Newspaper Page Text
arm phil
r fl? BYRD
Mporfs Editor
' *3SBf SIT
Summer & Baseball
While driving through Perry last week, I saw a
bunch of kids playing their own form of sandlot
baseball. Watching those players brought back
fond membories of when I was a sandlotter.
It was a decade and a half ago and we were
living in Norfolk, Virginia. During those hot
summer months, and with school out, we gathered
our battered gloves, bats and baseball and headed
for our favorite place ... an old three-acre tract
within a stone’s throw of where I lived.
Most of the time, during the summer, we were
always short of personnel. A lot of the guys were
on vacation with their families, or were away at
camp. But that didn’t stop us from playing.
When the quota dropped to six or less, we played
a game called “over the fence”. The unpatented
game was played similar to a regular baseball
game, except we didn’t use a pticher.
The rules of “over the fence” were simple. Two
or three guys would be on each team - usually two
because it was difficult to find six who wanted to
play - and the action would get underway. The one
criteria needed for “over the fence” was a fence.
That was the whole idea of the game.
We would flip a coin - if we had one - or use a
baseball bat to see which team would be home, or
away. The winner of the coin toss or of the bat
handle received the perogative.
As the visiting team came to bat the home team
would set its defense next to the fence,in kind of a
spread formation. The batter would hit the ball -
fungo style - and try to knock the ball over the
fence. Each team batted from a predetermined
location, usually 200 to 250 feet from the fence. If
the ball went over the fence it was, naturally, a
home run. If the ball bounced over on one hop it
was a triple, and a two-bagger was a ball that hit
the fence in the air. Any ball caught, on the ground
or in the air, was an out. If the defensive team
dropped the ball, or fumbled it in any way, that
was a single. There was no such thing as an error.
As soon as three outs were recorded the
defensive team came to bat and the team at bat
went on defense.
Like any other kid I had a favorite baseball
team, and I always wanted my team to be the
Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams, the greatest hitter
there’s ever been, was in his heyday and he was
tops with me.
We played a regular schedule, sometimes
playing eight or nine games a day, and even
played our own version of the Autumn Classic. I
think we played ten world series one year.
When we found a well balanced and evenly
matched combination we kept the same guys on
each team day after day. We learned to hit the ball
to the weak fielders and let our big bat drive him
home. The best hitter on my team was a kid from
Michigan, who must have hit a thousand homers
one year. He was a Detroit Tiger fan and always
pretended he was Charlie Maxwell or A1 Kaline.
“Over the fence” was a fun game to us and took
up most of our summer days. But, there were
hazards in playing in the big lot, too. I remember
one day we were having a real slugfest between
the Yankees and my Red Sox. Both teams were
really "hitting them out". Around the seventh
inning, and with the score something like 28-27, a
bunch of “Big" kids rode in on their bicycles and
started messing around with us. They took our
bats away from us and threw them in the ajoining
woods. To make matters worse, they snitched our
only baseball and rode off with it. That ended our
game until we gathered up enough baseball card
money to buy a new ball. We learned, as the
summers went by, that the “big” kids and
growing up would be our number one enemy in
“over the fence."
When 1 left Norfolk I left behind those fond
summer memories of "over the fence”. I had
become a “big” kid.
COVERAGE
STARTING
m SOON IN THE
> HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
JUST ARRIVED!
A Shipment Oft
★ GRASS SOD
★ CENTIPEDE
★ ST. AUGUSTINE
★ CALAOIUM BULBS * BOTTLE BRUSH
DOGWOODS NURSERY
EVANS NEXT FOR CATS
{ Panthers Stop Dublin (
I 4-3 For Shot At Title I
f Perry’s rampaging
Panthers won their sixth
game in their last seven
starts and wrapped up the
region 2-AA West in the
process by coming from
behind to upend the Dublin
Irish, 4-3, and win the best of
three games for the crown
two games to none.
Coach Richard Powell’s
Panthers had to come back
from a 2-0 deficite and used
the long ball to do the
damage last Wednesday
afternoon.
Dublin jumped in front 2-0
in the top of the second and it
stayed that way until the
Panthers broke through
against Dublin righthander
Mickey Corr with a run in the
Cat half of the fifth.
Lawrence Clarington
eventually came across the
pay station after rapping a
single, advancing to second
via a groundout, to third on
an error and scoring on a
sacrifice fly by Curtis
Rooney,
Perry tied up the
festivities in the sixth when
Mo Wright walked and
tallied on a long triple by
Mark Shugart. Dublin scored
again in their half of the
seventh to take a 3-2 lead
before the Panthers did their
antics in the last frame.
In the seventh, the Pan
thers look the lead for the
Home Journal
5 I*
p k
0
R
T
6 S
PAGE 10-A
May 11, 1972
mKPmKBk'
BMBI
v • jMHMB
♦. . : * u ' v *l-‘fir ’ Jr WftMES.
JBB'.
«k . * its ■■
Panther Catcher Jerry Barnet
PCC NEWS
. By Wiltz Bernard
Seabie Hickson took most
plus individual honors in the
Perry Country Club dog fight
last weekend with a +lO
points. Seabie's team of Otis
Whitten and Moody Mulkey
also won the team first place
with a +l2. In the last few
weeks the big scramble is to
see who can get on Seabie's
team. Seabie says you are
supposed to play good in the
spring after being cooped up
ail winter. Second place
team was Frank Young, Jim
first time in the game when
Clarington received a base
on balls and scored on a
bombing triple off the bat of
third baseman J. B. Goheen.
Goheen, then scored what
proved to be the winning
margin on a costly Dublin
error.
The Irish entered the best
of three tournaments with a
9-3 record and saw it fall to 9-
5 with the double loss to the
Panthers. Perry upped its
chart to 7-6 with the two
victories.
Southpaw Earl Brown,
who started and went all the
way for Perry, kept the Irish
off balance all afternoon
with his wide assortment of
pitches. Brown fanned six
and issued only one free pass
while giving up seven
safeties. Only two of Dublin’s
three runs were earned.
Dublin's Mickey Corr took
the loss.
Coach Richard Powell had
his own observations about
the title game: “We did what
we had to do to win. We’ve
been coming from behind to
win several times this
season, so 1 wasn’t to
worried when we fell behind
early. Our kids played two
excellent games for the 2-AA
West crown and the whole
school is extremely proud of
them. When asked what
turned the Panthers season
around, Powell replied: “We
had to learn how to play
together. These kids had not
played together before this
season, plus they had to
learn my coaching
philosophy ... and they did.
We’ve come a long way, but
still have a rough road ahead
of us. We play Evans this
week for the region title, and
from what we’ve heard, they
have a very strong team.
Their record (15-2) speaks
for itself.’’
Perry’s leading hitters
against Dublin were center
fielder Clarence Clarington
who rapped out two singles
in three trips. Mark Shugart
also hammered out two hits,
including a triple. And J. B.
Goheen, who crashed a triple
in three trips and plated two
runs.
LINESCORE
DUBLIN 020 000 1-3-7-2
PERRY 000 Oil 2-4-8-1
Earl Brown and Jerry
Barnes, Mickey Corr WP
Earl Brown (2-1)
LP -Mickey Corr (6-2)
Thomason, and Luke Vest
with a +ll. Third was
George Curtis, Ralph
Waggett, and Al Vuxta with
+7.
The Perry Country Club
Mens Golf Association is
having a free hamburger
supper Monday. May 15th at
7; 00 for all male members of
the Country Club. All you
have to do is call the pro shop
and let them know you are
coming. Also a good golf
movie will be shown.
fwl jhb|^. 1 > ' j > jjjj&L Iki
1972 HOUSTON COUNTY BASEBALL CHAMPIONS
7th and Bth Grade Houston County Baseball
Champions.
Ist Left to Right - Coach Crockett, Tim English,
Johnny McCarty, Steve Robinson.
2nd Left to Right • Mike Franklin (Manager)
Kent Fleming, Phil Gentry, Len Taylor, Phil
Westfield lands 3 C agers
On '72 SEA IS 'Dream Team'
All Star Tilt
Slated For
Hornets Meat
>3l
Bobby Harrison
Wanda Bragg
Westfield Schools hit the
basketball jackpot last
week; placing three girls on
the SEAIS North All Star
Team, placing one boy as
first alternate on the boys
North team, and being
selected as the site of the
SEAIS All-Star basketball
games.
The three Hornettes
named on the girls North All-
Star Team are Sandy
Hudson, Wanda Bragg, and
Wendy Jones,, Sandy and
Wendy were listed as rovers
on the Hornette depth chart
while Wanda played guard.
Sandy Hudson played
rover for the Hornettes and
was the player who handled
the ball for Westfield in
clutch situations. Sandy’s
dribbling adeptness and
her offensive abilities made
her very valuable to the
Hornette cause. She poured
through 209 points in the
1971-72 regular season cage
campaign. Her best
moments, however, came in
the AA North region tourney
and in the AA State tour
nament. Against Nathaniel
Greene’s Lady Patriots in
the first round of the AA
North region playoffs, Sandy
burned the nets for 28 points,
hitting 11 of 15 field goal
attempts to lead Westfield to
a 59-43 upset win. As well as
she played against Nathaniel
Greene, Sandy will be
remembered most by
Westfield fans for her part in
the Westfield-Ravenwood
State Tournament clash.
Ravenwood came to the
Hornets Nest expecting to
waltz away with an easy
victory but Sandy and her
teammates pulled the rug
from under Ravenwood by
clipping the highly favored
Raiderettes 49-46. The tense
contest was made even more
exciting when the
scoreboard clock quit
operating with 5:29 left to
play. Westfield was ahead by
four and immediately went
into a time-consuming
freeze. Sandy was ticketed
by Coach Earl Marshall to
handle the ball for Westfield.
She upped the Westfield lead
to 6, 48-42, and then the
Hornettes again stalled.
Evading the Raiderettes’
frantic attempts to capture
the basketball, Sandy con
trolled the game long enough
to give Westfield its victory.
Wendy Jones was the other
Hornette selected for her
offensive abilities. While she
scored 237 regular season
points, her main value to
Westfield was her fiery
determination. Wendy
impressed several opposing
coaches (and players) with
her fierce desire to win. She
knew only one way to play
basketball all out. Jones is
best remembered by
Westfield fans for her
rebounding and ball
hawking.
Wendy’s high scoring night
was against Windsor
Academy when she bucketed
21 points to lead the Hor
nettes to a 52-17 triumph. But
points alone do not deter
mine a basketball player’s
/ COVERAGE \
I EACH WEEK IN I
V THE HOME /
XJOURimZ
FOLLOW THE PERRY
PANTHERS THIS SEASON
IN THE HOUSTON HOME
JOURNAL.
Jones.
3rd Left to Right - George Richerson, David
Bryant, Keith Lockerman, Duane Murphy, Lloyd
Turner, Jackie Robinson, James Hillson, (not
persent Dan Code)
value. Far more important
are competitiveness and will
to win and those qualities are
good descriptions of Wendy
Jones.
Hornette guard Wanda
Bragg was selected on the
basis of her defensive
ability. Wanda always drew
the thankless task of
It
Wendy Jones
guarding the oppositions’ top
gun. To her credit, Wanda
always held her opponent
under season average.
Quickness, intelligence, and
a knack of being where the
ball was, combined to make
Wanda a topnotch guard.
Wanda was impressive
throughout the 71-72 cage
season but saved her best
play for the tournaments. In
Westfield’s first game in the
AA North Subregion East
Tourney, Wanda stopped
Monroe Academy’s Carole
Poore, holding her far below
her average. Coach Earl
Marshall called Wanda’s
play the key to the Hor
OPEN
BIG INDIAN LAKES
MARSHALLVILLE ROAD
GOOD FISHING
★ BASS
★ BREAM
★ CATFISH
nettes’ upset win.
Perhaps Bragg’s best
game was in the Westfield-
Ravenwood clash. Wanda
was assigned to guard
Kaiderette playmaker Vicki
Stoudenmire, a lefthanded
ballhandling wizard. Wanda
responded by overplaying
her to the left and thus held
: :; :V
mm
Sandy Hudson
Stoudenmire to 8 points.
More importantly, however,
Stoudenmire’s quar
terbacking and passing
suffered, and so she failed to
penetrate the Hornette
defense.
Bobby Harrison of the
Westfield Hornets was
selected as first alternate on
the boys all-star team.
Bobby led the Hornets as
they turned their season
around from a dismal
beginning to finish in the
state’s top 8 SEAIS AA
teams. Bobby will play in the
game should any North
player not be able to com
pete.