BUBBA'S NEMESIS:THE BATTLE FOR THE 1962

CHAMPIONSHIP OF THEFAYETTEVILLE (ARKANSAS)

BABE RUTH LEAGUE

By Dan DurningJune 2011

Bubba McCord (Right), Teammate Jim Wood (Middle) and His 1962 Nemesis Dan Durning (Left)

BUBBA'S NEMESIS:THE BATTLE FOR THE 1962 CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE

FAYETTEVILLE BABE RUTH LEAGUE

By Dan Durning

An Exciting Season

The 1962 Fayetteville [Arkansas] Babe Ruth League (BRL) season had many highlights:

●Pitchers threw five no-hit and five one-hit games.

●In one game, Collier Rexall scored 23 runs; in another, United Commercial Traveler (UCT) scored 10 runs in the first inning before making an out.

●In the first few games of the season, Brad Jenkins carried his team, First National Bank, to four straight wins (he was the winning pitcher in three of them), winning the last one by stealing home in extra innings.

●Near the end of the season, Robert Wilks went 10 for 10, including three home runs, plus several walks, over a four-game stretch, leading his team, Collier Rexall, to a victory in each of them.

●In the second half of the season, OK & Milady came from behind three times in their final at bat for last inning wins; five of its last seven games were determined by one run.

●Fayetteville Milk won its regular season last game by scoring 8 runs in the last inning.

Yes, it was an exciting season. At different times, different players got crucial hits, made spectacular catches, and carried out other heroics that made the season fun to watch.

In the battle to determine the championship team, two teams — United Commercial Travelers (UCT) and Fayetteville Milk — stood out, and a third — OK & Milady Cleaners — challenged them with a surprisingly strong second half. Despite the challenge, UCT and Fayetteville Milk won their division titles and met in a two-out-of-three-games playoff to determine the league championship.

During the season, these two teams played against each other four times, and UCT won all four games. Aside from these games, both UCT and Fayetteville Milk lost only two games each. So, in summer 1962, UCT was Fayetteville Milk's nemesis. And I personally thwarted Fayetteville Milk's best player, Bubba McCord. Of the four UCT-Fayetteville Milk games, we pitched against each other three times, and UCT and I won all three. Sherlock Holmes had Moriarity as a nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham had Robin Hood, Seinfeld had Newman, and, in 1962, Bubba had me.

The Fayetteville Babe Ruth League in 1962

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Before getting into the details of the 1962 season and how UCT throttled the Fayetteville Milk team, some background on the Fayetteville Babe Ruth League (BRL): It was organized baseball for boys aged 13 to 15, too old for Little League and too young for American Legion teams. It efficiently set up teams, found coaches, plotted the schedule, hired umpires, ran a concession stand, prepared the field, and kept the scorebook for all of the games.

In 1962, the president of the league was R. E. McConnell, but the heart of the operation was Wiley G. Sandlin, probably in his late 60’s at the time. Sandlin had been president of the league in 1961, and in 1962 he continued to manage the day-to-day operation of the League. He attended most of the games and devoted countless hours, without pay, to the League. Mr. Sandlin was rarely seen without a smelly cigar between two fingers. His interest in baseball came from his early years: according to the Northwest Arkansas Times (June 6, 1962, p. 18), Mr. Sandlin played professional baseball in 1917 for Chattanooga in the Southern Association. After WWI, he played semi-pro ball for ten years in the Chicago area (see the attached newspaper article).

Other officials of the BRL were Neil Danner (treasurer) and board members Carl Ramey, Alex Johnson, Luke Brewer, Orby McClelland, Lloyd Stout, Fred Hendricks, Don Brown, Monroe Lanier, and Coy Durning. Mrs. Jack Butt was the official scorer. Umpires included Herman Hoover (former Razorback football player)and Everitt Hoover, who called most of the games,

BRL games were doubleheaders played in the evenings on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at Harmon Field, near the Fayetteville High School football field. The park was a good size for this age group: no short fences for cheap home runs, but within reach of a young hitter with a bit of power or even a poor hitter with a spot of luck. The field was usually well tended. From a pitcher’s standpoint, one good thing about the park was that the distance from home plate to the back fencing was short. Thus, a ball that got by the catcher usually did not go very far. On the other hand, the closeness of the fence meant that some balls popped up near the plate went into the stands, when they would have been easy outs in other parks.

For each game, Mr. Sandlin opened packages with two new baseballs and gave them to the umpire. The balls were expected to last the entire game. For a pitcher, nothing was more pleasurable than to be handed a new baseball. You could rub the slick surface and smell the leather. Somehow, the ball seemed lighter than the dirty baseballs you usually played with.

To keep the two balls in play, kids watching the game were encouraged to chase foul balls that landed outside the playing area and return them for a free flavored snow cone. (The cherry snow cones were especially good, though sometimes grape hit the spot. It was not rare to see a half dozen kids running around with funny colored tongues.) When a batter fouled balls out of play on consecutive pitches, everyone had to stand around waiting until one of the balls could be retrieved. By the end of the game, both balls were soiled with scuffs and marks.

Games were scheduled for seven innings, or how ever many innings could be completed within a specified time period (I think it was two hours). The first game started at 6:00 p.m. The second was supposed to start by 8:30 p.m. Most games were six or fewer innings.

The BRL had eight teams divided into two divisions (the Red and White). Play was round robin with two halves. In both halves of the season, each team played the other seven teams. The regular season started on Friday, June 1st with the last game on July 25th.

All star teams from the two divisions played in a district tournament on July 19 and 20, briefly interrupting league play. Neither team won the tournament, so Fayetteville did not

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have a BRL team going to the regional or the state tournament in 1962. After the end of the regular season on July 25th, the championship playoffs took place on July 26th and July 27th . Following that, all of the Fayetteville teams, plus teams from Springdale, Siloam Springs, Greenland, and Huntsville played in the Northwest Arkansas Invitational Tournament, held from July 28th to August 8th (it was scheduled to end earlier, but rain stopped play on two nights).

More About the Teams

The eight teams in the 1962 BRL had sponsors, after which the team was named. The sponsors were local businesses who bought uniforms for the team, plus provided the gear needed to practice and play baseball, including baseball bats, baseballs, and catcher’s gear. Sponsorship was a form of civil generosity, but the sponsor got free publicity in the sport pages throughout the summer. Some of them probably got a few long-term customers as a result of their sponsorships: my first bank account was at McIlroy’s Bank (my Little League team) and I always ate Holsum bread (my Legion team). However, I did not have a need for the products sold by United Commercial Travelers.

The eight teams were:

RED DIVISION WHITE DIVISIONFayetteville Milk Co. United Commercial TravelersFirst National Bank Collier Rexall DrugstoreLewis Brothers Hardware OK & Milady CleanersIGA Grocery Campbell Soup Co.

Each player provided his own glove and spiked shoes, plus whatever underclothes, such as sweatshirts and special hosiery, were needed. Some kids bought their own bats. Because we used wooden bats, which could easily be broken, it was rare that someone “borrowed” another person’s bat when hitting. If he did, and if he broke it, there were hard feelings and usually demands to pay for the bat.

Most players stayed on the same team all three years they were in the BRL. New players (the 13-year-olds and others who moved into Fayetteville) were assigned to teams through a draft.

The Season: The Also Rans

When the season started on June 1st, First National Bank (FNB) came out strong, beating Fayetteville Milk in its first game and winning three more games in a row. FNB had some good players, but was not, on paper, as strong as some other teams. Its starting players included Steve Slack (1b), Gary Laney (2b), Don Watson (c), Jack Todd (of), Butch Carnes (of, p), Randy Allison (3b), and Steve Baucom (ss, of). Its early season success was due in large part to Brad Jenkins. He was the winning pitcher of three of the first four games, and hit a ton. He even stole home in extra innings of the fourth game as the winning run.

After its initial success, First National faded and lost nine out of its last ten games. Its demise was fueled by sub-par defense and not-so-good pitching. The team ended the regular season with a 5-9 record. Jenkins had a 4-4 record as a pitcher, throwing quite a few more innings than any other BRL pitcher that year. The team's other main pitcher, Butch Carnes, had a 1-4 record.

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Collier Rexall Drugstore was a formidable team with probably the best group of athletes. Its lineup included Robert Wilks (ss, of), the most talented athlete in the league. He was joined by brothers Louis (of, p, 1b) and Willie Bryant (2b), multi-sport stars in Fayetteville. In addition, the team had Bunky Lee (ss, p), Bob White (3b), Mike Blew (c), David Matthews (of, p), and Steve Halliday (of). All were starters on FHS football and/or basketball teams.

The team lacked one thing: good, consistent pitching. For example, Bunky Lee started Collier's second game, played against UCT, and gave up ten runs in the first inning without getting an out. Then, twelve days later, Bunky pitched a no-hitter against First National Bank (its first lost). Bunky compiled a 3-2 record as a pitcher. Another Collier pitcher, David Matthews, had a 2-2 record. Bob White pitched well in the last part of the year.

Collier had an up and down season, going 4-3 during each half of the season. It got hot at the end of the second half, winning four in a row. After losing by 15-1 on July 6th, Collier bounced back with its streak (which included a 23-5 victory over IGA). During those four games, Wilks had 10 hits (three home runs) in 10 official at-bats, plus many walks. Bob White got two of the victories as pitcher.

Two teams did not stack up to the others and had losing seasons, though with some bright spots. Lewis Brothers brought a 21-game losing streak into the 1962 season, but after losing its first two games, it ended the streak by beating IGA (14-5). Lewis Brothers had a 4-10 regular season record.

Lewis Brothers was home to the Stouts -- its players included Randall (of), Russell (1b, of), and Ronald (c, of) Stout. It addition to the Stouts, it had some other capable players, including Carlon Bassett (2b, 3b), David Parish (c), Dennis Davis (1b, of), Tom Ernst (of), Martin Butt (of, p), Philip Combs (p, 3b, 2b) and Gary Carter (ss, p.) It was a young team without strong pitching, though it got some good games from Martin Butt, who was the winning picture for 3 of the 4 games the team won. He had a 3 - 2 record as a pitcher. Combs was 0-3 as a pitcher.

IGA Grocery's first half was bad, with a 1-6 record, often losing lopsided games. The team rallied in the second half, improving to a 3-4 record. Its regular season record, 4-10, matched that of Lewis Brothers.

The team's players included Bobby Joe Carr (c), Curtis Dabney (ss), Gary Smith (of), Gary Adams (3b, of), Gary Richardson (3b), Steve Ballard (2b), Lloyd Wolf (2b), Carlos Carr (ss, p), and Morris Daniel (p). Morris was a good pitcher, but IGA had porous defense and usually found a way to lose. Daniel had a 2-3 record as pitcher. C. Carr's record was 1-5.

Campbell Soup had much better team talent than Lewis Brothers and IGA, but lost some tough games and ended up with a 3-4 record the first half, and 2-5 the second half. The total was 5-9 for the season.

Its team members included Jack (of, p, 3b) and Hank Broyles (c, p, of), Mike Armstrong (of), Freddy Gabbard (p, cf, ss), Eugene Tucker (ss, p), Jim Pomfret (of, 1b), John Rakes (2b, p, of), Jackie Smitherman, 3b, of), Jerry Smith (2b, of), Philip Snow (of), and Kent Blair (of, p). Freddy Gabbard was a skilled pitcher and had a 4-2 record. Eugene Tucker pitched some good games and had a 1-3 record, plus also won a game in the invitation tournament following the regular season.

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Campbell Soup made a strong run to win the post-season invitational tournament. It narrowly lost in the semi-finals and won the consolation bracket, finishing 3rd.

Three teams were in contention to be the league's best. One of those teams, OK & Milady, had a poor first half, going 3-4, but astounded the league in the second half with a 6-1 season, beating both UCT and Fayetteville Milk, the teams that had won the first half titles and had the best overall records. Its only loss in the second half of the season was to the Wilks-fueled streaking Collier team.

The OK team got strong second half pitching from Bill Cooksey (5-1 record for the regular season) and Sonny Brewer (4-0), who won three games in the second half. Charlie Jordan, a hard throwing left-hander, also won some games and combined with Brewer for a no hitter. The team players included Kenny Ramey (1b), a three sport standout, and Bill Crook (of), a basketball and tennis star. Other starting players were David Butt (2b), Doc Cain (ss), Hendricks (ss, of), Johnnie McNair (of), Larry Nixon (of), Wheeler (c) and Wagoner (of).

After easily winning its first game of the second half behind 1-hit pitching of Jordan, OK came from behind with two runs in the top of the 7th to beat first-half champ UCT (7-6); Cooksey pitched that game. In the next game, Brewer and Jordan combined to pitch a no hitter, and OK beat First National (12-4). It won a squeaker with Fayetteville Milk (4-3), defeating Bubba McCord in a another come-from-behind game. Cooksey pitched and went 2 for 2, with 1 run and 1 RBI. OK won its fifth straight game by again coming from behind in the 7th inning to beat Campbell Soup (5-4); Brewer was the winning pitcher. However, in the next game, Collier Rexall held OK to 3 hits, and won 6 to 5. Wilks was 2 for 2 with a home run.

OK closed out the season with another one-run game, slipping by IGA with a score of 9 to 8. Five of OK's 7 games in the second half were determined by one run, and OK won 4 of the 5. Three times, OK scored runs in the last inning to win.

OK & Milady and UCT tied for the division lead during the second half of the season, each with 6-1 records. Because UCT had a better record in the first half of the season, it won the right to play for the league championship.

OK made a good run at winning the post-season invitation tournament, but was beaten in the semi-finals by the Huntsville Cardinals. It lost the consolation game to Campbell Soup by a 5-4 score.

The Top Teams: Fayetteville Mile and UCT

The two best teams in 1962 -- according to regular season records -- were Fayetteville Milk and UCT. They both had very good pitching, solid coaching, and some outstanding hitters.

Fayetteville Milk had some excellent athletes, including Bubba McCord, the Cummings brothers (Doug and Gordy), Jim Woods (a good pitcher and strong hitter); and Mike Abiatti, a good multi-sport athlete. Also, it had some other solid players, including Clyde Downum (Harold’s younger brother), Bobby Hatfield, Bruce Walker, Hanks, Mike Johnson, Don Osburn and James Hawkins. The team was coached by Bill Parker and Don Phillips. It dominated the Red Division, winning the division title in both halves of the season. However, it lost, by a score of 15-1, in the second round of the post-season tournament to OK & Milady.

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The team had two strong pitchers, Jim Woods and Bubba McCord, both experienced 15 year olds. They carried most of the pitching load for the team. Wood ended up with a 6-2 record; Bubba had a 4-4 record. Gordy Cummings and Mike Johnson also threw some innings for the team.

UCT had a veteran team with most of its lineup returning from the previous winning season. The fifteen-year-olds included Marty Steele (cf, p), Danny Philips (c), Danny Durning (p, 3b), Gil Adams (2b), and Darryl Parrish (3b, of). It also had some excellent players among its 14 year olds, including Jerry Burnett (ss), Lonnie McClelland (of, p), Bennie Jameson (of, c), and Carl Gabbard (1b). Several of its younger players, including Danny Watson, Ricky Mays, and John Zachariason also contributed to the team's success.

Unlike the other BRL teams, UCT had three starting pitchers who had winning records in the 1961 season, including me (5-0), Marty Steele (5-1), and Lonnie McClelland (4-1). Also, Burnett and Zachariason could pitch when needed.

UCT pitching was backed up by a solid group of fielders with Carl Gabbard at first base, Gil Adams at second, Jerry Burnett at short stop and Darrell Parrish (or me, when I wasn't pitching) at third. Danny Philips was an excellent catcher with a good arm. Marty Steele was an outstanding defensive center fielder and both Bennie Jameson and Lonnie McClelland played a good outfield.

UCT's coach was Orby McClelland, who had coached the team the previous year. He was assisted by Don Witherspoon and James Earl Harris. All of the coaches took the game seriously and worked hard to help the team win. UCT practiced regularly, and, from them, learned to play with some discipline.

The First Half of the Season: The First Showdown

Fayetteville Milk lost its first game to First National, which was playing great baseball, then came back strongly behind the pitching of Bubba McCord. In its second game, Bubba pitched a no hitter against Campbell Soup. Ten days later, Bubba pitched a one hitter against Lewis Brothers. In addition to Bubba, Jim Woods provided good pitching for Fayetteville Milk as they won five games in a row.

UCT started off winning its first three games, with me pitching two of the games and Lonnie McClelland pitching the other. It lost its fourth game in a surprise upset to Campbell Soup (7 - 4). Freddie Gabbard limited UCT to 3 hits while Marty Steele, pitching his first game of the season, gave up 7 hits and walked 7. UCT won its next two games.

The first Fayetteville Milk (5-1) - UCT (4-1) showdown came on June 22nd. The starting pitchers in this clash were Bubba McCord and me. Each of us had pitched in two games with the follow results

IP H R ER W SOMcCord (2-0) 12 1 0 0 14 25Durning (2-0) 11 9 8 0 7 17

Bubba had allowed only one hit in twelve innings and had struck out 25 (more than two an inning!). He had walked 14, slightly over one an inning. I had given up more hits and runs, but had walked fewer batters. We both had allow no earned runs during the first two games we pitched.

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The irony of Bubba's success was that he was, really, a catcher, and a very good one. However, his arm was strong enough to overpower most BRL hitters.

Bubba took his baseball seriously. He was usually the best outfitted player on the field with a clean, crisp uniform. When catching, he had the latest in shin guards, a snazzy chest protector, and a pristine catcher’s mask. Other catchers strapped on the smelly old catcher's gear extracted from the team's aging equipment bag. Usually the leather parts of the gear were brown and fragrant from the sweat of predecessors. Often, the shin guards were too long and flapped when the catcher walked. Inevitably, the chest protector was an outmoded style providing little protection. Catchers outfitted in such gear did not compare favorably when standing beside Bubba.

Bubba was a student of the game and a master of technique. He worked tirelessly on learning how to do things as a great catcher should. He knew how to call a game, set a target, throw out runners, and make snap throws to first or third to catch a runner napping. He could skillfully block a curve ball in the dirt, especially when runners were on base. He even knew how best to throw the ball back to the pitcher.

He also worked hard to make himself into a formidable hitter. He was assisted in this quest by having his own batting cage and pitching machine in his back yard, located across the street from the VA grounds. There, he worked on his hitting year round. He was a tough hitter to strike out. Unlike Bubba, I was not a catcher having success as a pitcher. I was a pitcher who sometimes played 3rd base. My strength was an overhead drop curve that most BRL hitters could not touch. Also, I had pretty good control and on occasion threw a sidearm curve that gave weaker hitters heart problems because I aimed it at their ribs and it, usually, broke over the plate. When it didn't, well, I threw it slowly, so it didn't hurt too much.

The first FM-UCT game was a tight one. Bubba pitched a two hitter (singles by Jerry Burnett and Danny Phillips). I pitched a one hitter (single by Doug Cummings). The game went into the bottom of the 7th (UCT was the home team) a 0-0 tie.

Here is the Northwest Arkansas Times account of the bottom of the 7th inning:

...UCT's Darrell Parrish was safe on an error by Fayetteville Milk pitcher Bubba McCord, took second on a sacrifice by Lonnie McClelland and took third on a wild pitch as Danny Watson and Benny Jamerson were walking to load the bases. Steele laid down a bunt sending Parrish across the plate and it was so well placed that there was not a play for any of the other base runners.

Losing a two hitter on a suicide squeeze is a tough loss, but after pitching his third game, Bubba had still allowed no earned runs. Neither had I.

UCT won its seventh game of the first half, and it (6-1) and Fayetteville Milk (5-2) won their divisions.

The Second Half of the Season: The Second Showdown

In the second half of the season, both UCT and Fayetteville Milk lost games to O.K. and Milady, but again played each other with only one loss each. The game was on July 14th, and it was not nearly as tight as the first game, though still offering some thrills. Again, Bubba and I were the pitchers for our teams.

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The final score was 4-2. UCT took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th, and Fayetteville Milk made the contest interesting by scoring 2 runs and threatening to tie the game. Bubba allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs. He walked only 3 batters and struck out 12. I allowed 5 hits and 2 earned runs, walked 5 and struck out 14.

The UCT heroes were Danny Phillips, who got three RBIs and David Parrish who was 2 for 3 with an RBI.

When the second half ended, both UCT and OK & Milady had 6 - 1 records, and they were co-winners of the White Division. Fayetteville Milk won the Red Division with a 5-2 record.

The UCT vs. Fayetteville Milk Playoff: The Third Showdown

Because UCT had the best season record, it represented the White Division in the playoff against the Red Division champion, Fayetteville Milk. The winner would be crowned the champion of the 1962 Fayetteville Babe Ruth League.

The playoff was a two-out-of-three game series. The first game was on July 27th and, again, Bubba and I were pitching. The game was a scoreless pitching duel for the first five innings. Fayetteville Milk threatened in the first, getting runners to 2nd and 3rd base with no outs, but did not score. It also had a runner a 3rd base in the 4th inning with one out, but a suicide squeeze failed.

UCT scored two runs in the 6th inning. Here is the newspaper account:

McCord, who seemed to be getting the best of the pitcher's duel, began to weaken in the sixth and gave up his first walk of the night to the leadoff man, Jerry Burnett. One passed ball later Burnett was on second. McCord bore down and whipped three quick strikes by clean-up Danny Phillips for the first out.

Durning then tried to take matters into his own hands by slicing a single to left but Burnett for some unexplainable reason stopped at third. Durning took second on the throw to the plate, which was unnecessary and wide. Then McCord, whose luck turned sour, got Parrish to hit a high bounder to first base, but the first baseman held the ball too long in forcing the runner back to third and Parrish beat out the blooper for a hit, loading the bases.

Still McCord tired to work his way out of the jam with one away. It looked like he had what he was looking for -- a double play -- when Carl Gabbard sent a screaming liner right at Bobby Dockery, second baseman. Had Dockery caught the ball he could have easily doubled the man off second, but the ball caromed off the pocket of his glove for a two run error. From there McCord struck out Watson and made a fine off-balance throw to nail Gil Adams at first to end the inning.

The final score was 5-0. Bubba allowed 7 hits, walked 2, and struck out 13. I pitched a two hitter (Gordy Cummings and Bubba both hit doubles), walked 2, and struck out 11. The game was another difficult loss because Bubba had pitched a fine game and if critical errors had not been made behind him, Fayetteville Milk could have won.

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The next night, Marty Steele pitched a two hitter (walking 9) against Fayetteville Milk, and UCT won 4-3. Jim Wood pitched a three hitter for Fayetteville Milk, which made 9 errors. With that victory, UCT was the 1962 Fayetteville BRL Champion.

The Coda: The Invitation Tournament

A couple of days after UCT won the Fayetteville BRL Championship, the other teams had a chance to redeem themselves and earn a measure of glory. The annual Northwest Arkansas Babe Ruth League Invitation Tournament was scheduled for Monday, July 30th through Saturday, August 4th. However because of rainouts, the tournament did not end until Thursday, August 9th.

The tournament had fifteen teams, including the eight Fayetteville teams, three from Springdale, two from Huntsville, and single teams from Siloam Springs and Greenland. It had four rounds, with seven games the first round (one team had a bye), four games the second round, two games in the semi-finals, and two games in the finals (including a consolation game to determine 3rd place).

In the first round, Fayetteville teams eliminated the three Springdale teams, plus the Siloam Springs and Greenland teams. Two Huntsville teams made it to the second round. Among the interesting first-round games, First National Bank defeated Springdale's Coca Cola team by a 13-12 score. The Springdale team made 11 errors in the game to help. Brad Jenkins pitched and hit a home run for First National. In another game, Fayetteville Milk played a tense ten inning game against First State Bank (Springdale), finally winning 5-4. Bubba and Jim Wood both pitched in this game, which was won when Mike Johnson singled to drive in the winning run. The results of all the tournament games are shown in an attachment.

In the second round, Fayetteville Milk was vulnerable because it had used its two best pitchers in the first game. Mike Johnson started for the team and allowed 15 runs. Fayetteville Milk lost to the hot OK & Milady Team by a score of 15-1. OK's pitcher, William Cooksey, allowed only four hits.

First National Bank, which had won by a 13-12 score in its first tournament game, lost by a score of 13-12 in the second game. Campbell Soup was the winner of this wild high-scoring slugfest, scoring three runs in the bottom of the 7th for a come-from-behind victory. In another game, the Huntsville Cardinals edged out Collier Rexall 9-8. Collier was down five runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, but scored three runs and had the winning runs on base when the game ended. UCT easily defeated the Huntsville Giants (7-1).

A headline in the August 8th Northwest Arkansas Times told the story of the semi-finals: "Errors in Last Frame Decide Close Contests." The Huntsville Cardinals defeated OK & Milady by a score of 5-4 after scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the 7th inning. The run scored when a bad throw to first base failed to get the third out of the inning.

In the second game, Campbell Soup almost beat UCT. The team scored a run in the top of the 7th inning to tie the game at 7-7. However, UCT won the game by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning as a result of a throwing error.

In the finals, Campbell Soup upset OK & Milady by a score of 5-4. The most dramatic action took place in the 7th inning. Campbell Soup was up 3-0, but OK & Milady — as it had done in

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several games during the second half of the season — scored four runs in the top of the 7th to take a lead. However, this time the script changed: Campbell Soup scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to win the game.

The tournament championship game was a pitcher's duel between me and Jeff Hawkins of the Huntsville Cardinals. Huntsville took the lead in the top of the 4th inning. UCT tied it in the bottom of the 4th with homerun by Marty Steele. UCT scored two runs in the 6th inning when the Huntsville right fielder dropped a fly ball. The final score was 3-1.

A Season to Remember

The 1962 BRL season was a year to remember for many of the teams and players. Fayetteville Milk easily won its division and had the second best record in the league. OK & Milady won exciting come-from-behind games and was a dominant team in the second half of the season. Campbell Soup, after a losing regular season, made a strong run at the invitation tournament, winning two come-from-behind games in the last inning.

Some of their players had outstanding seasons, memorable games, and unforgettable plays. Most everyone had fun. Fortunately, the season was covered extensively (though not always accurately) by the Northwest Arkansas Times, providing materials for scrapbooks.

The year for UCT was one of triumph. The team had experienced players and coaches. Overall, it played up to expectations. The icing on the cake for UCT players was a dinner that UCT members in Fayetteville held in honor of the team in the basement of the Legion Hut, plus -- much better -- a trip to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play. Really, does it get any better than that?

Bubba McCord recovered from his three devastating losses to his nemesis and went on to have an outstanding three years as a catcher in American Legion baseball. In fact, the next year, Bubba and I were teammates on both the highly unsuccessful Fayetteville High School baseball team and the very successful Holsum Bread American Legion team. But that is another story for a later time.

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TEAMS AND PLAYERS

UCT Fayetteville MilkJerry Burnett ss, p Hankins, ofDanny Phillips, c Gordy Cummings, ss, 2bDanny Durning, p, 3b, ss Jim Wood, c, pCarl Gabbard, 1b Bubba McCord, c, pJohn Zachariason, of, p Doug Cummings, 1b, ss, 3bGil Adams, 2b Bobby Dockery, 3b, 2bDanny Watson, 3b, 2b, of Danny Osburn, 3b, 2bGerald Easterling, 3b Stephens, of, 3bBenny Jamerson, of Bobby Hatfield, ofRicky Mayes, of Jimmy Harrison, ofMarty Steele, of, p Mike Johnson, 1bDarryl Parrish, of, 3b Bruce Walker, ofGibson, of, 1b EmeryLittle, 2b, ss Clyde Downum, ofLonnie McClelland, p, of Mike Abbiatti, 1b, ofRobbins, of, 1b StevensCrook, 1b, of, 3b Hanks

Collier Drug Lewis BrothersWillie Bryant, 2b J Carter, ss, pStoker, 2b Carlon Bassett, 2b, 3bBob White, 3b Randall Stout, ofRobert Wilks, ss, cf David Parrish, cBunky Lee, p, ss Russell Stout, 1b, ofMike Blew, c Dennis Davis, 1b, ofLouis Bryant, of, p, 1b Philip Combs, p, 3b, 2bBill Burson, 3b, 1b, of Kenneth Pummill, pDavid Matthews, of J. Stout, ofBlackburn,of Tom Ernst, ofHank Gray, of Bell, 2bFerren, of Wilson, ssSteve Halliday, of Martin Butt, of, pBobby Ferrell, 2b Ronald Stout, c, of

C Boudreaux

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Campbell Soup First NationalJack Broyles, of, p, 1b, 3b Steve Baucom, ss, ofDunaway, 1b Butch Carnes, of, pMike Armstrong, of Brad Jenkins, p, 3b, of, cEmory, of Don Watson, cFreddie Gabbard, p, cf, ss Gary Laney, 2bKeen, of Randy Allison, 3bEugene Tucker, ss, p Bill Thornbrough, 3b, p, ssJim Pomfret, of, 1b Steve Slack, 1bLarry Parnell, 1b, p, c, of Jack Todd, ofHank Broyles, c, p, of Ronnie Bowling, ofJohn Rakes, 2b, p, 3b Jim Smith, ofJackie Smitherman, 3b, of Higginbotham, of, 2bGilbride, 3b, of McCabe, ofJerry Smith, 2b, of Thompson, 3b, cNewman, of S. Davis, ofKent Blair, of, p G White, ssPhillip Snow, of Marti, rf

IGA OK & Milady Bobby Joe Carr, c Bill Cooksey, p, 3bCurtis Dabney, ss, 2nd Sonny Brewer, p, 3bMorris Daniel, p Doc Cain, ss, 3bK. Bailey, 1b Charlie Jordan, of, pGary Smith, of Kenny Ramey, 1bGary Adams, 3b, of Hendricks, ss, ofSteve Ballard, 2b David Butt, 2bMorris, of Wheeler, cNewberry, of Johnnie McNair, ofLeach, of Bill Crook, ofLloyd Wolf, of, 2b Hutchinson ofCarlos Carr, ss Wagoner ofGary Richardson, 3b Larry Nixon ofR. Bailey, 3b Taylor ofBiddle, of Dennis Howard

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GAME SUMMARIES

FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON

(Pitcher's stats: Innings Pitched-Hits-Runs-Earned Runs-Walks-Strikeouts)

Friday, June 1 R H E R H ELewis Brothers 3-3-2 IGA 9-7-0Collier Rexall 6-7-2 OK & Milady 3-6-2WP Lee 3-0-0-0-3-6 WP Daniel 5-5-4-4-4-11LP   P. Combs 4-3-6-4-4-4 LP Jordan 5-7-5-4-7-5L. Bryant started for Collier, Lee in relief L. Wolf hit H.R. and was 2-4 with 4 RBIs

Saturday, June 2First Natl 3-6-1 UCTFay. Milk 1-3-2 Campbell Soup W.P. Jenkins 6-3-1-1-2-9 Rained outL.P.  Wood 3⅔-6-4-2-6-7Gary Laney doubled in two runs in 5th for the Firstt Natl win

Monday, June 4Fay. Milk 13-5-0 UCT 16-10-4Campbell Soup 0 0-0-6 Collier Rexall 5-2-7WP  B. McCord 6-0-0-0-6-11 WP Durning 5-2-5-0-5-4LP   F. Gabbard 3 ⅔-2-5-4-6-5 LP Lee 0-6-10-10-4-0Bubba McCord pitches no hitter. 10 runs in first inning off of Bunky Lee, Jerry

Burnett 3-4 with 4 runs; Durning pitches 2 hitterWednesday, June 6Lewis Bros 2-5-6 IGA 7-7-3OK & Milady 6-2-3 First Natl 10-8-7WP Cooksey 6-5-2-0-4-7 WP Jenkins 5-8-7-7-6-8-LP  Pummill  5-2-6-2-5-6 LP Bailey 1-1-3-3-2-2Martin Butt 2-3 for Lewis Bro; O.K. & Milady Jenkins hits HR and is 3-3 with 2 runs andscored 6 runs on 2 hits 7 RBIs

Friday, June 8Lewis Bros 14-11-4 Collier Rexall 6-6-5IGA 5-9-3 Fay. Milk 7-4-0WP M. Butt  6-5-5-0-3-5 WP J. Wood 5-6-6-6-5-11LP C. Carr 2 2/3-3-8-8-1022 LP Matthews 4 ⅓ -3-7-2-7-6Ended 23-game L.B.’s losing streak; F.M. Scored 3 runs in bottom of 5th for come

from behind win; key hit by Bruce WalkerSaturday, June 9Campbell Soup 4-6-3 UCT 9-6-1First National 8-9-1 OK & Milady 0-2-5WP Carnes 7-6-4-3-5-8 WP McClelland 6-2-0-0-4-3LP Tucker 5-5-4-2-2-9 LP Jordan  4 ⅓ - 5-8-6-7-3Jenkins had HR, 2-3; Carnes 2-4 with Doc Cain had both hits for OK; Steele2 runs and 2 rbis and Durning 2-2; Lonnie had a 2 hitter

Monday, June 11UCT 6-3-3 First National 4-naIGA 3-7-5 OK & Milady 3-naWP Durning 6-7-3-0-2-13 WP Brad Jenkins (info not available)LP Daniel 6-3-6-5-2-11 LP John McNairUCT’s Steele 2-4, w/ HR; IGA’s Gary Smith First National scored 3 runs in the

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2-3, B.J. Carr 202 botton of 9th to win; Brad Jenkins stole home with winning run

Wednesday, June 13 R-H-E R-H-ECollier Drug 6-6-3 Fay. Milk 5-4-3Campbell Soup 2-1-3 Lewis Bro 0-1-9WP Matthews 5-1-2-0-5-4 WP Bubba McCord 6-1-0-0-8-14LP  H. Broyles 3 ⅔-5-5-4-8-1 LP G. Carter 6-4-5-1-5-8Matthews pitched one hitter Bubba McCord pitched one hitter

Friday, June 15Fayetteville Milk 11-4-2 IGA 5-5-5O.K. & Milady 3-5-4 Campbell Soup 8-7-4WP J. Wood 6-5-3-2-5-7 WP Tucker 6-5-4-2-4-7LP  Howard 5 ¾-4-11-8-11-7 LP C. Carr 5-7-8-6-5-5Fay. Milk had 11 runs on 4 hits, 2 by J. Wood Pomphret 2-3

Saturday, June 16 (3 games)*Campbell Soup 7-7-2 UCT 19-11-1UCT 4-4-2 Lewis Brothers  1-0-8WP   F. Gabbard 6-3-4-2-3-8 WP McClelland 5-0-1-1-1-10

LP M. Steele 6-7-7-5-7-6 LP Combs 2 ½-8-12-8-6-2*Make up for rained out game. First McClelland pitched no hitter; Jamerson 2-2 loss for UCT with 5 runs; Burnett 3-5, 4 runs, 5 rbis

Collier Rexall 6-5-1First National 2-0-4WP Lee 6-0-2-1-3-12LP Carnes 6-5-6-3-4-5Bunky Lee pitched a no hit game; first loss for First National

Monday, June 18Ok & Milady 5-16-2 IGA 9-8-6Campbell Soup 3-3-3 Colliers Rexall 11-9-3WP Brewer 6-3-3-1-2-2 WP Matthews 5-6-9-4-9-7LP Rakes 3-3-2-1-3-3 LP C. Carr 3-6-8-4-4-4David Butt 3-4, 1 run; F. Gabbard HR Wilks 3-4, HR, 2 runs, 3 rbis

Wednesday, June 20Fayetteville Milk 6-4-3 OK Milady 7-11-2IGA 1-2-4 Collier Rexall 5-6-1WP Wood 5-2-1-0-4-5 WP Cooksey 6-6-5-5-4-5LP Daniel 5-4-6-4-8-5 LP L. Bryant ⅔-6-6-6-1-0B. McCord hit HR. Lee relieved Bryant and allowed 1 run in 5

⅓ innings

Friday, June 22Fayetteville Milk 0-1-5 First National 6-4-2UCT 1-3-2 Lewis Bro. 7-6-2WP Durning 7-1-0-0-3-13 WP M Butt 5-4-6-5-8-9LP McCord 6 ⅓ - 3-1-0-4-6 LP Carnes 4-6-7-5-7-5Winning run in bottom of 7th on squeeze bunt by M Butt 2-2, 1 run, 3 rbis; Jenkins 2-2, 2 runsMarty Steele, Darryl Parrish scoring; one hitterDurning pitched 1 hitter; McCord pitched 2 hitterUCT clinched White Division title

Saturday, June 23First National 0-1-6 Lewis Brothers 1-2-3UCT 11-9-0 Campbell Soup 8-7=1

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WP McClelland 5-1-0-0-4-7 WP F. Gabbard 6-2-1-0-2-9LP  Jenkins 4-8-9-6-1-3 LP Pummill 5-7-8-4-7-5

FINAL FIRST HALF STANDINGS

Red Division White DivisionFayetteville Milk 5-2 UCT 6-1First National Bank 4-3 Colliers Rexall 4-3Lewis Brothers 2-5 OK & Milady 3-4IGA 1-6 Campbell Soup 3-4 9

SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON

Monday, June 25 R-H-E R-H-EFayetteville Milk 4-4-1 Collier Rexall 0-3-0Campbell Soup 2-6-1 UCT 4-3-0WP J. Wood 6-6-2-0-4-11 WP Steele 6-3-0-0-6-9LP Tucker 6-4-4-3-3-10 LP Matthews 2⅔-1-1-1-4-3F. Gabbard and Pomfret 2-3 Durning scored 3 of the 4 runs; Marty

Steele pitched shutout; Lee relieved Matthews

Wednesday, June 27First National 5-3-4 OK & Milady 6-8-2IGA 2-3-3 Lewis Bro 0-1-5WP Jenkins 6-3-2-0-2-6 WP Jordan 6-1-0-0-9-10LP  Carnes 6-3-5-2-7-9 LP Butt6-8-6-2-4-12Carnes 2-4 with 2 runs One hitter for Jordan; Cooksey 2-3 w/1 run

Friday, June 29Rained out

Saturday, June 30O.K. & Milady 7-7-7 First National 4-4-2UCT 6-7-5 Campbell Soup 9-12-2WP B. Cooksey 7-7-6-2-4-2 WP F. Gabbard 5-4-4-2-9-7LP McClelland 7-7-7-0-2-5 LP Thornsbrough 1-6-7-5-9-2OK scored 2 runs in top of 7th to win; B. Crook Parnell 3-3, w/2 rbis; Tucker 2-3 w/2 hit single to drive in D. Butt runs and 2 rbis

Monday, July 2First National 4-0-3 IGA 0-3-4OK & Milady 12-7-4 UCT 5-5-0WP Brewer 5-0-4-1-5-4 WP Steele 4-2-0-0-2-8LP Jenkins 5-7-12-8-5-6 LP Daniel 5-5-5-3-2-11Brewer and Jordan pitch no hitter Gary Smith 2-3; C Gabbard, 2-3

w/1 run and 1 rbi

Friday, July 6Lewis Brothers 1-1-4 Campbell Soup 15-11-7Fayetteville Milk 15-5-1 Collier Rexall 12-10-2WP Wood 4-1-1-1-2-7 WP F. Gabbard 5-10-12-4-5-5LP Combs 1⅔-4-11-5-10-2 LP Lee 1-4-7-7-4-315 runs on 5 hits; Woods and G. 37 runs on 21 hits; Parnell 3-4, 5 rbisCummings combine 1 hitter

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Saturday, July 7O.K. Milady 4-6-1 Campbell Soup 2-5-2Fayetteville Milk 3-5-3 IGA 3-3-1WP Cooksey 6-5-3-2-5-5 WP Carr 5-5-2-2-5-9LP McCord 6-6-4-3-4-12 LP Tucker 4-3-3-3-3-5Ramey 2-3, w runs; Cooksey, 2-2, F Gabbard, 2-2, 1 run, 1 rbi1 run, 1 rbi

Monday, July 9First National 5-9-5 Lewis Bro. 2-6-6Collier 12-7-2 UCT 10-9-2WP L Bryant 5-9-5-4-6-4 WP Burnett 7-6-2-1-4-4LP Jenkins 4-8-12-7-3-5 LP Carter 6-9-10-5-3-6Wilks, HR, 2-2, 3 runs, 3 rbis Durning & Burnett, 3-4; Carter 2-2

Wednesday, July 11Collier Rexall 23-19-3 Campbell Soup 4-5-3IGA 5-4-3 OK & Milady 5-9-7WP  B White 3-4-3-1-1-3 WP Brewer 7-5-4-1-2-3LP C Carr 5-19-23-18-4-5 LP F. Gabbard 6⅔- 9-5-2-1-7Wilks 5-5 5th straight for OK; scored in bottom

of 7th to win

Friday, July 13Collier Rexall 6-7-2 IGA 5-4-3OK & Milady 5-3-1 Fayettville Milk 8-11-1WP Lee  4⅓-2-10-5 WP Wood 3⅔-2-2-1-3-6LP Cooksey 5-7-6-5-2-1 LP Daniel 4-11-9-7-2-5Wilks 2-2 inc. HR D. Cummings 2-2, 2 run, 3 rbis, HR

Saturday, July 14Lewis Bro 9-7-3 UCT 4-6-1First National 2-3-4 Fayetteville Milk 2-5-3WP M. Butt 6-3-2-0-6-7 WP Durning 7-5-2-2-5-14LP Carnes 5-7-8-3-5-3 LP McCord 7-6-4-2-3-12

D. Parrish 2-3; Hawkins 2 rbisMonday, July 16Campbell Soup 1-6-2 UCT 8-7-3Lewis Brother 4-9-0 First National 1-0-4WP Carter Steele  N/ALP N/A Jenkins N/A

No hitter; 9 walks, hit one, 13 s.o.

Wednesday, July 18OK & Milady 9-8-2 Collier Rexall 7-5-4IGA 8-8-9 Lewis Bro. 6-4-4WP Cooksey 3⅓-5-6-6-5-3 WP B. White 3⅔-3-4-4-8-4  LP C. Carr 5-11-9-3-6-5 LP M. Butt 5-5-7-1-6-4D. Butt 3-3, 1 run, 3 rbi Wilks 1-1 (HR) 8 for 8 with several

walks in last three games

Saturday, July 21Fayetteville Milk 7-11-0 IGA 13-8-1Collier Rexall 2-3-4 Lewis Bro 2-3-3WP McCord 7-3-2-2-5-15 WP Daniel 4-3-1-1-3-9

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LP B. White 7-11-7-4-4-8 LP Carter 4⅔- 8-13-9-11-3 D. Cummings 4-5, 3 runs; Wood 4-5

Wednesday, July 25Fayetteville Milk 10 n/a UCT 4 n/aFirst National 9 n/a Lewis Bro 0 n/aWP n/a WP n/aLP n/a LP n/aFM scored 8 runs in top of 7th inning to win; McCord hit 2 run HR

FINAL STANDINGS

Red Division 1st 2nd All White Division 1st 2nd AllFayetteville Milk 5-2 5-2 10-4 UCT 6-1 6-1 12-2First National Bank 4-3 1-6 5-9 Colliers Rexall 4-3 4-3 8-6Lewis Brothers 2-5 2-5 4-10 OK & Milady 3-4 6-1 9-5IGA 1-6 3-4 4-10 Campbell Soup 3-4 2-5 5-9

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NORTHWEST ARKANSAS INVITATIONAL BABE RUTH LEAGUE TOURNAMENT(July 30 - August 9)

First Round5 Fayetteville Milk (W, Woods) 4 First State Bank [Springdale] (L, Smith)

7 OK & Milady (W, Jordan)2 Greenland (L, Beard)

13 First National Bank (W, Jenkins)12 Coca Cola [Springdale] (L, Kelley)

7 Campbell Soup (W, Gabbard)3 First National Bank [Springdale] (L, Jewell)

7 Lewis Brothers (L, Carter)13 Huntsville Cardinals (W, Montgomery)

7 Collier Rexall (W, Lee)1 Siloam Springs All-Stars (L. Gann)

14 UCT (W, Steele)3 IGA (L, Daniels)

Second Round1 Fayetteville Milk (L, Johnson)15 OK & Milady (W, Cooksey)

12 First National Bank (L, Thornborough)13 Campbell Soup (W, Tucker)

9 Huntsville Cardinals (W, Hawkins)8 Collier Rexall (L, Matthews)

7 UCT (W, Durning)1 Huntsville Giants (L, Dennis)

Semi-Finals1 OK & Milady (L, Jordan)5 Huntsville Cards (W, Montogomery)

7 Campbell Soup (L, Gabbard)8 UCT (W, McClelland)

Finals1 Huntsville Cards (L, Hawkins)3 UCT (W, Durning)

(consolation game)5 Campbell Soup (W, Rakes)4 OK & Miladay (L, Cooksey)

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REGULAR SEASON PITCHING

No hitters by:

Bubba McCord, Fayetteville Milk, June 4thLonnie McClelland, UCT, June 16Bunky Lee, Collier Rexall, June 16Brewer/Jordan (combined), OK & Milady, July 2Marty Steele, UCT, July 16

One hitters by:

Bubba McCord, Fayetteville Milk, June 13David Matthews, Collier Rexall, June 13Dan Durning, UCT, June 22Lonnie McClelland, UCT, June 23Charley Jordan, OK & Milady, June 25

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Northwest Arkansas Times

June 6, 1963

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