THE GREAT RACES OF 1911

The Great Races of 1911

It wasn't exactly the Indianapolis 500. That would start twenty days later. It was more like the Dublin 1.6. It wasn't run on a circular tract, and the participants didn't race each other. They raced against the clock. But, to the thousands of locals and several hundred visitors, they were the first car races, the Great Races of 1911.

Automobiles had not been around long. The first one came to town nine years earlier, fascinating bystanders and terrorizing horses tied to the hitching posts. Five more years passed before Dublin's first automobile dealers set up shop. The thrill of the "horseless carriage" captivated the well to do men of the city. Cars became status symbols. They have always been status symbols. Bigger was better. Faster was even better.

The allure of racing charmed more than seventy five Dubliners who traveled to Savannah in 1908 to watch the international 400 mile car races. Most of the people in Dublin had never see a car race of any kind before. By the time of the 1911 races, there were an estimated 150 cars in the city.

The precursor of the Great Races came in late April 1910, when a group of men staged a hill climbing contest on Turkey Creek Hill near Dudley, from the west side of the creek up to the top of the hill. Charles Eberlein, driving a White Star car, finished first with a 35-second run. Coming in a close second was Noble Marshall, who opened the first Chevrolet franchise in town, and L.W. Miller, who owned the first car dealership in Dublin. Another hill climb was staged on the day before the Great Races, just to get everyone in the mood for speed.

Car afficionados organized themselves as the Dublin Automobile Racing Association, Inc. H.G. Stevens, a hardware store magnate, was elected president. L.J. Bowyer acted as the group's secretary, while W.L. Branch was hired as general manager to run the day to day activities of the company.

Although this racing thing was new to everyone in town, organizers had an idea of what they wanted in a race track. The Laurens County Commissioners of Roads and Revenue agreed to furnish convict labor to grade the track since most of the course was outside the city limits, which at the time extended only to the Coney Street area. Newspapers reported that the organizers "got what they wanted." Boosters claimed their track was equal to any track in the United States.

The 1.6 mile races began near the home of J.R. Robinson on what was then known as "The Chicken Road," an old Indian trail running from Hawkinsville to the Oconee River at Dublin. The racers would cross the finish line at the Carnegie Library (Dublin-Laurens Museum.)

The races were divided into four events. Cars costing less than $650.00 were placed in the "A" Class. Those autos valued at $650.00 to $950.00 were assigned to the "B" Class. All cars above that exorbitant price would race in Class "C." Class "D" would be composed of an open class of cars.

Any good race needs prizes. So the people of Dublin who wanted to see the cars race chipped in. Handsome loving cups were purchased to go along with more useful cash prizes. Winners in Class A were awarded $15.00 in cash and a $25.00 cup up to $75.00 and a $100.00 cup in Class D. Any good race needs revenue too. The race itself was free. But, a special grandstand was built on the Burts property on Bellevue. Box seats cost a dollar a head, while regular grandstand seats went for a silver half-dollar. Entry fees ranged from $5.00 for Class A to $15.00 for the open class cars of Class D.

Races need rules too. Every car was required to be a gasoline-powered stock automobile, although drivers were allowed to remove certain parts to boost their speed. No professional drivers were allowed. Every car underwent an inspection thirty minutes before the starting time.

Cars began to arrive in town on Sunday. During the practice runs, several of the cars nearly topped the 75 mph mark. One racer was so excited he drew the attention of a Dublin police officer. The policeman admonished the driver for being a little too reckless and asked him to ease up a bit. The confident motorist responded, "If you can drive this car slow, you beat me. Get in and let me show you how she can fly!" His invitation was quickly declined.

The Great Races were set for 10:00 o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, May 10. All business houses closed early that morning. School kids got the day off. Inbound trains were crammed with hundreds of enthusiasts. The starting time was moved up to accommodate out of town visitors in meeting their afternoon trains back to their homes in Hawkinsville, Macon and other places. The night before the races, a crew was sent along Bellevue Avenue and the Chicken Road, known today as Bellevue Road, to sprinkle the dusty dirt avenue into ideal racing conditions. The Weather God came through with picture perfect skies. Traffic coming into town from the west was diverted at Captain W.B. Rice's home on the present grounds of the VA Hospital down to the Cotton Mill property on Marion Street. Members of the D.A.R.A. stood guard at every intersection along the track to prevent non-racers from entering the course.

Dublin's John F. Smith fell out of contention a third of the way down the course when his Maxwell blew a piston rod in the first sprint of the day. J.T. Coleman, of Hawkinsville, dropped out when his Buick 16 caught on fire and was completely destroyed.

With an obligatory 100-yard running start given to all contestants, A.M. Kea, of Dublin, driving a Maxwell A, captured first place in Class A, just ahead of J.L. Roberson, also of Dublin, at a slow poke average speed of 37mph. The two virtually equal Ford cars of the Laurens Automobile and Repair Company, driven by T.F. Dunnell and E.L. Porter, traveled 56 mph and finished 1-2 - a single second apart in the second race. Dominating the entire field was Herbert Wilson, of Hagan, Ga., driving his Cole 30 automobile. Wilson finished first in the third round of the day. In the open class, Wilson, traveling at an average speed of 65.6 mph, bested his own time with a course record of 1 minute and 28 seconds. Wilson took his second first place of the day twelve seconds ahead of F.S. Michael, of Baxley, driving a Buick 16, who took second place in the last two races. Thankfully, no one was injured.

The Great Races were an unequivocal success. In the excitement of the moment, men began plans to establish a country club with a circular race track nearby. Every one wanted bigger and better races. It would only be two more months before the races returned on the 4th of July. The excitement proved too much to the public as Dublin Police Chief J.E. Hightower had to buy and use a stopwatch to catch the speeders still on a high from the Great Races of 1911.

WHEN GIANTS PLAYED ON ITS FIELD

EASTMAN’S BIG DAY

On a warm, early spring Friday afternoon, a baseball game was played. Not just an ordinary semi-pro game for the folks in Eastman, Georgia, it was nine-inning game between the Detroit Tigers of the American League and the Boston Braves of the National League. Four thousand avid baseball fans filled every seat and lined the perimeter of the newly constructed ball field to see several of the grand ol’ game’s finest play America’s greatest pastime.  (LEFT-DICK RUDOLH, BOSTON)

In the days before routine airline travel and obligatory spring training sites in Florida and Arizona, many teams spent their pre-seasons in places like Macon, Augusta and Columbus, Georgia. Two of those teams, the Tigers and the Braves, planned a 17-game series beginning in Columbus, extending through the Carolinas, and ending in Maryland before the start of the 1920 season.

The Boston Nationals took the first three games of the series by good margins of the 3, 5, and 3 runs in Columbus, Moultrie and Valdosta. Eastman was the fourth stop along the way. Dublin, a much larger city, would have normally been on the list. The Braves scheduled games there in 1917, 1918 and 1919. The 1917 game with the Yankees was rained out. The 1918 rematch was unforgettable. The Braves’ 1919 game with the Tigers was canceled when Dublin promoters insisted that Ty Cobb  (LEFT) play in the game.

Nimbocumulus clouds rolling in from the west didn’t look so good for the game that day. But, that didn’t stop the fans from plunking down their hard earned, nearly pure silver coins for a fine bench seat or staking out a good spot along the fence.

Promoters of the game in Dodge County set out to improve their fairgrounds by laying out a permanent athletic field inside of the existing horse racing track. The planners, in anticipation of the newest sensation of the day, designed the field to accommodate the landing of the highly popular biplanes, which entertained old and young alike.

To maximize the fan’s view of the game, home plate was situated directly in front of the grandstand, which was divided into sections to optimize ticket prices. In the days and weeks leading up to the game, ticket sales, mainly held in three local drug stores as well as locations in other cities, were exceptionally brisk. Advertisements boldly proclaimed, “There is going to be a real, jam up, honest to goodness ball game with real, sure enough major league players.”

The teams, with a squad of sportswriters and photographers tagging along, were scheduled to arrive in five Pullman rail cars at 1:45 p.m. on the afternoon of March 26, 1920. The game’s first pitch was set for 3:00 p.m. sharp. Onto the field they came, real major league ball players. Eight thousand hands clapped. Four thousand mouths cheered. It was time to play ball!

The Detroit Tigers were led by the legendary Ty Cobb. Surviving newspaper accounts of the day never revealed whether or not Cobb was in uniform that day, but he was with the team and ready to play. Bengal manager Hughie Jennings (LEFT)  - himself a future member of the Baseball Hall of Fame - was tired of being drubbed by the Beaneaters from Boston. So, instead of trying to make do with a make shift lineup, Jennings sent his line up card out to umpire Finneran with his best players pencilled in. The Tiger lineup featured Harry Heilmann playing at first base. Heilmann, a four-time American League Batting Champion, was consistently among the league leaders in offense and defense. Named to the Hall of Fame in 1952, “Slug” Heilmann is still regarded as one of the top players of the 20th Century.

Six years earlier in 1914, they called Braves’ manager George Stallings’ team, “The Miracle Braves,” for their miraculous climb from the National League cellar on July 18 to a World Championship with their four-game sweep of the seemingly invincible Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. Stallings  (LEFT) , a resident of Jones County, was the first to make Georgia the home of the Braves, when he brought them to Macon, Columbus, and sometimes even to his own home in Jones County for spring training.

Playing at shortstop for the Braves was Walter “Rabbitt” Maranville, (LEFT) a consistent fielder who retired as the all time positional leader at shortstop in put outs. Also present, but playing little for the Braves that year, was Hank Gowdy. Gowdy, who went on to play 21 seasons, played for the “Miracle Braves” and was forever known as the first major leaguer to enlist in the Army in World War I. Known more for his glove than his bat, Gowdy lost many bids for election to the Hall of Fame.

Manager Jennings sent George “Hooks” Dauss  (LEFT) to the mound in an effort to prevent a fourth straight loss to their traveling mates. Dauss, whose 221 wins for the Tigers in 15 seasons is a franchise record, garnered 21 of his victories in the previous season. Stallings countered with his old reliable, Dick Rudolph. Rudolph, the sole remaining pitcher from the 1914 squad, started the first game of the 1914 World Series and baffled Connie Mack’s hapless Athletics with his elusive, and then legal, spitball pitches.

The Braves quickly appeared that they were going to run away with yet another game, jumping out to a two-unearned run lead in the bottom of the first inning. Dauss settled down. Going back to his 1919 form, the curveball ace held the Braves scoreless going into the top of the 4th stanza.

Ralph “Pep” Young, exceedingly efficient at getting on base, led off the top of the 4th for the Tigers with a base on balls. Sammy Hale, who hailed from Glen Rose, Texas, flied out. Bobby Veach, (LEFT) the all time Major League leader in putouts for a left fielder and the first Tiger player to ever hit for the cycle, doubled. Veach never stopped running. When a “dead duck” throw went wild, Veach followed Young home to tie the game at 2-2.

Dauss pitched one final inning until he was relieved by Ernie Alten in the 5th. Alten, who shut out the Braves for the rest of game, had little luck in the regular season when posting a pathetic 9.00 ERA in his only year in the Majors.

In the top of the 6th inning, Young once again led off, this time with a solid single. Sammy Hale, who led the AL in sacrifice hits that season, sacrificed himself, driving Young to second base. Not wanting a repeat of another Veach (2-3) hit, Boston pitcher, “Handsome Hugh” McQuillan, intentionally walked the Tiger outfielder, who stands alone in baseball trivia as the only player ever to pinch hit for Babe Ruth.

Harry Heilmann, (LEFT)  who sported a lifetime batting average of .342 and who along with Ted Williams were the last two AL batters to post a .400 plus batting average, disappointingly flied out. With two runners on and two outs in the inning, Babe Ellison, whose best playing days were ahead of him as a great player in the Pacific Coast League, doubled, driving in both Hale and Veach and sending the Tigers to a 4-2 lead, a margin which they would hold until the end of the contest.

Alas, the game came to an end. The exhilarated crowd scattered into the countryside. The Braves’ streak was over. The teams met in Macon on Saturday and again in Atlanta on Sunday. Both teams finished next to dead last in their respective leagues, each more than 30 games out first place. Ty Cobb, in the twilight of iconic career, suffered a leg injury and missed 40 games that year. It would the last of George “The Miracle Man” Stallings’ 14 seasons at the helm of a major league team.

All of that was lost on those four thousand fortunate baseball fans, who for the most part, saw their first and only major league game on that March day when giants played on their field.

THE DAYS OF JOSHUA CODY

He was big and tall - as strong as man could come. He could knock down any tackler, blast a baseball way out of the park and stuff a basketball into the net. Joshua Crittenden Cody had already proved himself as a three-sport athlete. It was time to prove himself as a coach. But, before taking the reigns as head coach of Mercer University’s football team, Josh Cody put his baseball uniform on one more time to lead the Dublin Irishers to a successful, albeit short, season in the summer of 1920.

Joshua Crittenden Cody was born on June 11, 1892 in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee. At the age of twenty-two, Cody, a son of self employed house painter James Cody and his wife Elizabeth, enrolled in nearby Vanderbilt University and joined the football team. You see, although he was a grown man, Josh Cody was a very big man, as tall as 6'4" and weighing 220 pounds or more, characteristics that would have made him a giant in his day.

Cody, playing tackle on both sides of the line of scrimmage, made his mark early when in his second game, drop-kicked a 45-yard field goal against the always powerful Michigan Wolverines. Later that year, the towering tackle dropped back into the backfield and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass against Virginia.

The Vanderbilt Commodores reversed their fortunes in 1915, going 9-1. Cody, a big part of the team’s turnaround with his powerful blocking and quick tackling, earned his first selection to the All American team. Cody and the boys from Vandy (7-1-1) posted another fine season in 1916. Once again, Cody was named to the All American team.

The coming of World War I took Josh Cody away from football to serve his country as an infantry lieutenant. Lt. Cody took off his Army uniform and put his football uniform back on for one final season in 1919. The Commodores lost only a single game. Cody topped off his collegiate career with his third selection to the All American team. He was one of the first and the very few persons ever to be named first team All American three times.

Josh Cody wasn’t just a superlative football player. His letterman’s jacket was covered with a lucky thirteen letters in football, basketball, baseball and track in his four seasons at Vandy.

“When I think of Josh in his college days, I get a mental picture of this great big fellow playing catcher in the spring and between innings running out beyond the outfield to throw the shot or the discus in his baseball uniform. He was unbelievably skillful and nimble for a big man in basketball, and in football where he’s a legend, said sports writer Fred Russell about Cody.

Mercer University hired the multi-sport star to coach their athletic teams beginning with football in the autumn of 1920. But before beginning his duties in Macon, the owners of the Dublin Irishers semi-pro baseball team hired Cody, along with then current Vanderbilt baseballers catcher Mims Tyner and third baseman Woodruff, to play on the team.

Cody did quite of bit of managing from behind the plate, catching the Irishers’ first game and garnering two of the team’s four hits in a losing effort against Millen. After going an outstanding 16-7 in five weeks of baseball, the Irishers surprisingly disbanded due to lack of financial support and attendance.

After several lackluster seasons at Mercer, Coach Cody was easily lured back to Vanderbilt as head basketball and assistant football coach under his mentor and former coach, the legendary Dan McGugin, on the gridiron. During his tenure at Vandy, the gridiron Commodores were just mediocre at best. Cody’s hardwood five (20-4) won the Southern Conference championship.

Clemson University was the next stop on Cody’s climb to the top of his game. In four seasons with the Tigers, Cody’s footballers never lost more than three games in a season, beating South Carolina four straight times and in the process, making Coach Cody the only Clemson coach with more than two seasons who never lost to their hated intrastate rival.

Josh Cody desperately wanted to return to Vanderbilt as the head football coach. He did return in 1931, but when another coach was chosen to lead the team, Cody looked elsewhere. His Florida Gators suffered through four losing seasons. Once again Cody was on the move.

The Tennessean wound up at Temple University in Philadelphia as line coach under Ray Morrison, the former Vandy alumni who had taken the head job at Vandy away from him in 1934. The highlight of his basketball coaching career (1942-1952) came in 1944, when Temple made it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament. A football assistant, Cody became the university’s athletic director in 1952.

The unforseen resignation of the school’s football coach in 1955 gave Joshua Cody one final chance to coach football. His team lost every game.

Joshua Cody, known as “Big Man” to his friends and fans, was known far and wide as a champion eater. Fred Russell once said, “When he was at Clemson he had a contest with Herman Stegman, the coach at Georgia. Josh weighed about 260 then. He out stripped Stegman by 11 chickens. He wasn’t satisfied just to win. He just went on to a decisive victory.” Said Cody on the eating contest, “I got two chickens ahead of him early and just coasted.”

A teammate of Cody in 1919, Atlanta Constitution publisher Ralph McGill said about Cody, “He was a great big fellow and one of the most seriously dedicated fellows I’ve ever met. He was a farm boy and he didn’t have any polish but he was very honest and sincere. He didn’t have scholarship——we had none in those days——but he had a real job. He literally cleaned the gymnasium every day, cleaned up the locker rooms and the showers, and tended to the coal furnace after practice.”

Nearly two months after his death on June 17, 1969, Joshua Cody, along with Wilbur Henry, was selected as the tackles (both ways) on the All Time 1869-1918 Early Era All American NCAA Football team.

Cody was posthumously enshrined into the National College Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He remains Vanderbilt’s only three-time (1915, 1916, 1919) All-American football player.

On a personal note, Coach Cody was my grandfather Howard Irving Scott’s football and basketball coach at Mercer University in the 1920-1 seasons. It will also be noted that a decade later, another quite legendary coach, Wally Butts of the University of Georgia, played for Dublin’s semi-pro team, only to see his season cut short when he injured his leg in the second game of the season.

But it was in those bright, warm, twenty-three summer days, the days of Joshua Cody, when Dublin’s baseball team was led by one of college football’s greatest linemen.

THE MAGIC OF THE SHAMROCK BOWL

Do you remember the magic of 1962? Today it almost seems like a dream. Teenagers had a carefree life, except when they were thinking about a date on Saturday night, getting enough gas money to "Scratch the Patch", or how they were going to pass Mrs. Powell's English test. The conflict half way around the world was just beginning to erupt. The "Lads from Liverpool" were planning their British invasion. Uncle Jed and the Clampett family were moving to Beverly Hills. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a month away.



Outsiders said it couldn't be done. “There's too much factionalism in Dublin." There had been a bitter dispute over whether or not to build a county hospital. Laurens Countians had just gone through two heated election campaigns for Sheriff and Judge. Any successful building project needs a leader and many more loyal supporters. Don Lamb, a Dublin businessman, shook off all the doubts. The origin of the project went back to 1959 and 1960 when the Irish of Dublin High School won two consecutive state football championships. Battle Field, which had been around about twenty years, was totally inadequate for the needs of the team - and especially the fans. The bleachers had no aisles and once you got to your seat - if you could find one - you had to stay. People stood along the rails near the gym and on top of the cars parked on Moore Street to watch the Irish play. On some nights as many as six thousand fans would line the edges of the field.



On October 16, 1961, Don Lamb was named permanent chairman of the board of directors of the Dublin Playground Association. The founders of the association also included Dr. John Bell, Dr. Fred Coleman, Newton Morris, C.U. Smith, Ed Hall, W.E. Lovett, Gene Scarborough, Bush Perry, Fred Middlebrooks, Leonard Swida, Carl Mikall, Judge Harold E. Ward, L.D. Woods, Tom Bruce, McGrath Keen, Herschel Salter, Tommy Patterson, W.C. Brown, T.A. Curry, Jr., Carlus Gay, James F. Nelson, C.B. Chafin, Henry Tharpe, Spec Hall, J. Felton Pierce, Darrell Robinson, and Supt. S.R. Lawrence. Their mission was to locate a site and to construct a football stadium. Co-captains Tal Fuqua and Jimmy Hilburn, Coaches Minton Williams and Travis Davis, along with Touchdown Club president Alfred Eubanks were there with the other players, cheerleaders, and dozens of fans as the first grading began on Halloween of 1961.



The fund raising drive began three days later. The original goal was $50,000. The final cost would be a little over $87,000. Lamb and his board of directors came up with an ingenious plan to raise the money. Each donor would be not be asked to give cash, but to sign a promissory note, payable in thirty six installments. Real estate developer Thomas Curry remarked "It was the only time in my life that I borrowed money to give it away." Within a week, nearly sixteen thousand dollars had been pledged. The notes were discounted by the local banks to provide the construction funds.



The new stadium, which was still unnamed, was designed by Spitler and Yates to seat 8,200 people - with room for future expansion. There would be a modern field house, better restroom facilities, improved lighting, and better refreshment stands. The architects took advantage of the terrain and designed the stadium in a natural bowl shape which was opened on the north end of the field. The city and county lent some of their equipment to grade the site and to build an access road to the stadium and one from the stadium which later became Brookwood Drive. Sgt. Ben Snipes planted the grass. Grady Wright donated his services as the landscaper. Willie Wilkes helped with grading. Spec Hall groomed the field and planted the slopes. Troy Manning lent his irrigation equipment to pump water out of the creek. Ben Hall of Dublin Construction, R.T. Grier of Durden Electric, A. E. Kimball of Harpe Plumbing, and Ed Taylor of Builders Concrete gave up their profits on the job. Their were dozens of others who lent a hand.



An open house was held on held on August 24. Twenty six hundred people showed up to tour the field, meet the players, and listen to a concert by the Dixie Irish Band. There was still $24,000 which still needed to be raised. Lamb invited all comers to sign notes which could be paid back at five, ten, or fifteen dollars a month.



Opening night was set for September 21st. The Irish were 3 and 0. By opening night, a little less than sixteen thousand dollars was needed the goal. That Friday was officially designated as "Fill the Stadium Night." The opponents were the Crisp County Rebels. The chain grocery stores agreed to close a half hour early. In the pre-game ceremonies, Sharon Lamb, a cheerleader and daughter of Don and Mildred Lamb, christened the stadium as she led the unveiling of the shamrock at the southern end of the field. The Irish good luck symbol was originally fashioned out of neatly arranged Liriope plants. The name for the new stadium was obvious - The Shamrock Bowl. At least five thousand loyal fans passed through the gates. Crisp County, playing in a higher class, fought back to tie the game which ended with the score of 13 to 13. The Irish finished the season 7-2-1. Charles Faulk was an All-State tackle.



The Shamrock Bowl is now filled with thirty five years of memories. There was another state championship in 1963 and several great seasons after then. The halftime fans of the 60s were the treated to the music of one of the finest high school bands ever under the direction of John Hambrick and Jim Willoughby. Sylvester, our family beagle, still holds the record for a 120 yard touchdown run as he avoided capture by several winded chasers. In 1974, Jeffrey Sims set a state record for return yardage on two consecutive plays when he returned a kickoff 90 plus yards which followed a 90 yard plus interception return on the last play of the last game. In 1976, an obscure freshman was playing in his first game away from home. Not many knew the name of the back who lost four yards on two carries. The young man never looked back and probably never had another negative yard game. He of course was Heisman trophy winner and the all time great, Herschel Walker.



One Friday night this Fall, when the air is cool and the moon is full, grab your seat cushion and head on out to the Shamrock Bowl. Close your eyes, smell the popcorn and the grass slowly turning brown, and remember the magic of '62 when thousands of Dubliners came together and realized their dream of building one of the finest high school athletic fields in our state. Sources: History of the Shamrock Bowl, by Don Lamb (Dublin-Laurens Museum).

FRANK OCEAK

NOW COACHING AT THIRD BASE, FRANK OCEAK

Some sportswriters say that he was the best manager in the history of the Mexican baseball leagues. Old time Pirate fans remember Oceak as the first man to shake the hand of Bill Mazeroski as the rounded third base to complete his walk off home run trot to defeat the powerful New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series. Others, may remember him as the crewcut, gray-haired skipper of the Dublin Irish minor league team way back in 1953.

Frank John Oceak was the most famous person ever born in Pocahontas, Virginia. He was certainly the most famous man to ever hit and throw a baseball from that coal mining town of western Virginia. In 1920, at the age of eight, Frank moved with his family to Cliffside Park, N.J., where he graduated from high school during the height of the great depression in 1931. With little or no decent paying jobs anywhere to be found, Frank Oceak turned to what he loved best - baseball.

The New York Yankees signed Frank to a contract, assigning him to their Cumberland, Maryland team in the Middle Atlantic League. From Cumberland, Frank would play for teams in far away places such as Wheeling, Binghamton, Akron, Norfolk, Beaver Falls, Oil City, Hornell, Lafayette, Fayette, Selma and Keokuk.

Oceak was a decent infielder, leading the Middle Atlantic in fielding for four years, playing both sides of the keystone combo. A fine batting average of .297 was not enough to warrant a promotion beyond the AA level of the minors. In 1936, Frank left the Yankees and joined the St. Louis Browns' farm system. Two years later, the owner of the Lafayette White Sox hired Frank to lead the team in the 1938 season. The Sox went 69-69, not a bad start to a managerial career. In the following season, Frank's Fayetteville Angels finished atop the Arkansas-Missouri League. His Beaver-Falls team lost in the finals of the 1940 Penn State League tournament.

The year 1942 was the turning point on Frank's career. Banned for all of 1941 by Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis for assaulting an umpire, Frank joined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, a move that would result in more than three decades of an association with the team, except for a brief stint in the armed forces in the last years of World War II and one year with the Reds.

After the war, Frank returned to the managerial reins in Selma, Alabama. After four mediocre seasons, Oceak got the best job of his early career as manager of the Charleston Rebels of the South Atlantic League. On the heels of a poor start to the 1953 season, Frank was demoted to an assignment as the manager of the Class D Dublin Irish of the Georgia State League.

Oceak replaced Johnny George, whose team was two games under .500, on June 18. Leading the Irish that year was Parnell Ruark, one of the franchise's best players ever. Pitching for the 1953 Irish was young Walker "Bo" Whaley, a future Courier Herald columnist. After a 20 and 49-season and a 7th place finish, Oceak's career in Dublin ended on a less than stellar note. Nevertheless, Oceak was promoted to the Brunswick, Georgia team in the Georgia-Florida League.

In his first two seasons in the Shrimp Capital of the World, Oceak's Pirates finished in first place. After disappointing 7th place finishes in Brunswick in 1956 and AAA Columbus in 1957, it appeared that Frank's career as a manager was all but over.

But hold up for a moment. In the 1956 winter season, Oceak's Poza Rico team captured the Mexican League championship. Oceak was coaching a team in the Domincan Republic when his old roommate Danny Murtaugh was named to manage the big league team in Pittsburgh. So, in 1958, Frank and Danny resumed their life long friendship when Frank, wearing jersey # 44, joined the Bucs as third base coach and infield instructor. His pupils were Dick Groat (1960 NL MVP), Bill Mazeroski (1960 Player of the Year), and Ted Kluszewski, whose upper arms were so huge that he had to cut off his sleeves to put on his jersey.

In his first two seasons, Frank's team finished in the upper half of the National League. The year 1960 was to become a different season. It was the year when the Pirates returned to the World Series. The last time the Pirates had been in the series, it was 1927,when they were swept by the Murderer's Row Yankees with Ruth, Gehrig, Lazerri and Combs, Koenig, and Meusel and arguably, at (110-44), the best team in the history of baseball.

The day - October 13, 1960. The place - Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, PA. Pirates go ahead in the bottom of the 8th inning with five runs. Yankees tie the game with 2 scores in the top of the 9th. Bottom of the 9th inning. Score: New York 9 - Pittsburgh 9. The series is tied 3-3. Ralph Terry, for the Yankees in relief, is on the mound. The count - 1-0. Oceak, the third base coach, takes off the take sign. Batting for the Pirates; Mazeroski, hoping for a miracle, got one. Mazeroski swings. He smacks the ball toward left center. It's ------ gone! Home run! The Pirates win the World Series! Fans race toward Maz as he rounds second base, hoping to get a pat on the back or grab a souvenir cap. The first Pirate to congratulate the fine defensive second baseman was his mentor and third base coach Oceak, his own cap on the ground or in the hands of a lucky scavenging fan.

When Murtaugh resigned for health reasons as manager after the end of the 1964 season, Oceak found that the only way he could remain in the major leagues was to accept the offer of the Cincinnati Reds as a coach. Pete Rose credited Oceak with helping him to become a better second baseman just as he did with Bill Mazeroski in 1958, when Maz cracked the starting lineup for the first time.

After one season with the Reds, Frank longed to return to the Pirates, who named him to manage the Clinton Pilots of the Midwest League. Oceak returned to Middle Georgia in 1967 to manage the Macon Peaches of the Southern League. His last two seasons as a minor league manager came in 1968 and 1969 came with the Gastonia Pirates.

When Danny Murtaugh returned to the Pirates in 1970, he asked Frank to come back to the big club and take his old spot in the third base coach's box. The Pirates returned to the top of the National League, capturing first place in the NL East. In 1971, the Pirates returned to the World Series.

In a bit of deja vu, the Pirates and Orioles were locked in tight game with the series tied 3-3. As he congratulated Roberto Clemente as he homered and rounded third to put the Pirates ahead, Frank thought back to the series 11 years before. The Pirates took a two-run lead into the 9th inning, just as they had done against the Yankees. This time they held the lead, winning the game 2-1 and the series, four games to three. Once more, Frank and the Pirates were world champions. Frank Oceak stayed on with the Pirates after Murtaugh retired again.

Frank Oceak, after four decades of playing, coaching and managing, hung up his cleats for the last time following the 1972 season. He died in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1983 at the age of seventy.

SALLY BELL

Making the Right Call
Color photos @ Referee Magazine, March 2004.

From her very first dribble, Sally loved the game of basketball. And now, some forty plus years later, she has seen millions of dribbles, most of the time making sure that none of them were of the double kind. Today, it is Sally's job to find, train and assign the right people to be in the right position to make the right call all of the time.

Sally Smalley Bell, daughter of Dr. Derrell and Nell Smalley, was born and grew up in Dublin, Georgia. "I loved basketball from day one," Sally said as she thought of the days when she began playing when she was in the fifth grade. "Back then, we played half court, three guards and three forwards, but during my senior year we went to a rover system - two players played full court," Sally remembered.

As he was to millions of other kids back in the 1960s, Pete Maravich was Sally's idol on the court. "I was just totally in awe of his skills. He was so far ahead of his time. It was just amazing to me," said Sally would often hop in her car and drive to Atlanta to catch a glimpse of her hero.

Before she graduated from Dublin High School in 1971, Sally played in the band and performed on the sidelines during half time shows as a majorette. She was captain in her senior year. Her father was a well known and respected veterinarian, a founder of Smalley's Animal Hospital. Her mother's paintings were truly works of art and can still found in places around Dublin.

After Sally graduated from the University of Georgia, she took a job with the Habersham County Recreation Department, doing whatever job she was called upon to do. "One night we had no refs, so I had to call the game," Sally remembered. The coach started screaming at her. His objections, Sally admitted, were probably right. After all, it was her first time as a real referee. And, as anyone whoever slipped on one of those zebra shirts and blew a whistle can tell you, officiating a basketball game is no easy task.

"I went over to the coach and said, 'We may not be right, but you are not going to yell at us. Either sit down and shut up, or leave," Sally ordered. There wasn't another peep from the coach that night. The next day, Sally discovered that the coach, Cecil Huff, who was chewing her out was actually the head of the local high school officials association. Sally had made a good first impression. For, on that day, her career as a basketball referee began. "He called me and asked me to join and I became the first female referee in the Georgia Mountain Officials Association," Bell fondly remembered. The two became mentor and student and very close friends.

Sally even married a referee. Her husband Jack Bell, a Gainesville attorney has been officiating at the high school and college level for several decades. In fact, they met for the first time when they called a basketball game together. "Jack didn't have two words to say to me at that game," Sally told a reporter for Referee magazine. "Jack is basically a shy guy and I was nervous as heck," Sally laughed. But Jack saw something in Sally and asked their mutual friend Cecil Huff for a return assignment. They were married a year or so later.

Determined to succeed, Sally attended every officiating camp she could. "That put me in the loop," Sally said. Assignors in attendance began to notice Sally. How couldn't they notice, she was often the only female on the court. To catch the attention of college coaches, Sally worked AAU summer tournaments. That's when the exposure led to recommendations and then to assignments.

In the early days, Sally worked as many as six to eight games a week. "I just couldn't think of anything I'd rather do," she said. "I became consumed by it. By the end of her seventh year as an official, Sally had climbed the ladder from rec. ball to Division I.

Sally's first big break came in 1984 when she was assigned to call the National Junior College tournaments. She was called back for the next two years.

All the years of hard work and dedication paid off in 1989 when Sally was chosen to officiate the NCAA Division 1 Final Four tournaments. It would be the first of fifteen assignments to the high point of women's collegiate basketball. Only twice (1991-1992) in seventeen years (1989-2005) did Bell not get the assignment for the highly heralded tournament.

Although she didn't make the final four in 1991, Sally Bell received the penultimate honor of being named the Naismith Female Official of the Year. During her first decade and a half, Sally had called games in major conferences such as the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big East.

Reporter Rick Woelfel wrote of Sally, "She is unobtrusive on the court, but somehow she always manages to be in the right place at the right time. What she lacks in pure athleticism, she makes up for with court sense and hustle. In a very real sense, she reads and feels the game, bending with it like a rooted tree in the wind."

Former officiating partner and NBA official Dee Kantner agrees, "When I talk to prospective female officials, I tell them you don't have to be that perfect athlete. Look at Sally Bell, she looks like a housewife out there." Kantner adds, "Her game management skills are subtle. She has a subtle calming presence." Fellow WNBA official Bonita Spence admired Bell's willingness to thank her partners for making calls they saw in her zone while many officials often chastize the partners for calling a play outside of their area.

Perhaps one of the most exciting tournaments came in 1996, when Sally traveled a short distance from home to officiate the games of the 1996 Summer Olympics. She had been to the 1989 Junior World Championships in Spain and the 1990 World Championships in Malaysia and the 1994 Goodwill Games in Russia, but nothing can compare to being an official in the greatest of all amateur basketball games.

Always wanting people to remember that Sally Bell was a good referee, Sally left the game while she on top of her game. Today, Sally serves as supervisor of officials for the Sunbelt, Southland, and SWAC conferences. Her goal is to see the successes of the officials whom she supervises.

In looking back over her career on the court, the biggest difference from when she started until today is the athletic abilities of the players. Sally sees the ability to communicate between partners, coaches, players and supervisors as the biggest challenge.

When she is not working, Sally can be found near a golf course or planning her next trip to golf's Ryder Cup tournament. She hasn't missed a single one since 1997.

So, during the madness of March, let's all salute Sally Smalley Bell for a career well done.

BILL NORRIS

From Lovett Park to Wimbledon

He has been called "The Wizard of Gauze." Others call him "Billy the Banger" or "Bangers and Mash." He has spent most of his life in and around many of the most exclusive and glamorous tennis courts of the world. In his career, Bill Norris had mended scrapes, soothed strained muscles and counseled many of the world's greatest tennis players Of all of the places in the world, his career began right here in Dublin, Georgia at Lovett Park. From such a humble beginning, Bill Norris moved on to a career in professional basketball and found his life's calling as the world's most highly regarded tennis trainer.

William L. Norris was born on August 5, 1942 in Fort Myers, Florida. He grew up a baseball fan. As a perennial ritual of spring, major league baseball players invaded his homeland to prepare for the rigors of the upcoming seasons. At the age of 12, Billy Norris knew he wanted to be an athletic trainer. As a spring training bat boy for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Norris began to learn the scientific method of treating sports injuries. During his high school years, he worked as an assistant trainer for the Pirates while they were in town. Though he wasn't much of an athlete, Bill loved sports and wanted to be a part of them.

Bill began his studies in earnest in 1960 when he enrolled at Manatee Junior College. After two years of school, he was invited to join the Class D team of the Milwaukee Braves in the Georgia-Florida League. And so, for Bill, it was off to Dublin, Georgia and his first real job as a trainer. The Dublin Braves were a pretty fair minor league team that year. Four players, including Bill Robinson, made it to "the show" before their playing days were over. Bill learned the game under the guidance of veteran minor league manager Bill Steinecke.

After attending a training school, Bill was hired to work with the New York Mets, the worst team in baseball history. The Mets assigned Bill to train their minor league teams first in Columbus, Georgia and then in Auburn, New York. Bill's natural skills as a trainer didn't go unnoticed. Coach Eddie Donovan of the cross town New York Knicks saw something special in the young Floridian. When the last out was made, Bill began his conversion to basketball with a promise of returning to baseball when the grass began to turn green again.

During his six seasons with the Knicks, Norris saw to the needs of some of the game's greatest players, including Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Walt Frazier. While he worked with the Knicks, Bill also worked as a trainer for all performers in Madison Square Garden, including boxers, Frank Sinatra and the Beatles.

In 1969, Bill again took another cross town job, this time with the New York Nets of the ABA. In the early years of the franchise, Norris worked with future NBA legend Rick Barry, leaving the team just before it signed the all time great Julius Erving. Bill continued to work for the Mets during baseball season during the off season. But after twelve seasons of professional basketball and several more in baseball, it was time for a career change.

In 1973, Bill was approached by the Association of Tennis Professionals. They needed a trainer for their members and Bill was a prime choice. The association wanted one trainer for all of their male tennis players. They needed a familiar face run out on the court to tend to an injury, one person who could know the players and their particular bodies and one who could get into their minds and relieve their aches and pains. Rarely does Bill see an injury. He has to rely upon spectator's accounts and those made by anguished players.

The highlights of Bill Norris's thirty three years in professional tennis come from his association with the United States Davis Cup teams. He has worked with four winners of the cup, led by a quartet of the greatest legends of the game, Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi. He has also worked with Pete Sampras, Stan Smith and Ken Rosewall among hundreds of others.Norris also worked with international icons Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Ilie Nastase and Guillermo Vilas. At all times, Bill's job is to remain neutral and treat each competitor the same. Bill did become a close friend and drinking buddy of Bob Lutz.

Of all of the players he trained, Norris most admires the tenacity and determination of Jimmy Connors, despite his obnoxious behavior on the court. Some have compared bill to the incomparable fictional teacher Mr. Chips, who now after forty-five years of training looks back with fondness for the thousands of young men he has worked with and gotten to know and to admire.

Bill's job calls for up close and deeply personal contact with his athletes. Many of the game's greatest players would and could confide in him their deepest thoughts, triumphs and fears. Bill had to become a part time psychologist. As a trainer, Bill knew what to do to physically prepare his players for their next match, but he learned to observe their mental attitudes as an indicator of how they were going to perform after they left the locker room. From his position, Norris knows the players better than anyone, maybe even the players themselves. The players grew to admire and respect Norris, who once with his long hair and strong round glasses, bore an uncanny resemblance to the late singer John Denver. Their similarities were so indistinct that Bill used to sign Denver's name for autograph seekers and adoring fans who couldn't tell the difference. His likeness helped him to get free drinks and quite a few laughs. Jimmy Connors once got in on the joke when he traveled to meet Denver to ask for his advice, pretending that Denver was Bill Norris. All of that ended
after Denver's untimely death in an airplane crash.

Bill's expertise on tennis injuries drew the attention of amateurs as well. President Ronald Reagan called on Bill to work on is bad back. Princess Grace Kelly sought out Bill's comforting hands to cure her sore elbow.

Today, Bill's schedule has trimmed down dramatically. He now spends more time with his wife and family, a task which was once difficult to manage. Bill Norris loves the game of tennis and loves helping its players make it up off the court. Over his forty-five years in sports medicine, Bill looks forward to every new day. "No two days are the same," said Bill, who thrives on his relationships with every new generation that comes along. His favorite tournament is at Wimbledon. "It is like a big reunion," Bill said.

Bill Norris believes the soul of tennis lies within the amateur players across the country and the world, who have not been exposed to fame and adulation. He never plans to retire, telling a reporter for the BBC, "I want to die running out to the court trying to help somebody."