EC's South Island League

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

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

Yep, EC's still looking for Heaven in May, 1957.
I will tell you this, a good-lookin' guy from Tupelo, Mississippi may have found his Heaven... this guy has certainly set the world of music afire with his ducktails, shaky hips and blue suede shoes... Elvis Presley is still #1 on the Billboard Pop Charts with "All Shook Up"... he reached the top spot April 13 and has another month or so to go before someone else knocks him off the top of the charts.

I've already shared "All Shook Up" with all of you guys and dolls, little darlin's and all you buckaroos, so now we will cue up perhaps the "greatest record of all-time"... when I go to nursing homes and play music for the residents, I try to play their favorite songs... all the songs they heard when they were growing up... all of the songs of their life.

This is one of the most popular requests... and this is one of the songs that gets the most reaction and the most applause... everybody loves it... young, old, white or black, cat or frat -- "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino.

So let's crank up the volume real loud and hit the dance floor... let's go strollin' with Fats Domino.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQQCPrwKzdo

[Eugene Church]

Sorry, I couldn't find the kids on American Bandstand doing the stroll to Blueberry Hill, but I did find it with the kids strollin' to "The Stroll" by the Diamonds.
This is a line dance from 1957... line dances really got popular in country music in the 1980s and 90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEGMm0Dgsbs

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, May 18, 1957

ANDERSON AND MERAUX BEST CLUBS AT MIDYEAR IN SI SECONDARY LEAGUE
6 games have come and gone and 6 more are left on the South Island Secondary League schedule... the co-leaders Anderson and Meraux are both 5-1, but they are not out of the woods... two clubs are nipping at their heels... Billings and Littleville are in third place at 4-2, just one scant game behind... Parkland, Gull Lake, Grin Hill and New Yerby are still in the quest with 3-3 marks... a strong finish by any of these teams could give them the pennant... any of the 8 clubs could win it... Anderson and Meraux are brand new to the league and really strutting their stuff.

Anderson (5-1) has been the top gun so far with its high-scoring arsenal... the Ravens are first in runs (52), batting average (.292), homers (11) and fielding (.987)... pitching is their need... Anderson has tried everyone on the staff to no avail... they are 6th in the league with a second-rate 4.25 ERA... the Ravens are hoping Richard Kelt (2-0/2.49 ERA) is the answer to their mound woes... the team's top run producers are Sandy Stevens, Hank Greenberg, Carroll Johnson, Kelt and Jacob Demerest... Stevens tops the league with 11 RBIs and Demerest has scored the most runs, 10... he is also second in homers with 4 and hits with 11... the Ravens head down-the-stretch on a 4-game winning streak.

The Meraux Tigers (5-1) do everything well... 41 runs (3rd)... 10 HR (3rd)... BA .282 (4th)... ERA 2.78 (1st)... strong defense (.978 FA)... Kyle Fischer (5-0/3.14 ERA) is durable and reliable on the hill... he is a workhorse and goes deep in the game... thus far, no need for the bullpen much... so far, the offense has been good enough... best bats are Don Fontenot, Tony Moreno, Aaron Mettler, Danny Collins and Freddy Sanford... the Tigers move into the stretch drive with victories in their last 3 games.

In their first two seasons in the SI Secondary League, the Billings Rams were 1-9 in 1955 and 3-7 last year, but this season they are on a roll with a 4-2 mark.. and they have dominated the last three games... their stats are good... 47 runs (2nd)... BA .285 (3rd)... ERA 3.74 (3rd)... FA .970 (3rd)... not so good in homers... the Rams have only 4 longballs (9th)... Clifton Chenier (3-1/3.16 ERA) is a dependable starter, gives them a lot of innings, but prone to gopher balls (6)... the little-used bullpen has not been effective... however, the offense is quite proficient with Chenier, Steve McDonald, Chris Whitaker, Brian Curry, Deke Tanner and Boo Boo Broussard... Billings will be in the hunt for the pennant with Anderson and Meraux.

In their two seasons in the SI Secondary League the Littleville Supermen (4-2) seem to have a bit of kryptonite slowing them down... they have just been a run-of-the-mill team with a 4-6 finish in 1955 and 5-5 last year... but they are doing well this year... they even gave Anderson their only loss... when pitcher Eddie Jackson (2-2/3.06 ERA) does well, Littleville does well... the offense is adequate, mainly because of the home runs... the Supermen have sent 11 out of the park this season, tied for the league lead with Anderson... they are tied with Meraux with the best ERA (2.78)... otherwise they are just fair with a .242 BA (10th) and 32 runs (5th)... defensively, Littleville is bad with a .952 FA (10th)... Littleville doesn't have the bats or the gloves to compete with the top teams... the Supermen will likely wind up around 4th, 5th or 6th this season.

This is the Parkland Perfectos (3-3) first season in the South Island League... so far they are holding their own despite their lack of a quality starter... Clifton Maxwell (0-1/3.72 ERA) is the latest attempt to solve that problem... he will get his first start this Sunday... the team's 5.50 ERA (9th) is not going to do the job... Parkland has a few good bats... Raoul Robicheaux, Douggie Dowler and Vincent Jeansonne are the only threats in the lineup... they need some help... Dowler and Jeansonne are the RBI guys with 9 each this season... Dowler tops the league with 5 roundtrippers... as a team the Perfectos are batting .271 (7th) with 32 runs (5th) and 9 homers (4th)... team defense is poor with a .948 FA (11th)... Maxwell will make or break the Parkland season... 7th place may be the best Parkland can do this season.

The Gull Lake Sailors (3-3) have been a fairly good club in its South Island tenure... the Sailors had a great first season in '55 winding up in second place (8-4), but they dipped to 5-5 last year... St. Pete (8-3) won the title the first season... Moon Valley (7-3) won it in season two... both clubs moved up to the Supreme League... starter Lenny Rogers (3-1/3.02 ERA) can handle the lesser lights in the league, but falters against the big boys like Anderson and Billings... the Sailors' offense is poor with a .235 BA (12th), 23 runs (10th) and 4 home runs (9th)... team ERA is a lackluster 4.59 (7th)... however, defense is one bright spot with a sparkling .986 FA (2nd)... Gull Lake needs more offense to go with its pretty good pitching and great defense... 4th or 5th place will probably be where the Sailors finish this year.

Like Gull Lake, the Grin Hill Smileys (3-3) did well the first season, going 7-4, good for 3rd place, just a game away from the pennant... the Smileys slipped to 5-5 last year... pitching is the crux of their problem... Grin Hill has had some capable hitters, but the pitchers have let them down... Bryan Yeager (3-1/3.14 ERA) has changed that this year... he has been effective in his 4 starts... he gave Meraux its only loss this season, but was slammed by Littleville in his only defeat... the bats are productive as usual with 36 runs scored (4th)... a .277 BA (6th) and 8 roundtrippers (5th)... but the team ERA is a sky-high 5.07 (9th)... and the defense is below par at .956 FA (9th)... the Smileys still need many improvements to move up in the standings... Grin Hill will likely end up in the upper half of the standings... somewhere around 5th or 6th place.

The New Yerby Yankees (3-3) are in their debut season in the SI Secondary League... it's been a so-so season so far... they have pretty good pitching with a 3.98 ERA (4th), but the offense is lacking... the Yanks are batting only .243 (9th) with 26 runs (9th) and 8 homers (5th)... the defense is just adequate at .962 FA (7th)... Steve Chancellor (3-2/3.21 ERA) has done well, but he has been up-and-down this season... he beat Billings, but lost to Anderson and Meraux... James Madison, Clayton Delaney and Silas Delaney are the only threats in the lineup... runs come hard to the Yankees... they look like they are playing at their talent level... middle of the pack is where New Yerby will wind up this season... anywhere from 4th to 8th.

The Delacroix Cubs (2-4) are newcomers to the Secondary League and they have found the going hard... they can score runs, but their opponents put more than the Cubs on the scoreboard... Delacroix is near the bottom with a dreadful 6.06 ERA (11th), but they hit for a .287 BA (2nd) with 7 homers (7th) and 30 runs scored (7th)... they are 6th in defense (.963 FA)... Tyler Smith (1-2/5.14 ERA) is the best of the lot on the mound... the top bats are Billy Joe Thomas, Art Stein, Freddie Hyde and Jeremy Doucet... they produce almost all of the offense... sure could use some help from the other four regulars... Delacroix is destined to finish in the bottom tier of the Secondary League.

The Columbia Black Cats (2-4) started off in the South Island Supreme League in 1955, but lasted only one season (2-8)... they were relegated to the Secondary League, where they improved to 5-5... but this season they are having trouble winning... the Black Cats are on their third starter, but Jack Sullivan (1-2/5.04 ERA) may be the solution... in his 3 starts he beat Littleville 3-1, was bombed by New Yerby 9-2 and lost to Meraux 2-1... as a team Columbia sports a .246 BA (8th) with only 20 runs (12th) and 4 dingers (9th)... the team ERA is 4.67 (8th)... they are 6th defensively with a .967 FA... the offense is shouldered by Billy Hunt and Ron Brown... there are no other real threats in the lineup... it doesn't appear that Black Cats will reach .500 this season... somewhere around 7th or 8th place is where they will end up.

This is Braxton's third year in the South Island League... the Bruins came in second in 1955 in the Supreme League with a 6-4 mark, but fell to a dismal 1-9 last season, so they were relegated down to the SI Secondary League... Braxton (1-5) is still not doing well... they are just a lousy team... no offense, no pitching, no defense... the Bruins are batting just .239 (11th) with only 4 homers (9th) and 22 runs (11th)... the team ERA is 5.02 (9th)... and the fielding average is .959 (9th)... 'nuff said, Braxton will be a bottom rung team again this year... Peter Willis (0-2/2.57 ERA) is latest starting pitcher... he really did well in his last outing with 11 strikeouts - a 3-2 loss to Gull Lake - after doing badly in his first start - a 9-0 loss to Anderson... Mike Bryan, Chris Bowler and Matt Swain supply what little offense they have... Braxton is doomed to 11th or 12th place in the SI Secondary League again this year.

As bad as Braxton is, the Cherrywood Stouts (1-5) are worse... the team 7.76 ERA (12th) is out-of-this-world and dead last in the league... ditto for the ghastly .939 FA (12th)... the Stouts have a .280 BA (5th) with 6 homers (8th), but they haven't scored much... only 27 runs (8th) produced this season... Rick Fargnoli, David Neal, Merlin Haggard and George Hayes generated all of the offense... Manny Zimmerman (1-5/5.86) is the best of the worst pitchers in the league... Cherrywood will probably keep Braxton out of the cellar this year.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

I created custom camera views for my league.
In spite of my computer illiteracy, It was fairly easily go do... and the results was something... my custom views are twice as good as the Default Wide Views that I have been using.

And I really liked the Default Wide Views... (ignorance is bliss... I just didn't know what I was missing).

I now have the latest update from OOTP... I have not seen any weird infield and foul flyballs... no right fielders running through fences for the ball... no big sections of the outfield fence missing.

Looks like Matt Arnold, Lukas Berger and the OOTP crew had taken care of this glitches.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, May 13, 1957

MYSTIC ON TOP OF SI SUPREME, FOLLOWED BY JACKSON, 1 GAME BEHIND IN SECOND PLACE
The Mystic Mariners are still on top of the South Island Supreme League standings with a 6-1 record... they beat off the challenge of the Delta Stars and retained first place... the Jackson Jackalopes were also victorious and are close behind, just one game out... the Jacks are 5-2 this season... after the top two clubs it gets quite crowded with 6 clubs posting 4-3 marks.

Yesterday afternoon Mystic just barely got by the Delta Stars 3-2... Jackson defeated a good Bar Harbor team 5-1... Moon Valley rallied to whip the Kofa Kings 11-10... St. Dominic drubbed the Guedon Gators 11-3... Zebulon shut down the St. Pete Pelicans 4-1 and St. Luke's Place edged the Pelham Oaks 6-5 in 10 innings.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

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Bob Costas - not only can he announce baseball, he can knock it out of the park too!

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Bob Costas - not only can he announce baseball, he can knock it out of the park too!

Yep, I do some silly things in my leagues... this Bobby Costas and Bob Costas are one and the same... as you saw Bobby Costas made the headlines with a game-winning homer for the St. Luke's Place Orioles.

I do some very silly names on the Littleville Supermen.

Have you noticed them?

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Yep, I do some silly things in my leagues... this Bobby Costas and Bob Costas are one and the same... as you saw Bobby Costas made the headlines with a game-winning homer for the St. Luke's Place Orioles.

I do some very silly names on the Littleville Supermen.

Have you noticed them?

Luke Lexus, Kent Clarke, Lane Louis!

I just noticed Dazzy Dean too!

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Luke Lexus, Kent Clarke, Lane Louis!

I just noticed Dazzy Dean too!

Also Jimmy Olson, too.

I've got to put Whitey Perry in next season.

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1957
EC's Lookin' For Heaven in '57.

It is time for some levity... 'cause laughter is the best medicine.

Banjo player joke:
What is worst than a banjo player?

2 banjo players.




Yep, ED does occasionally find Heaven in '57... like for instance on the radio... and speaking of banjo players, just heard a bluegrass classic by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs... I mean to tell ya Earl is a mighty mean banjo picker.

This is for all y'all peapickin' guys and gals and all y'all peapickin' little darlin's... and all y'all buckaroos, too.

Warning: don't all y'all try to "doh-see-doh and allemand right" to this song... this song is too peapickin' fast to square dance to... could be a bit dangerous for y'all on the dance floor.

Wonder if Travolta has ever "doh-see-dohed"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Y3mnj-8lA