EMAILS and Testimonials:
Brandon Shaw: I saw your web site and was very impressed. I
am trying to find anything on my father Marvin Shaw, Pitcher.
In 1954 while trying out for the Panama City Fliers, he played
and pitched in some of the spring training baseball games. He
only played in spring training, and after it was over, my father
went on to do better things. The Panama City Herald Newspaper,
dated March 26 1954, had a picture of my Dad and brief description
which read: WAR VETERAN – Marvin Shaw, 22 -year old Panama City
Filer righthander from Philadelphia, is a veteran of the Korean
War. He saw plenty of action with his tank corps (Staff photo
by Frank Pericola ). I’m trying to find out anything relating
to my Dad: Spring Training box scores, contracts , photos , information
cards, media guide, Spring Training roster showing my dad uniform
number, the transaction when they released him, etc . This is
like looking for a needle in a hay stack.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
John Beasley :
Thanks for the web pages on the old ALA-FLA league. It was the
year 1951 (I graduated from high school) in Columbia, AL (16 miles
from Headland, AL) I went to many of the Dixie Runner games, mainly
to see my good friend Al Rivenbark play. Jack Clifton was their
ace pitcher. I was there the night that Ottis Johnson was beaned.
Jack lives in Blakely, GA , where he resided for the last 52 years.
He is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He came to Blakely
to play baseball in the Flint River League (not classified but
I would say it was close to Class B). Jack had a brother who pitched
(all we knew was Bo Clifton). Some of the players in the FRL were
the Lary brothers (Cuthbert), Billy Currie (who later pitched
for the Atlanta Crackers), Joe Ed Kirkland (who also pitched for
the Crackers). Donalsonville had Pop Larsen, who had played in
the Majors. Bainbridge, Georgia had a team and the little town
of Leary, Georgia also fielded a team. This league was in operation
from 1946 to 1950 (don’t hold me to those specific dates). My
brother-in-law, Sam Peler Williams played for Ozark and Dothan
in 1951-1952. His groomsmen when he married my sister were players
off those clubs in the AFL, Chase Riddle, Spencer (Onion) Davis,
and Bill Farrar. P.S. The picture of Jack Clifton (in the « Who
Was Jack CLifton? article) is definitely Jack. As stated earlier,
Jack Clifton is still living, Al Rivenbark is not. David Rivenbark,
Al’s brother, and I are leaving for Kissimmee to catch Spring
Training. Ottis Johnson’s son also is a friend of mine. He was
born shortly after
Ottis’s death. He and I swap bird dog stories when we meet.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Brian
Love: From 1983-1986, I was a
sports writer in Dothan. During that time, I heard many interesting
stories of the Alabama-Florida League. I met several people who
had played for various teams. I knew several people that remembered
not only the Dothan team, but also Headland and some of he other
teams. I wrote a story about the only player to die in the league’s
history (Ottis Johnson). Everyone I talked with said that he froze
on a brush-back pitch. No one was upset about it. My favorite
story came from Chase Riddle who was the head coach for Troy State
at the time. He was a player-manager during his years in the league
. Someone wrote a book on the league (The Last Rebel Yell) in
the mid-1980s, and it had a story about him. The story in the
book did not make sense, so I asked him about it. There was a
player who would look back at the catcher to try to steal the
signs. One time when Riddle was catching, the sign-stealer looked
back and Chase was giving him the finger. Riddle said to him,
« Do you know what this one means? »
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Wayne Stutts:
I stumbled across this website and was trully amazed. I umpired
in the Alabama-Florida League for the 1960 season. My partner
was Don Denkinger who of course went on to umpire in the American
League for many years. I have many fond memories of my time in
the league. We were in Montgomery when Martin Luther King was
being tried for intergrating the buses, and the Alabama govenor’s
race was in full swing. J.C. Dunn was managing
Panama City that year.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Neal Middlebrook:
My uncle Bruce Middlebrooks (deceased) played for Troy I think
from 1935-39/40? My grandmother had clippings of the local Troy
newspaper sent to her by Bruce with his baseball stats. The web
site is excellent. I was really surprised to find all that information
and the excellent photo of the 1939 Troy Trojans with my uncle’s
picture. I will pass this on to his sons, my cousins. Bruce enlisted
in the Army in 1941 and was sent to the South Pacific. After the
service he started playing golf and became very good. He considered
playing professional golf but, was never able find a sponsor.
He’s in the Guinness Book of World Records for winning the U.
S. Amateurs left-handers golf tournament for 4 years.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Gordy Scott:
My name is Gordy Scott and I came across the web site by accident
while I was looking for a chemical company in Alabama on the internet.
I was very impressed and excited when I found the web site and
spent about a half day going through all that wonderfull information.
Sure did bring back a lot of great memories. I played for two
years in the Alabama-Florida League. The first year was 1961 at
Panama City and also in 1962 at Ozark/Andalusia, both years I
played for George Scherger, who was our manager. Bobby Cox , current
manager for the Atlanta Braves was a member of our team. Another
member of that team was Lance Nichols who at the present time
is a scout for the Rockies and we have keep in contact with each
other for all these years. I enjoyed the section where former
players sent in e-mails , in particular the one from John Heck,
John was a team mate at Ozark/Andalusia in 1962. Thanks for making
my day and bringing back a lot of great memories.
Jim
Brantley: I live in Fort Myers
Florida and am a huge baseball fan. It turns out that my barber
played in the minor league leagues as a pitcher in the 1950’s.
He is a great guy to spend a little time with during baseball
season as he has taught me much about the game and is a wealth
of stories. His name is Ken Fentem and I found a picure of him
on your web site with a group of other players from the 1957 Panama
City team.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Michael
Donner (Bernie Donner’s son): I
just saw your 1947 Andalusia Arrows team picture, in which you
indicated
that the only person identified was Manny Russo. I can identify
the person standing second from the left as my father, all star
shortshop Bernard « Casey » Donner. I also just finished
reading for the umpteenth time your interview with my dad posted
on your interview page. I can tell you that my dad likes to do
nothing more than talk about baseball. Just last month, in fact,
he was out in his backyard in Richmond Virginia teaching my 11
year old son ( a pretty fair left handed pitcher) how to throw
a knuckleball ( a left-handed knuckleballer!!). At almost 76,
my dad still has a pretty good knuckleball!
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Ric
Harbin (nephew of Ewing Harbin): Ewing Harbin (1936
Andalusia, 1937 Evergreen) was my uncle. I was thrilled to find
his photo on your site. My home burned down in 1993 and I lost
many records of my family. Uncle Ewing didn’t have any kids, so
I felt a responsibility to gather as much information about him
as possible. My dad told me him went to Florida for a major league
tryout, I believe as a pitcher. He blew his arm out and never
made it to the majors. If you have any additional information
on Suddreth Ewing Harbin I would greatly appreciate it.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Ed Mussler:
I came across your page during an Internet search I was doing
on Robert « Byrd » Whigham. Byrd played for the Graceville
Oilers in 1956 and I believe in 1957. I am writing a book on the
the 1966 Melbourne (FL) High School championship football team,
and Byrd was Melbourne High’s head coach. Melbourne High had mediocre
teams before Byrd arrived in Melbourne in 1965. He led Melbourne
High to the championship game in 1965, but his club was beat by
a much larger Miami High School squad (in the Orange Bowl). The
next year, Byrd’s Melbourne High team rolled to the title game
and easily defeated Fort Lauderdale. Byrd left Melbourne High
for Auburn to take a position as the Tigers’ recruiting coordinator.
Byrd came to Melbourne High via Wildwood (FL) High School where
he led the small North Central Florida team to a state football
title in 1964. He was Florida’s High School Coach of the Year
in 1964 and 1966. Byrd is retired and lives in his hometown of
Louisville, AL. I am in touch with him quite often and he has
on several occasions mentioned his time with the Graceville Oilers.
I was a newspaper writer for the Dothan Eagle during the early
to mid 1990s. My editorial editor (Doug Bradford) covered the
Dothan AFL team when he was the sports editor for the Eagle. According
to Mr. Bradford, the location where the Dothan team played still
stands. In fact (if Mr. Bradford is correct) I used to play baseball
and softball at the stadium where the old Dothan AFL called home.
I also graduated from Troy State University and I covered Troy
State’s baseball team for the university’s newspaper. I remember
doing countless interviews with Chase Riddle. I remember he was
a very knowledgeable baseball man, who always had time to give
me a good interview.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Dan Taylor:
It seems hard to believe that Harry Clifton didn’t play somewhere
in ’52. Anyone that could hit that well and pitch decently should
have at least made the Piedmont League, maybe the Fla-International
league or some other Class B team. After all, this fella might
have made the majors had not World War II intervened. Equally
as puzzling as the beaning is why a guy of this talent was allowed
to seep thru the cracks of organized baseball. Like Bill Herring,
he could have had a fair amount of talent with not much ambition(the
big fish in the little pond). His playing record seems to bear
that out.You would think any hitter that hit .370 even in a Class
D league would merit a look see from say, a Southern League team
or any of the independents in the PCL. Clifton’s record however,
is solid Class D all the way. A friend of mine who played in the
Carolina League in 51 told me it wasn’t as easy to move up as
it is now. He told me there were lots of guys with outstanding
records allowed to languish year after year. An ex high school
coaching friend who was in the Dodger chain in the late 40’s told
me he had to hit .315, then .330 in Class D to get the right to
move to Greenville in class B. One other thing you might find
interesting: In the National Agreement, there was provision for
class E minor league baseball, yet only one league ever went class
E. So far, have not been about to find what was so heinous about
E ball that made all the leagues start at D or better. In theory,
they probably figured no decent player would play under a salary
limit that low I guess. One last story that you can appreciate.
Seems that when tiny Snow Hill( they made Headland look like a
metropolis) was in the Coastal Plain League before World War II,
one year they had for a manager, one « Mule » Shirley,
who played 1st with Senators in early ’20’s. Mule liked booze
a LOT. Anyway, one nite (in ’37 I think) those pink elephants
and purple bats chased him down the main street of Snow Hill NAKED!
My public speaking professor, who wrote for many years for the
Kinston Free Press, told me that one. Later, Peahead Walker managed
there too.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
John
Heck (1962 Andalusia/Ozark): I
found your AFL site while surfing around. I played for Ozark/Andalusia
is 1962 and have many fond memories of my introductory year to
professional baseball. Our manager in 1962 was George Scherger.
Sparky Anderson brought George on board as a coach of the Reds
when he was named manager. I understand the Scherger managed Anderson
at some point and thought enough of him to name him a coach. Scherger
also stayed on when Pete Rose was player/manager and it’s my opinion
that he did most of the string pulling at the time. Thanks for
the memories. [View John Heck’s
Stats]
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Craig
Lammers (Ohio State League Web Site): Thought visitors
to your site might enjoy a little background information on the
AFL’s all star first baseman for 1937, Charlie Cupp. A Bellevue,
Ohio native, Cupp starred at the University of Toledo. Baseball
was his main emphasis, but he also played some basketball in college.
As his final college season was beginning, the Toledo Mud Hens
(A Detroit farm team) were negotiating for his services with the
idea of sending him to Tiffin of the Ohio State League. Since
he was a local player, the OSL’s Fostoria Red Birds and their
parent St. Louis Cardinals also wanted to sign him. The Cardinals
finally did sign Cupp, but since their local Fostoria farm was
struggling through a horrible season, it was thought best to send
Cupp to the Union Springs club of the Alabama Florida League.
Cupp finally played in the Ohio State League, but it was in 1942,
when the league was a semipro operation due to the war. That season,
Cupp played with the Fremont Green Sox. I also ran across some
information about AFL manager Harold « Hap » Bohl. This
item appeared in the Findlay (Ohio) Republican Courier in late
March or early April of 1937. « The new manager of the Fremont
Reds was described in 1934 as the best third baseman ever seen
in the Western Association. He is Hap Bohl and goes to Fremont
with five years experience. In 1936 he managed Union Springs of
the Alabama-Florida loop , played third base and batted .376.
In 1935 he managed Martinsville of the Bi-State League, a Cardinal
farm, hitting .294 and fielding .949. The 28 year old alumnus
of the University of Cincinnati has been playing since 1930. He
was a member of the All Star team in the Western League with Denver
in 1932 as a utility player. »
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Edwina
(Collins) Glover (sent by Lane Harris) :
My brother, Walter Collins, played with the Dothan team and my
sister Kay married Bobby Berry, who played for the Graceville
Oilers. They are still married and live in Dallas, Texas.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Windley
Tatom: On the 4th of July, 1939, at the age of 2 years
and 5 months, I was taken through the old wooden turnstyleand
into the grandstand at the old Fairgrounds Field in Troy, Alabama.
As I watched from my Uncle John’s arms, I saw third baseman Bruce
« Suzie-Q » Middlebrooks take a hard one-hop ground ball
spin, completely around 360 degrees, do a little dance, like he
was running in place, and throw the runner out at first. From
that moment on, I was a life-long baseball fan. As a pre-teen
in the late 40’s, the baseball field of the Class-D Troy team
was where I could be found day or night in the summer months.
I can close my eyes and still see Bob Benish doing his famous
split-stetch to field a throw at first base, or Norman DeWeese
hitting two home runs in the same inning in the 1946 All-Star
game. It seems like only yesterday when things like the ballpark
smells of popcorn, parched peanuts, the wooden grandstands, the
dugouts, and the clubhouse full of dirty uniforms waiting to be
cleaned were a constant part of my adolescent life. These memories
will go with me to my grave. I am sure that the players that played
in the Class-D Alabama State League never realized the lasting
effect they had on our lives.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
David
Wall:. The Enterprise Boll Weevels
relocated to Graceville in 1952, according to your reports. Before
the start of the 1953 season there was a contest to name the Graceville
team. My brother, Danny Wall, submitted the name, Oilers. He won
a season pass for this winning entry. I was a 11 years old going
on 12….and my friends and I sat in the trees in centerfield
in a tree house some older boys had built. It was a grand view
from there. If we wanted to get in games we
chased fowl balls….turn them in and get in the game. I subsequently
became the visiting team bat boy for a time. I remember big John
Streza. You had to be careful around him….he was gruff and always
had a big chew of tobacco going. I was afraid that one big spit
in my direction and my mother would forbid me to return to that
most enjoyable job. Big John always gave me a used ball after
the game and any broken bats. For a time, I had a wide collection
of Louisville Sluggers at my house…Mickey Mantle’s, Yogi Berra’s,
Eddie Matthews’, Ralph Kiner’s, and others. I would tack and tape
them. On some, I would saw off the barrel so that I could get
around on them. After you fixed them up they were as good as new
for a young boy. I remember some were very heavy with thick handles….others
had very skinny handles. I would work on my hitting from my daddy’s
pasture over to Mixon Cooper’s pasture. Mixon Cooper was one of
the founders and the principle backer of the Graceville team.
What a great time to be a boy….the 50’s. There were so many
Graceville Oilers that were our heroes. I have forgotten most
of their names. They boarded with local folks and how we envied
those neighbors. They were just as important to us a Willie Mays
was to the Giants. What a great hitter was Chuck Quimby. I also
have a Holt Milner souvenir bat to this day. Al Rivenback was
one of my all time favorites, with a swing reminiscent of Stan
the Man….and I remember Marcus Davis coming to Graceville, sorta
like John Wayne coming to town. As I recall, Marcus was a sheriff
or something similar up in Alabama. He managed and pitched for
the Oilers and was one of my favorites. I was also very fond of
Byrd Whigham. He was very athletic and impressive. I recall he
was from Louisville, Al. Graceville had two local boys that played
for the Oilers. Charlie Grant, per your records played for Donaldsonville
and then Graceville. Wilbur « Smiley » Fowler also played
for Graceville. Both of the Graceville home boys made it to AAA
ball per my recollection before coming back down the line. Smiley
Fowler was also the head football coach at Graceville in the 50’s
and was very competitive and successful. Of all the big hitters
in the AFL, John Streza, Chuck Quimby, Charlie Grant, Neal Cobb
and on, I recall Jim Bello as being the man! He could hit ’em
over the tall pine trees on the other side of the left field fence.
There were also two boys in my 1959 graduation class that hit
prodigious home runs in Oiler Park. They both were invited to
try out for the Graceville team. Kenneth Davis played around with
the Oilers for a time….the other boy, Sonny Balcomb was a one
eyed fellow….and a man among boys. He could throw a ball out
of Oiler park down the right field line from home plate. He declined
to go further in sports due to his concern over his vision.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Chuck
Stroup: Thank you for such a
wonderful and informative site! My father worked for Arthur D.
Walden of the Headland Dixie Runners, and announced for them.
He also appeared in the Sporting News. I stumbled across the Death
of Ottis Johnson story quite by accident and enjoyed reading the
newspaper accounts. My Dad always told the story on the front
porch on a hot night, and spoke of the continuing tension that
resulted from keeping Jack Clifton pitching. I was in Headland
recently and went by the Methodist cemetery, and saw the grave
of G.D. (Dink) Halstead, who was the president of the league for
a
short while. A bit of trivia, if you don’t know already… Headland
was listed in Ripley’s Believe It or Not for being the smallest
town with a professional baseball team.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Tom
Davis: I am a native of Langdale,
Ala. in the upper Chattahoochee Valley, so I remember my parents
talking about attending Valley Rebels games in the old Georgia-Alabama
League. I have spent the last 10 years in Eufaula, where I have
had the opportunity to talk to a few former Millers, including
the late Blackie Connell. Also, as a graduate of Troy State University,
I have watched the career of Coach Chase Riddle with interest.
In fact, my years on campus (79-81) were his first as TSU coach.
Since moving to Eufaula I have met a gentleman named Jimmy Sparks,
who went 11-16 one season for the old Rome Red Sox in the Georgia-Alabama
League. He is a good friend of mine and still an active athlete,
as he is an avid golfer and senior softball player. He still travels
the country playing in an over-70 tournament team that competes
on a national level.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Gary
Hong: Several years ago I did
some research on the 1961-62 Pensacola team, as I collect Washington
Senators memorabilia. I located the team’s owner (I believe it
was Joe Pannicione) and was able to obtain a ’61 team photo, which
you can include in your archives. The only players I’ve been able
to contact (from the 62 team) were Lew Abrahams (who also lives
in Silver Spring and still has his Pensacola cap), and Don Loun
and Ed Brinkman who were in Washington last year for a « Senators
Reunion. » Loun lives in northern Virginia. I know that Fred
Waters has passed away. I am also looking for non-players who
were associated with the team. As you know the 1961-62 Pensacola
team was an affiliate of the expansion Senators, but wore uniforms
left behind by the original Nats when they moved to Minneapolis.
I was able to obtain two of the jerseys from the owner, who for
some reason had saved a home pinstripe and road gray shirt. Both
were great additions to my Senators collection and were in wonderful
shape. The home shirt was worn by Camilo Pascual in 1960 and the
road jersey was worn by Earl Battey during the same season. Consequently,
I am still trying to locate any one associated with the Pensacola
team who might have save one of the jerseys, as that team was
the last stop for those uniforms. I have heard that the bulk of
them were donated to a semi-pro team, the Pensacola Pelicans,
and that « Senators » and the « Mr. Senator »
patch were torn off and « Pelicans » was silk-screened
across the front. Such a waste! My hope is that there are still
some of those shirts STILL around in that Florida city, perhaps
in some old truck that has long been forgotten in someone’s basement.
Any help you could provide in tracking down anyone (e.g., bat
boy, equipment manager) with that club would be greatly appreciated.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Bill
Williamson: Through John Skilton’s
pages I came across your Alabama-Florida League site – what a
great one it is too!! I’m looking forward to the updates as they
come in. I’ve been a SABR member for about 15 years and try to
get to the local chapter meetings when I can and have attended
3 national conventions. I always gravitate to the minor league
forums and discussions and have done some research on the Central
California of 1910 and 1911 and on the
Winter Leagues here in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 30s.Finding
your site has been of great interest because as a kid I always
checked out the low minor league stats in the Baseball Guide first
– the A-F L among them. A player who seemed to do well every year
no matter where he played was Nesbit Wilson. Don’t know much about
him personally, but his record is impressive. The late Jack Graham
and Jose Perez told me a few years ago that they remember playing
winter ball against him in Mexico and he was quite a hitter down
there too. Do you know if Wilson is still alive?
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Hank
Utley: Scott, just found your
web site – it is very good and I am sure it will get even better-
I am writing about Virgil Trucks who jumped his contract at Andalusia
in 1938 and had a brief cup of coffee here in Concord, N. C. in
the independent Carolina League that lasted only 3 years. He played
under the name of Aitkins and Akers. I picked up the story in
the book about the Alabama-Florida League – The Last Rebel Yell
and also the local papers. My book- « The
Independent Caroilna League, 1936-1938, Baseball Outlaws was published
in 1998 and won awards and national recognition from the N. C.
Society of Historians, SABR, Elysian Fields, and also from »
NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Social Policy Perspective »
out of Canada. It was written as a social and cultural history
of the piedmont N. C. textile towns and it also has league statistics
in the notes. Also, I spoke at the annual « Symposium on Baseball
History and American Culture at Cooperstown in 1998.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Joe
Moran: I stumbled onto your AFL
site today. As a child, I lived in Pensacola, and my first exposure
to baseball was watching the Pensacola Senators (and later, Angels)
at Admiral Mason Park. I was only 8 when the league folded in
1962, but I still had many opportunities to see games. Just some
random memories: One night, Fred Waters, pitching for Pensacola,
struck out the side on nine straight fastballs. As a promotion
once, the Pensacola team allowed a marathon runner to circle the
warning track throughout the game. The manager of the Selma Cloverleafs
once had such a violent argument with an umpire that the Pensacola
Police Department was called to take him away. I clearly remember
the segregated entrances, drinking fountains, and bleachers. Black
fans had to sit in a small section down the third base line. A
few of the scorecards sold at the stadium were stamped with blue
stars on the advertisements. If your card had a star, you won
a prize from that advertiser. I once won a free shrimp dinner
at the Old Firehouse Restaurant. Lou Abrahams was the Senators
best hitter. My Dad called him « tippy toes » because
of the way he circled the bases after hitting a homer. John Kennedy
and Ed Brinkman both played in Pensacola during the final years.
Both went on to careers in the majors. Wayne Terwilliger gave
me a baseball one night after a game. I had his major leage card
(the same one shown on your cards page) which I asked him to autograph.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
David
Butler: My father is Cecil Butler.
He played with the 1957 Panama City Team. Later went on to play
with the Milwaukee Braves in ’62 and ’64. I think he would be
interested in joining any reunions in the future (See Cecil Butler Documents)
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Jack
Banning (1959 Selma): I am Jack
Banning from the ’59 Selma Cloverleafs. Great team, and a great
year. I really enjoyed my first visit to the web site and I will
share the site address with others I maintain contact with from
that team.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Thomas
Hale: I grew up in Chipley, Fl
in the 1950’s. Chipley is 12 miles south of Graceville. I was
8 years old in 1957 when I first became a baseball fan. I do not
remember how often we went to Oilers games but we went a lot.
I would always run the bases after the games. Also after the games
we would go to
Circle Grill to eat. My first baseball experience was with the
Oilers. Because of that I have become a lifelong baseball fan.
I remember Sportsman’s Park so well. In the outfield the light
poles were in play. The Oilers were a Cincinnati farm team and
the park was some what like Crosley Field. The home dugout, 3rd
base was built like a chicken coop. The 1st base dugout was always
full of water so the visiting teams often sat of the roof. The
park was also the home to the Graceville High School football
team.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Adam
Ronscavage: My name is Adam Ronscavage,
the son of John Ronscavage, pictured in your 1948 Andalusia Arrows.
It is also the picture that is contained on the mouse pad that
is for sale. I found the page by typing in my last name on a Google
search. Well, I had no idea that this picture was out there.
Of course, I was instantly excited. I immediately called my dad
and had him bring up the site. He remembered everyone and had
some great stories to tell.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Tommy
Rodgers: I was in Birmingham,
I think it was 1953 or 54, in the bleacher stands down the left
field line of Rickwood Field, just above the box seats which,
as I recall, went almost to the wall in left. At any rate, I was
near the visitor bullpen and a man was holding a small child in
his arms at the end of the box seats. The child was saying, « bawplayah,
bawlplayah, give me a ball! » A pitcher warming for New Orleans
motioned for the child to come forward and he took him in arms
and carried him into the dugout. One of the other players said,
« What’cha got there Lee? » Later the child scrambled
back with a ball. I made a point of looking up the player’s name.
It was Lee Anthony. I have never forgotten that memory, one of
several I have of Rickwood Field. I had never heard of Lee Anthony
since until reading about the Troy Trojans on your 1938 season
page. At any rate, I thought it was an elegant action by the New
Orleans Pelican pitcher. I also read on your page how there was
an effort was made to form a minor league in North Alabama in
1948. I didn’t know that, but I do remember that about 1950 (in
the fifth grade) I wrote to SPORT magazine and suggested that
there should be a professional league in North Alabama, east Mississippi,
and southern Tennessee which I suggested should be called « The
Farming League ». I suggested that there be teams in towns
like Decatur, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Pontoc, Tupelo, Pulaski,
and Columbia, Tennessee.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Earl
Johnson, Mayor of Andalusia, addressing the 2000 reunion: I grew up here (in Andalusia) as a young boy
hearing tales of you guys, many of you were my heroes growing
up. Many of you were baseball coaches, guys like Chick Earle and
Marvin Walker, and you were wonderful inspirations to us here
in Andalusia, as the rest of you were in your home towns. I was
too young growing up to go to some of the games here but I heard
stories about the games, particularly about Belair Crudup and
Robert O’Neill. One of them would get on the first base side of
the dugout and the other on the third base side and they both
had very loud voices. They learned to whisper in a saw mill! Well,
they would comment on every pitch from the opposing side and every
call from the umpire. That was great entertainment, I understand.
You players have left a great tradition here in Andalusia and
it’s wonderful to have you back with us. We still remember you
guys and we still talk about you. We sit around the coffee table
or the domino table and talk about the baseball team and some
of the good times that people remember here.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Lane
Harris (former Graceville Oilers batboy): I
enjoyed reading the information about the Alabama Florida League
at the website. It brought back a lot of memories, and I have
shared some of this information with people of this area. I am
a retired band director and have always been a big baseball fan.
My father, Sonny Harris, had a sports program on WOOF radio during
that time. My Dad would start his morning sports program by saying,
« Hi Sportsfans, roll out that Crackbarrel !!….and then
he would say « It’s time for Sunny Spots in Sports »!
He reported all of the Ala. Fl. league game scores every morning….and
was the scorekeeper for Graceville as well as the public address
announcer. I took over these duties when I was in the 11th and
12 grades. Baseball was ‘king’ in Graceville, and the whole town
thrived on baseball stories year round. I grew up in Graceville
during this time, and delivered newspapers to all of the members
of the Graceville Oilers….. (they usually took The Montgomery
Advertiser because of it’s excellent sports reporting). As batboy
for 2 years, I also travelled with them on road trips (in station
wagons). I looked forward to the games in Panama City against
the Fliers….because they would always eat at the Tally Ho…and
the hamburgers there were GREAT! I just wanted to send you a note
to compliment you on your work with the Alabama Florida League
site. It looks GREAT!!
I know that all of the players and fans of that period in our
baseball history certainly appreciate your efforts. They may not
say it to you personally, but they do. I am saying it to you by
way of e-mail.
Thanks for keeping this baseball history alive on the internet.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
John
Donner: My Grandfather, Bernie
Donner, played on the 1947 All-Star team. He played in Andalusia.
He has an interesting story about a player named Manny Russo.
Russo played with half of a left hand. He got it chopped
off in World War II by a Japanese man with a machete. Russo
claims to have killed the man with is bare hands. Because of Russo’s
injury, he had occasional trouble with losing his bat on the backswing.
This lead to an altercation during one game, when Russo took a
full swing, losing grip of the bat which came around and hit the
opposing catcher in the back of his neck below the helmet, knocking
him out.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Jack
Connell: W. H. « Dutch »
Konneman, who managed at Andalusia (1936) and Eufaula (1952 &
1953) was my wife’s grandfather. Dutch was a friend of « Shoeless »
Joe Jackson and was an honorary pallbearer at Jackson’s funeral.
Joe Jackson was godfather to my wife’s older sister. Dutch
was also an outstanding pitcher in his younger days and may have
spent time with the Atlanta Crackers, although I have not been
able to verify that. He later scouted for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
Tom
Dooling (1959 Selma): It was
great making contact, I did not realize that those stats would
be still be available over 40 years ago. I still have a pretty
good memory since I could still recall all of those guys that
I played with. The 1959 season was a memorable year in the Alabama-Florida
league since so many of the players that was on our team went
to the big leagues – (ie) Max Alvis, Larry Brown, Gerald Fosnow,
Doc Edwards & Manager John Lipon. There were many other players
in this league that went to the big leagues. This particular league
in the year 1959 was said to have been the strongest « D »
league in baseball that year. I have many wonderful memories in
the 4 years that I played professional baseball. (Read Tom Dooling’s Interview)
[Back To The Oral History Page]
John
Mytrysak (1949-50 Brewton, 1951 Panama City): I enjoy reading about the AFL league. I pitched
for Brewton and Panama City during the years of 1949-1951. I think
that I had 6 shutouts during one season, and pitched a 2-hitter
against Ozark. I also pitched in the (1951) All-star game, which
we won 2-0. One player I remember is Emory Lindsey. If you tried
to intentionally walk him, he would still take two swings. I’m
74 years old now, but I remember most of the player I played with.
[Back To The Oral History Page]
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