EC's South Island League

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Been busy with Christmas in real life.
Will resume coverage of my leagues in January.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all y'all.

[Eugene Church]

Back from the extended holiday vacation... ready to restart my posting and coverage of my leagues again.

Have missed all of you.

May Our Creator bless all of us in 2023.

[Eugene Church]

NEW YERBY YANKS ALREADY CLINCHED SUPREME LEAGUE CROWN
The 1959 South Island Supreme League crown went to the New Yerby Yankees, who clinched it with one week to go in the season... everybody will just be playing for bragging and
boasting rights on the final weekend of the season... the last-place St. Dominic Saints (2-11) will be relegated to the Secondary League next season.



JOLIET TAKES 1-GAME LEAD INTO FINAL WEEKEND, CHASED BY CHERRYWOOD AND BRAXTON
The South Island Secondary League is still up in the air with three clubs still in contention for the title and promotion to the Supreme League... the Joliet Green Giants (9-4) can win
it all with a victory over the Pelham Oaks (7-6) Sunday afternoon at home in Joliet... if they lose, they would be forced to play the winner of the Cherrywood Stouts (8-5) and Braxton Bruins (8-5)
in a sudden-death playoff next weekend... the Stouts and Bruins will meet at the Braxton Fairgrounds tomorrow afternoon.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 6, 1959

NEW LEAGUE CHAMP NEW YERBY PLAYS OUT THE SEASON WITH WIN OVER LAST YEAR'S CHAMP MERAUX
What a difference a year makes... just ask the Meraux Tigers... they finished in third place this season... last year the Tigers took the South Island Supreme title... this year it went newcomer New Yerby, who was promoted this year after winning the South Island Secondary title last season... the were pitted against one another in the meaningless season finale with the new champ beating the old champ 8-7 Sunday in Meraux... the Tigers also won the Secondary League crown in 1957... other results show that the Delta Stars took care of the Zebulon Zips 5-2... Bar Harbor tripped up the Mystic Mariners 6-1 and the St. Dominic Saints nicked the Jackson Jackalopes 5-4.

[Eugene Church]

Supreme League Stars of the Week

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[jg2977]

What a great finish to the season for the Yankees. Almost lost despite having a 7-1 lead in the 8th inning, but they came through in the 10th inning.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

What a great finish to the season for the Yankees. Almost lost despite having a 7-1 lead in the 8th inning, but they came through in the 10th inning.

Note that both teams played their whole roster... the game didn't have any real importance to the standings... it was a fun game for both teams... luckily, it was a tight game that was exciting to watch.

If the game was important, John Jordan would have gone deeper into the game for the Yanks and fewer subs would have been used for both teams.

Littleton would not have started for Meraux... he was the pitcher that pitched the least for the Tigers and just was given a chance to show what he could do in a meaningless game.

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1959
EC's Hopin' Life is Devine in '59

EC is making $78 a month in the USAF, which is not exactly a heavenly salary, but I do have a fine assignment at the US Army Language School studying to be a Russian Language Specialist... so life is fairly tolerable... military life is not bad... just routine and semi-monotonous... they take care of your basic needs... one great benefit is they make you into an independent person that can take care of yourself... this a good thing every young person needs this...however, the military didn't take care of me like my Mama did... they didn't spoil me... my Mama did.

Yep, I miss my Mama... it will be good to get back home in two years or so.

1959 is a great year for pop and rock music... not so good for traditional country music... it was not a very good year for the country traditionalists... but lots of the rockabilly guys did well on the country charts... Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Everly Brothers and Johnny Horton... The Battle of New Orleans was a huge hit, pop and country... it's still #1 on the pop chart and country chart, so I need to find something else to play for all of you guys and dolls, cats and frats, buckaroos and you little darlin's, too.

Here's one of my all-time favorite pop songs... a do-wop classic... Hushabye by the Mystics... sadly, 'twas the only hit they ever had.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hush...id:d9h0GDBURzU

Pickin's are sparse on the country side of the tracks (pun intended)... the best of the lot that ain't rockabilly is Heartaches by the Numbers by the Cherokee Cowboy Ray Price... his version never crossed over to the pop charts... way, way too country... twangy country... the type of country music pop people don't like... and just so you know, Guy Mitchell took the song to #1 late in the year on the Billboard pop chart... it was a pop version and one of Mitchell's biggest hits ever... it went to #1 on the pop charts in December '59... Mitchell's biggest hit was another country song Singing the Blues, which was #1 for 10 consecutive weeks on the Billboard pop chart in 1956.

Here's the great Ray Price singing a country classic for you.

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

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 6, 1959

PELHAM SPOILS JOLIET'S TITLE DREAMS... NOW GREEN GIANTS MUST BEAT BRAXTON IN PLAYOFF
The Pelham Oaks spoiled the pennant dreams of the Joliet Green Giants this past weekend by upending them 7-6...
at least Pelham put them off for one week... the Braxton Bruins plastered the Cherrywood Stouts 8-1 on the final weekend
of the regular South Island Secondary Season and tied the Green Giants for the top spot with 9-5 records.

Now the league title will be decided in a one-game sudden-death playoff next Sunday at the Braxton Fairgrounds... the two teams
split the season series, each winning a game, but the Bruins get the homefield advantage because they outscored Joliet 21-18
in the 2 games... both game were slugfests with the Braxton bombing the Green Giants 14-8 in May and Joliet returning the favor
10-7 in June.

Other scores on the final weekend showed Parkland plastering the Littleville Supermen 10-7 and Billings bopping the Grin Hill Smileys 7-4.

[Eugene Church]

Secondary League Stars of the Week

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, July 11, 1959

JOLIET AND BRAXTON CLASH IN SUDDEN DEATH FOR SECONDARY LEAGUE TITLE
The Joliet Green Giants had a chance to wrap up the South Island Secondary League title last weekend, but they were upended by the Pelham Oaks... this gave the Braxton Bruins a second chance in the pennant race... Sunday afternoon the Bruins will host the Green Giants at the Braxton Fairgrounds... the outcome will probably come down to the starting pitchers Antoine Chalamet for Joliet and Peter Willis for Braxton... Chalamet is 9-3 this season with a 3.08 ERA... Willis is only 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA... Willis actually was a last resort for the Bruins to get some dependable pitching... he really sparkled in the 8-1 drubbing of the Cherrywood Stouts in the last game of the regular season... however, Chalamet struggled in the 7-6 loss to Pelham... neither club has any dependable relief in the bullpen... they will probably live or die with Chalamet and Willis.

Joliet will need good games at the plate from Ronnie Fleming (.396/5 HR/12 RBI), Ralph Varricchio (.381/1 HR/12 RBI), Phil Richard (.294/7 HR/15 RBI) and Claude Jarreau (.290/1 HR/11 RBI)... Braxton will counter with Jeff Cook (.339/9 HR/25 RBI), Roger Sandlin (.370/2 HR/15 RBI), Chuck Abadie (.263/1 HR/13 RBI) and Tanner Long (.233/2 HR/11 RBI).

The two teams met twice in the regular season... they traded victories... in May Braxton won on the road in Joliet 14-8 and in June the Green Giants triumphed 10-7 at the Braxton Fairgrounds.

[Eugene Church]

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