh, a Hall of Fame pitcher, who played with the Chicago White Sox for most of his career and who still holds the all time record lowest (1.82) career ERA. One of Cunningham’s greatest pitching victories came in 1913 when she defeated Louisville, Kentucky’s male team 2-1 in an 11-inning complete game victory. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The next stop on the swing through Central Georgia came on the 22nd of April in a game between the Star Bloomers and Hawkinsville. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBfvPNUHr5csm_ToYkEnLLjWYSJ2yYPhG-5J5j5GBdJbO-u2hWv04pYbS1AOTc4cSmsU8KvKenT7HlFFV9z5HPaEkBnzYovo9ZlUc7lntr2ip_LYgUgzC6VrpunCYmkCMF7141lBca4tN/s1600/$(KGrHqR,!lQFBg4Sm1)SBQi)hImEJQ~~60_57.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBfvPNUHr5csm_ToYkEnLLjWYSJ2yYPhG-5J5j5GBdJbO-u2hWv04pYbS1AOTc4cSmsU8KvKenT7HlFFV9z5HPaEkBnzYovo9ZlUc7lntr2ip_LYgUgzC6VrpunCYmkCMF7141lBca4tN/s1600/$(KGrHqR,!lQFBg4Sm1)SBQi)hImEJQ~~60_57.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the 24th, the Girls traveled to Macon to play an All Star team made up of members of the Central City League. Margaret “Peg O’ My Heart” Cunningham started the game in front of more than a thousand men and their wives.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At the end of three innings, Cunningham, obviously exhausted from pitching too many innings on too many days, cried out, “Oh, my! I am tired. Take me out!” With their star pitcher on the bench, things weren’t looking up for the Bloomers, who were playing their fourth straight day of baseball, all on the road and far, far from their homes. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With three men playing against the powerful Macon team, the Bloomer Girls’ Mr. John came into pitch, holding the Macon nine scoreless for the rest of the game. The Girls fought back scoring one in the 6th inning and two runs in each of the next two stanzas to squeak by the Macon men, 5-4.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The next day, the girls traveled to Atlanta to face the Atlanta Federals, a semi-pro team, whom they upset in front of a stunned crowd. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Bloomer Girls continued their swing through Georgia in May playing teams from Columbus, Talbotton, LaGrange and the Bibb Mills team from Macon. Bloomer boosters claim that the Bibb Mills team had to import players to keep the girls from sweeping the two-game series from Macon men. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnhJO8EqQBpx_AIml2uFwe2OoLhg6jtdUvzhXg7V0uvRVMABGtVmhU6935bLvphMk6WWXkQ6f2gU7PD-V60yGLIs27sMEyRx_1nYU-DTGyy1b44s_f9K9qgqyBjU21nl4rySLAo4b2tlY/s1600/$T2eC16F,!yEE9s5jDVpHBQv4u568Gg~~60_57.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnhJO8EqQBpx_AIml2uFwe2OoLhg6jtdUvzhXg7V0uvRVMABGtVmhU6935bLvphMk6WWXkQ6f2gU7PD-V60yGLIs27sMEyRx_1nYU-DTGyy1b44s_f9K9qgqyBjU21nl4rySLAo4b2tlY/s1600/$T2eC16F,!yEE9s5jDVpHBQv4u568Gg~~60_57.JPG" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By the time the Star Girls made it to Montgomery, Alabama, they had won five games in a row. Managers of the men’s capital city’s team scoured the countryside for men with semi-pro experience to prevent further embarrassment to the ego of the men of the “Yellowhammer State.” The Montgomery team assembled a team which they deemed to have “the best amateur infield in the state.” The bought and paid for team won, but the Bloomer Girls kept right on playing throughout the summer and throughout the nation, playing as many as two hundred games a year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Those who saw the “Star Bloomer Girls” went away believing that baseball’s barnstorming belles in dark uniforms with a big star on the front were not just novelties, but an aggregation of good baseball players who could hold their own with the best men that any city or town could send out to beat them.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-91449787745278592952014-04-02T10:22:00.002-07:002014-04-02T10:22:08.672-07:00MEN IN BLUE 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">More Umpires of Lovett Park</span></b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>From 1949 to 1956 and again in 1958 and in 1962, Dublin fielded a team in the Class D Georgia State and Georgia-Florida Leagues. For many of those ten seasons, the leagues’ umpires were based in Dublin. Eight umpires, who called games in Dublin and around South Georgia, combined for 123 seasons in the major leagues. Seven of the “Men in Blue” umpired 19 World Series and 18 All Star games. From 1961 through 1986, only three times (1963, 1964 and 1984) were none of these men on the field for either the World Series or the All Star Game. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You may have read about Harry Wendlestedt and John Kibler, who are potential inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after iconic careers spanning a third and a quarter of a century respectively. There was also 15-year-veteran Russ Goetz and Cal Drummond, who died during a minor league game one game before his return to the majors. Now, I will tell the stories of four other “blues,” who made it to the big show. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtvm00IVJi2yWa5L_ZLU-Wk5a3HAKgsGH5GOEcmTRF92H4bjhoob4UBGdEZ0DQbAoR4s8P_q2EOJdRxn9PMmzkBaihNYUSzvCQVffAWgvme8OKtJCoheK-HtH2SbpryuW5DrLIx_sflfb/s1600/Harry_Wendelstedt_(1969)_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtvm00IVJi2yWa5L_ZLU-Wk5a3HAKgsGH5GOEcmTRF92H4bjhoob4UBGdEZ0DQbAoR4s8P_q2EOJdRxn9PMmzkBaihNYUSzvCQVffAWgvme8OKtJCoheK-HtH2SbpryuW5DrLIx_sflfb/s1600/Harry_Wendelstedt_(1969)_2.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQUt6DaXZsnB9GPexhG58BDGBzflsEas-i35fIBy4E_byeR81l30BzW-Lf-6-Sdmnd_8awH8bEpI74wpzst_OKak209btaCpwibYt9dx7KE0bc0EVYLPYvzitidF18s1N0neePDsCZpoh/s1600/John_Kibler_(1975)_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQUt6DaXZsnB9GPexhG58BDGBzflsEas-i35fIBy4E_byeR81l30BzW-Lf-6-Sdmnd_8awH8bEpI74wpzst_OKak209btaCpwibYt9dx7KE0bc0EVYLPYvzitidF18s1N0neePDsCZpoh/s1600/John_Kibler_(1975)_2.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Harry Wendlestedt</span></b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">John Kibler</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHDZNqKVgJ4G6A2YZqhzdYB_pb6hTIWXqcrWYTTRZyNknaCWlNGtEzQ4bdACiQnZMI3O4AiRYAPV0-0t_NfRvmFd4t3LFeSmneHABAxqtDdARiKjxoZyaauEmkAsoe5eHSs9RXRyUwr5D/s1600/Cal_Drummond_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHDZNqKVgJ4G6A2YZqhzdYB_pb6hTIWXqcrWYTTRZyNknaCWlNGtEzQ4bdACiQnZMI3O4AiRYAPV0-0t_NfRvmFd4t3LFeSmneHABAxqtDdARiKjxoZyaauEmkAsoe5eHSs9RXRyUwr5D/s1600/Cal_Drummond_2.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Cal Drummond</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNUUbUvfFbXalY28Hgws50jGI1gd37oqUMdmsOgG0-6OnVprU5Y8wOZngRwk-99Q_tMoNqLwRYoD0rAhOWtN80u_wJyYOXIOcaXA53A5UICafGSpRruFkRJqL6azwUZ89-Nt1PUzOFJH0/s1600/russ.goetz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNUUbUvfFbXalY28Hgws50jGI1gd37oqUMdmsOgG0-6OnVprU5Y8wOZngRwk-99Q_tMoNqLwRYoD0rAhOWtN80u_wJyYOXIOcaXA53A5UICafGSpRruFkRJqL6azwUZ89-Nt1PUzOFJH0/s1600/russ.goetz.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Russ Goetz </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuvw9S2FWP2GOV-7yiJNfSF1sKb5AzBYyY5LyXZR68seYAAx5SxUYR4bpQ1u1jlsLSaFHE-Vt1S0EL1_zqpqRgevOdDMFsZKt-X9Oo1otruZr9ss_oGvzayWIh6yQ5IrnEXgEd2i8645I/s1600/Bill_Haller_(1966)_2+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuvw9S2FWP2GOV-7yiJNfSF1sKb5AzBYyY5LyXZR68seYAAx5SxUYR4bpQ1u1jlsLSaFHE-Vt1S0EL1_zqpqRgevOdDMFsZKt-X9Oo1otruZr9ss_oGvzayWIh6yQ5IrnEXgEd2i8645I/s1600/Bill_Haller_(1966)_2+(1).jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>William Haller, brother of Major League catcher Tom Haller, broke into umpiring in the Georgia-Florida League in 1958. It didn’t take long for Haller to run into his main nemeses, Earl Weaver, the player-manager of the Dublin Orioles. Haller joined the American League in 1963 after working the New York - Penn, Northwest, Pacific Coast and International leagues. When Weaver was named the manager of the Baltimore Orioles in 1968, Haller and Weaver frequently went head to head, nose to nose and toe to toe in several of the most heated, foul mouthed arguments ever seen in a major league game. (Check it out on You Tube) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkcElfDQafo" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkcElfDQafo</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Haller officiated 3,068 regular season games in the American League from 1961 and from 1963–1982. He also worked 15 American League Championship Series games in four series (1970, 1973, 1976 and 1980), 27 World Series contests in four different years (1968 -Tigers/Cardinals,1972-Athletics/Reds,1978-Yankees/Dodgers, and 1982- Brewers/Cardinals) and four All-Star games (1963, 1970, 1975 and 1981.) Haller was the home plate umpire when Carl Yastrzemski got his 3000th major league hit on September 12, 1979.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jZm84ZIZoYjFcRbtIESyCVPLZSWhtPegun5FPCqwNNNP1Y3xWHh-MGJ6m8xPFDGh_fWAqgNtWT7EeFAFnpqSBtDXsUQ8rSc1BjCUYmBl4l4giD2l7XY6J9RBBsXohACeDy1nYcLbLdNV/s1600/Tony_Venzon_(1971)_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jZm84ZIZoYjFcRbtIESyCVPLZSWhtPegun5FPCqwNNNP1Y3xWHh-MGJ6m8xPFDGh_fWAqgNtWT7EeFAFnpqSBtDXsUQ8rSc1BjCUYmBl4l4giD2l7XY6J9RBBsXohACeDy1nYcLbLdNV/s1600/Tony_Venzon_(1971)_3.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anthony “The Pope” Venzon came to the Georgia State League from Thurber, Texas. Venzon, who spent four years in the U.S. Army during World War II, played a little ball before the war. In his first season in the minors, Venzon called several games featuring the Dublin Green Sox. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After one season in the league, Venzon moved up the ladder first to the Provincial League and the Eastern League, before winding up his minor league career with three seasons under his belt. (1954-1956.) Venzon was selected as an umpire in the National League in 1956. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Over his 15 years in the majors, Venzon was honored to call World Series games in 1963-Yankees/Dodgers, 1965-Twins/Dodgers, and 1970-Orioles/ Mets. Venzon called All Star games in 1959, 1962 and 1969. Four times during his career, Venzon drew the assignment to call from behind home plate no-hit games (Don Cardwell-Cubs-1960, Jim Maloney-Reds, 1965, Earl Wilson-Astros-1969, and Dock Ellis-Pirates-1970, which puts him tied for fourth place in major league history for behind the plate no-hitters. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tony Venzon, who called 2,226 games during his career, died at the age of 56 near the end of the 1971 season, after missing the entire year because of cardiac health problems.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrKyPpwOvaq49yjOvLURpfkeSF1AcwrkDk3ZHHDDVkciGKbYkI2Tgkx2c99bOcv8atkR9xHroH7DXbwHqJCnlTRACH1srRVc9HLNUQEYJ_6p5TE5uGE-BwpNnv5_wJqlRyrkxLfyhEgh8/s1600/Hank_Morgenweck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrKyPpwOvaq49yjOvLURpfkeSF1AcwrkDk3ZHHDDVkciGKbYkI2Tgkx2c99bOcv8atkR9xHroH7DXbwHqJCnlTRACH1srRVc9HLNUQEYJ_6p5TE5uGE-BwpNnv5_wJqlRyrkxLfyhEgh8/s1600/Hank_Morgenweck.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Henry “Hank Morgenweck’s first appearance as a professional umpire came in the Georgia State League during the 1954 season when the Dublin Irishmen, a newly affiliated team in the Pirates organization, enjoyed one of their better seasons. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After one season in the Georgia State League, Hank worked in the Carolina and South Atlantic Leagues, before voluntarily retiring after the 1960 season. Morgenweck returned to the game after more than a dozen year absence when he joined the American League. In an inauspicious Major League debut in the first game of the 1970 National League Championship Series, Morgenweck was a part of a minor league crew asked to call the first game of the series when the regular umpires staged a strike against Major League Baseball. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In his five-year stint in the majors, one of Hank Morgenweck’s biggest moments behind the plate came on June 1, 1975 at Anaheim Stadium. Calling the game from behind the plate, Hank watched history in the making. For nine innings, the Baltimore Orioles, managed by former Dublin Oriole manager, Earl Weaver, made it to first base only four times, each time on walks. The Angel pitcher struck out one of three batters in a close 1-0 victory. The California pitcher, who set the American League career record for no-hitters with four and tied Sandy Koufax’s National League record, was the great Nolan Ryan, who retired with seven no-hitters in his career. It was Hank’s second n0-no, his first one coming on July 19, 1974 when Dick Bosman of the Cleveland Indians no hit the defending World Champion Athletics.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hank Morgenweck ended his career on a high note as a member of the umpiring crew working the 1975 American League Championship series. He died in 2007. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One long time National League Umpire, Paul Pryor played for three days as a member of the Baxley Cardinals of the Georgia State League in 1949. From 1961 to 1981, Pryor umpired almost 3,100 games. He umpired in three World Series (1967, 1973 and 1980), four League Championship Series (1970, 1974, 1977 and 1981) and three All-Star Games (1963, 1971 and 1978).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ed Vargo, a National League umpire from 1960 to 1983, was assigned to the Georgia Florida League from 1954-1956. Jerry Neudecker, who worked the Georgia-Florida League in 1950, worked thousands of games in the National League from 1966 to 1985. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Theodore Max Howe, who called games in the Georgia State League in 1952, came close to making it to the big leagues, finishing his career with three seasons in the AAA Pacific Coast League.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdv29dVXQIlZret6mPGShOMGSiT5XBDBrH7TKctoCA_X4bNJFykiCzdR8wWzoLF2YvPA0mCLSAOG2pdYVZJPETVxBwQ4ArqdhrkD8WyQ4DWwf84x_Q7o8fY6LEBorOeDAarqM_lCIraMlZ/s1600/dean.martin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdv29dVXQIlZret6mPGShOMGSiT5XBDBrH7TKctoCA_X4bNJFykiCzdR8wWzoLF2YvPA0mCLSAOG2pdYVZJPETVxBwQ4ArqdhrkD8WyQ4DWwf84x_Q7o8fY6LEBorOeDAarqM_lCIraMlZ/s1600/dean.martin.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two of the most famous umpires to call in a baseball game here were not really umpires at all. In an exhibition game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Oglethorpe University, two members of St. Louis’ “Gas House Gang,” Dizzy Dean (right) and “Pepper” Martin (left) were asked to help officiate the game. The game, played at the old 12th District Fairgrounds in the early spring of 1933, was part of Dublin’s Homecoming Day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, as we kick off yet another baseball season, here’s to you, the eleven “Men In Blue,” who, in their early years in baseball, called “America’s Greatest Pastime,” right here on our own “Fields of Dreams.”</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-5131741456697325172014-02-28T18:17:00.001-08:002014-02-28T18:17:46.854-08:00WHEN THE NEW YORK CELTICS CAME TO RENTZ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Magicians of the Hardwoods</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcSu59iQPluwu5mx49QuH4JrOu27dNCN3BmZCQRxtAhfrDvyIyCdzFvF5Qby0JzjyZUdjaNZ9vniCfeSD0cMADp1zu6LDryUrwH4ZS46scT2ap39XTXkK6vZeULuDSCF5d7qlD-OwwJD8/s1600/IMG_0004a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcSu59iQPluwu5mx49QuH4JrOu27dNCN3BmZCQRxtAhfrDvyIyCdzFvF5Qby0JzjyZUdjaNZ9vniCfeSD0cMADp1zu6LDryUrwH4ZS46scT2ap39XTXkK6vZeULuDSCF5d7qlD-OwwJD8/s1600/IMG_0004a.jpg" height="358" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In their day, the New York Celtics were the Kings of Basketball in America. Only the Harlem Globetrotters could claim that equal crown. Not to be confused with the modern day Boston Celtics, the Celtics were a pre-NBA team which called New York home. In the latter years of the 1930s and 1940s, the Celtics barnstormed across the country playing local and collegiate teams in tiny, rural high school gymnasiums and large, urban arenas. They rarely lost a game, playing just good enough for a small, but comfortable, margin of victory. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Such would be the case when the nationally celebrated septet came to Rentz, Georgia on the cold, rainy Tuesday night of January 24, 1939. The fund-raising event was billed as an exciting evening of basketball. The fans who crammed the tiny wooden gym that night did not come away disappointed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first of the three-game slate matched the girls of Rentz High School against their bitter rivals, the lasses from Cadwell, who were out to avenge an earlier season loss to their neighbors to the north. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The second contest featured "Deacon Holy" Grahl's powerful Cedar Grove quintet match with an equally strong team from Dudley.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The climax of the evening's games featured a 9:00 pairing of the Celtics against the Teachers from South Georgia Teacher's College in Statesboro. The Teachers, the forerunners of Georgia Southern University, had practically their entire team returning from another successful season under the tutelage of legendary coach, B.L. "Crook" Smith. The "Blue Tide," as the boys from the "Boro" hailed themselves, were no slouch of an opponent for the professional Celtics, who entered the game with 31 consecutive season victories, including a victory over the college team the night before in their own gym in Statesboro.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The "Magicians of the Hardwoods" were regarded as the greatest passers in the game. They held in their play book a large number of trick plays. More than comedic and gimmicky players, each of the Celtics were known as dead sure shots from nearly any spot on the court. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhAyXxwFOX3fg9A3MXLXIw3BGEjFfa1d0pA-595KjmJ03yfs55iXQ3JNFUk1kkukcaHtGOGoPfcnbDC1DdN-v5_4LQyQVemf9rSmbLoBxRmy4HbYto421gjSD9ckc4dLwZGTWaeKQRXv2/s1600/IMG_0003a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhAyXxwFOX3fg9A3MXLXIw3BGEjFfa1d0pA-595KjmJ03yfs55iXQ3JNFUk1kkukcaHtGOGoPfcnbDC1DdN-v5_4LQyQVemf9rSmbLoBxRmy4HbYto421gjSD9ckc4dLwZGTWaeKQRXv2/s1600/IMG_0003a.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Celtics were led by player-coach Henry "Dutch" Dehnert, who is generally credited with inventing the pivot play. The solidly built, tall for his day, Dutchman was a member of the Original Celtics, one of the first two teams to be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. Considered the game's first big men, Dehnert led the Original Celtics to more than 1900 victories in thirteen seasons. He left the Celtics after two consecutive league championships in 1927 and 1928 to join the Cleveland team, which won ABL titles in 1929 and 1930.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After leaving the barnstorming Celtics after more than two decades with the team, Dehnert managed another barnstorming team, the Detroit Eagles. One of his better players was "Press" Maravich," father of the legendary ball-handling great "Pistol Pete" Maravich. Now you can see where "Pistol Pete's" talent came from.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dehnert, who was the only member of the team to have played with the "Original Celtics," was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969 along with legendary coaches, Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics and Adolph Rupp of the University of Kentucky.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9uG907sb-sGJtRPS9VZ2rsboNg82GTm9VZp6HScCB1whRZcJk0eOqYhJliHXcrRFmQRrWgsqkYgJiVvjIWj-OvdjvtI92eckP0cRBWxux-sps5X7ISW_f0rrMfhzfoNP7P8axRe4DJbs/s1600/IMG_0005a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9uG907sb-sGJtRPS9VZ2rsboNg82GTm9VZp6HScCB1whRZcJk0eOqYhJliHXcrRFmQRrWgsqkYgJiVvjIWj-OvdjvtI92eckP0cRBWxux-sps5X7ISW_f0rrMfhzfoNP7P8axRe4DJbs/s1600/IMG_0005a.jpg" height="320" width="182" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The clown prince of the Celtics was Davy Banks. Banks had to be funny. He was the shortest man on the team. Banks, a 19-year veteran, was a five-tool player. Laughter, tricks, stunts, speed and pinpoint shooting were his talents. Four months after the game at Rentz, Banks became the first player to wear a radio transmitter during a game, humorously broadcasting the action to a clamoring crowd.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of Banks' patented trick shots came when he received a pass while sitting in a chair along the sideline. From his seated position, Banks, who was a licensed bookmaker and promoter, would frequently put his shots in the basket. When the Celtics were well ahead, especially when their opponents were a local aggregation, Banks would shoot into their basket to cut the safe Celtic lead. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the newer members of the Celtics, Paul Birch, played at Duquesne from 1932 to 1935, helping lead his team to a (51-4) record. Birch, an off season professional baseballer, played intermittently with the Celtics for a couple of years before signing with the Fort Wayne Pistons. After enjoyed two world championships with the Pistons, Birch went into coaching, leading the Pittsburgh Iromen (1946-1947) and Ft. Wayne (1951-1953) in the NBA. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rusty Sanders, another newcomer with the Celts, once moonlighted as a prison guard. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSreaINVO7haEMH3dy1JknuYx_pqJ359ZUQcyfjrBn8Vx5UGFI11Qv9GI0m8Fa9WhHGrnwta_tv5zFpEXSsdkNozePTvxwbatBprx7DMvbdah40XqYGf6JOqvH2B68jbSxqrhAniL_Ty2/s1600/IMG_0002a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSreaINVO7haEMH3dy1JknuYx_pqJ359ZUQcyfjrBn8Vx5UGFI11Qv9GI0m8Fa9WhHGrnwta_tv5zFpEXSsdkNozePTvxwbatBprx7DMvbdah40XqYGf6JOqvH2B68jbSxqrhAniL_Ty2/s1600/IMG_0002a.jpg" height="320" width="173" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dan Herlihey, a veteran Celtic and Long Island golf pro, was all business, no humor, just aggressive hustle and deadly accurate shooting. Bob McDermott, a cage star at Long Island University whose forte' was the long shot, and Nat Hickey, who managed baseball teams in the off season, rounded out the veteran dominated lineup. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At half time of the girls game, arrangements were made with the Celtics to stage a clinic for all of the county's high school teams. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cadwell's girls didn't come close to evening their record with Rentz, which, with 47 points, more than tripled the Cadwell girl's point total of 15. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Billy Keith, a Dublin High upperclassman covering the game for The Courier Herald, failed to report the outcome of the Dudley-Cedar Grove tilt. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sadly, Keith's 87-word scant article simply reported that Celtics, considerably better than the boys from Statesboro, never really opened up. The Celtics jumped out to an early 10-point lead and kept it that way until the end of the game when Crook Smith's teacher pulled to within seven points to lose 58-51 to the Celtics, who claimed they only lost two games in the South in twenty-five years.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The members of the Celtics played on thousands and thousands of basketball courts around the country during their long and storied careers. But, it was on that night, that one magical night seventy- five years ago this week when the New York Celtics charmed a standing room only crowd as they worked their magic on the hardwoods of the Rentz gym. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVav_JVncpzy1PkdbfEWM0P6E58X7AMbFiXgH_begrF84_8PmV2Jp0nUyFc-60b9Zkk445R1_AV_LZesdKfk3UhCX3PfVHxU6-vPo3_gAPeHC6PFKRjp5DTAb7B86FLcBEciN7zXowlKzF/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVav_JVncpzy1PkdbfEWM0P6E58X7AMbFiXgH_begrF84_8PmV2Jp0nUyFc-60b9Zkk445R1_AV_LZesdKfk3UhCX3PfVHxU6-vPo3_gAPeHC6PFKRjp5DTAb7B86FLcBEciN7zXowlKzF/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg" height="400" width="180" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc4gJxMEM0oTR5e98w3VTPrU3Py0kh9iXgC5FBmEHLvJgAw39ZxNpRlcPvzBLy8ACEWxPuaxcvHGFuwnXEblQSy01wcTbMzOBreHANExvR3J2WiBD3rKDtAgziKwUchmDz-o9prHjwKxc/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc4gJxMEM0oTR5e98w3VTPrU3Py0kh9iXgC5FBmEHLvJgAw39ZxNpRlcPvzBLy8ACEWxPuaxcvHGFuwnXEblQSy01wcTbMzOBreHANExvR3J2WiBD3rKDtAgziKwUchmDz-o9prHjwKxc/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg" height="400" width="172" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2GyKJVva9uRYTiMH1Qxmd2bKSO7lcErq1BmJ-Cn4fAToT6Wwwbu42-u-7xfC2w1prMm6KJFK5OUF5X2dCduXS9HX0jXvanMway83gGOomF0j8Ui1HIr40JDkEQrQgDan1IKTSK9KGRTg/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2GyKJVva9uRYTiMH1Qxmd2bKSO7lcErq1BmJ-Cn4fAToT6Wwwbu42-u-7xfC2w1prMm6KJFK5OUF5X2dCduXS9HX0jXvanMway83gGOomF0j8Ui1HIr40JDkEQrQgDan1IKTSK9KGRTg/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnd2u-kC_VyRBc1oEwbn_kfs1VAAEJNbzfgV6DN7EKYtfcbh967dvpsLk5vBFZpe3gt9zOBiIHJ7evz2kcaW5Ugd22TsFKuVivEg4wJKDpznhNHxIrEmoLDu6aNBvO_y18m_cdajKl4xor/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnd2u-kC_VyRBc1oEwbn_kfs1VAAEJNbzfgV6DN7EKYtfcbh967dvpsLk5vBFZpe3gt9zOBiIHJ7evz2kcaW5Ugd22TsFKuVivEg4wJKDpznhNHxIrEmoLDu6aNBvO_y18m_cdajKl4xor/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" height="400" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipG5A1y3_yeESYTiF2qoQ97s_ZorHsP-DGlBZjmqfSd7xW6BB5khLo4P3xCKySBRJenaYh_PGbLn_M85Uho3lFFNs9USRPq56p2mn77Yr4X5j2zxCk_kezeaLjQVdXvQvvUlmyQmjePaVN/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipG5A1y3_yeESYTiF2qoQ97s_ZorHsP-DGlBZjmqfSd7xW6BB5khLo4P3xCKySBRJenaYh_PGbLn_M85Uho3lFFNs9USRPq56p2mn77Yr4X5j2zxCk_kezeaLjQVdXvQvvUlmyQmjePaVN/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" height="400" width="218" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-28917290803868587642014-02-28T18:16:00.003-08:002014-02-28T18:16:52.656-08:00OTIS TROUPE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
A Forgotten Football Hero?<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now that the seemingly - endless, overly - hyped hoopla of the Super Bowl is finally over, sit right back in your Lazy Boy chair and read the story of Otis Troupe, one of the best college football players you probably never heard of. In the days before Jackie Robinson forever broke the color barrier in major sports, Troupe was denied the opportunity to play football in the National Football League. No one will ever know the impact that this bruising runner and all around athlete would have made on the professional gridirons of the nation, but in his day and in his league he was generally regarded as one of the best black collegiate athletes in the nation and for a brief time was a star player of the fledgling Negro Professional Football League.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Otis Emanuel Troupe was born on August 29, 1911 in Laurens County. His parents, Emanuel and Annie Hester Troupe, lived on the road leading from Dudley to Rebie, Georgia in 1920. Otis was the grandson of Wallace and Charlotte Troupe, of the Hampton Mill District. His family, including Quincy Trouppe, a legendary catcher and manager of the Negro Leagues, descended from former slaves belonging to Governor George M. Troup, who maintained a plantation at Vallambrosa and at Thomas Crossroads north east of Dudley. During the 1920s, the Troupe family moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey, where they lived at 425 South Park Street in an ethnically diverse neighborhood. Otis lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track and became somewhat of a legend in high school circles in New Jersey.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A talented singer, Otis received a music scholarship to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland which was at the time considered one of the finest black colleges in the nation. His athletic physique and strong bearing caught the eye of coaches Talmadge "Mars" Hill and Eddie Hurt. Morgan State dominated black college football in the 1930s, winning seven CIAA championships between 1930 and 1941.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Otis tried out for football as well as basketball and track. He lettered in all three sports in his four years at Morgan State. The Morgan State Bears captured the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association title during Otis' entire career. In 1935, team captain Troupe led his three-year unbeaten team to the Black College National Championship, earning All-American honors at full back in the process. That same year, Otis was lead tenor of the famous Morgan State Choir, one of the country's premier collegiate choruses. Under the leadership of Coach Hurt, Troupe's 1933 basketball team won the C.I.A.A. championship. His track team won numerous championships.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Though he played in the shadows of Brutus Wilson and Tank Conrad, Richard Sorrell, a former teammate said of Otis, "he was one of the greatest all around running back the game of football has ever had and I have seen them all." He added, "Otis could not only run the football, but he could catch like a wide receiver, and he could be a devastating blocker for a team. He also averaged 60 yards per punt." Troupe also was the team's extremely accurate place kicker.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1936, Fritz Pollard of the Negro Football League's New York Brown Bombers selected the triple-threat Troupe to play in the backfield with Joe Lillard and Tank Conrad, two of the league's best backs. The Bombers were named after the country's great boxer Joe Louis. In the second year of the NFL's existence in 1921, Pollard became the league's first African-American head coach. In 1933, the league banned the use of black players, denying Troupe, Lillard and Conrad the opportunity to play. The ban lasted until 1946.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Troupe played for the Bombers, the most successful professional Negro League team, for two years. In 1938, while a coach at Howard University, Otis played part time for the Bombers, who changed their name to the New York Black Yankees to avoid confusion with the Chicago Brown Bombers. He was selected to play for an all star team in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears in 1938, but couldn't obtain a leave from his coaching duties at Howard. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After his football days were over, Otis Troupe joined the District of Columbia Police Department. He spent 18 years on the force before taking a job as an officer and counselor with the Federal government. But Otis couldn't shake sports from his blood. He was a member of the Eastern Board of Officials and served as a referee for high school and college games in Washington and around the country.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Otis married Carolyn Holloman, a daughter of Rev. John L.S. Holloman, a North Carolina circuit rider and pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. for 53 years, and his wife Rosa. Carolyn Troupe was a well-known Washington, D.C. high school principal. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Their only child Otis Holloman Troupe, a former football player at Yale, held an impressive resume' with a bachelor's degree in English from Yale University, a master's degree in Business Administration from Columbia University, and a law degree from Boston College. The younger Troupe was appointed Auditor of the District of Columbia for two terms, after serving as a market analyst with Exxon Corporation. His zeal for exposing fraud in city government prevented the completion of his third term in office. In 1994, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Washington, D.C.. He died in 2001 and was considered a lonely voice for honesty in a hive of corrupt D.C. government officials.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Otis Troupe died on August 31, 1994 in Washington, D.C. just two days before his 83rd birthday. For his outstanding exploits as a star and team player, Troupe was inducted into the Black All-American Hall of Fame, the Morgan State Varsity M Club Hall of Fame, Eastern Seaboard Officials Hall of Fame and the Inside Sports Hall of Fame. And now you know the story of Otis Troupe. Try not to forget him. </div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-48027485440544932012014-02-28T18:16:00.001-08:002014-02-28T18:16:13.762-08:00OBIE WALKER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"The Black Boxcar"</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEl3eGG7kMuhTLlBa8sNtzudAM8dSWiPQzgm-O4MhEZd28eKwUNahdX_kqh4Fvc_wsKG_ZpCXDm0sCyj9VeN4a703ba5f7BoV0kQxVXOXWCrNbGN0YisxwvqnOi00OPGbu9vPKpKV_CdwV/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEl3eGG7kMuhTLlBa8sNtzudAM8dSWiPQzgm-O4MhEZd28eKwUNahdX_kqh4Fvc_wsKG_ZpCXDm0sCyj9VeN4a703ba5f7BoV0kQxVXOXWCrNbGN0YisxwvqnOi00OPGbu9vPKpKV_CdwV/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg" height="335" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In this corner from Cochran, Georgia, Obie Walker! He was big. He was strong. He jabbed his opponents with machine gun like speed. Obie Walker thought he could whip every boxer in the world. But, the Georgia Goliath never got the chance to fight the world champions Max Baer or Joe Louis. This is the story of a local man, who once reigned as the Prince of boxing in Europe and among his race, was considered a world champion.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Obie Diah Walker was born in Bleckley County, Georgia on September 19, 1911. Before the age of nine, Obie was living with his maternal grandparents, Frank and Elizabeth Powell of the Frazier community.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Obie moved to Atlanta as a way to increase his chances for success as a boxer. His first of 100 professional fights took place some eighty five years ago on February 16, 1929 against "Battling Connell" in the Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia. The hometown fighter had little trouble against Connell, who lost all three of his career professional fights, two of them to the Brute from Bleckley.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Walker won four straight bouts, some people say eighteen, until his first loss on points to Happy Hunter on February 3, 1930. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The "Black Boxcar," built like a bank safe," would not lose again in thirty fights (28-0-2) until he lost a close decision on points to Don "Red" Barry at the Arena in Philadelphia. His last win in America came against George Godfrey, to capture the title of the Colored Heavyweight Champion. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That is when Walker's manager Jefferson Davis Dickson made the decision to take his fighter, with a record of 32-2-2, to take on the best fighters in Europe. Some say that Walker had fought at least sixty other undocumented bouts with colored fighters in addition to his three dozen professional fights. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first European fight came in Sallewagram in Paris, France. Walker knocked out Belgian giant Louis Verbeeren in the last round of a ten-round match on Groundhog Day in 1934. Fighting primarily in French and Swiss arenas, Walker knocked out all of his first nine opponents. Only one of the ko's came after the third round. After losing two of his next three matches, Obie, trained by former Argentine champion Norman Tomasulo, won nine of ten before leaving Europe on a losing note in June 1936 with a defeat on points.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Named "Enfant Terrible " by his adoring French fans who stormed the headquarters of Joe Louis following the defeat of Max Baer, Walker was praised for his strikingly unorthodox and innovative style. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In commenting on a possible match with Lewis, Walker said, "I ain't been asked yet. And, I ain't askin." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVrqCrtG_kqRAYNsU3I8Q6FatYYxkSMgH2l78R2SPBW_2T0gaXhQVJ94dNQfBKyqdxNSfraucYOteC2CtdTuphdh2Y1wBrRVEFUA11MfKB2cbpbrdenKj0T4hqtsDACp01YWFzAPSYSA6/s1600/WalkerObie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVrqCrtG_kqRAYNsU3I8Q6FatYYxkSMgH2l78R2SPBW_2T0gaXhQVJ94dNQfBKyqdxNSfraucYOteC2CtdTuphdh2Y1wBrRVEFUA11MfKB2cbpbrdenKj0T4hqtsDACp01YWFzAPSYSA6/s1600/WalkerObie.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Walker confidently commented on a match with Lewis, the Brown Bomber, "There ain't no fighter in the world who doesn't make a mistake during a fight. Me, I just stand around and wait for that mistake. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"I can take it. And, when Louis makes that mistake, I'll swat him," the Georgia boxer proclaimed. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As he traveled Europe and the states, Walker, a quiet man who could not write and could only read picture books, showed off his strength by going to carnivals and picking up the strong men and their hefty weights - all at the same time. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Obie Walker firmly believed that World Champion Joe Louis and he could beat any boxer in the world. Walker yearned to get his chance just to fight Louis or Louis' arch rival Max Schmelling, of Germany. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"Let Louis clean up the states. I'll clean up Europe. Then we will get together and see what for," Walker once proclaimed. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Walker's first bout upon his return to the United States came in Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia. Walker had won a fight at Shibe Park, the home of the Philadelphia Athletics, in 1933. Municipal Stadium was the same outdoor arena where Gene Tunney captured the world heavyweight boxing title from Jack Dempsey. The bout came at the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, where Rocky Marciano knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952 to win boxing's heavyweight championship.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Walker pulled himself off the mat and won six consecutive fights in his home territory of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina before losing half of his next eight fights. Seven straight wins brought Walker to the climax of his career. No longer the Cochran Colossus he once was, Walker, who had returned to his home at 514 Larkin Street, lost four of his last six fights before the beginning of World War II. Walker hung up his gloves after a failed comeback attempt after the war when he lost to Elza Thompson at Dorsey Park in Miami in March 1946 in a close 10-round decision. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Atlanta Georgian sportswriter Ed Danforth wrote of Walker, "Walker became the toast of Paris. He knocked cold every topnotcher he met on the continent. Max Schmelling shrewdly dodged him, the best of the Englishmen too, sidestepped the squatty brown man who carried lightning bolts in both fists. Competent critics say he could have knocked out Schmelling, Joe Louis and Jim Braddock in one night with the space of ten rounds. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the 100 recorded bouts of his twelve- year career, the five- foot nine- inch Obie Walker compiled a record of 77 wins, 16 losses and 5 draws. Walker's powerful arms knocked out 53 of his opponents. Remarkably, Walker was never himself knocked out - a feat matched only by a few dozen American professional boxers in the history of the sport.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On May 4, 1989, at the age of seventy-seven, Obie Walker unceremoniously died in his adopted hometown of Atlanta. There is no adequate marker to designate the final resting place of this once proud and powerful Heavyweight Colored Champion of the World. Maybe now, many more people will know his story, the story of the Black Boxcar, aka the Bleckley Behemoth, who in a hundred fights never went down to the mat for the count.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIpUjodY4oE-c83Jm3825zl_tp3wqdH8tfeaCEMcNry9S0hIIkMSKv6-YJe-gZVFdfjk9XjqKl5S5TkW8VSDRjy228-HCsqtxBFDieOxiOeVBOxabaM8GfpukSVCgDmhvpSFAQG9_3snLw/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIpUjodY4oE-c83Jm3825zl_tp3wqdH8tfeaCEMcNry9S0hIIkMSKv6-YJe-gZVFdfjk9XjqKl5S5TkW8VSDRjy228-HCsqtxBFDieOxiOeVBOxabaM8GfpukSVCgDmhvpSFAQG9_3snLw/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" height="640" width="291" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-64321003104135416822013-11-02T20:36:00.001-07:002014-02-06T14:00:01.044-08:00DUBLIN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 1963 CLASS A CHAMPIONS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dublin High's 1963 State Football Championship</span></b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They called them the Banshees. They were small. They were fast. They were stingy on defense. The Dublin Irish football team had won Class A championships and 1959 and 1960, but had succumbed to the more powerful Sylvania Gamecocks in the following two seasons. The 1963 edition of the Dublin Irish sported a new look and a new enthusiasm. It was the last time Dublin would win a state football championship. There were other times when we came close. There was a loss to Carver High School in a mud bowl in 1967. The 1994 team was defeated by Thomasville, one of the top-ranked teams in the country. Most recently, there was the hard-fought heart-breaking loss to Screven County, which ended the Cinderella season of one of Dublin High's greatest all time teams. This is the story of a group of small boys, who played hurt, fought hard, and climbed their way back to the pinnacle of Class A Georgia football, a half century ago.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzq7c9-_m93qFSWl6rxUBR1yMLO3u-q84CjoX_7sq31Oj2f9tmgN1p72XZT-5FgGcN_1iCuMoOPI1SX6W-zMwFBL2DMW7GtHOKux2sYs4-sgiOkAkjIJhNyL9kxou_sWn1_iIAwZvYXime/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzq7c9-_m93qFSWl6rxUBR1yMLO3u-q84CjoX_7sq31Oj2f9tmgN1p72XZT-5FgGcN_1iCuMoOPI1SX6W-zMwFBL2DMW7GtHOKux2sYs4-sgiOkAkjIJhNyL9kxou_sWn1_iIAwZvYXime/s400/IMG_0005.jpg" height="335" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The new look Irish with seventeen seniors sported a new look, dark green uniforms with white numbers. They were considerably smaller than past Irish teams. The offensive line averaged 169 pounds. Marion Mallette was the biggest offensive lineman tipping the scales at 205 pounds, while Chub Forth was a speedy 145-pound guard. Tom Perry, the quarterback, was the largest back at 170 pounds. The defensive line weighed in at 175 pounds, with Derious Williams the big man at 215 and the nose guard Bob Mathis anchoring the line at an unheard of weight of 140 pounds. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnqatbr9i0K6aTwVmMg7sUzw90ZBgaKefsmU_dv5RwlvpBcmrVzALmM4CrdWG7oZvQxkyybJbKS1A8xiT6RX2ihNR0CYnc-DFugP05Agqhpqm8bbvEJcY_jB3SZn-DqKGCgHRkyGO7LND/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnqatbr9i0K6aTwVmMg7sUzw90ZBgaKefsmU_dv5RwlvpBcmrVzALmM4CrdWG7oZvQxkyybJbKS1A8xiT6RX2ihNR0CYnc-DFugP05Agqhpqm8bbvEJcY_jB3SZn-DqKGCgHRkyGO7LND/s400/IMG_0009.jpg" height="400" width="341" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Irish opened the 1963 season in the Shamrock Bowl in front of a crowd of 4000, the largest in the stadium's young history. Steve Walker and Ronnie Williams led the award winning Dixie Irish Band. Sharon Lamb captained the cheerleading squad. The Irish, running a new pro-style offense, were led by Quarterback Tom Perry, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for one more. Vic Belote was cited for his great play on both sides of the line of scrimmage in a 20-6 victory over the Dodge County Indians. The vaunted Banshee defense, led by an interception by Joel Smith and a fumble recovery by Charles Faulk, kept the red men in check by holding them to 126 yards of total offense. The boys from Dodge County managed their lone score late in the game.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIKEDAmJrdGI90eyZ4rTdq4FsY0ERK6fEnLE_mPmvS1MUFEzI4cI0GGRA0viXpTwVCZEKpTfDx4cVIaCkMoUchtdBA9eBD7f6LCNSgjaISPBH-jbXWiUhbS9rolI2YMx40c0M1cR1BL9w/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIKEDAmJrdGI90eyZ4rTdq4FsY0ERK6fEnLE_mPmvS1MUFEzI4cI0GGRA0viXpTwVCZEKpTfDx4cVIaCkMoUchtdBA9eBD7f6LCNSgjaISPBH-jbXWiUhbS9rolI2YMx40c0M1cR1BL9w/s200/1963.state.championship_0007B.jpg" height="200" width="115" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Irish traveled to Fort Valley the following week to face the Green Wave. Sophomore running back Vic Belote, (Left) subbing for the injured Danny Stanley, ran for 80 yards. The Galloping Green offense scored on three long drives culminating in a run by Belote, and receptions by Frost and Hahn. Robbie Hahn began the season as the place kicker and punter. The Irish defense shut out the Green Wave 20 to 0, allowing 134 yards of offense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRp3lhpqMGYaDLb3FIRmZc9JxUsevnfUgrioDfXDFNaJnv7k7HQ9Ne_UD4Rfzm0fOmksQy2IjMlf7ia8eOtQB1ppgviZ-VpEVrgtdH34kNH9Lqo3f6V8t2PFG8CZiWe-cckx3tj2Q-8xP/s1600/1963.state.championship_0005D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRp3lhpqMGYaDLb3FIRmZc9JxUsevnfUgrioDfXDFNaJnv7k7HQ9Ne_UD4Rfzm0fOmksQy2IjMlf7ia8eOtQB1ppgviZ-VpEVrgtdH34kNH9Lqo3f6V8t2PFG8CZiWe-cckx3tj2Q-8xP/s200/1963.state.championship_0005D.jpg" height="200" width="107" /></a></div>
The Green and White returned to the Shamrock Bowl for the third game of the season against the previously undefeated Swainsboro Tigers, who outweighed the Greenies by thirty pounds per man. Nearly six thousand screaming fans showed up to see if the Irish could remain unbeaten. The Irish scored on their first drive and not again until their last three drives of the game to defeat the Swainsboro eleven 27 to 0. Chuck Frost became the first Irish running back to have a 100 yard rushing game, sixty-six of those yards coming on a touchdown run. The game was close until the Irish broke it open in the final stanza with three touchdowns by Danny Stanley (Left) , Robbie Hahn, and Chuck Frost. For the third straight game, the Irish held their opponents to less than 200 yards in total offense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOU9khF8gUDN68CAKDDEey0TSPSiArcviI6a5ppQ5vuAew5KrM6twpssu_W2jdpcc6dV_1xplkDA1z0EQXBwuskerv4-_cm8NV9Fg3j2IQzAJ6ipjv2d4ut3JgOZHCFd5OQvPyBcfjuar/s1600/1963.state.championship_0005C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOU9khF8gUDN68CAKDDEey0TSPSiArcviI6a5ppQ5vuAew5KrM6twpssu_W2jdpcc6dV_1xplkDA1z0EQXBwuskerv4-_cm8NV9Fg3j2IQzAJ6ipjv2d4ut3JgOZHCFd5OQvPyBcfjuar/s200/1963.state.championship_0005C.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Irish traveled to Cordele to defeat the Crisp County Rebels 34-0 to extend their winning streak to four games. The Irish scored on their opening drive with a 61-yard pass from Perry (Left) to Frost. The first half ended with Perry's 39-yard screen pass to Danny Stanley for a touchdown. Robbie Hahn, who went on to become a record breaking All American receiver for the Furman Palladins, scored on a long pass play. The star of the night was the fourteen-year-old sophomore Vic Belote, who scored on runs of 70 and 90 yards on his only carries of the night. The Banshees stymied the Rebels, holding them to only 97 yards of offense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5UySBCsuWA6RePEVWRlCZLO55sdHn73wk7H8kBUlfptg_mWCPZhMjpZOfk8YDuAwkIO0XOTGZiLhWYbJnPaMQTi3IDmzZRn21G8Om1TD4jCyAq504Kx0j8cgMT2V0A4Bsq4wfUs1KzwW/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5UySBCsuWA6RePEVWRlCZLO55sdHn73wk7H8kBUlfptg_mWCPZhMjpZOfk8YDuAwkIO0XOTGZiLhWYbJnPaMQTi3IDmzZRn21G8Om1TD4jCyAq504Kx0j8cgMT2V0A4Bsq4wfUs1KzwW/s200/1963.state.championship_0006B.jpg" height="200" width="117" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Washington County Golden Hawks were the opponents to end the first half of the regular season. The Galloping Green put up 387 yards of offense with scores by Stanley, Hahn, Frost, Blue, and Powell. (Left) The Irish got off to a slow start, but won the game 38-6. Joel Smith snatched his second errant Golden Hawk pass of the game and raced 25 yards into the end zone for a rare defensive touchdown. The boys from Sandersville were held to 111 yards of offense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DBr208c035CnCPjNKU7VYBZ6XCc8M3jSndgly1T6WTzjqjKE3fmacmbgSA3CowFA01eCZHQ9hKIILT66q0yintVTl8eJqvAB9BqDaaIx8TmhZGJmE2miNrYfO-Xyj1QFS_CTByXEI8hA/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DBr208c035CnCPjNKU7VYBZ6XCc8M3jSndgly1T6WTzjqjKE3fmacmbgSA3CowFA01eCZHQ9hKIILT66q0yintVTl8eJqvAB9BqDaaIx8TmhZGJmE2miNrYfO-Xyj1QFS_CTByXEI8hA/s200/1963.state.championship_0006A.jpg" height="200" width="96" /></a></div>
Camera and smiles flashed as the Panthers of Perry came to the Shamrock Bowl for the Homecoming Game. Linda Hobbs was crowned the Queen of Homecoming. Despite having an off night in losing four fumbles, the Irish pommeled the Panthers 41 -19. The Panthers managed to score 13 of their points in one 47 second span in the 4th quarter, an electrifying period in which the Irish scored their final 8 points in between. The Irish offense was led by Tom Perry's three touchdown passes to Chuck Frost (Left) , one long TD pass to Hahn, and two runs of 6 and 54 yards by Belote. Belote ran for 139 yards to led the Irish running backs. The Banshees held the Perry team to 143 yards of offense, and keeping them from passing the line of scrimmage on thirteen running plays.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOA6NCETSPNesX4XwZW1wlKl-sCp9e5x9u4DjgoCaznRHsOBeNP-_jt0-eGQkQ9GR4cONx5g9VXAsgcyRJ3LigLGdBfeXJJk-tmFfF3-D8dzR3l4zvCHJdIuNMw-oGxU0mtqSxnWfZEUbn/s1600/hahn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOA6NCETSPNesX4XwZW1wlKl-sCp9e5x9u4DjgoCaznRHsOBeNP-_jt0-eGQkQ9GR4cONx5g9VXAsgcyRJ3LigLGdBfeXJJk-tmFfF3-D8dzR3l4zvCHJdIuNMw-oGxU0mtqSxnWfZEUbn/s200/hahn.jpg" height="200" width="148" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the closest game of the regular season, the Dublin boys defeated the Braves of Baldwin County 21 to 14 in Milledgeville. It was Danny Stanley's greatest game of his career in a Dublin uniform. Stanley carried the ball 27 times for 141 yards, out rushing the entire Baldwin County running back corps. The Irish came from behind for the first time with two touchdown runs by Stanley and a pass from Perry to Hahn. (Left) The Irish were plagued with a series of mental lapses and miscues, which nearly ended their six game winning streak. The Irish ground game was stymied when Vic Belote left the game with a badly bruised hand. For the seventh straight game, the Irish defense held their opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xkPpcL5gBfEI46oIzUt3iJ19Vb9-Ucar9QwXoVQY3p6tOs8OHSOpxQQAIwBKnlGsHwkMAKCSskyM0FfhzIvSsdwB2fGZGbPzuZ7iEwLwYOfYNbRkIgnDmyxbYU2VWQeMVAtqjTVGFGR_/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xkPpcL5gBfEI46oIzUt3iJ19Vb9-Ucar9QwXoVQY3p6tOs8OHSOpxQQAIwBKnlGsHwkMAKCSskyM0FfhzIvSsdwB2fGZGbPzuZ7iEwLwYOfYNbRkIgnDmyxbYU2VWQeMVAtqjTVGFGR_/s200/1963.state.championship_0007A.jpg" height="200" width="114" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A win over Statesboro in the Shamrock Bowl would clinch the 2A Title for the Irish. A cold rain kept the crowd down to the smallest it had been since the bowl opened for play in 1962. Louie Blue scored his first touchdown of the season, while regular scorers Belote and Hahn picked up one score apiece. Two Irish touchdowns were called back, holding the score to a 19-0 Dublin victory. Robbie Hahn boomed a 63-yard punt to end the first half. The Irish defense aided by wet pigskins held the Blue Devils to 66 yards of total offense, all on the ground.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQ0AFgUhEDMBdCHpSZNKP0mZAje68TUSenyVLd7MA4FxzO2SpBXeQ7HSmUAEF8-CVDmZC_UCaE9nQzOUX-fYHAskf0AT-h3fb7tGVEQHH57mubRW9p1z7qXjjS91XcGSHxcAZ343LSeXb/s1600/1963.state.championship_0010AA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQ0AFgUhEDMBdCHpSZNKP0mZAje68TUSenyVLd7MA4FxzO2SpBXeQ7HSmUAEF8-CVDmZC_UCaE9nQzOUX-fYHAskf0AT-h3fb7tGVEQHH57mubRW9p1z7qXjjS91XcGSHxcAZ343LSeXb/s400/1963.state.championship_0010AA.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The 9th game of the season came in Americus. It wasn't pretty. The Irish played horribly. The Americus Panthers, well, they were just too much for the boys in green. Chuck Frost and Tom Perry were knocked out of the game on the same play when they tackled an Americus runner. The score, an old fashioned butt whooping 35-7 loss to the defending state champions. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV59-h8keDoxnhFH9EHgNILujbOW-rTmsJG1Z01LrC_eQL6R4kpfy1r14vLwVH9WJoEzNnpsmF1y7G4qe0Dhw4_hfE2ORowkOMxbg87B990lnEjvgOCvPYJKgfIhQsR98lY01FhrgLcT3F/s1600/1963.state.championship_0005F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV59-h8keDoxnhFH9EHgNILujbOW-rTmsJG1Z01LrC_eQL6R4kpfy1r14vLwVH9WJoEzNnpsmF1y7G4qe0Dhw4_hfE2ORowkOMxbg87B990lnEjvgOCvPYJKgfIhQsR98lY01FhrgLcT3F/s200/1963.state.championship_0005F.jpg" height="200" width="95" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dublin faced their region nemesis Screven County in the final game of the regular season. The Irish managed a 26-6 victory over the Gamecocks, who had dominated the region for the past two seasons, but failed to gain a single passing yard. A encouraging highlight of the future of Irish football came when Stanley Johnson, an eighth grade runner with electrifying speed, dashed 14 yards into the end zone. By the end of the season, the Irish were playing hurt. Chuck Frost substituted at quarterback for Perry, who had broken his thumb in practice and bruised his ribs in the loss to Americus. Center Bernard Snellgrove (Left) stood on the side lines on a bum leg. Vic Belote sucked it up and played the entire game both ways while suffering from a broken thumb.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisccpUNkfMN7yrPk0NGU_4RDjTbGfPGCrJnnMXraLtPAmiLTM1HjFrbtAM-0vEtaNORe7811NY0T2833XK4DpYnpWIDjiwrBwDzo7s_Xab2-S09EsoL3CiUrKoJvgnkz8ySBXjH5OO4os6/s1600/1963.state.championship_0004A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisccpUNkfMN7yrPk0NGU_4RDjTbGfPGCrJnnMXraLtPAmiLTM1HjFrbtAM-0vEtaNORe7811NY0T2833XK4DpYnpWIDjiwrBwDzo7s_Xab2-S09EsoL3CiUrKoJvgnkz8ySBXjH5OO4os6/s200/1963.state.championship_0004A.jpg" height="155" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">After an intensive 11-week season fifty years ago in 1963, the Dublin Irish took time to pause for the state playoffs. In those days, there were only four regions in Class A and only four participants in the state tournament, unlike the 32-team tournament format of today. The Irish had the first week off while the three top teams in Region 1 fought it out to determine who would meet the Banshees in the South Georgia Championship game. Thomasville trounced Americus, a team which dominated Dublin in their only loss, by the score of 26-0. Then the Bulldogs defeated region rival Cook County by practically the same score. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"> Almost a week before the first game, the players and the nation were stunned by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. The players and coaches attended a memorial service at First Methodist Church before resuming their practice schedule. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2ZQBv3R3NJqmc9Q1akBntUqrkokcu0DZ-2uC1qiJyqVlCrXSLTi-QH1AYE8UCGVO-nU0nqzhyphenhyphenlhyphenhyphenqvusCfEowFlVjBzKdjDfK-takJclCoe8cGXgqe7WPJ89Yu4Uw80xgGYv0qfX6HiX/s1600/1963.state.championship_0010A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2ZQBv3R3NJqmc9Q1akBntUqrkokcu0DZ-2uC1qiJyqVlCrXSLTi-QH1AYE8UCGVO-nU0nqzhyphenhyphenlhyphenhyphenqvusCfEowFlVjBzKdjDfK-takJclCoe8cGXgqe7WPJ89Yu4Uw80xgGYv0qfX6HiX/s400/1963.state.championship_0010A.jpg" height="311" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> From the beginning, controversy engulfed the game. Thomasville officials refused to allow a Dublin radio station to broadcast the game by telephone back home to Dublin. Dublin boosters were only allotted 192 reserved seats along the fifty yard line. The seats that were there were only on one side of the field, so Dublin and Thomasville fans shared the same side of the field. Those who couldn't find a seat, stood on the opposite side of the field while the cold winds of November howled through the stadium in Thomasville. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fUCFMM367Ou8vviQ_zYwbHZ92NRoiQCANPYSyRJH9wnCWxAg5tuqsnEXu9DFgV1mlcg0Vi6hrY805M358BKZCGjJlbhGe1Or8oHT4sJFG-5saPggtS3639Lj3hONg6jvT0pKVv5smrYf/s1600/1963.state.championship_0005E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fUCFMM367Ou8vviQ_zYwbHZ92NRoiQCANPYSyRJH9wnCWxAg5tuqsnEXu9DFgV1mlcg0Vi6hrY805M358BKZCGjJlbhGe1Or8oHT4sJFG-5saPggtS3639Lj3hONg6jvT0pKVv5smrYf/s200/1963.state.championship_0005E.jpg" height="200" width="97" /></a></span></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> The ball game was a close as the Thomasville and Dublin fans were crammed into the seats. Neither team penetrated the other's goal line during the first half. In the third quarter, the Irish mounted their only scoring drive of the game. Stanley ran the ball for two. Belote fumbled and Perry recovered for a 4-yard loss. Perry then tossed a 23 yard pass to Hahn. Stanley was held to 1 yard gain on first down. Perry turned back to the speedy Hahn for 16. The Bulldogs caught Stanley in the backfield for a 2-yard loss and a 1-yard gain. On third and long, Perry hooked up with Hahn for his third catch of the drive on a 14-yard pass. Stanley then took matters into his own hands. He wouldn't be denied. He gathered in a screen pass and blasted his way for 12 yards. He took the next handoff at the 13-yard line and ran it to the 4. Running behind Marion Mallette and Charles Faulk, (Left) Stanley drove it down to the two. Quarterback Perry huddled the team and called "same play." Stanley squeezed the ball and dove into the Thomasville end zone to consummate a twelve-play eighty-yard drive to put the Irish ahead. Tom Perry's kick after touchdown struck the right goal post and bounced haplessly away.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgxYYuG4vml3Kl2oRfALj-6ORWUSNzsjfCifuhQ-1tlV4uVEXULo0kZ_mLVC8TEcN4bOWDajBj3IgNH8F5rHl7Afy01Pnx-KMK8g4DfiYaKBq5Pli82webD4mUDnASw1irxUwORH7tTCM/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006J.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgxYYuG4vml3Kl2oRfALj-6ORWUSNzsjfCifuhQ-1tlV4uVEXULo0kZ_mLVC8TEcN4bOWDajBj3IgNH8F5rHl7Afy01Pnx-KMK8g4DfiYaKBq5Pli82webD4mUDnASw1irxUwORH7tTCM/s200/1963.state.championship_0006J.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> It was then up to the vaunted Banshee defense to hold the heavily favored Bulldog offense.
The Thomasville boys struck back with a one-play forty-five yard drive on run by all-state running back Dickie Thompson to tie the score at 6-6. The snapper snapped. The holder tried to upright the pigskin for the kick. It was all to no avail. As the kicker kicked the horizontal ball, the Banshees swarmed all over it like ducks on a June bug. The clock ran out with the score standing at a "sister-kissing" tie, 6-6. In 1963, there was no overtime. The winner of the game would be determined by giving one point to the team leading in three categories: most offensive yards, most first downs, and most penetration inside the opponent's 20 yard line. By virtue of their lead in all three categories, the Irish were awarded three points and won the game 9-6.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCZMLVZztHCXO7T5SD5rISuANLrBPWPCOVyceENHH2iQEMJxRqV6VBpXeRqS1LkslF5GoZ2amhrcZn0sZmHhqTWquaI1pAu6pLVtUSXo3rKxuGYcTD49infMtSRLQ51HaK-UAFoBSsM_z/s1600/Larry.Jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCZMLVZztHCXO7T5SD5rISuANLrBPWPCOVyceENHH2iQEMJxRqV6VBpXeRqS1LkslF5GoZ2amhrcZn0sZmHhqTWquaI1pAu6pLVtUSXo3rKxuGYcTD49infMtSRLQ51HaK-UAFoBSsM_z/s200/Larry.Jones.jpg" height="190" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> Coach Minton Williams cited the great job of blocking and defense as the reason for the Dublin win. Larry Jones (Left) stopped a critical Bulldog drive with a fumble recovery. Another defensive star was Chuck Frost, who had to leave the game early when he broke his finger in stopping a sure Thomasville touchdown. Johnny Malone saved his best game of the season for South Georgia championship. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"> </span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw54Na3cByb6Gk6Z0-6wxmG2Po6flb3R4vQ_ORDgdSbO9pDWlr5AYAtldqudLtyOaUXl12_ekiftVAbquUBbrpKtmnzIe_KiQtEBpe5q4-n1qRGzokxQyRqxNSeeDYZiQrdtSIqZJ_R1wK/s1600/1963.state.championship_0008C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw54Na3cByb6Gk6Z0-6wxmG2Po6flb3R4vQ_ORDgdSbO9pDWlr5AYAtldqudLtyOaUXl12_ekiftVAbquUBbrpKtmnzIe_KiQtEBpe5q4-n1qRGzokxQyRqxNSeeDYZiQrdtSIqZJ_R1wK/s320/1963.state.championship_0008C.jpg" height="286" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> The championship game was set at the 8000 seat North Dekalb Stadium. Again all the seats were on the same side of the field. This time however, the Irish were on the opposite sidelines, all by themselves. The opposition was Tucker High School, who were playing in their own territory. Coach Williams expected that the boys from Tucker would concentrate on pass defense, so he ran the ball and he ran the ball. With Senior Danny Stanley and Sophomore Vic Belote running the ball behind the powerful offensive line, the Galloping Green dominated the line of scrimmage. Three long Dublin drives ended with two fumbles inside the Tucker 10-yard line and an interception at the opposition's 3-yard line. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztB_xOFMP69AwY9HsQ6FUMP9gU5I8ckYvk0GjdNOiJELPpgEz6VSO7ilepeUddHvKgjannhRLRleeHGYx55lWk20aAKq32kZgt9P1qoGyV7DiSdnzjTM5HPja5lDXlsdzxQrYZ0nuxJ52/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztB_xOFMP69AwY9HsQ6FUMP9gU5I8ckYvk0GjdNOiJELPpgEz6VSO7ilepeUddHvKgjannhRLRleeHGYx55lWk20aAKq32kZgt9P1qoGyV7DiSdnzjTM5HPja5lDXlsdzxQrYZ0nuxJ52/s200/1963.state.championship_0006D.jpg" height="200" width="115" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> The Irish began their first scoring drive at their own 23. Perry tossed a 22 yard pass to Hahn. He came back with another pass, this one a 29-yard spectacular catch by Hahn with 27 seconds left in the first half. From nearly the same position on the field that Irish had against Thomasville the week before, Coach Williams, with 14 seconds left called for a screen pass, which Stanley again grabbed and jaunted down to the Tucker 1 yard line. With the clock standing at four seconds, Stanley ran behind a powerful block of Jack Stafford (Left) for a 1-yard dive play. Hahn kicked the extra point to give the Irish the lead with no time left to play.
Following a quick score by Tucker, the Irish exhibited a strong ground game to grind out the clock. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: left;"> Taking the ball at their own 3-yard line following a Thomasville punt, the Irish moved 89 yards on runs totaling 50 yards by Stanley, 25 yards by Belote, and 14 by Chuck Frost. With the Irish leading 7-6 and the ball at the Tucker 5-yard line, Stanley took the ball on a 4th down and 1 yard play into the end zone to give Dublin a 13-6 lead after the extra point attempt sailed wide to the left.
Tucker roared back with a touchdown which brought the score perilously close at 13-12. Tucker lined up for a two-point conversion and the lead. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"> That is when the controversy, at least on the part of the Tucker fans and the Atlanta newspaper reporter began. The quarterback faked a dive play into the line. Defensive lineman Larry Jones, well coached on the art of goal line defense, dove at the offensive end's feet just as he was supposed to do and took him out. It just happened that the end was the one the quarterback had called to catch the pass. The front seven Banshees focused in on getting to the ball. The Tucker quarterback, with his primary receiver lying on the cold tundra, heaved the ball into the end zone praying for a miracle. The miracle never came. The ball landed beyond the grasps of any player. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"> Charles Roberts of the <i>Atlanta Constitution</i> accused the referees of ignoring a flagrant hold by Jones on the play. The Irish coaches responded to the baseless charges by stating that "our player was doing what he supposed to do."
The Irish tried to put an insurance touchdown on the board but were stopped at the Tucker 22-yard line with a long penalty. Then the Banshee defense made one last stand and stopped a Tucker drive, much to the sheer delight of the 2500 Dublin fans who had traveled to the game. The game ended with the score, Dublin 13, Tucker 12. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZl08GUeKyCxgX6Psu3U6FC5rzSaVNj523dkwPB1150qc4k3MOZcfSZrXzORcI7d8AT50-z8vzE6MbUS4muurruQ3zOH4mqA9f5J2xlBJ6MH1FK0UtlNldmzY9WSK4Bj8o4timY0kJ-G8/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZl08GUeKyCxgX6Psu3U6FC5rzSaVNj523dkwPB1150qc4k3MOZcfSZrXzORcI7d8AT50-z8vzE6MbUS4muurruQ3zOH4mqA9f5J2xlBJ6MH1FK0UtlNldmzY9WSK4Bj8o4timY0kJ-G8/s320/1963.state.championship_0007E.jpg" height="282" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> The game was a close as you could get. The Dublin one point victory was matched by a 2-yard edge in rushing (263-261), a 1-yard margin in passing (54-53), and a 1-first down deficit (12-13). Each team completed only three passes. The crowd swarmed the field as the Irish had captured their 3rd State Championship in five years, ending their tenure in Class A as Kings of Georgia football. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"> The Dublin Irish ended the season with a record of 11 and 1. They outscored their opponents by an average of 23 to 8 during the season. The stingy Irish defense held their opponents to an average of less than 50 yards a game in passing defense. The Banshees shut out their opponents four times and held them to six points in three games. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieC1Ubrx06DIQAz1GloRKjcEYGfc3HIsRJjRRK17VEpyncziuGOv0iw8AqbK2uKLjFrxxDxDLAAGMH_tQx3JD_XmkyhpxueMSSTh4zo2D9YHdFMb-y9UXAJUILq8mrthA2WRd0UlUpCkCN/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieC1Ubrx06DIQAz1GloRKjcEYGfc3HIsRJjRRK17VEpyncziuGOv0iw8AqbK2uKLjFrxxDxDLAAGMH_tQx3JD_XmkyhpxueMSSTh4zo2D9YHdFMb-y9UXAJUILq8mrthA2WRd0UlUpCkCN/s400/IMG_0010.jpg" height="261" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"> While the Atlanta Constitution ignored Minton Williams as its coach of the year in favor of the losing coach from Tucker, the Irish placed four members on the all state team. Quarterback Tom Perry, half back Danny Stanley, and end Robbie Hahn joined Charles Faulk, a repeater from the 1962 team at tackle. So ended the last championship season for forty three years. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"> The primary members of the 1963 Class A State Football Champions were: Vic Belote, Louie Blue, Don Bracewell, Ronald Cook, Otha Dixon, Ben Eubanks, Charles Faulk, Jimmy Fort, Chub Forth, Chuck Frost, Robbie Hahn, Charlie Harpe, Stanley Johnson, Larry Jones, Marion Mallette, Johnny Malone, Danny Misseri, Tom Perry, Johnny Phelps, Alan Powell, Dwyane Rowland, Joel Smith, Bernard Snellgrove, Earl Snipes, Jack Stafford, Danny Stanley, Ben Stephens, Edwin Wheeler, Derious Williams, Brooks Wright, and Freeman Young. Coaches: Minton Williams, Travis Davis, Bob Morrow and George Sapp. Trainer/Sr. Manager: Johnny Warren, Managers: Mike Daily and Jerry Spivey.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesPlAwzkehMs4xiKpyS1kE1TYEEk2zr4ubxvRNu1YfnKiSQb5MFctMPsLJd2kVoFbHhTFir0jJiL4hFmhtKFWbSk2JB9Cznya04-QQe3WR4-WLutT_01bqnhTya_FiCP_6Jleigj2ho9p/s1600/IMG_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesPlAwzkehMs4xiKpyS1kE1TYEEk2zr4ubxvRNu1YfnKiSQb5MFctMPsLJd2kVoFbHhTFir0jJiL4hFmhtKFWbSk2JB9Cznya04-QQe3WR4-WLutT_01bqnhTya_FiCP_6Jleigj2ho9p/s400/IMG_0007.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0CNOhBBpkMCCM5ojE7ubZr4iGIo9KcOvYxi0z_SA31Z6EgPvkZS0RI8EqnTUQwihvuM0U9r_uZQh4PHZeD_d8db8qMlQo5MRfT1r4cIG2WKmJjk6JAaff91M0dnGXoMeBJyHOBsmrzhx/s1600/1963.state.championship_0004AAA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0CNOhBBpkMCCM5ojE7ubZr4iGIo9KcOvYxi0z_SA31Z6EgPvkZS0RI8EqnTUQwihvuM0U9r_uZQh4PHZeD_d8db8qMlQo5MRfT1r4cIG2WKmJjk6JAaff91M0dnGXoMeBJyHOBsmrzhx/s200/1963.state.championship_0004AAA.jpg" height="200" width="148" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_rqiHYmz6l_4bGIz9nhVoJN282sBbdm2TAl4VYeMTzxzrQv782CUCpZGMG1LpaEscbBtJLQahkucuKBztsLh9pVEHCfcL52AKUWL5YBSwUkWfVWa6nk9WAHZl_ON1pV9fUG8QuW-jkhu/s1600/1963.state.championship_0004AA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_rqiHYmz6l_4bGIz9nhVoJN282sBbdm2TAl4VYeMTzxzrQv782CUCpZGMG1LpaEscbBtJLQahkucuKBztsLh9pVEHCfcL52AKUWL5YBSwUkWfVWa6nk9WAHZl_ON1pV9fUG8QuW-jkhu/s200/1963.state.championship_0004AA.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_v0GuV6jDvzEXDWHu85qtNUiGx4UQFQki50mah6mKtkHfi6OIKCD6yNVAZvmkHHQL-I_FW5zVXPhVXE6iVL2G93p3-KyYDa6Cgf-2eG3K7IKSUfSI-YQXJT7jH8tDBKG5rK30a0DN6HS/s1600/1963.state.championship_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_v0GuV6jDvzEXDWHu85qtNUiGx4UQFQki50mah6mKtkHfi6OIKCD6yNVAZvmkHHQL-I_FW5zVXPhVXE6iVL2G93p3-KyYDa6Cgf-2eG3K7IKSUfSI-YQXJT7jH8tDBKG5rK30a0DN6HS/s400/1963.state.championship_0003.jpg" height="321" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNoJWWq0-1cqBkkbg4kQDeMgRHPiroRjjeffsuy-oihdHFKLItjqg9F7V9RWIv6Fa2xQygRXVoWsNMa4R4w21i6Zthp2GGAUV93RWesLsJ9S7FWCO7u3gvP_06FFRXbL8v0KLrCjlikYR/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNoJWWq0-1cqBkkbg4kQDeMgRHPiroRjjeffsuy-oihdHFKLItjqg9F7V9RWIv6Fa2xQygRXVoWsNMa4R4w21i6Zthp2GGAUV93RWesLsJ9S7FWCO7u3gvP_06FFRXbL8v0KLrCjlikYR/s320/1963.state.championship_0006E.jpg" height="320" width="161" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6O9zGq2JgYRQjdnDUmZfUzRoHMCQ428kl4Qv4uZjlu_cFffPAYUnKqZQXh1RJDXhKP3uwKy3NyKoIBLjqwIz-SbYB6hwn-0DeByv_I13Dx0x08c_bh_rM5Jd0pU-OJgMgT7Lt8z3vSCM_/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6O9zGq2JgYRQjdnDUmZfUzRoHMCQ428kl4Qv4uZjlu_cFffPAYUnKqZQXh1RJDXhKP3uwKy3NyKoIBLjqwIz-SbYB6hwn-0DeByv_I13Dx0x08c_bh_rM5Jd0pU-OJgMgT7Lt8z3vSCM_/s400/1963.state.championship_0006C.jpg" height="400" width="222" /> </a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sjd2tOCwlZiQKXmHATVl4U9z0PrIdfSlwtjWJP6f-Hv6oxH3hrrnXB5Dt2cwUM7fXrGXaXkygTADzpeohnbdNyCMyYjRlh9-U1tAsGo8Bg1meW2ewODcQxy1rYyewM12Zbgy37jgIQ2J/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sjd2tOCwlZiQKXmHATVl4U9z0PrIdfSlwtjWJP6f-Hv6oxH3hrrnXB5Dt2cwUM7fXrGXaXkygTADzpeohnbdNyCMyYjRlh9-U1tAsGo8Bg1meW2ewODcQxy1rYyewM12Zbgy37jgIQ2J/s400/1963.state.championship_0006G.jpg" height="400" width="241" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshLN2T_r9tG6I8stLkucLCWNyxr7n5FL3GH9iYbqdrsMU-B47vOk-vpscEwwpoH2cYwm2Y4PxAoY7ezAwsp4NmpJbO4CVnjScljNDvWX83Iho5-AtvKg-UMzElbcZxmkhL9TmulNmhEkK/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshLN2T_r9tG6I8stLkucLCWNyxr7n5FL3GH9iYbqdrsMU-B47vOk-vpscEwwpoH2cYwm2Y4PxAoY7ezAwsp4NmpJbO4CVnjScljNDvWX83Iho5-AtvKg-UMzElbcZxmkhL9TmulNmhEkK/s400/1963.state.championship_0006H.jpg" height="400" width="218" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUdKBz552q511lukq1EEtFhlIe4ioO-1nsX8JcTbJxkyZJvV7Pj8T9xRmrW9TkkACX2OE_pkLEezFpuQaI3lgBtMwzuCLt_2CCmhDXgD0DEomdw4yqx5aGAUq0NjB1cn20pk5gevvL6ko/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUdKBz552q511lukq1EEtFhlIe4ioO-1nsX8JcTbJxkyZJvV7Pj8T9xRmrW9TkkACX2OE_pkLEezFpuQaI3lgBtMwzuCLt_2CCmhDXgD0DEomdw4yqx5aGAUq0NjB1cn20pk5gevvL6ko/s400/1963.state.championship_0006I.jpg" height="400" width="193" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0oUN8Wg1PqCj6ckF0T-WdvRznc8ZUf8l1CDJHLnzHuQ8135If8b-1plvRfjcQFKJxAMUPBsq9dIXYyCEmPf9-oRtatnW_xxUFSSsFqPfSCNjJJjIeW2rcDxYuf9_JOK6yvWrc_DN0fPBO/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0oUN8Wg1PqCj6ckF0T-WdvRznc8ZUf8l1CDJHLnzHuQ8135If8b-1plvRfjcQFKJxAMUPBsq9dIXYyCEmPf9-oRtatnW_xxUFSSsFqPfSCNjJJjIeW2rcDxYuf9_JOK6yvWrc_DN0fPBO/s400/1963.state.championship_0006K.jpg" height="400" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lIRyzbpjsJPYhjwC4FrVwu7FpYTmAvS0gDTRdXjCM2_PfA35odvc4qVU7pqVpJBPpk3YsKck82p4Z0at5uKWpm_1PND40pMS8hnoa1cQEiq-uC-FsbmqtmZKoFda3k5iq2XzfCABwIMM/s1600/1963.state.championship_0006L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lIRyzbpjsJPYhjwC4FrVwu7FpYTmAvS0gDTRdXjCM2_PfA35odvc4qVU7pqVpJBPpk3YsKck82p4Z0at5uKWpm_1PND40pMS8hnoa1cQEiq-uC-FsbmqtmZKoFda3k5iq2XzfCABwIMM/s400/1963.state.championship_0006L.jpg" height="400" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGAvTcy13O7Va2FMMHPAk_TmicifYfoZX-kHD8ALthqlLVaslD4IUQtdOfFKnh_wW3J9JMFbuLys5eIywG37gnBItNCduONqgaMgCmcdiCFQLkP4aoo4oDLD88dLtNPeXddktWXgiDMPW/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGAvTcy13O7Va2FMMHPAk_TmicifYfoZX-kHD8ALthqlLVaslD4IUQtdOfFKnh_wW3J9JMFbuLys5eIywG37gnBItNCduONqgaMgCmcdiCFQLkP4aoo4oDLD88dLtNPeXddktWXgiDMPW/s400/1963.state.championship_0007C.jpg" height="400" width="236" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIuL_XZSRMjX5WM4fMN_-FpKI5zsN75w5eMYScWrTMKuh4cGAV8nn3VP-lv28vjD295P5lEquCoEzjxDWlg9Hn4tuZBC-sn_NxP_fORKuJT6greR2SDObXkuhuKUrOQ5fOtaJ24JKCZpf/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIuL_XZSRMjX5WM4fMN_-FpKI5zsN75w5eMYScWrTMKuh4cGAV8nn3VP-lv28vjD295P5lEquCoEzjxDWlg9Hn4tuZBC-sn_NxP_fORKuJT6greR2SDObXkuhuKUrOQ5fOtaJ24JKCZpf/s400/1963.state.championship_0007D.jpg" height="400" width="176" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lE46EWzWbByI02sX036vHdyPFQF33nvw3x62GbVji4zHqjNSkXQWPOORpZAd9mz_kqpQR3r0zZHIThg7jufBojKANBA9HY3U-MGU2zxxOM6OEWKfK76ueUGUPJR10J82OsUwpdbigKf0/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lE46EWzWbByI02sX036vHdyPFQF33nvw3x62GbVji4zHqjNSkXQWPOORpZAd9mz_kqpQR3r0zZHIThg7jufBojKANBA9HY3U-MGU2zxxOM6OEWKfK76ueUGUPJR10J82OsUwpdbigKf0/s320/1963.state.championship_0007F.jpg" height="289" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpw-CxQ7Mo1DqWU1zOjqpd6lMVQQOh2zeEtffPEQ0Zf0JPJEy6WB2DD5NqkYk6_oIfixktEl7rh-r_8N-ueOlUaBXJKUc-DM5rdB1amIMrVcD5lYyEPvRrkfVfzRI0uYc1ZKMpi2f8Oh4v/s1600/1963.state.championship_0005B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpw-CxQ7Mo1DqWU1zOjqpd6lMVQQOh2zeEtffPEQ0Zf0JPJEy6WB2DD5NqkYk6_oIfixktEl7rh-r_8N-ueOlUaBXJKUc-DM5rdB1amIMrVcD5lYyEPvRrkfVfzRI0uYc1ZKMpi2f8Oh4v/s400/1963.state.championship_0005B.jpg" height="400" width="348" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZlFqKx_7qQ7jX744eTYAfPha2Y83zuU6ds1WH1S0u-xd34a_uvodyQ_301hf6fl27y6FFaaTSv2imkZEQHhyqS_UaOpiYTPWKBkPqWQl0D9DvWF2qjRVsgyNNCv8KnkM3Mw2Z624WRb2/s1600/1963.state.championship_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZlFqKx_7qQ7jX744eTYAfPha2Y83zuU6ds1WH1S0u-xd34a_uvodyQ_301hf6fl27y6FFaaTSv2imkZEQHhyqS_UaOpiYTPWKBkPqWQl0D9DvWF2qjRVsgyNNCv8KnkM3Mw2Z624WRb2/s400/1963.state.championship_0009.jpg" height="291" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIA1VpPdxo-nOSvjkHQ2BxILryOVHEllIpLknyj5xye-Dj3nGQ-Hi6P8ASJgZ-lMAJKZNoLHQPbrrqblyDjWi0wvF1-JZuFy_KCRZw0mGNfHc0sk8FpKItsiahEdSWxPAh241n-otVOWG/s1600/IMG_0003A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIA1VpPdxo-nOSvjkHQ2BxILryOVHEllIpLknyj5xye-Dj3nGQ-Hi6P8ASJgZ-lMAJKZNoLHQPbrrqblyDjWi0wvF1-JZuFy_KCRZw0mGNfHc0sk8FpKItsiahEdSWxPAh241n-otVOWG/s400/IMG_0003A.jpg" height="111" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfn9VksKphIMhdqHp95jozD4vL8pGQUkdm_w5ZH9bSwq3gvE4QPHxwWwhEdKqX39ePHdkZCCeej8Uw1-YY7XA0e8yK_1UQuGa8jKhAXEyaz-MmfbDWh2o292sbWt7V6MtZZXlrf7v3-3T/s1600/IMG_0003B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfn9VksKphIMhdqHp95jozD4vL8pGQUkdm_w5ZH9bSwq3gvE4QPHxwWwhEdKqX39ePHdkZCCeej8Uw1-YY7XA0e8yK_1UQuGa8jKhAXEyaz-MmfbDWh2o292sbWt7V6MtZZXlrf7v3-3T/s400/IMG_0003B.jpg" height="118" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4xqnUfWCSoy0ABzMI5eRD46c3Kc7S6EQhWtMmdZutt0_HcOIWZcm3qqfDRnbwHpBivB_A7VIu0cMhF86sAe_YRhPJCa19Bl1kL6uNQjZlxmr-S-ZGYK-RklioeGye6Xmoq_O6u4PMIp3/s1600/IMG_0003C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4xqnUfWCSoy0ABzMI5eRD46c3Kc7S6EQhWtMmdZutt0_HcOIWZcm3qqfDRnbwHpBivB_A7VIu0cMhF86sAe_YRhPJCa19Bl1kL6uNQjZlxmr-S-ZGYK-RklioeGye6Xmoq_O6u4PMIp3/s400/IMG_0003C.jpg" height="110" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS8A8iMnAJ8OvfK3ac-TfG-zzbEGjGuW0AsAtzepb-DInhhyVA_bgoEpYoKnMvbjkat_NUpqry5VOGleSXbU2C8w1i6oRgeOk_wGDGo4MKbieWT8qi5mOYiFmhsXgetcZD6YZVBM6aBWXg/s1600/1963.state.championship_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS8A8iMnAJ8OvfK3ac-TfG-zzbEGjGuW0AsAtzepb-DInhhyVA_bgoEpYoKnMvbjkat_NUpqry5VOGleSXbU2C8w1i6oRgeOk_wGDGo4MKbieWT8qi5mOYiFmhsXgetcZD6YZVBM6aBWXg/s400/1963.state.championship_0013.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCawlHFZQ1WpPzu7eN8y2t9nntF92Raf-u3pUsW55ZqwN1P_U_-ULGcoL13JkBokA2hEeCXjKeINIYxoteY2U3HkPMvwKmBXdU2WZQ9YFU4nkvWuyLSseUhV6Rmt53cFI_GfXruVlD1THu/s1600/1963.state.championship_0007G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCawlHFZQ1WpPzu7eN8y2t9nntF92Raf-u3pUsW55ZqwN1P_U_-ULGcoL13JkBokA2hEeCXjKeINIYxoteY2U3HkPMvwKmBXdU2WZQ9YFU4nkvWuyLSseUhV6Rmt53cFI_GfXruVlD1THu/s400/1963.state.championship_0007G.jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRVDnLisdmSf7zSPFbiwgNH4HN9isSzlZpFdAbN5Hsk2srw5t45TnIbs6eiDB16RYd-WIlu1iGZViYGPFfr2mjVbHhPbi5C_SKnOoxqkqF-l5xH92Cc1WJ1rajCJbz3i9inURfZlMGk7Z/s1600/1963.state.championship_0008A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRVDnLisdmSf7zSPFbiwgNH4HN9isSzlZpFdAbN5Hsk2srw5t45TnIbs6eiDB16RYd-WIlu1iGZViYGPFfr2mjVbHhPbi5C_SKnOoxqkqF-l5xH92Cc1WJ1rajCJbz3i9inURfZlMGk7Z/s320/1963.state.championship_0008A.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hM4iMO6z0ItTVTev0nuhS30dvdZzX2FFdOiEmYi62fXLda2AF5hBWg-41VlgXMctT8Mu8up83d6tMcr7ql2xiwn9PgTw_g93g4w9KAprKXOY6TRvDzFyLCIgvWaaKQeJoWaA9q5YcCor/s1600/1963.state.championship_0008B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hM4iMO6z0ItTVTev0nuhS30dvdZzX2FFdOiEmYi62fXLda2AF5hBWg-41VlgXMctT8Mu8up83d6tMcr7ql2xiwn9PgTw_g93g4w9KAprKXOY6TRvDzFyLCIgvWaaKQeJoWaA9q5YcCor/s320/1963.state.championship_0008B.jpg" height="320" width="309" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6rRj6CJwbh4PLKs2xozCk0gKPN10_iS75-p_8P_VT_1qfQhRR4wGkZdPzO49x21KpLdP6MgVQIOK8AHcS6cS5oqk-cbDRB4VH7RhL5fgLgM5newx7aSOQA9qekComVsTL7mD-bVHdODD/s1600/1963.state.championship_0008D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6rRj6CJwbh4PLKs2xozCk0gKPN10_iS75-p_8P_VT_1qfQhRR4wGkZdPzO49x21KpLdP6MgVQIOK8AHcS6cS5oqk-cbDRB4VH7RhL5fgLgM5newx7aSOQA9qekComVsTL7mD-bVHdODD/s320/1963.state.championship_0008D.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFt5zMjVTFJMLpnWJFnrVBVv7_LqRDr0KWw_ceJTt_BsZMG41531FK30B9Drav7dvOkvtLxC5-7Bd_aBNodcKlSkkZpktoGw_LSRfnmOW70qTnts9DKqx2I_gzR3yfT8OWzmUDnNQjb1U/s1600/1963.state.championship_0012A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFt5zMjVTFJMLpnWJFnrVBVv7_LqRDr0KWw_ceJTt_BsZMG41531FK30B9Drav7dvOkvtLxC5-7Bd_aBNodcKlSkkZpktoGw_LSRfnmOW70qTnts9DKqx2I_gzR3yfT8OWzmUDnNQjb1U/s320/1963.state.championship_0012A.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-11510195670481231062013-04-26T18:05:00.000-07:002013-04-26T18:05:12.260-07:00DEATH ON THE DIAMOND<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">The Killing Game </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On almost any day of any baseball season, a team gets killed. No, not literally, but figuratively. And, over the last century and a half in the history of baseball in America, many people have been killed by pitched, batted and thrown balls, as well as by player collisions and flying bats. Some are even killed by Mother Nature and bad boys up to no good. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My interest in players getting killed in a game came when I read a 1920 issue of the Macon Telegraph. My grandfather, Irving Scott of Macon, was sitting among 21,000 fans in the grandstands at the Polo Grounds in New York watching the August 16, 1920 game between the New York Yankees and the visiting Cleveland Indians. There were no lights in those days. It was late in the afternoon. when Cleveland's Ray Chapman walked up to the plate to lead off the top of the 5th inning. Babe Ruth, on his way to his first 50 plus home run season, was settling down to his usual spot in right field.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1eOERKzP3C8UY0w4-6zQnNEJslObr6EuLTUIkU0VfoASbtjCDWtYuZFHJXPcNdc6WEJLTHqTPWY63-u_nWq7WRCrR8DemNgEwnXX6lGJTw8hGSV9pcktvpp1SoButJCVzgAjAJ9-Fq09/s1600/carl-mays-upp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1eOERKzP3C8UY0w4-6zQnNEJslObr6EuLTUIkU0VfoASbtjCDWtYuZFHJXPcNdc6WEJLTHqTPWY63-u_nWq7WRCrR8DemNgEwnXX6lGJTw8hGSV9pcktvpp1SoButJCVzgAjAJ9-Fq09/s1600/carl-mays-upp.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yankee submarine-style pitcher, Carl Mays, (LEFT) threw his third pitch of the inning. The ball hit Chapman, the Indian shortstop, squarely in the skull. The ball bounced quickly back to the pitcher. Thinking that the loud pop was the sound of Chapman's bat striking the ball, Mays threw the once white, but then slightly brown, ball to first base. As the Yankee infield was throwing the ball around the diamond celebrating an easy out, first baseman Wally Pipp noticed that something wasn't just right. In his score book, the official scorer would simply note that Mays hit Chapman with a pitch on that fateful day. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The prevailing thought today is that Chapman never saw the tobacco-stained, dirt-rubbed ball in the oncoming twilight. Scott, known as "Great Scott" on Lanier High's 1919 Southern High School Basketball Championship team, saw it differently. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"From where I was sitting, I could not say whether Chapman crowded the plate or not," Scott recalled. The ball that Mays delivered was not a "bean ball, but not more than waist high, said Scott, who postulated, "If Chapman had stood up or not moved at all, the ball would have not hit him any higher than the waist line. As it was, he was fooled by the break the ball took, and instead of getting out the way, dodged right into it." A United Press reporter, who somewhat corroborated Scott's account, wrote, "Chapman was crouching down and crowding the plate and moved into the sharply breaking curve ball." <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrhtKqI-wYToNailYQruTljAcbMxZuG5EW9mABA3LlPJ88DWWSm1GyVxfOMu0P058t2nDXlloEM0fk7W5wZtnAAUtqtmfGfcZXHSZBw39AyuYrGydmpyfaac6lBaeOslu9sgmFcOs6wbb/s1600/Ray_Chapman_(1917_Indians)_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrhtKqI-wYToNailYQruTljAcbMxZuG5EW9mABA3LlPJ88DWWSm1GyVxfOMu0P058t2nDXlloEM0fk7W5wZtnAAUtqtmfGfcZXHSZBw39AyuYrGydmpyfaac6lBaeOslu9sgmFcOs6wbb/s320/Ray_Chapman_(1917_Indians)_4.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chapman (LEFT) stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground. After medical help arrived, Chapman was able to stand and walk, if only briefly, before once again collapsing before he made it to the dugout. Ray Chapman, to this day, remains the only player ever killed by a pitch in a major league game. Cleveland scored a fourth run that inning and held off a last at bat comeback by the Yankees, 4-3. Mays, understandably devastated, never fully recovered from that horrible day.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Now run the clock forward 45 years. That's the day when I saw a pitcher get hit square in the middle of the chest with a batted ball. It was my chest. In fact, it was in that same grandfather's front yard when I threw my best fastball to my father, a pretty fair country boy, baseball player. As he always taught me, Daddy met the ball as it crossed the plate. He blasted the ball right at me, some forty or fifty feet away. I still remember the ball coming at me some forty-eight years ago. A few moments later I woke up. My father was standing over me.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I only ever saw my Daddy cry twice. Once, when his 16-year-old great-nephew drowned and on that day when thought he had killed me. You see, Daddy knew that hitting someone in the heart between beats can often be fatal. Most of the deaths which take place on the baseball diamond come from players being hit by batted or thrown baseballs in the chest or in the head.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Catchers have been killed by pitchers too. W.H. Williams, brother of Dublin attorney G.H. Williams, was catching for the Soperton team on the afternoon of July 25, 1906. He wasn't wearing a chest protector that day. A fast ball struck Williams above the heart. The catcher collapsed, dead before he hit the sandlot. No one remembered what the score was that, nor was it noted who threw the pitch or if the teams even finished the game. The score wasn't important that day. Williams, a popular young man, was dead on the diamond. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ephraim Jones was struck and killed too. In southwestern Cordele on July 3, 1912 the outfielder was practicing baseball when a fly ball slipped through his hands, struck him just over the heart and killed him dead.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A Negro convict was not watching when another convict threw a ball in anger at another convict. The errant ball missed its target, striking the bystander and causing a fatal injury at McRee's Convict Camp near Valdosta in the summer of 1899. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Flying bats are often dangerous and can be extremely fatal. Sometimes they inexplicably fly out of the batters hands in the direction of a player or sail randomly into the stands. In 1908, Little Willie Watson, of LaFayette, was playing with his friends, when a bat slipped and struck the ten-year-old over the heart, killing him on the spot. And, sometimes, players get so angry that they pick them up and whop another player up said their head. This was the case in Fitzgerald, when in a late spring game at Pearson's Mill, Cato Mack walloped Melvin Wilson in his head with a bat and immediately left the diamond for parts unknown.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Teams from Evans and Sandtown were playing a game when Fred Dozier and Russell Morton converged toward a line drive in right center field. So intent on stopping the bounding ball, Morton, quite smaller than his teammate, never saw the sprinting Dozier. Morton's head struck Dozier's upper abdomen. No serious after effects were noticed until later that night when Dozier, 17, began to have violent attacks of pain. He died within two hours. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fans are not immune from being killed as well. Four-year-old William Evans, of Sandersville, was standing close to a batter when a pitched ball hit him in the head, paralyzing and killing him instantly. Ironically, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George C. Evans, were attending a funeral at the time of the incident.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With today's technology and more stringent rules, umpires and game managers suspend ball games when there is any hint of lightning in the area. Such was not the case in the early 1900s when a bolt of lightning would strike with no warning and kill anything within its path. Dan Harrell and a Negro man were victims of a savage strike in lightning a 1908 game at Bullards, in northwestern Twiggs County.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Five people were killed in New York City alone in 1910. In 1914, there were an estimated 35 deaths in baseball, 20 from pitched balls, 5 by flying bats, 4 from collisions, 4 from heart attacks and 1 from fighting. Three hundred and fourteen limbs were broken, 13 skulls were fractured, and 317 lower extremities were sprained. And, that was only what was reported.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So as you see, America's pastime can be and has been somewhat deadly. Most of us rightly think that the most deadly major sport is football, but now you know baseball can be deadly too. So as you watch your favorite team this season, keep your eyes on the ball and the bat all the time. And, by the way, watch the skies too and don't' get into any brawls.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-84656991745647039032013-01-27T09:16:00.002-08:002013-01-27T09:16:15.782-08:00SUGAR RAY ROBINSON<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd71wO_hyphenhyphenegKxZ40GgAYXLTPa-pkFFQfoDGwkxmF77UA-6a-Mw4QxDrGyInTaf8HXr_L3PGEDE8ADAYg3080fcVOojoljyh1FeZyAozuSo5Qr0OoztUQDspphVd8J4cLtbDMzKloVmYaw/s1600-h/robinson1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318762319388191602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd71wO_hyphenhyphenegKxZ40GgAYXLTPa-pkFFQfoDGwkxmF77UA-6a-Mw4QxDrGyInTaf8HXr_L3PGEDE8ADAYg3080fcVOojoljyh1FeZyAozuSo5Qr0OoztUQDspphVd8J4cLtbDMzKloVmYaw/s320/robinson1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"Sugar Ray" Robinson, a world champion boxer whose real name was Walker Smith, Jr., called many places home. Montgomery County, Wheeler County and Laurens County along with New York and California were all home to Ray at different times during his lifetime. Many people don't realize that he was a native of Georgia. As a result, Robinson is not a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Ray's parents, Walker Smith and Lula Hurst, lived in Laurens County and were married here on February 20, 1916. His father was born near Rentz and grew up on the Peterson place south of Ailey. His mother's family roots were on the Hurst plantation in Washington County.<br />
<br />
Ray Robinson recounted in his biography that his father, Walker Smith, farmed a small plot of ground, earning about forty dollars a month raising cotton, corn, and peas. In 1920 his brother in law, Herman Hayes, invited the elder Smith to come to Detroit, Michigan to seek a better living. Walker Smith received his first weekly paycheck in the amount of sixty dollars. It did not take long for Mr. Smith to figure out where he needed to work. The family stayed behind until Mr. Smith could establish a home. "Sugar Ray" recounts the trip that his mother, his sisters, and he took from Dublin to Detroit. Sugar Ray didn't seem to remember that he was born in Ailey, Montgomery County, Georgia. When he was seeking his birth certificate for medicare coverage, he found it in the Probate Court of Montgomery County. The house where he was born still stands across the railroad from the Thompson Lumber Company sawmill.<br />
<br />
Sugar Ray's parents had their share of marital problems. At the age of six Ray was sent back south after living all but the first of his pre-school years in Detroit. He lived with his maternal grandparents near Glenwood in Wheeler County, just below the Laurens County line. He attended school there. He stayed in Dublin at times with his mother and grandmother before going north in the early 1930s.<br />
<br />
Robinson's maternal grandmother, Anna Hurst, lived in a house at 518 South Jefferson Street in Dublin. Laurens County sold the house for taxes in 1935. Robinson's aunt, Maud Ree Hurst, purchased the house in 1938. Robinson fondly remembered the times he spent with his uncle Herschel "J.B." Hurst at the cotton market in Dublin. Uncle J.B. spent a lot of time with Junior buying him a boxes of Cracker Jacks on their trips in to town on Saturdays. The family operated a store next to their home on South Jefferson Street. J.B. and his brother Gus were mechanics in Dublin. Willie Lee Wells, another aunt, was slain by her husband Felix Wells in 1941.<br />
<br />
As a boy, Ray was always looking for a fight. His aunt Maud Ree Hurst Foster remembered him saying "I want to find me some body to beat up!" Ray idolized his Aunt Maud Ree and tried his best to be like her. The Hursts have a strong sense of family. Many members of the Hurst family and related families still live in Laurens County. Maud Ree Hurst Foster, a delightful lady, has returned home to Dublin. Anna Hurst loved to watch Ray dance. She often asked Ray "come on 'Sugar', dance for me." The pet name stuck with the young man for the rest of his life. One day Sugar Ray brought one of his friends with him when he stopped in Dublin to see his grandmamma. That friend was a pretty fair boxer himself. Imagine the sight. There was Anna Hurst standing on her front porch asking Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis, two of the greatest boxers ever, to dance for her. Early in his boxing career Robinson, was known as "Harlem's Dancing Dynamite and the Pride of Harlem."<br />
<br />
Walker Smith, Jr. took the name "Sugar Ray" Robinson as an amateur boxer. As an amateur Ray won New York City titles in 1939 and 1940 with a career record of 69 knockouts, 40 of which were in the first round, in a total of 85 matches. Robinson's first professional fight was a 2nd round knockout of Joe Echeverria on October 4, 1940. He won his first 40 fights before losing to the legendary Jake LaMotta in February 1943. From then on Robinson was undefeated for over eight years. On December 20, 1946, Robinson won the World Welterweight Championship over Tommy Bell. Sugar Ray successfully defended his title five times. Sugar Ray defeated Jake LaMotta for the World Middleweight championship. That summer he lost the title to Randy Turpin in only his second professional loss in the ring. Ray took the title back in a rematch. Ray defeated Carl Olson and knocked out the great Rocky Graziano in his title defenses. He was knocked out for the first time in his career by Joey Maxim on June 25, 1952.<br />
<br />
Sugar Ray retired after the Maxim fight, but returned to the ring on November 29, 1954. On December 9, 1955 he defeated Bobo Olson to regain the Middleweight title. After defeating Olson in a rematch in 1956, Robinson lost the title once again, this time to Gene Fullmer on January 2, 1957. Five months later, Robinson won the Middleweight title for the fourth time in a rematch with Fullmer. He lost the world title again in September of 1957, this time to Carmen Basillio, Ray regained the title in a rematch with Basillio on March 25, 1958. Sugar Ray surrendered his title for the last time against Paul Pender on January 22, 1960. The last five years of his career were spent fighting younger fighters with only moderate success. Sugar Ray Robinson, then 45 years old, lost his last fight on November 10, 1965 to Joey Archer in a 10 round fight.<br />
<br />
Over his 202 fight - 30 year career, Robinson only lost 18 fights, most of those being the twilight of his career. After his career in the ring, Sugar Ray appeared in several television dramas. Sugar Ray Robinson, who once showed his athletic prowess on the streets of Dublin, was regarded by many as the greatest boxer of all time. He was a five time Middleweight Champion, a one time Welterweight Champion, and was revered by Muhammad Ali as "the King, the Master and my idol."</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-4065419087061561472013-01-26T20:10:00.005-08:002013-01-26T20:10:52.625-08:00JAMES BAILEY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
THE STORY OF "JAMMIN JAMES"<br />
<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGV0sIHN5DXCw31z-yU_IoDibh3Rwol_9WUZxegHj_4OGQRvwphcx0fcZmE2z9m9bl5Exnt29i0eM0p3hFbtrIsSJ_CPo1__ms2e-pcxKVlbO8mm3KUUvh90rPi_zFRl00Yt81uKp7yI/s1600-h/bailey.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348457250092939858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGV0sIHN5DXCw31z-yU_IoDibh3Rwol_9WUZxegHj_4OGQRvwphcx0fcZmE2z9m9bl5Exnt29i0eM0p3hFbtrIsSJ_CPo1__ms2e-pcxKVlbO8mm3KUUvh90rPi_zFRl00Yt81uKp7yI/s320/bailey.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 214px;" /></a><br />
<div>
<br />
James Bailey is tall. He may be the tallest person ever born in Laurens County. His height - six feet nine inches in his stocking feet - came in handy for slam-dunking basketballs, blocking jump shots, and getting stuff off the top shelf at Wal-Mart without tip-toeing. </div>
<div>
<br />
Bailey was born in Dublin on May 21, 1957. His family moved away a short time later. James began to grow taller and taller. His height and superior athletic ability made him an outstanding high school basketball star of the Xaverian Brothers High School team of Westwood, Massachusetts. For his outstanding ability and play, James was awarded a scholarship to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. </div>
<div>
<br />
James began his career with the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers in the fall of 1975. By the fifth game, James was named as the starting center. His coach, Tom Young, noticed something special in the freshman. The Knights won their first game, and then another. When Rutgers eased past Boston College by twenty three points, sportswriters began to take notice. The Knights defeated Georgia Tech to win the school’s first Christmas holiday tournament. In each of the three games heading into the Poinsettia Classic, Rutgers scored more than 95 points in each game. By New Year’s Day, Rutgers was eleven and zero. Four opponents gave up one hundred points to Bailey’s team. In the biggest game of the year against arch rival Princeton, the Knights scored seventy five points against one of the nation’s best defensive teams. The Knights scored more than one hundred points in their last two regular season games. This was in the days when there were no three-point shots. In the post season tournament, Rutgers breezed to its second straight ECAC title and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament. With wins over Princeton, Uconn, De Paul, and VMI, the Knights made it into the final four. The Knights perfect 31 and 0 season came to end with an 86 - 70 loss to Michigan. Bailey vaulted to national prominence in his freshman season.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemdLJsAve5O7NoUciE7cT3KXrCZw0Bevsyh_Unq3fsuMKojngzIJWeCx01oHBaghkNlxwGauPwWDvvOD24tKKWNxz2xWOFJarzqugqgWoIvCm-o1L5YJRaAjSAV4gxkBJorsH7PzaGqo/s1600/james.bailey.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemdLJsAve5O7NoUciE7cT3KXrCZw0Bevsyh_Unq3fsuMKojngzIJWeCx01oHBaghkNlxwGauPwWDvvOD24tKKWNxz2xWOFJarzqugqgWoIvCm-o1L5YJRaAjSAV4gxkBJorsH7PzaGqo/s320/james.bailey.JPG" width="247" /></a></div>
Bailey led his team to the NIT in the next two years and one final trip to the NCAA tournament in his senior year. During his four years at Rutgers, Bailey averaged 16.7 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. He still holds the Rutgers record for field goals in a season (312 in 1978.) Amazingly, the big man had 1755 steals (second most in school history.) Bailey blocked 330 shots and was feared by all those who dared to try him under the basket. James Bailey was one of the first college centers to perfect the "lob dunk." He had 116 dunks in the 1977-78 season, more than many entire teams. His junior season was his best. Bailey won the Widner Trophy as the best player in the East. He was chosen as a first team All - American and finished the season with a 23.5 points per game scoring average. His career best game came against William and Mary when he scored forty three points and grabbed thirteen rebounds. A local sportscaster described Bailey that night as if he were "a slot machine in front of an addicted gambler - all the numbers were coming up right."</div>
<div>
<br />
Just days after the end of his junior season, James was selected to play for the United States in the 1978 World Invitational Tournament, a sort of off-year Olympic tournament. He was named the starting center. The team had among its members a forward from Indiana State by the name of Larry Bird and a guard from Michigan state Earvin Johnson, who you know as "Magic." Also playing on the team were future pros, Joe Barry Carroll, Phil Ford, Jack Givens, David Greenwood, Kyle Macy, Rick Robey, and Sidney Moncrief. The USA team defeated Cuba 109-64, Yugoslavia 88 to 83 and the Soviet Union 107 to 82 to win the world crown. Bailey was third on the team in scoring with twelve points per game, more than Bird and "Magic" put together.<br />
<br />
Bailey garnered many honors in his four year career at Rutgers. He was first team All Atlantic and a member of the All Atlantic Tournament Team in each of his last three seasons, Tournament MVP in his senior year, Atlantic Player of the Year in his last two seasons, winner of the Donald Courson Trophy as the top male athlete in the Class of 1980, and a first team All American in his last two seasons. His team won ninety five games and lost only twenty eight. The Knights were fifty and three at home. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-P7JmS6ol_aYx3phEfinMDX-YNebNES4TM3l-oysz9HthtFhQqOCU_EeLS20cLygtSK24Fsbab0FBlHdZzOms3JMAYwGT4_-_Qo1Za8DzGPe1FX-j7aI8c9ZN_3mUio-maU5UcSmI1k/s1600/JAMES.BAILEY.SEATTLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-P7JmS6ol_aYx3phEfinMDX-YNebNES4TM3l-oysz9HthtFhQqOCU_EeLS20cLygtSK24Fsbab0FBlHdZzOms3JMAYwGT4_-_Qo1Za8DzGPe1FX-j7aI8c9ZN_3mUio-maU5UcSmI1k/s1600/JAMES.BAILEY.SEATTLE.jpg" /></a></div>
Bailey was drafted sixth in the first round of the June 1979 N.B.A. draft by the world champion Seattle Supersonics. Chosen ahead of James were Earvin "Magic" Johnson, David Greenwood, Bill Cartwright, Greg Kelser, and Sidney Moncrief. </div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
The defending champion Supersonics finished with the second best record in league in Bailey’s rookie season. They defeated Portland and Milwaukee, but lost to division rival and eventual league champions Los Angeles in the Conference Finals. In his only playoff appearance, Bailey was assigned to guard the legendary Kareem Abul Jabbar. Bailey became a starter after an injury to Lonnie Shelton. He had his best season in 1980-1, despite his team’s tumble to the cellar of the Pacific Division. Playing in all eighty two games, he established career highs in nearly all scoring and defensive categories. It was during that year that he hit his only three point shot (out of thirteen attempts.) During his third season, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets, who finished third in their division. </div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73J20dvS-X92O8QignBUVy7FhwG6qS0KKmghzIMLgLB7CW6mGqG5maCP6o1QWvWhx02I1r5bwOUd_c5SVDbQ7P7tce6WA_nlFBDfPq_S5Ve6leXTsG74_5_hdrOWfxIO_ps7pbMwhHcM/s1600/James.bailey.houston.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73J20dvS-X92O8QignBUVy7FhwG6qS0KKmghzIMLgLB7CW6mGqG5maCP6o1QWvWhx02I1r5bwOUd_c5SVDbQ7P7tce6WA_nlFBDfPq_S5Ve6leXTsG74_5_hdrOWfxIO_ps7pbMwhHcM/s320/James.bailey.houston.JPG" width="217" /></a></div>
Bailey was traded in his fourth season to the Houston Rockets, who finished last in the league. During that year Bailey led the team in field goal percentage. Bailey replaced the legendary Elvin Hayes in the lineup. At the time, Hayes was the all-time NBA leader in minutes played and third all-time in points scored. The Rockets were a little better in the 83-84 season, finishing next to last in the league. Bailey was traded a third time in 1984 to the New York Knicks, who finished (you guessed it), next to last. It only got worse the next year when the Knicks were in the basement of the NBA. Bailey was shipped across the river to New Jersey in 1986. Again, Bailey’s team finished next to last. In his last NBA season, 1987-88, he finally got out of the cellar, but barely. The Phoenix Suns won one out of three games and finished as the fifth worst team. In his seven-year career, James Bailey scored 5246 points and amassed 2988 rebounds. After his last season in the NBA, Bailey played in Europe until his knees finally gave out.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXw9DVerG3ASrok-vM9DSj_AioXN-YennxsLtWIblnLT6-uhLJ7uzthNOoB6g67Mcp__juqwynl7n5DfOHcWdCW4QswxkHEm7MquoIPf0MSk9S1s06mfu1CbS-iLmFQQr-luc31660dvs/s1600/JAMES.BAILEY,KNICKS.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXw9DVerG3ASrok-vM9DSj_AioXN-YennxsLtWIblnLT6-uhLJ7uzthNOoB6g67Mcp__juqwynl7n5DfOHcWdCW4QswxkHEm7MquoIPf0MSk9S1s06mfu1CbS-iLmFQQr-luc31660dvs/s400/JAMES.BAILEY,KNICKS.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
On the night of February 8, 1993, thousands of his fans and twelve of his former teammates turned out to honor James Bailey with the retirement of his number 20 jersey. Bailey is only one of three Scarlet Knights to have been accorded such a high honor. That same year, James was one of the initial five inductees into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame. He was joined by the late Jim Valvano, legendary N.C. State basketball coach and colorful sportscaster. Bailey still lives in the area today and keeps himself physically fit by drag racing in Englishtown.</div>
<div>
<br />
Unfortunately for James Bailey and the game of basketball, James was never surrounded in the NBA with the talent he had playing with him at Rutgers University. Consequently, he never realized his true potential. Whether you call him, "J.B.," "King James," or "Jammin James," James Bailey, during the last half of the 1970s, was one of the most dominating centers in college basketball. </div>
</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-56311647308530505182013-01-25T18:50:00.002-08:002013-01-25T18:50:44.505-08:00EARL WEAVER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVVaVXWQRvnJGAbpKZx9NyzzEFNSy272-aqjtukpaIZmTY1JgyOaRpJBj-xC0esF0sFrw2WQ6RxG_1iVn7gZx1mdjZT7VSDJz4MfzBxda0f7yqnr1OfyaXYgWicz8KMTI_VYuaTRNSJ2q/s1600/Earl-Weaver-quotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVVaVXWQRvnJGAbpKZx9NyzzEFNSy272-aqjtukpaIZmTY1JgyOaRpJBj-xC0esF0sFrw2WQ6RxG_1iVn7gZx1mdjZT7VSDJz4MfzBxda0f7yqnr1OfyaXYgWicz8KMTI_VYuaTRNSJ2q/s400/Earl-Weaver-quotes.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
Earl Weaver is dead.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
Somewhere devilish umpires are laughing out loud.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
But, there is no joy in Baltimore tonight. <br />
<br />
The king of bad umpire loathing, dirt kicking, tantrum throwing, hard cussing, jaw chewing baseball managers has been ejected from the game of life. Earl Weaver knew what epithets were and he knew how to use them, often, and with enthusiastic fervor. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The little round man, loved by Oriole fans and loathed by losing opponents and irritated umpires, died on a baseball fan cruise on Friday night. He was 82 years old. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Hall of Fame manager, who led his beloved Baltimore Orioles to six Eastern division championships, four American League pennants and a single World Series title, served as the player-manager of the Dublin Orioles in 1958.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After one year without baseball, Dublin returned to the minor leagues, this time in the Georgia-Florida League. The league fielded six teams in its Georgia division: the Dublin Orioles, the Valdosta Tigers, the Albany Cardinals, the Brunswick Phillies, the Thomasville Dodgers, and the Waycross Braves.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqUVBP3hZj0B1hhyhuP4xKQNSN0wBiicBlZ_7wrkWJmeU0QgeVvLBgNodmDIAHcaAIbc0p-0P_5iyRJlZ-CHR4958RFmyJbQBdBCKnwpv1KhMQfU2CZTq8zL19UAVV0GNt4FsEfcT5ZcA/s1600/mlb_a_weaver01_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqUVBP3hZj0B1hhyhuP4xKQNSN0wBiicBlZ_7wrkWJmeU0QgeVvLBgNodmDIAHcaAIbc0p-0P_5iyRJlZ-CHR4958RFmyJbQBdBCKnwpv1KhMQfU2CZTq8zL19UAVV0GNt4FsEfcT5ZcA/s320/mlb_a_weaver01_600.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Dublin team, which heretofore had veteran baseball men at the helm, took a chance on a 27-year old player who had bounced around the minor leagues for ten years. Before he began his major league managing career, Earl Sidney Weaver began his minor league career as a 17 year old in West Frankfort in 1948. He enjoyed his best seasons in the minor league at St. Joseph in 1949, Omaha in 1951 and Denver in 1954. In 1957, he played his last season as a regular player with Fitzgerald in the Georgia-Florida League. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>During the 1958 season, Earl played in thirty seven games, tallying twenty five hits, four home runs, and twenty one runs batted in. In his eighty five at bats, Weaver hit for a .294 average with six doubles and twenty seven runs scored. Earl mainly played at second base, but moved himself to left field when the situation required it.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5btN9PlTzPs_N3yAamLh2PztQ3kYSU8TfYTBhS1FLEd1l376nQjiib9nMuWPMdsqjoB7CNp-DoP4kxEEunbEpextcZOlEnHB-j63hjc7VKpGkA-JvLagwhZJG31NV-KbdgFGbxS_7TRbx/s1600/Dave_Nicholson_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5btN9PlTzPs_N3yAamLh2PztQ3kYSU8TfYTBhS1FLEd1l376nQjiib9nMuWPMdsqjoB7CNp-DoP4kxEEunbEpextcZOlEnHB-j63hjc7VKpGkA-JvLagwhZJG31NV-KbdgFGbxS_7TRbx/s320/Dave_Nicholson_2.jpg" width="196" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Weaver managed two future major league stars in Dublin. Dave Nicholson, (LEFT) a hard swinging power hitter, once signed the largest rookie contract in the history of baseball. Nicholson played seven seasons in the "big show", including a season with the Braves. His 61 home runs were overshadowed by his 573 strikeouts. Steve Barber, (BELOW) a fire-balling southpaw, was a member of the pitching staff of the Baltimore Orioles, which rose to prominence in the 1966 World Series. Steve led the American League in shutouts in 1961, finishing with an 18 and 12 record. Barber pitched in the majors for 15 years with many teams including three seasons with Atlanta. Despite their future major league performances Barber and Nicholson failed to receive any post season honors in the Georgia-Florida League. First baseman Dave Bednar, outfielder Dick Ewin, and pitcher Ron Pearson were named to the Ga./Fla. All-Star team. The Orioles led the league in the number of players on the team. Bob Bird was voted the team’s most valuable player and Pearson was chosen as the most valuable pitcher for the Orioles.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpPeNuQWAsNEnnj8NvCtqnQHonuXK931og3k7hTfF4zP8K1xfQhyzrMhWc3Bl7iqPCWDau3XFap0_A8w0kzYpCtQgIofSCKW4viG1xO6GhykYNMgupNEpxPifVFKJperZqfEW7gCa1SC7/s1600/steve_barber_1964_orioles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpPeNuQWAsNEnnj8NvCtqnQHonuXK931og3k7hTfF4zP8K1xfQhyzrMhWc3Bl7iqPCWDau3XFap0_A8w0kzYpCtQgIofSCKW4viG1xO6GhykYNMgupNEpxPifVFKJperZqfEW7gCa1SC7/s1600/steve_barber_1964_orioles.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Orioles played well that year, especially for a new team. They were consistent winners, especially in front of the home crowd. The Birds finished in third place in both halves of the season. Albany won the first half and Valdosta the second half. The Valdosta Tigers won the post season playoff. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The 1958 Ga./Fla. League was one of the better Class D minor leagues. Several of the players went on to play in the major leagues. Valdosta Tiger Dick McAuliffe, a three time All-Star, was regarded by many as one the best American League shortstops of the 60s. He played 16 seasons for the Tigers and the Red Sox. McAuliffe, who led the AL in runs scored in 1968, was a leader of the 1968 World Champion Tigers. Don Wert, also playing for Valdosta, led the AL in fielding percentage in '65. Wert enjoyed his best season in 1968 playing on the all-star team and third base for the World Champion Tigers. Mike Shannon, an outfielder for the Albany Cardinals, played third base for the World Champion Cardinals in 1967. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggl7rXApM4TAKfF9DHMNJ85gOKNLssWdVvTanibmKzfOYXVWBixZYb6SlfUJm_QLDyjtNSCbo4C0mMP3395N02bO3USTlyT9iA0Cf0E9DtLLu80GBOUWp-rdrHxOOQIM-4P3wjThZaOPM4/s1600/weaver-1-0119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggl7rXApM4TAKfF9DHMNJ85gOKNLssWdVvTanibmKzfOYXVWBixZYb6SlfUJm_QLDyjtNSCbo4C0mMP3395N02bO3USTlyT9iA0Cf0E9DtLLu80GBOUWp-rdrHxOOQIM-4P3wjThZaOPM4/s320/weaver-1-0119.jpg" width="215" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Weaver was hired as a coach for the Orioles in 1968. He finished out that season as the manager with a winning record. In his first season, he led the Orioles to the American League Championship, before losing the World Series to the "Miracle" Mets. Weaver led the Orioles to the World Championship in 1970. The Orioles won a third consecutive league title in 1971, losing to the Pirates in the World Series. The Orioles came back in 1973 and 1974 to win Eastern Division titles. Weaver's last pennant was in 1979 when the Orioles lost to the Pirates in the World Series. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Earl Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on August 4, 1996, becoming only the 12th manager to be enshrined. His .583 winning percentage ranks him fifth on the modern all time list. Weaver, known as a fireball when it came to arguing with umpires, was most proud of the fact that he was never fired. Weaver had more 100-win seasons (5) than any other manager except Joe McCarthy of the Yankees. He only had one losing season, his last, in 1986. Weaver ranks seventh all time in winning percentage (1,480-1060 - .583%) and first among managers who began their careers after 1951. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6zg0EXnO3AL4Kx-5h22MiX0OAuY9e68GsVfk_XJ05M6RbESMzXpMgzucWi2u4JrvrFKxE03ej3mY-Fo9rv1KR9Ad8nBnZehpVSal45aVCT0axLrr2Iz8e9zJELsFdRXhqU-iVWK8wnC1/s1600/Earl-Weaver-ejects-umps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6zg0EXnO3AL4Kx-5h22MiX0OAuY9e68GsVfk_XJ05M6RbESMzXpMgzucWi2u4JrvrFKxE03ej3mY-Fo9rv1KR9Ad8nBnZehpVSal45aVCT0axLrr2Iz8e9zJELsFdRXhqU-iVWK8wnC1/s400/Earl-Weaver-ejects-umps.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>His 98 ejections are an American League record. Once he was ejected from a game for smoking in the dugout. In the next game, he presented the lineup cards with a candy cigarette in his mouth. He got tossed again.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-0etkuTPWezUfSWD_9moqxIYcar4bFFUq3Gj5JsJrb5NQCVo6b-Sks17r5T4A8-EwnfyitSwVuoEJsXm0MUWYV-Bz4pKm7Lm4OZPHZvY_6oomWRnckxBDAx7Wzs4Gr5B9lLCh78tFmL_/s1600/earl-weaver_606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-0etkuTPWezUfSWD_9moqxIYcar4bFFUq3Gj5JsJrb5NQCVo6b-Sks17r5T4A8-EwnfyitSwVuoEJsXm0MUWYV-Bz4pKm7Lm4OZPHZvY_6oomWRnckxBDAx7Wzs4Gr5B9lLCh78tFmL_/s320/earl-weaver_606.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Somewhere you will find Earl Weaver on his perch, following the ball, eyeing every check swing, every tag play, ready to fly out of the dugout, pounce on and devour anyone who got in the way of his team winning the game. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Love him or lose him, Earl Weaver was a winner. He would settle for nothing less, for in his own words he was “the sorest loser who ever lived.”<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204640320965144749.post-51814946114489336042013-01-25T18:49:00.002-08:002013-01-25T18:49:36.887-08:00LARRY MORRIS <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>HAIL AND FAREWELL TO THE BRAHMA BULL</b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFe4pSIZjPJr_GlN0FqAlNzglUMl-00IaaZ1nnYYI2EcRKgTYLgIc8jr9XPpzgukFcwL62bkCN83t9Pou-AhwQ2FY1dTmPBe4Neoyc0yvHAw-HtLlYZ5PY75Hqm10zIURaZuxZMBZvBX5/s1600/dac10811e99d3ec0cd69854638329f87de1b64cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFe4pSIZjPJr_GlN0FqAlNzglUMl-00IaaZ1nnYYI2EcRKgTYLgIc8jr9XPpzgukFcwL62bkCN83t9Pou-AhwQ2FY1dTmPBe4Neoyc0yvHAw-HtLlYZ5PY75Hqm10zIURaZuxZMBZvBX5/s320/dac10811e99d3ec0cd69854638329f87de1b64cd.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Chicago Bears have long been known for their linebackers. Names like Bronco Nagurski, Bulldog Turner, Clyde George, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher have struck shear terror in the minds of opposing ball carriers for nearly a century now. For a short while, you could add the name of Larry Morris to that list.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who is Larry Morris you say? And, what does he have to do with Laurens County?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, I will tell you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Larry Morris was born two weeks before Christmas in Atlanta, Georgia in the dark depression year of 1933. As a member of the Decatur High School football team, Morris led the Bulldogs to undefeated seasons in his junior and senior seasons. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Morris signed a scholarship to play football for his hometown Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It didn't take very long before Morris made a solid impression on his coaches. Tech Assistant Coach Frank Broyles, later an iconic coach at Arkansas, instantly knew that Morris was going to be an outstanding player. In his freshman season, Morris cracked the starting lineup in the SMU game and never looked back.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"As a player and as a human being, he was one of the best," Pepper Rodgers, a teammate and later a Tech coach, told a reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Morris's winning ways in high school continued in college. The Yellow Jackets boasted a record of 23-0-1 in his first two seasons, claiming two SEC championships along with the 1952 National Championship banner.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Named thrice to the all-SEC team, team captain Morris put an exclamation point on his career at Tech in the 1954 Georgia game. Playing both ways at center and linebacker, the "Brahma Bull" was credited with two dozen tackles in the Yellow Jacket's 7-3 victory at Sanford Stadium in Athens. Morris' superlative game earned him National Lineman of the Week honors. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvYvKs7lV2hjAxwVlXVm9AgBs-fcOb-v3P0QcKHlpCVG5pm8wwjheUYCH6-vMfPUxji1GB3D0f0RK-wAd0erfgfIajY0Z2Evh2OeRwdL4mnFW4RGmiYT4poSNSHeArHHdIjRwaqF_YTuq/s1600/sport-1154morris.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvYvKs7lV2hjAxwVlXVm9AgBs-fcOb-v3P0QcKHlpCVG5pm8wwjheUYCH6-vMfPUxji1GB3D0f0RK-wAd0erfgfIajY0Z2Evh2OeRwdL4mnFW4RGmiYT4poSNSHeArHHdIjRwaqF_YTuq/s320/sport-1154morris.JPG" width="263" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> "Morris was everywhere, including rushing the passer. He stopped plays over the middle, off the tackles and around ends," wrote Harry Mehre, former Georgia coaching legend. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Larry Morris, a member of the 1953 and 1954 All American teams, was selected by the Los Angeles Rams as their 7th pick in the 1955 NFL draft, making him the 3rd highest pick in Tech history.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Morris played for three seasons in the exciting surroundings of Los Angeles and Hollywood in the mid 1950s. In his rookie season, the Rams, under head coach Sid Gilman, lost to the Cleveland Browns in the championship game. Morris started twelve games in his rookie year, but saw limited action in the 1956 and 1957 campaigns. Morris was traded in the 1959 season to the Chicago Bears, coached by the legendary George Halas. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>December 29, 1963 was a bitterly cold, 10-degree, bright and sunny day in the not so friendly confines of Wrigley Field, Chicago. On that day, Larry Morris became a legend in the long, legendary annals of Chicago Bears history when the temperature was hovering around ten degrees. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Bears'stingy defense, known as "The Monsters of the Midway" and coached by future Redskins head coach George Allen, were ranked by ESPN as the 9th best defense in NFL history. Their opponent was the New York Giants, the league's best offensive team. Giant quarterback Y.A. Tittle was averaging nearly three touchdown passes per game. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgvJd6SPRsiKYgL-5NlUPiuCyebomIclBRu78Kf3Uo-ZEgcihNg3QWY5B9YKBwFFUSEX0Fs_jefjoVfqem5lJuvkTs1Qhpj90YI45LO8mZx04XQJWgwbfD2vO3gOZ8xMjNDKLAUEwltKc/s1600/MorrisD073117062.r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgvJd6SPRsiKYgL-5NlUPiuCyebomIclBRu78Kf3Uo-ZEgcihNg3QWY5B9YKBwFFUSEX0Fs_jefjoVfqem5lJuvkTs1Qhpj90YI45LO8mZx04XQJWgwbfD2vO3gOZ8xMjNDKLAUEwltKc/s400/MorrisD073117062.r.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With his team trailing early, Morris stepped in front of a Tittle screen pass, grabbed it out of the freezing air and stampeded for sixty-one yards down to the Giant 6-yard line. A few plays later, the Bears tied the game, 7-7. To see the play, go tohttp://<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUrDH94rYKA.">www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUrDH94rYKA. (11 MIN. 23 SECONDS.)</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"I was so tired I knew I was going to get caught,'' the fleet -footed outside linebacker recalled. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYJI2LZNgO9TeXCkX6a52Sxjal14xM9ucMT9w6LRcel8_-SKZe0OWzUW9VCDNL-dtgTrUIiPYHzRudgu9KBzgSTXoORSjvUN9VdMRgsFgmr3az46esIMQU3Yz4OUB9gigAcz8Atk0ZzEE/s1600/20eb6571b0052166fc58545590356ec4150efd92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYJI2LZNgO9TeXCkX6a52Sxjal14xM9ucMT9w6LRcel8_-SKZe0OWzUW9VCDNL-dtgTrUIiPYHzRudgu9KBzgSTXoORSjvUN9VdMRgsFgmr3az46esIMQU3Yz4OUB9gigAcz8Atk0ZzEE/s1600/20eb6571b0052166fc58545590356ec4150efd92.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After the Giants regained the lead in the second quarter, Morris sacked Tittle, damaging the Hall of Fame quarterback's knee, forcing him out of the game until the end of the half. With an ineffective Tittle at quarterback, the Giants failed to score in the second half and the Bears went on to a 14-10 victory in the 1963 NFL Championship game. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"I hit him just as he tossed that pass. His left leg was rigidly set on the ground and I slammed him just at the knee, " Morris recalled.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> "The first time it didn't hurt too much, but the second time it really hurt. I felt it pop," recalled of the Hall of Fame quarterback who was rendered virtually ineffective after the Morris hit. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was the first televised game that I remember seeing on TV. I was only seven and alas, I was a Giants fan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JSi2rWL5TupmFN6hRb3SBDYdkRalBcUKe4mMy3IZYQQAVMbW1Yqmh0sGRLfmUPJX1UWrc8q_9oXg8SHeJZRxuDTwgnl0FJpAQkPLhLXZPC_tjD6Ed4p3VvAnN3fAq7FUrtztENyS2K01/s1600/139023303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JSi2rWL5TupmFN6hRb3SBDYdkRalBcUKe4mMy3IZYQQAVMbW1Yqmh0sGRLfmUPJX1UWrc8q_9oXg8SHeJZRxuDTwgnl0FJpAQkPLhLXZPC_tjD6Ed4p3VvAnN3fAq7FUrtztENyS2K01/s320/139023303.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Morris played for two more seasons with the Bears before demanding a trade to the new team in his hometown, the Atlanta Falcons. After many batterings, heavy bruises and knee injuries, Morris retired after the 1966 season, the team's first season in the league. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Larry Morris earned his share of accolades in his sixteen-year career in football. He was runner up to the NCAA Lineman of the Year in 1953, a two-time All American, a three-time selection to the All-SEC team and a member of the NFL 1960s all-decade team. Inducted into both the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, Morris was also the recipient of the highly coveted NCAA Silver Award for outstanding contributions since his graduation from college. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After leaving football, Morris was elected to represent DeKalb County in the Georgia legislature. Morris went on to establish a highly successful real estate and insurance business in the Atlanta area.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of Larry Morris' personal real estate holdings was Laurens Hill, the old Harvard plantation house on Georgia Highway 26, southwest of Dudley. Morris and his wife Kay restored the 1840 mansion into their summer farm home.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But, as they say, all good things come to end. Football, which brought fame to Larry Morris, wound up destroying his life. After twenty years of playing in high school, college and in the pros, Larry's brain was bruised and battered too many times. Like other former pro football players of his day, Morris suffered early dementia and spent the last two decades of his life a shell of the former outgoing, personable and a successful businessman he was. In fact, it was his illness which led to the financial ruin of his family.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peace finally came to Larry Morris and his family, who had been tormented by the ravages of his injuries. Morris died on December 19, 2012. A memorial service was held last Friday.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Former teammate and close friend, Dick Inman, recalled, "One tough guy, he had no fear on the football field and basically he was kind of a gentle person."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I still remember my one conversation with Larry, some twenty years ago. It was right before his induction into the College Hall of Fame, which fittingly will move to his hometown in Atlanta in 2014. I don't quite remember what was said, but I do remember that he was just like those who knew him best, a real gentleman. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So hail and farewell to "The Brahma Bull," may you always be the hero you always were.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05269488889632912020noreply@blogger.com0