Ec's north island recreation league

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, June 3, 1953

SAINTS STAR SS MAY BE BACK SOON
The St. Dominic Saints of the South Island First League got some good news this week... their star shortstop Mickey Retief may be soon cleared to play... he fractured a finger in February and should return to action in the next week or so... Retief, a Gold Glover, hit .354 last season in 20 games and drove in 15 runs for the Saints... St. Dominic is embroiled in a tight pennant race with the Guedon Gators... they are currently tied for first place with 6 games left on the schedule.

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1953
EC's Full of Glee in '53

School is out... EC has now completed 7 full years of scholastic endeavors quite successfully... made all A's again, except for "Conduct"... EC got a "B"... and yes, I probably deserved it... on occasion, I would make off-the-cuff and spontaneous comments that Mrs. Pollard, my homeroom teacher, did not always quite take a fancy, too... occasionally John Stonecipher and me would cut up a little... just occasionally... just having fun, nothing bad.

EC is going to be moving to Mobile soon... that's the word from my Mama... she knows a lot of people there... we lived there during the war years... 1943 to 1947... my granddaddy and Uncle Gene worked at the shipyards repairing warships... we all lived together... with the tragic loss of my stepfather, Johnny Church, my Mama needs a job to support my 3-year-old baby sister, Linda, and me... Mama is pretty sure she can get a job in Mobile... look out 8th grade, here comes EC, ready and rarin' to take on another year of readin', 'riting' and 'rithmetic... see y 'all the Monday after Labor Day... that used to be the first day of school in the good old days.

I really liked my life in Sheffield and wish I had lived there the rest of my life, but my Mama never liked Florence and Sheffield... she had too many bad memories there about my real father and folks wouldn't let her forget them... people are sometimes unforgiving... my Mama just like to visit relatives there... and wouldn't ever stay very long... if I had gone to high school in Sheffield, I would have gotten to play all three sports, I think... baseball and football for sure... basketball might have been hard to make the team... it would have been harder to make the small roster that is used in basketball... there was far more competition for basketball than for the other two sports.

And now, for all you buckaroos and little darlin's, too, here's EC coming at you loud and clear with a hit song on the radio.

"Hello, Daddy-O and Mommy-O... ooh-poopa-doo, how do you do?.. this is Danderoo comin' to you live and dee-rect from the big boomin' voice of the Great Gulf South, 101.5, W.Y.N.K, deep in the Heart of Dixie in Baton Rouge, Looziana... get your ever-lovin' ears ready for the number one country song in the country... for the 9th week in a row, Jim Reeves is on top of the charts with "Mexican Joe".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Ew_rVRuVA

[Eugene Church]

Monday, June 8, 1953

YANKS UP LEAD TO 3 GAMES IN NIRL FIRST
With just 5 games to go in the regular North Island First Division, the top team in the league, the New Yerby Yankees, have a 3-game edge over the other 5 clubs, who are tied for last place... the Yanks are 10-5, while the rest of the league is 7-8.

New Yerby downed the Stockdale Mustangs 6-3 Sunday afternoon, while Jackson defeated the Wafford Eagles 2-1 in 10 innings... and Dutton outplayed the Joliet Green Giants 7-5.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, June 8, 1953

BOBCATS BLITZ HACKERS FOR NISD LEAD
The Theodore Bobcats and the Union Heights Hackers went into Sunday's showdown at Hilltop Stadium tied for the number-one spot in the North Island Second Division... when the diamond dust cleared and settled, the Bobcats were all alone in first place... they blitzed the Hackers 6-0 to take a one-game edge in the standings... the Kofa Kings took over the third spot and got back into the pennant chase... the Kings skimmed past last place Avalon 3-2, but are still 2 games behind Theodore... fifth place Kinston got out of the league basement with a 5-2 thumping of the fourth place West Chester Comets... 5 games remain to be played this season.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, June 8, 1953

SAINTS RISE TO TOP OF SIFL
Thanks to the help of the Opelousas Lions, the St. Dominic Saints are on top of the South Island Recreational League First League... the Lions knocked off the Guedon Gators 6-4 yesterday afternoon and the Saints squeezed out a 4-3 victory over last place Des Allemands... this means St. Dominic is all alone in first place with a 10-5 record... Guedon dipped to 9-6 and trails by one game... times are getting exciting on South Island... there are five games left on the schedule with 5 of the 6 clubs still having a chance for the league crown, won last year by the Labadieville Pelicans... the Pels moved up to third place with a 4-2 triumph over the Claiborne Cardinals... Labadieville improved to 8-7 and is 2 games behind the top team St. Dominic.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, June 8, 1953

TIGERS UP LEAD TO 2 GAMES IN SISL
Meraux registered a big win Sunday afternoon in the South Island Second League and runner-up Delacroix suffered a big setback... the Tigers now have a 2-game edge over the Cubs, going into the final 5 games of the season... Meraux blanked the Bayou Bleu Blues 3-0, while Delacroix was taking it on the chin 9-3 in Mystic... the Bar Harbor Acadians moved up in the standings to the runner-up spot with the Cubs by virtue of a 5-1 victory over the last place Chitamaca Moccasins.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

With only 5 games left to play, I will recap the season and take a look at the stretch drives in each of the Island leagues.

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, June 13, 1953

YANKS SITTING PRETTY IN NIRL FIRST DIVISION
The magic number countdown has begun in the North Island Recreational League First Division... it is sitting at 3 with just 5 games to go... the New Yerby Yankees (10-5) are sitting pretty with a 3-game lead over the other 5 ballclubs, who are all below .500 with 7-8 records... it is unlikely anyone can catch them... one of the contenders would have to win 4 or 5 games down the stretch to have a shot at the pennant.

New Yerby (10-5) has had the best pitching in the league so far with a 2.93 ERA... the Yanks don't hit much for average (.223 BA), but they are right up with leaders with 69 runs scored... all the Yankees need down the stretch is 3 victories and they will clinch the title... New Yerby is blessed with a solid starter in Andy Breland (7-4, 2.89 ERA), a good defense (.971 FA) and better scoring than they look like they have... the Yankees win in spite of poor hitting... they only have two .300 hitters, center fielder Dave Holcomb (.350) and left fielder Rex Markham (.316)... they depend on RBIs from their only powerballer, Billy Welch, who has 4 homers and 12 RBIs, but is only batting .185... another big plus for the Yankees is their bullpen... whenever Breland has needed help, the bullpen has come through for them... the relievers have posted a superb 1.13 ERA.

Joliet (7-8) and Jackson (7-8) look like the main contenders, but they have their work really cut out for them... if one of them goes 5-0 and finished 12-8, they still might not catch New Yerby... the Green Giants won the NIRL First Division title last year, but they slumbered too long in March and April with a 3-6 record... it's only in the last month that they have played like a champion... they have a fairly good starter in Mario Vespucci (6-2, 3.22 ERA), but don't have a dependable relief corps... but Joliet leads the league in scoring runs... center fielder Zach McDonald (.288), Clancy Dupepe (.292), Tim Lytle (.286), Erik Berman (.327) and Nick Pierce (.283) are a pretty solid bunch of hitters... the Green Giants are not as good as the Yanks with the gloves (.957 FA).

The Jackson Jackalopes (7-8) have the most talented pitcher in the league, Jalen McCoy (6-6, 2.98 ERA), but he is plagued by control problems at times... when they have to go to the bullpen, there isn't a quality hurler there... Jackson also plays the best defense with a .977 FA... the Jacks have difficulty scoring, but recent additions to the lineup have paid off... top hitters are right fielder Billy Mann (.339), third baseman Irv Keller (.315) and catcher Doug Collings (.370)... first sacker Tommy Warner (.450) has really lifted up the attack since being added to the lineup in early May.

Stockdale's (7-8) chances are slim... they just don't have a solid and dependable pitcher... Raymond Koch (4-4, 3.21 ERA) has been the number one starter, but he has tailed off the last month or so and given way to Jeff Kelly (3-1, 4.08 ERA) in recent weeks... Kelly has not been effective in his last 2 starts... it is up in the air as to who they will start down the stretch... last year's top gun Sarge York has been a bust this year with an 0-2 record and a lofty 5.73 ERA... he stood out last year with a 10-6 mark and a 3.15 ERA when the Mustangs won the NISD title... Stockdale is also poor defensively with a .948 FA... the Mustangs are fairly good at the plate with 13 homers, led by first baseman Andy Kessler (.403), shortstop Jake Marshall (.291), second baseman Kasey Clark (.317), right fielder Pat Bryan (.310) and left fielder Ben Wasko (.295).

The Wafford Eagles (7-8) have played well at times this year, but have also played poorly... it is highly unlikely they will overtake New Yerby... they have three fine hitters in first baseman Frankie Lentini (.370), catcher Chase Hibbard (.418) and Manny Valasco (.309), but the rest of them are useless... Ron Myles (5-4, 4.03) has gotten most of the starts this year, but has been hit-and-miss... he is 1-3 in his last 5 starts... Denny Fitzgerald (1-3, 3.05) has looked the best on the staff, but he is injured and not likely to return this year... on defense the Eagles handle the gloves fine with a .969 FA... Wafford started poorly, going 1-4 in March, but then perked up with a 6-4 mark... they seem to be on the downgrade right now... the Eagles look like they may be headed back to the NIRL Second Division next year.

What has happened to the Dutton Coyotes (7-8)... they have the best record in Island baseball leagues (53-32)... the Coyotes won the NIRL Second League in 1950... won the NIRL First Division in 1951... came in second in the NIRL First Division in 1952... but Dutton will probably join Wafford and be relegated back to the NIRL Second Division... lousy pitching is the culprit... the starters have posted a gaudy 4.79 ERA this season... plus the Coyotes are awful defensively with a .940 FA... yes, they do hit homers (20) and can score runs (72), but they can't overcome the poor pitching... Stuart Johnson (2-2, 3.70 ERA) and Nick Walters (2-4, 3.68 ERA) are just mediocre pitchers... top hitters are third baseman Dante Martorelli (.339), left fielder Karl Krieger (.309), right fielder Coy Baker (.315), first baseman Mike Sawyer (.276) and catcher Jack Puckett (.267).