THE CRANBERRY BOWL
Dublin’s Annual Thanksgiving All Star Football
Game
1959-1966


For many years, the big game of the football season has traditionally been played on or near Thanksgiving Day. In 1959, the Recreation Dept. staged a post season game to raise money to pay for one hundred new uniforms. The game, billed as “The Cranberry Bowl,” was originally an intra-league contest between the Midget League Champions and all-stars from the other teams in the league. Over the years, Dublin teams played teams from other cities in Georgia, all centered around the Thanksgiving holiday. The games were played during the glory years of Dublin football, when the Dublin Irish were perennially one of the best teams in its class in
Georgia.

In the first post season game, sponsored by the Touchdown Club, the Central Elementary Redskins played against all-stars from the Moore Street Eagles, Johnson Street Colts, and Saxon Heights Rams. Johnny Floyd and Fred Middlebrooks coached the champion Redskins, while Joe Uliano, Ray Dunn, and Herb Arnett coached the all-stars. Eddie Morgan, fullback for the undefeated Redskins, dove over from the two yard line to give ‘Skins the lead. Benny Warren, of the Colts, stepped in front of a Redskin pass deep in all-star territory and ran it back for 50 yards. Vic Belote passed the tying touchdown pass to fellow Moore Street Eagle, John Strickland, with only minutes to play. When no team converted their extra point try, the game ended in a “sister kissing” tie, 6 to 6.

In 1960, the Cranberry Bowl became an intra-state game. The Dublin all-stars played the Howell all-stars of Atlanta at Battle Field. Fred Middlebrooks and Don Tanner coached the Dublin boys. Eddie Morgan and Bennie Warren scored two touchdowns each in leading the Dublin team to a 38 to 18 victory. One of Morgan’s scores came on a 60 yard touchdown run. Also scoring for Dublin were John Smythe and Ron Hickerson, who scored on a 56 yard touchdown pass. All of Howell’s points came during the last quarter of the game.

In 1961, the Dublin all-stars tuned up for the bowl game with a 13-6 victory over the Macon all-stars. Stanley Johnson ran around the end for the first score. The Macon team tied the game in the third quarter. Danny Forbes scored the winning TD when only a few seconds remaining. George Lee’s Dublin all-stars played another Atlanta team. Stanley Johnson scored on a forty-yard run to open the scoring. Atlanta tied the score, then Dublin never looked back. Johnson took the ensuing kickoff and ran it back sixty yards for the go-ahead TD. Johnson scored his final touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving the Dublin boys a 20-7 victory. Coach Lee cited Johnson, Phil Dean, Teddy Jones, Joe Brown, Gary Oliver, Roy Bedingfield, Danny Forbes, and Moody Oliver for their outstanding play.

Al Jacobs and Johnny Floyd coached the 1962 team against the Commerce Midgets in the first Cranberry Bowl played in the Shamrock Bowl. Dublin gave the game away with fumbles of the opening kickoff and the first play of the second half. Commerce won the game, 26 to 7. Jerry Pinholster’s nine-yard run was the only touchdown. Mike Rich, a future Florida Gator collegiate star and NFL draftee, plunged over for the extra point. Cited for their outstanding play were J.C. Pitts, Edward Cox, Gary Oliver, Charles Lee, Steve Scarborough, Charles Williams, Bobby Clement, Chris Henry, Mike Rich, Bill Perry, Sam Griffin, Jerry Pinholster and Greg Crabb.

The 1963 Bowl was a two-day affair. In the first game, the Commerce all-stars came from behind in the last thirty seconds to win the game over Dublin Midget all-stars by the score of 20-14. Winds in excess of thirty miles per hour and temperatures below freezing hampered the game on both sides. Billy Ayres scored after a Commerce fumble and passed to Bob Keene for the extra point. Dublin scored twice before the end of the half to take a 14-0 lead. In the second half it was all Commerce, who scored three touchdowns to win . In the Mighty Mite game, the Dublin boys lost to Gresham Park Hornets of Decatur, when the Hornets recovered a Dublin fumble; and in five plays, took the ball over the goal line with only seconds remaining. The second game, against Warner Robins, was the just the opposite of the the first game. It was the highest scoring game in the bowl’s history. Dublin won 34 to 20. Coach Roy Hammond cited the running of Eddie Strickland, Dee Smalley, Billy Ayres, and Joe Simpson; the receiving of Bob Keen and Paul Griggs; the blocking of Paul Bush, Bob Brewer, Larry Forth, Jimmy Fort, and Jimmy Price; and the defense of Danny Hooks, Steve Rawlins, Dale Miles, Johnny Howell, Juson Powell, Jimmy Bidgood, and Jim Whittle in gaining a split in the bowl.

In 1964, the Dublin Mighty Mites were overwhelmed by Warner Robins, 21-7. Monty Hodges scored from fifty one yards out and Dee Cullen bulled over the line for the extra point to keep the Dublin boys from being shut out. In the Midget game, it was much closer. Warner Robins scored in the first half and again in the third quarter for a 12-0 lead. George Walker scored on a fifteen yard run to close the gap. Warner Robins held on to win when it stopped Dublin on the eleven yard line late in the fourth quarter. On Saturday, the Dublin Mighty Mites and Gresham Park played to a 0-0 tie in regulation play. Since no one kept an account of the deepest penetration, an additional quarter was played. With hard running by Dee Cullens and Monty Hodges, the Dublin boys managed to win on penetration, 1-0. In the Midget game, Dublin faced its old foe, Commerce, who broke the series tie with a 25 to 13 win. George Walker, Jim Whittle, Ronnie Altman, and Jimmy Bidgood led a valiant effort by the Dublin team.

In the 1965 doubleheader, the Dekalb Hornets smashed the Dublin Mighty Mites 32 to 0. Donnie Vaughn, Jeff Canady, John Rodriquez, Bruce Stinson, John Tanzine, Chuck Hughes, and Jeffrey Roberts were stand outs for the Dublin team. In the second game, the Midget League Champion Eagles played the league all-stars to a 6-6 tie. Wayne Fuqua’s Eagles were led by Clinton Thomas, Ben Dixon, Elton Dean, Mike Drake, Al Bell, Mike Fuqua, Ray Foskey, Larry Jackson, Bobby Andre, and Tony Haynie. The all-stars were led by Jimmy Graham, Randy Stinson, Monty Hodges, Mike Kirby, Carl Joiner, Bill Mathis, Danny Dalton, Mike Fennell, Hal Scott, Tal Scott, Larry Williams, David Mathis and Allan Tindol and coached by Roy Hammond.

The last Cranberry Bowl was played on the Babe Ruth field in Hilburn Park in 1966. The undefeated and once scored upon Vikings coached by Ray Prosperi, Bill Roberts, and Bob Potts defeated the Mighty-Mite all-stars 12 to 0. Tony Prosperi caught a pass from Ed Griffith, who scored on a two- yard plunge for final score. Also playing for the Vikings were Jeff Canady, Herschel White, Reese Stanley, Ricky Anderson, Brad Roberts, Patrick Roche, Lee Whitaker, Jim Wynn, Nelson Carswell, Bo-J Claxton, Kelly Canady, Bill Adams, Jeffrey Johnson, Stan Stanley, David Smith, Bruce Wynn, Pat Hodges, Randy Graham, Eddie Smith, Malcolm Gore, Wayne Bridges, and Scott Thompson. The all-stars were led by Stanley Jessup, Bruce Stinson, Jeffrey Davis, Jeffrey Roberts, Jim Townsend, Randy Gregory, Johnny Cox, John Tanzine, Billy Repko, Jeff Wainright, Andy Cullens, Lamar Harper, Jeffrey King, Billy Hinson, Mike Curry, Jerry Tindol, Willie Lester, Ronnie Mathis, Steve Manning, Matt Fleming, Randy Woodard, James Brantley, Joey Wilson, Jamie Daniel, Jerry Walker and Guy Cochran.

THE FIDDLING FULLBACK

The Story of Wex Jordan, Jr.

The story of Wexler Jordan, Jr. is a story of an all-American boy. He was born on December 8, 1920 and grew up during hard times. He lived most of his life in Dublin and was a star football player for the Dublin Green Hurricanes. He was described by those who knew him as tall and handsome. He loved to play the violin and was tagged with the nickname “The Fiddling Fullback.” “Girls swarmed around Wex, who always took time to play with his dozen younger first cousins,” remembered his cousin Marilyn Brown.

Wex played football for Dublin High in the 1935 and 1936 seasons. In 1935, Wex played guard for a Dublin team, which ended the season as District Champions. In his senior season in 1936, Wex shifted to fullback where he did it all for the Dublin offense, passing and running for touchdowns and extra points.

After leaving Dublin High School, Wex played two seasons of football for Middle Georgia College. The following Fall, Wex enrolled at Georgia Tech. He was determined to make the team despite his small size. Weighing in at 175 pounds, Jordan tried out as a lineman. Before the season was over, he had been tabbed by his fellow players and coaches as “Hardrock.”

In the 1940 season, Wex Jordan rose to the top as a guard for the Ramblin Wreck. Georgia Tech was coached by the legendary W.A. Alexander. The backfield coach was another legendary figure at Tech. He was Bobby Dodd. Tech started off the season with a romp over the lowly Howard University eleven. Tech nearly came back to defeat the powerful Irish of Notre Dame in the second game. Wex was the defensive star in a 19 to 0 defeat of the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tech’s up and down season continued with a 9 point loss to Auburn. The Yellow Jackets stayed down with a drubbing by Duke and Kentucky in successive games. Following a one point loss to Alabama at home, Tech lost its fifth game in a row to Florida, followed by a loss to bitter rival the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 21 to 19. The Yellow Jackets earned some consolation when they defeat the California Golden Bears on Christmas Day.

The year 1941 would become the most important year in the life of Wex Jordan. In fact it was probably the most important year in the lives of millions of other Americans. Tech began the 1941 season an easy victory over Chattanooga. Following a 20 to 0 loss to Notre Dame, the Jackets bounced back with a victory over Auburn. The winning streak was short lived when the Engineers lost to Vanderbilt and Duke. The Jackets defeated Kentucky before losing their last three games to Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Wex and other Tech defensive lineman gained one consolation from their loss to the Bulldogs. All American and Heisman Trophy winner, Frankie Sinkwich, was held to only sixty yards on the ground. Sinkwich praised the play of Wex and the other Tech guards. Wex was cited by his coaches as having his best games against Notre Dame, Alabama, and Georgia. He was awarded the Rhodes Trophy as the most valuable player for the 1941 Yellow Jackets.

For his outstanding play at guard, Wex Jordan was named to the All - Southeastern team by the sports staff of the “Atlanta Journal.” The only other Georgian on the team was his rival, Frank Sinkwich. The good news came on his 21st birthday. The bad news in the paper that day was the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese air force. The holiday game with California was never played, and things would never be the same again.

Wex, like all of the other male students at Georgia Tech, got their first taste of military life in R.O.T.C. In his senior year of Army R.O.T.C. at Tech, Wex was chosen as Captain of Company B of the First Battalion. He majored in Civil Engineering, attained honor graduate status, and was a member of the Army R.O.T. C. fraternity, The Scabbard and the Blade. Wex Jordan graduated from Tech in the spring of 1942. Wex Jordan entered the Army Air Corps and earned his wings in 1943.

It was a Fall Thursday morning - Veteran’s Day and the 25th anniversary of the end of World War I. It was a day which in the past ten years, Wex would have spent preparing for the next football game. It was a day to remember those soldiers and sailors who had given the last full measure of devotion. First Lt. Verne Yahne was leading a five plane formation at the Naval Air Station in San Diego, California. Lt. Yahne’s oxygen supply failed causing him to black out. The Lieutenant’s plane went into a steep dive and fell apart just as the pilot began to regain consciousness. Jordan, the second pilot in formation, was unaware of the lead pilot’s fate. He took his P - 38 fighter plane down following the leader’s dive. Jordan could not pull his plane out of the dive and bailed out. As he was parachuting to the ground the wing of his plane struck him, killing him instantly. Lt. Yahne made a safe landing in the bay.

B. J. Sessions, of Dublin friend of Jordan’s, was taking judo classes. An air raid alarm sounded - a usual occurrence in the early years of the war. Sessions ran outside in time to see to debris of the planes falling. The remnants of Jordan’s plane nearly fell on the building where Sessions had been taking judo classes. Sessions ran two blocks to the site of where Jordan’s body had landed. One look told him that the man was dead. Sessions didn’t get a close look and returned to his classes. The class instructor asked Sessions if he knew Lt. W.W. Jordan, Jr., who had just been killed in a air accident. Sessions was stunned. He had known Jordan all of his life and considered him a hero. Sessions wrote the Jordans and told them of his witnessing the tragedy.

Major Victor Walton, commanding officer of the San Diego base, had the difficult task of informing Jordan’s parents that their only son had been killed. The family was devastated. Mr. Jordan suffered what was believed to be a minor heart attack. Major Walton assigned Captain James Stevens to escort the body of the fallen hero back to Dublin for burial. Funeral services were held at the First Christian Church with the Rev. Robert S. Bennett officiating. A honor guard from Cochran Air Field in Macon performed the military rites during the services. The Jordans selected Wex’s high school buddies as pall bearers. Mike Harvard, Johnny Morrison, George Hadden, and Frank Hancock were allowed leave from their military service to carry the body of their fallen comrade to its final resting place. Also serving as pall bearers were friends Ed Harpe and Billy Hightower.

One of Dublin and America’s finest young man was laid to rest in Northview Cemetery. His life was all too short and his death, so senseless and tragic. Jordan lived his life as an example of what is good about America. He was a true - underline the word true - hero.

SIX MAN FOOTBALL

SIX MAN FOOTBALL IN LAURENS COUNTY - 1940


Most football fans know that there are eleven men on each team. Quite a few don’t remember the days when a football player had to play on both offense and defense. In the small towns of Georgia before World War II, high schools had a hard time getting enough boys to outfit an eleven-man team. County School Superintendent Elbert Mullis first began organizing football teams in the county high schools in 1938. The first two teams were Brewton and Cedar Grove. In 1939, Rentz, Cadwell, and Dexter began to organize their teams. In 1940, the Laurens County - Oconee League went into full swing.

The boys played what was called six-man football. There were no guards nor tackles on the offensive line - only a center and two ends. In the backfield, there was a quarterback and two running backs. In some games there was only one referee, who obviously had to be in good shape to cover the entire field - there was no instant replay. Sometimes coaches from other teams officiated. The first game of the 1940 season was held in Cadwell. Mayor C.J. Bedingfield declared the day, October 3rd, a town holiday and urged all businesses to close for the team’s first football game ever. Cadwell, coached by Bob Shuler, destroyed the Dexter Boys, coached by Raymond Smith, by the score of 40 to 7. Five hundred spectators showed up for the game.

The second game of the season was between Brewton High School and Cedar Grove. This game was much closer. Warren Sapp scored the first touchdown for Brewton and Keiver Jordan threw a touchdown pass to Victor Moye. Cedar Grove scored a safety early in the game and scored once on a touchdown by right end Manus. Brewton held on for a 12 to 8 game. Neither team converted an extra point.

While all of the teams played full schedules, many of the reports of the games were never published. Cedar Grove had one of its best games of the season when it defeated Darien High School by the score of 39-13. Lamar Lowery was the hero for Cedar Grove that afternoon. Cadwell, led by a return of an interception by Wyman Mullis, defeated the heavily favored Peacock School from Atlanta, 24 to 12. Brewton continued its undefeated season on Oct. 20th with a 30 to 14 victory over Dexter at the latter’s home field. Warren Sapp drove through the center on the second play of the game for the first score. Moye scored on a pass from Jordan. Jordan who scored a few minutes later on a quarterback run. Jack Sapp returned an interception for a touchdown for Brewton. Moye ran nearly the entire length of the field, dodging several Dexter tacklers. Frost and English scored for Dexter.

Cadwell defeated the powerful Brewton team 14 to 12 for their only defeat of the season. Bedingfield and Daniell gained a measure of revenge for their 24 to 0 drubbing by Brewton in the first game. The two teams would play again before the end of the season.

Brewton smashed Dexter 41 to 8. Frost scored the only touchdown for Dexter, while Jack Sapp, Victor Moye, Swinton Walker, Keiver Jordan, and Warren Sapp, all scored for Brewton. Brewton, led by Swinton Walker and Warren Sapp, followed with a solid 25 to 13 victory over Rentz. Bracewell scored two touchdowns for the losers. In a second game against Rentz, on their home field, Brewton won 15 to 12 over the Rentz Yellowjackets, coached by David Frazier. Jordan passed to Maddox for the final score of the game.

Cadwell earned a spot in the title game with a 20 to 13 defeat of Rentz. C.J. Wynn and T. Bedingfield led the Cadwell comeback with one touchdown each in the second half. Wyman Mullis and Wallace Collins were outstanding on defense for the Cadwell Bulldogs. Bracewell, Grinstead, and Mackey played a good game for Rentz.

The county championship came down to one game. It would be played on a neutral field in Dublin. Coach Eugene Heckle’s Brewton boys and Coach Bob Shuler’s Cadwell Bulldogs had split their season series, 1-1, with each team winning their home games. The winner of the game would meet the champion of the Southwest Georgia Football Association for the state championship the next Friday night.

Brewton’s offense exploded in the first three quarters. Victor Moye ran back and forth across the field for a forty yard run down to the Cadwell one yard line. When the game ended, the score was Brewton 61, Cadwell 19. Scoring for Brewton were Moye, 3 touchdowns, Walker, Jack Sapp, and Jordan, with two touchdowns each. Warren Sapp kicked three extra points and Moye caught one pass for an extra point. With the score 43-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, Cadwell’s Bedingfield tried to catch up all by himself. He scored three touchdowns and one extra point in the final stanza, but to no avail.

Brewton met Cuthbert High in Cuthbert for the state title on December 5, 1940. During the season the Brewton team were eight and one. They scored 261 points to their opponent’s 106. Brewton’s lineup in the title game was: Keiver Jordan, at quarterback; Jack Sapp, at halfback; Warren Sapp, at fullback; Roy Graham, at center; Victor Moye, the team captain at right end; and Swinton Walker, at left end. The reserves were made up of Junior Watson, at quarterback; Donald Tipton, at end; Roger Green, at halfback; Stacey Lake, at end; Truett Fort, at fullback; and Albert Garnto, at halfback. Playing quarterback for Cuthbert was Charlie Waller, a former Dublin boy and an All-American candidate. Waller, who was a star footballer for Dublin in the two previous years, led in his league, the So-we-ga, in many offensive categories.

Waller showed why the University of Alabama had given him a football scholarship. He nearly collapsed from exhaustion after running for seven touchdowns. Brewton’s only score came in the second quarter when Victor Moye returned a Cuthbert fumble for a touchdown. Cuthbert scored 14, 24, 30, and 22 points in the quarters to take a 90 to 6 victory, a new high all-Georgia scoring record. Cuthbert’s fullback scored four touchdowns. The Brewton boys spent the night in a Cuthbert hotel that night. It was a long ride back home to Brewton that Sunday.

Their comrades at Dublin High played Monticello for the regular eleven-man district championship two days before. Dublin, leading 13 to 12 in the fourth quarter, was driving for a victory clinching score. Morgan intercepted a Dublin pass which he took back for a touchdown, giving Monticello a 18 to 13 victory. In 1941, the Cadwell Bulldogs, led by C.J. Wynn, came from behind to defeat Cedar Grove 38 to 21 to win the county championship. The game was played on Friday night, Dec. 5th. I think you know what happened the next Sunday.

BREEZY WYNN

Breezy Wynn, Tennessee Volunteers


Breezy Wynn, businessman, 1960s.

THE DUKE OF DUBLIN
The Football and Business Career of “Breezy”
Wynn

Herman D. Wynn was a star footballer for the Dublin Green Hurricanes in the mid twenties. His friends called him "Breezy." "Breezy" was highly sought after by college coaches. He was an all-around athlete, starring in football, basketball, and track. The 1926 edition of the Hurricanes were champions of the 12th Congressional District. After a 5-2-1 season, the Dublin team played Eastman for the district title. "Breezy" intercepted an Eastman pass at the Dublin three-yard line and ran it back ninety-seven yards for the lone score of the game. Ed Hall kicked the extra point. Wynn, along with George Scarborough, Lester Jackson, and Nat Lease were dubbed the "Four Horsemen" of the Hurricanes. After football season, "Breezy" led the Green Hurricanes to a second place finish in the district with a record of 13 and 2. Both loses came at the hands of Cochran, by a total of three points, and only after "Breezy" fouled out in the championship game. Highlights of the '26-'27 seasons were a 68 to 6 victory over Lyons High, a 56 to 18 victory over Emanuel Co. Institute, and 23 to 8 victory over Sigma Nu Fraternity of Mercer University.

"Breezy" played at Georgia Military College in 1928 and at Richmond Academy in 1929. He enrolled at the University of Tennessee where he played from 1930 to 1934. He broke his leg in the first game of the 1933 season - an injury which cost the Volunteers three defeats according to their legendary coach, Bob Neyland. Before then, the Volunteers had not lost a game when "Breezy" was on the team. When he arrived at college, he was driving an Essex without a top and had ten dollars in his pocket. He was considered one of the best fullbacks in the Southeastern Conference in his time. In addition to his duties as a running back, "Breezy" kicked for the Vols. During his career at Tennessee, Wynn played with all time greats, Beattie Feathers, Herman Hickman, and Bobby Dodd. Wynn was the recipient of the Amateur Football Award from the National Football Hall of Fame. In 1958, "Breezy" was nominated for "Sports Illustrated's" Silver Anniversary Collegiate Football All Star Team. The team was chosen to honor those athletes who had distinguished themselves in their chosen fields of employment.

"Breezy" became more famous for his career as an industrialist. While at Tennessee, "Breezy" began his business career operating Vol Dry Cleaners, a pool room, a barber shop, a meat market, and a collection agency. After graduation, he opened an athletic equipment company, The Southern Athletic Company. "Breezy" hired a few women to sew and borrowed some money to finance the business. He developed uniforms and equipment that were much lighter than the "old-fashioned kind." The idea caught on. Orders came in from high schools and colleges all over the country. At one time, Wynn controlled twenty-three plants, which employed thirty five-hundred employees and had contracts totaling more than twenty-five million dollars.

When World War II began, Wynn shifted his production line to manufacture barracks "duffle" bags. He proclaimed himself as "The King of Barracks Bags." More than nine million of them were turned out, usually about fifty thousand a week. Wynn's company also made the M-65 jacket. By 1945, Wynn's business had expanded to ten factories in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and New York. Wynn's company shipped more than a million garments to eleven foreign countries. His company was making more than a million pairs of pants for the Lend Lease program. After the war, Wynn hoped to get into the army salvage business.

Wynn's business holdings also included the Southern Aviation Manufacturing Company, and Salvage Company of Tennessee. Southern Athletic continued to make sporting goods but also made all weather coats for the military and civilian customers.

Wynn was a top organization man in the Knoxville area. He served as a founder and president of the Knoxville Quarterback. He was President of the Knoxville Symphony Society. He organized an annual charity football game to benefit children with Cerebral Palsy. He also served as a director of Church Street Methodist Church, the Boys Club of Knoxville, the City Club of Knoxville, and the Tennessee Manufacturer's Association. While he was in college, "Breezy" picked up laundry for dry cleaning. Later he bought a dry-cleaning business. "Breezy" was generous with his money. When dogwood trees were needed to plant along trails, he donated a thousand trees. He solicited three million dollars for a hospital for children, one hundred thousand of which he gave himself. He brought the Symphony out of financial ruin.

In 1964, Wynn sold his remaining interest in the Southern Athletic Company to Diversa, Inc. of Dallas. Wynn remained President of the company until his retirement in 1965. At the time of the sale, the company was grossing fifteen to twenty million dollars a year.

After a short retirement, Breezy formed Wynn Industries, which took over the idle Apparel Corporation of America. Breezy put hundreds of persons back to work. The company manufactured clothing for men and women and boys and girls. In 1970, the company announced a 20 year contract worth forty million dollars. Wynn was a prominent member of the Republican party and a close friend of President Richard Nixon.

A disastrous fire in the Wynn Building destroyed all of his personal papers in February of 1977 - depriving all of us of more detailed accounts of his careers in sports and business. All the pictures, clippings, and memorabilia were gone. An entire lifetime of mementos was history, lying among the ashes. Breezy looked at it this way. "Look ahead. Yesterday is history, but tomorrow will always offer new challenges to be conquered. I can't wait until tomorrow." The legend of "Breezy" Wynn, "The Duke of Dublin," lives on, and no fire will ever take it away.

EARL WEAVER AND THE 1958 DUBLIN ORIOLES

















EARL WEAVER AND THE 1958 DUBLIN ORIOLES

Throughout the post World War II years, minor league baseball covered most of the United States. There were well over a dozen teams in Georgia alone. The Georgia State League was founded in 1948. The next year Herschel Lovett entered a team in the league which played in the newly constructed Lovett Park. The GreenSox were one of the more successful teams in the league, which folded in 1956.


Baseball was big in Dublin in 1958. Mike Belote led the Pirates to the championship of the Little League. The Babe Ruth League, sponsored by local businesses, played some of their games at Lovett Park. They boys of eastern Laurens County were forming a new league. Cadwell High School was vying for the 5-C championship. Dublin had a team in the semi-pro Southern Pines League.

After one year without baseball, Dublin returned to the minor leagues, this time in the Georgia-Florida League. The team was supported by a group of local men headed by J. Elmer Mackey and A.O. Hadden. Local boys worked in the concession stands and around the park. The new team was associated with the Baltimore Orioles and were known as the Dublin Orioles.

The Georgia-Florida League had 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.

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.

During the 1958 season, Earl played in thirty seven games with twenty five hits, four home runs, and twenty one runs batted in. In 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 to left field when needed.

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.

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 than any other manager except Joe McCarthy of the Yankees. He only had one losing season, his last, in 1986.

The Orioles played well that year, especially for a new team. They were consistent winners, especially in front of the home crowd. They finished in third in both halves of the season. Albany won the first half and Valdosta the second half. The Valdosta Tigers won the post season playoff.

During the '58 season, Weaver managed two future major league stars. Dave Nicholson, 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, 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 most valuable player and Pearson was chosen as the most valuable pitcher for the Orioles.

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.

1958 was the first and only season of the Dublin Orioles. Baseball returned to Dublin in 1962 for one final season. Lovett Park was torn down nearly three decades ago. Those days are part of our past. If you like baseball, especially good baseball where the players are eager and hungry for success, there is still good old fashioned minor league ball being played nearly every summer night in Macon, Savannah, Augusta, and Columbus. The action is close and fierce, the ticket prices are low, and the food is delicious and inexpensive.

PLAY BALL - DUBLIN HOSTS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

George Stallings
Braves

















Miller Huggins
Yankees

















Wally Pipp
Yankees


















Frank "Home Run"
Baker

Yankees










PLAY BALL!
Dublin Hosts Major League Baseball

In the early years of 20th century, professional baseball teams made extra money by playing on their off days while traveling through the country by train. Dublin was a booming city in 1917. Our best ball field was located at the 12th District Fairgrounds on the Telfair Road between Troup Street and the National Guard Headquarters. Major League baseball was not followed by most Laurens Countians. The idea to have an exhibition game was proposed to two teams returning home for the start of the season. An arrangement was made to have the New York Yankees and the Boston Braves to stop in Dublin on April 1, 1917 for an exhibition game. From 1914 to 1915, the Braves held their spring training in Macon and Jones County, the home of their manager, George Stallings, and were the local favorites in those days, just like today. The Yankees trained in Macon from 1916 through 1918.

The long awaited day was here. Something went terribly wrong. It rained, and rained, and rained some more. The teams arrived around noon and sat in the train. After a few hours, the game was called. The players could not stay, they had to get on the train for a game the next day. What a cruel April Fools joke! The people of Dublin would not be denied. They again contracted with the Braves and Yankees to play an April Fool's Day game in Dublin in 1918. On the morning of the game, the teams arrived in Dublin for the first game of an eleven game exhibition series in ten southern cities, with the final game in Newark, New Jersey on the eve of opening day.

The field was ready - declared by the Yankee groundskeeper as one of the best in the South. The Braves were managed by George "The Miracle Man" Stallings, who guided them through their miracle season of 1914. That year they vaulted from last place to sweep the powerful Athletics in the World Series. For some undisclosed reason, Stallings was detained at his home and could not make the game in Dublin. 1918 was the first season that Miller "The Mighty Mite" Huggins managed the New York Yankees. Huggins managed the Yankees to three World Championships in 1923, 1927, and 1928. Huggins's Yanks also won the American League in 1921, 1922, and 1926. His 1927 Yankee team has been called the greatest ever, sporting a record of 110 wins and 44 losses. Before managing the Yankees, Huggins was a second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals and managed the team from 1913 to 1917. His determination and drive led to the penning of his other nickname, "Little Mr. Everywhere". He was one of the top stolen base leaders of the first decade of the century and was one of the all time walks leaders. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964 for his managerial success.

On the day of the exhibition game in Dublin, the Yankees were led by the power hitters Wally Pipp and Frank Baker, supported by the slick fielding Roger Peckinpaugh. Pipp, the American League Home Run champ in 1916 and 1917, is best known as the man Lou Gehrig replaced to begin his streak of consecutive games layed. He was one of the last of the power hitters in what was known as "The Dead Ball Era." Another Yankee power hitter was Frank "Home Run" Baker. Baker hit mo e home runs during the second decade of this century than any other American Leaguer. His nickname came from two famous home runs during the World Series of 1911. Baker, a slick fielding third baseman, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. Peckinpaugh, the hustling and slick fielding shortstop, was the Most Valuable Player in the American League in 1925. Peckingpaugh is the answer to a most often asked trivia question. At the age of 23, he was the youngest manager in the history of baseball.

The Braves did not have many well known players. Maranville and Evers did not play in 1918. The best players on the team were the pitchers from the World Championship team of 1914. Tom Hughes led the National League in winning percentage in 1916. He pitched a no hitter against the Pirates in 1916, striking out the legendary Honus Wagner for the final out. Arthur Neft had a fabulous rookie season for the Braves in 1917. His record for that year was 17 and 8 with a 2.16 E.R.A., ending the season with 40 consecutive scoreless innings.

The game was set for 2:00 o'clock. A crowd of nearly two thousand came out to see the first major league game in Dublin. Veteran umpires Tom Corcoran and Jack McBride traveled with the teams and took their positions on the field. The Braves took the field first with rookie pitcher Hugh Canavan on the mound. Canavan shut out the Yanks with no base hits, but he did hit Gilhooley twice and Wally Pipp, once. Allen Russell was the starting pitcher for the Yankees giving up only three hits in his five inning stint.

The only runs of the game were scored in the top of the fifth inning. Ping Bodie singled and Roger Peckingpaugh reached first base on an error. With two on and two out, catcher Muddy Ruel, stepped to the plate. He launched a deep drive to right field, Bodie and Peckingpaugh scored. Ruel wound up on third with a triple. Ruel dashed home with the final run when Red Smith fumbled a slow roller off the bat of
Allen Russell.

George Mogridge took over in the sixth and finished the game for the Yankees allowing no hits by the Braves. Tom Hughes, the veteran Brave hurler, relieved Canavan in the sixth for the Braves, shutting out the Yankees by allowing only 2 hits.

Some fans were disappointed with the lack of offensive action, but they were thrilled by long running catches by Elmer Miller of the Yankees and Joe Kelley of the Braves. Wally Pipp excited the crowd with a one handed stab of a hard hit ball. The ball game ended in just over two hours with the score Yankees 3, Braves 0.

The teams left for Macon where they spent the night in the Dempsey Hotel. The next day the Yankees defeated the Braves again, this time 2 to 1. The Yankees finished the war shortened season with a just under .500 record. The Braves finished next to last, while the cross-town Boston Red Sox with Babe Ruth pitching defeated the Cubs in the World Series. Fifteen of the game's players left baseball to serve in the our armed forces in World War I.



NEW YORK AB R H PO A E
Frank Gilhooley, rf 2 0 0 0 0 0
Elmer Miller, cf 3 0 0 2 0 0
Aaron Ward, 2b 4 0 1 2 1 0
Wally Pipp, 1b 3 0 0 12 0 0
Frank Baker, 3b 4 0 1 2 1 0
Roger Peckinpaugh, ss 4 1 0 2 3 0
Muddy Ruel, c 2 1 1 2 0 0
Truck Hannah, c 1 0 0 3 0 0
Allan Russell, p 2 0 0 0 4 0
George Mogridge, p 1 0 0 0 3 0

Totals 30 3 4 27 15 0
---------
BOSTON AB R H PO A E
Roy Massey, lf 3 0 0 4 0 0
Ray Powell, cf 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fred Bailey, cf 1 0 0 0 0 0
Joe Kelley, cf 2 0 0 1 0 0
Al Wickland, rf 3 0 1 3 0 0
Sam Covington, 1b 3 0 1 5 0 2
* Art Wilson, ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Red Smith, 3b 4 0 0 3 0 2
Johnny Rawlings, ss 2 0 0 6 2 2
Rip Conway, 2b 3 0 1 1 1 0
John Henry, c 3 0 0 4 3 0
Hugh Canavan, p 2 0 0 0 5 0
Tom Hughes, p 1 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 28 0 3 27 12 4
* Batted for Covington in ninth inning.

________________________________________________________
____
Score by innings:

New York ............... 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 - 3
Boston ................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0

Summary - Three base hits, Ruel; Stolen bases, Gilhooley, Pipp; Sacrifice Hits,
Miller; Double Plays, Peckinpaugh, Ward, and Pipp; Bases on Balls, of Russell, 3;
Left on Bases, New York 4, Boston 5; Hit by Pitched Balls, by Mogridge (Rawlings),
by Canavan, 3 (Gilhooley 2, Pipp); hits off of Russell 3 in 5 innings, off Mogridge 0
in 4; of Canavan 2 in 5; of Hughes 2 in 4; Struck out, by Russel 1, by Mogridge 2, by
Canavan, 1; by Hughes 1. Time of game, 2:04. Umpires, Corcoran and McBride.

CALL ME MISTER BLUE!

HARRY WENDELSTEDT



























JOHN KIBLER



















CAL DRUMMOND
















RUSS GOETZ








CALL ME, MISTER BLUE!
The Umpires of Lovett Park


For two small, somewhat unrespected leagues, the Georgia State League (1948-1956) and the Georgia-Florida League (1957-1963) produced four outstanding major league umpires. Two of them are listed among the greatest umpires in major league baseball’s history. This is the story of four men. Damned and cursed by players and fans of both teams wherever they played, these men in their dark suits and small-billed caps were and are deserving of the title, Mr. Blue.

During most of the years when minor league baseball was played in Dublin from 1949 through 1956 and in 1958 and 1962, many of the umpires of the Georgia State and Georgia-Florida leagues lived in Dublin, calling games here in Lovett Park and around South Georgia.

Calvin "Cal" Drummond was born in 96th District of South Carolina on June 29, 1917. At the age of thirty one, Cal began calling professional games in the Alabama State League. After a three year absence from the game, Cal resumed his career in the Georgia State League. In the years of 1952 and 1953, Drummond called games between Dublin, Sandersville, Eastman Statesboro, Vidalia, Hazelhurst, Baxley, Douglas, Fitzgerald and Jessup.

Drummond’s outstanding work earned him a promotion to the South Atlantic League, where he called games from 1954 to 1956. Another promotion came in 1957, when he was hired to work games in the prestigious Class AAA International League. Drummond’s major league career spanned the entire decade of the 1960s.

The highlight of Cal’s career came in 1966, when he umpired the World Series, which was played between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles. In 1961, just in his second year in the league, Cal was named to call the All Star game, which was played in San Francisco. In one of the more unusual calls in baseball history, Drummond’s crew was faced with an unusual dilemma.

It seems the Candlestick Park winds were unusually strong that day. When Giant pitcher Stu Miller was blown of the pitching rubber by a gust of wind, someone yelled "balk." The umpires conferred and indeed ruled that Miller’s unusual move, though unintentional, was deceiving to the runner. The call played no outcome in the game because the National League went on to win the game and Miller was named the game’s winning pitcher.

In 1969, Drummond was struck in the head by a ball. After extensive brain surgery, Cal fell into a coma for two weeks. He worked his way back to health during spring training. On May 2, while calling a game between the Iowa Cubs and Oklahoma City 89ers, Drummond took himself out the game when he felt dizzy. He returned to work the next day, hoping to make it back to the American League the next afternoon. By the end of the 7th inning, Cal felt dizzy again. He walked to the dugout, collapsed, and died a few hours later in a Des Moines hospital. Though he had not made it back to the majors, Drummond became one of the rare fatalities among big league umpires.

Russell Goetz, a 25-year-old native of Pennsylvania, joined the Georgia State League in 1955. Russ called games until the end of the league in1956. He spend two years in the Carolina League, three years in the South Atlantic League, and six years in the Pacific Coast League. In 1968, Goetz joined the umpiring crews of the American League, in which he officiated some sixteen years until he retired in 1983.

Goetz was named to the umpiring crews for the 1970 and 1975 All Star games. His career highlights came in 1973 and in 1979 when he was named to the six-man crew calling the World Series.

John Kibler debuted as a 30-year-old rookie umpire in 1958 in the Georgia-Florida League. During that season, Kibler had at least one run-in with one of the game’s greatest antagonists of umpires, Earl Weaver. Weaver played second base and managed the Dublin Orioles in their only year of existence. Kibler quickly climbed the latter from Class D minor league baseball to the major leagues. Kibler told a SI reporter of those days, "The environs were decidedly unfriendly to outstiders and the league president forbade the umpires to travel at night. I got $250 to $285 a month and one free lunch at a Tifton café once a week. After a year in the Pioneer Association and two years in the South Atlantic League, Kibler made it to AAA ball with the American Association in 1962 and the International League in 1963. John made the show in the fall of 1963 when he was called up to the major leagues. For the next twenty five seasons, John Kibler, was known as one the National’s best umpires.

Kibler was named to call the World Series championship four times in 1971, 1978, 1982 and the infamous 1986 series when Bill Buckner’s boot of a ground ball giving the Met’s a surprising victory allowing them to stave off defeat, tie the series and go on to win in the decisive 7th game. John Kibler was named to call the 1965 All Star game in Minneapolis in just his second full season in the majors. Kibler went on to call the 1974, 1980 and 1985 all star games.

In 1983, John Kibler suffered a heart attack at the age of fifty-five. But the New York native was not about to quit. He returned the game. In 1989, Kibler retired as the game’s oldest umpire.

Harry Wendelstedt, at 23, was the youngest of Lovett’s Park major league umpires when he began calling games in 1962, the last year Dublin had a minor league ball team, the Dublin Braves, in the Georgia Florida League. The league had teams in Brunswick, Thomasville, Albany, and Moultrie. After a single season in Northwest and Texas Leagues, Harry went to the AAA International League in 1965. After three seasons of minor league ball, Harry Wendlestedt was promoted to the National League.

During his twenty-three-year hall of fame like career, Harry umpired the World Series in 1973, 1980, 1986, 1991 and 1995. In 1980 and 1985, he was named chief of the crew, the penultimate honor for any baseball umpire. Seven times from 1970 to 1990, Harry was chosen to call the National League Championship games. He called four all star games in 1968, 1976, 1983, and 1992. In the 1986 World Series, Harry Wendlestedt and John Kibler became the only Lovett Park umpires to jointly call a World Series or All Star game. Harry retired at the top of his game in 1998.

If you have never umpired a baseball game, or any game for that matter, you can never appreciate the thankless life of an umpire. I did it once and it changed my mind at the way I look at baseball. They don’t always make the right call, but never the less, it is the call, except when.....