EC's South Island League

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1957
EC's Lookin' for Heaven in '57

Nope, EC's not really lookin' for Heaven, just drifting lonely through life living at the loop in Mobile, Alabama and attending the 11th grade at Murphy High School.. I wasn't really aware that this was my life... just drifting randomly through life... wish someone would have sat me down and told me the lessons of life... someone needed to tell me to get a life... get a girl friend, go to sock hops after football and basketball games... go out with boys and have a normal teenage life.

Across the hall from our apartment, there was a very pretty neighbor... a really nice lady in her early 20s, married with one kid... she would talk to me on occasion... I think she noticed my isolated life and tried to help me... she knew one of the reasons I didn't think a girl would date me... EC couldn't dance... she told me she would teach me dance, but I was so afraid of asking a girl out, I wouldn't even try to learn... even with my sweet neighbor... EC has always feared failure in my life... I just don't try to do things... that way I don't risk failure... my thought must have been you don't fail if you never try... wrongo, Danderoo... in reality, people that try never really fail... life is trying something, maybe failing the first time, the second time and even a third time, but always getting up and trying again.

That thought brought back to me the wonderful memory of Raymond Foret... in the 90s he came to my station and wanted to be a disc jockey... Raymond was blind... yep, Raymond couldn't see a lick and he wanted to be a DJ... I told him that was admirable, but not possible... he would have to see to read the commercial log, get the commercial cartridges to play and read the news and live commercials... to make a long story short... Raymond would not take no for an answer... he had a braille typewriter and would type up all the info he needed... plus Raymond did not have transportation... Raymond overcame all of my arguments... I used to go to his apartment and pick him up in my car... he never was late... he was always standing on the driveway waiting for me at 5:30 each and every Saturday morning... can you believe it, EC hired a blind DJ?... can you believe a blind person became a DJ... yep, a blind DJ... for 3 months he worked weekends for me and did the job... Raymond then got a fulltime job in Houma... the program director called me and asked if he could do the job and I told him he definitely could and he should hire him... I should have learned a lesson from Raymond... anything is possible, if you just try.

Meanwhile back in 1957... sadly, EC did not learn to dance... didn't even try.

On another sour note, my Mobile Bears and New Orleans Pelicans are not doing well at all in my beloved Southern Association... the Bears (12-20) are dead last... the Pels (15-19) in 7th place... on May 15, Mobile lost to Nashville 7-6 in 11 innings... one of my all-time favorite players Gary Bell worked 8 innings in the game fanned 13 batters and walked 5... he was ahead 6-5 when he departed... Gary was one of the main characters in Ball Four... he was Jim Bouton's roomie and good friend... his favorite line when the team was going over batters prior to the game was "Smoke 'em inside"... he would parody manager Joe Schultz's pet phrase.

Let's end this episode in EC's life on a happy note... let's let the good times roll with the old Cajun storyteller and chef, Justin Wilson.

Geaux, Tigers, Geaux... Laissez les bons temps rouler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQSm...cefMCk&index=3

[Eugene Church]

Just looking at the probable starting pitchers in the National and American Leagues in the previous post bring back some warm and fuzzy memories of my childhood.

EC was in Heaven reading the sports pages in the Mobile Press-Register and New Orleans Times-Picayune and New Orleans States-Item.

Really loved The Sporting News, too, when I could find it at the local drugstore.

In the Murphy High School Library during study hall, I would look at the New York Times' sports page... wow, it was so detailed and covered MLB so well.

Life was pretty darn good for EC... yep, in a lot of ways it was good.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, May 6, 1957

TIGERS, RAVENS ARE CO-LEADERS IN THE SI SECONDARY LEAGUE, SUPERMEN FALL TO 3RD PLACE
In South Island Secondary League action this weekend, the Meraux Tigers and the Anderson Ravens chalked up victories, while last week's co-leader Littleville faltered and fell to 3rd place in the standings... the Tigers and Ravens are 5-1 this season at the halfway point in the schedule... thus far, the Supermen have won 4 and dropped 2 games.

Meraux mopped up on the Parkland Perfectos 9-5 and Anderson got past the New Yerby Yankees 6-3, while Littleville was losing to the Columbia Black Cats 3-1... in the other contests around the Secondary League, Billings blasted the Cherrywood Stouts 17-7... Gull Lake nipped the Braxton Bruins 3-2 and Grin Hill got the best of the Delacroix Cubs 7-2.

[Eugene Church]

Double Post.

[Eugene Church]

Secondary League Stars of the Week

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

I'm working on a midseason recap... will also revise lineups, too, and get them ready for the second half of the season... it may take 2-3 days on each league.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I'm working on a midseason recap... will also revise lineups, too, and get them ready for the second half of the season... it may take 2-3 days on each league.

Your league has been fun to follow. It's nice when a season is short enough to be able to recap every game.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Your league has been fun to follow. It's nice when a season is short enough to be able to recap every game.

I hope it is a good league to follow... I really enjoy playing out each game... and micromanaging the teams.

Appreciate your loyal support and your comments.

Hope EC's life story is not to much of a downer... I try to make it a happier read with some positive elements in the real life coverage.

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, May 18, 1957

MYSTIC MARINERS MIDSEASON LEADER IN SOUTH ISLAND SUPREME LEAGUE
Still a lot of games left on the the South Island Supreme League schedule... the Mystic Mariners are leading the league, but they are only halfway there... just half the way home... on second base with the winning run... perhaps headed to home plate - the pennant... Mystic is a rock-solid club with the best pitching in the league by far... they are also one of the top offensive teams and they rank high on defense, too.

The top team in the Supreme League is new this season... it's Mystic's first season...the prime reason the Mariners (5-1) are doing so well is 19-year-old southpaw pitcher Logen Feeney (5-1/1.70 ERA)... coupled with some pretty good batsmen gives Mystic an elite standing among its peers... they are second in the league with a .293 BA and are second in scoring with 40 runs... Mystic plays good defense, too (.976 FA)... most productive hitters are Will Carlson (.474), Ryan Cassidy (.286) and Mickey Murphy (.278).

It's the longball bats that are leading the charge for the second place Kofa Kings (4-2)...
Geno Franchi (4) and Bud Sutherland (3) and Rick Hemenway (3) are the power boys... the Kings are the league leader with 13 roundtrippers... another strength is Wayne Pietri (4-0/3.25 ERA) on the hill... he has done a solid job... Kofa is also good with the gloves (.968 FA).

The Bar Harbor Acadians (4-2) have a high-powered attack and lousy pitching, but have done well enough to be in a second-place tie at midseason... the Cajuns are much in need of a quality starter... highly-touted Jesse Dodge (2-1/4.88 ERA) has struggled so far this season... but the bats are sizzling with the likes of Mike Allen (.600), Gerard Jumonville (.423) and Noel Langlois (.333)... Jumonville is the top slugger with 5 homers and 12 runs batted in... both numbers are the best in the league... Langlois has driven in 9 runs... team defense is below average (.963 FA).

The Delta Stars' (4-2) only defeats have come at the hands of Mystic and Bar Harbor, two pretty good clubs... they have been getting decent pitching from Terry Cockrell (3-2/3.58 ERA)... the offense is just average scoring-wise... ditto for the defense (.969 FA)... Delta possesses some quality bats in Jesse James (.407), Byron Babcock (.320), Cameron Keller (.292) and Jimmy Carter (.261), but the rest of the batting order comes up way short... left fielder Neal Kilgore (.111) batted a lofty .452 last season, but had been mired in a deep slump this season... the Stars really needs offensive support... RBI guy and first baseman Nick Hill (.222) has started slow, too... if those two perk up at the plate Delta will be alright and in the thick of the pennant chase.

The Jackson Jackalopes (4-2) won the Supreme League crown in '55, came in second last season and are running a good race this league, currently just one game behind first place Mystic (5-1)... the Jacks are 2nd in scoring (40 runs), 3rd in batting (.280) and 3rd in homers (10)... with an average defense (.969 FA)... they are also 3rd in pitching... Denny McCain (3-1/2.50 ERA) is one of the top hurlers in the league... Jackson's only defeats were to Mystic and Delta in very close games... they easily could be unbeaten... the second half of the season bodes well for the Jackalopes... top hitters are J.B. Shoemaker (.320), Jake Johnson (.364), Harper Lovejoy (.360) and Russ Miller (.353).

The Zebulon Zips (3-3) are a new team in the Supreme League... they just haven't been able to whip the top teams so far... the Zips have pretty good pitching with Duck Davis (3-2/3.91 ERA), but there is nothing so far in the bullpen... the offense is subpar with little HR power... team defense is below par (.964 FA)... Zebulon's record is better than their stats... carrying the club at the plate are Buster Bradshaw (.333), Tubby Ernst (.381) and Eric Kiser (.292)... they sure could use some help.

The Pelham Oaks (3-3) are off to a slow start... they won the pennant last season and were 3rd in 1955, the first year for the league... horrible pitching is the culprit (5.08 ERA)... offense (.246 BA) is suffering, too, compared to last year (.330 BA)... reliever Bobby Derringer will take over for George Strait (3-3/5.36 ERA) at midyear to see if he can get the team on the right track... Derringer has made 5 appearances with 5 innings pitched and a 0.00 ERA... at the plate Chad Worthington (.455), Tony Ferrara (.292) and Doug Patterson (.292) need a lot of help... last year's reliables Bernie Rivet (.182), Rudy Alleman (.235), Clarence Wells (.077) and Felix Gautier (.056) are having terrible seasons.

The Moon Valley Dreamers (3-3) won the South Island Secondary League crown last year and were promoted upward to the Supreme League, but it has been tough sledding so far... it could be the quality of the teams are better than the Secondary League... that's seems to be the best answer... the Dreamers just don't have the talent to contend... the team has settled on Andy Lockwood (0-1/2.30 ERA) for the second half of the season, replacing last year's main reason they won the SI Secondary League, Tyrone Bailey (2-2/5.74 ERA)... Bailey has been effective in the new league... except for Corey Villere (.444), Preston Ward (.354) and Stephen Vines (.333), the offense has been pathetic (.244 BA)... looking at this year's team stats, Moon Valley is lucky to be 3-3.

The St. Dominic Saints (3-3) are holding their own with some fine pitching (2.55 ERA)... talented left-hander Chris Johnson (3-3/2.18 ERA) sure could use a few more runs on the scoreboard... the Saints are batting a paltry .215... three players are furnishing all the runs... Sal Mosconi (.364), Larry Arbour (.318) and Fran Kercheval (.273)... look for wholesale changes in the batting order the second half of the season... they are desperate for runs.

St. Pete (2-4) won the pennant in 1955 in the SI Secondary League, but the Pelicans have been struggling in the Supreme League... they came in 5th last season at 3-7... the Pels simple can't hit the ball... if it wasn't for 9 home runs, they wouldn't score... Tommy Shelton (.300) and Neill Schexnaydre (.304) are the only productive bats... St. Pete only has a .236 OBP... Travis Hahn (2-3/3.76 ERA) gives them a fairly good starter, but the bullpen has been bad... the team has a 5.07 ERA... two of the prime hitters from the '55 title season, Mike Williams (.071) and Grady Moore (.133), are back in the lineup for the second half to see if they can turn the season around... they both were benched early this season.

Another new face in the Supreme League, the St. Luke's Place Orioles (1-5), are not as bad as their record... they have played some good teams well this season... last week the Birds won their first game behind the fine pitching of Larry Lasalle (1-1/2.13 ERA) in his first start... the season will perk up if he can sustain that kind of pitching... the team is hitting only .229... no one in the lineup is batting .300... the best bats are Dan Smith (.294), Dave Van Fleet (.294) and Carmine Costello (.273).

Not a good year for the Guedon Gators (0-6)... this is their first season in the league... they are winless in 6 games... the pitching is horrendous with 7.35 ERA... no way you can compete with that kind of mound corps... not much in the batting order, either... the team is batting only .227 and rank near the bottom of the league in scoring... Ralph Varricchio (.391) and Calvin Trosclair (.238) are the only productive batters... Mickey Lang (7.36 ERA) is the third starter tried this season... he has been used 3 times in relief, but has been very ineffective.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]