Skip to main content

Flashback Friday - That Championship Season - Part 1


In the summer in Seaton we played Church League softball.  The Church League was in operation from 1958 to 1993.  We usually played in either Perryton, Seaton or Aledo because those places had well maintained diamonds.  Some of the area towns that at one time or other were involved included Aledo, Edgington, reynolds Buffalo Prairie, Millersburg, Keithsburg, Joy, Oquawka, Viola and New Windsor.   Some years when there were lots of teams we played in Reynolds and Keithsburg. 

I remember going up to the diamond in Seaton shortly after school ended and we'd gather up the usual teammates and practice.  It would be a hundred out there but we were young and having fun - temperatures don't affect you then.  

One year, we were Mercer County Champs.  We won it all.  It only happened once while I was around*, but it was a beautiful thing.  Our team changed a bit from year to year but for that Championship season, we had Ivan at first, the Wombie was catcher.  Jeff and Cole Carson were our pitchers,  Mark Henry was in center and I was in left.  Dave Meece was at third, Jeff Benson was at short and Dean Feldman was at 2nd.   



Not content with a notice in the Times-Record,  more enterprising citizens climbed the water tower and wrote #1 on the side.



Perhaps spray painting your initials on your vandalism isn't the prudent thing, but given that the vandals were, indeed, members of the team their enthusiasm could be forgiven.



Ivan, me, Dean, Wayne and Mark H.



After the championship game we retired to Ivan and Sue's house for a celebration.  You should know that I was not the picture-taker during the festivities.  They always seemed strangely taken - off-kilter, out of focus, just a bit "off".  Sue, was the camera person in charge.  Thankfully she has other gifts.  



Mark Henry and his number one. 



Jeff Benson kissing some kind of weird puppet that seemed to be part of the celebratory gala, why I don't know.



One of our pitchers, Jeff Carson. 



And our manager, Herb Blythe.  He started with us when we began our ball playing and stayed many years.  In fact, I don't remember having any other manager in all of our years playing.  Perhaps that is why I always started.  Hmmm.  Whoever said that winning wasn't everything must have been on a lot of losing teams.  I can tell you that winning is certainly fun.  

So the water tower in Seaton would proclaim us as #1 and a homemade sign made in the Blythe garage under the artistic tutelage of Mother Marj, would be nailed on a phone pole coming into town. 

The summer of 1977 was our Championship Season.  Party 2 in a few days

     
*The Seaton Church league team won again the next year but I had begun working at the Mary Davis Home so my participation was limited.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida.  There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife.  In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride.  He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much.   He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A.   But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here.  If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying.  He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed.  No...
1 comment
Read more

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week.  Except for me.  I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers.  These pics need no words.  Why muddy the waters?   They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley.  The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter.  If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one.  But, please, no more.   
Post a Comment
Read more