The year 1962 was a very eventful year in the United States and the world. The Cold War was getting worse as the U.S. was dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Beatles put out there first hit entitled “Love Me Do” over in England. The first James Bond movie, Dr. No, was a smash success. The Dick Van Dyke show was popular on television, and Johnny Carson was just beginning to host the Tonight Show. How about this? In 1962, a dozen eggs costs 32 cents and a gallon of gas went for 28 cents. The first Wal-Mart also opened in Bentonville, Ark. in 1962.
While all the above was taking place in the world, life continued to roll along in good ole Trigg County. As was the usual case, the main recreational activity for the boys in these parts was the sport of baseball. This was back when baseball was still undoubtedly the national pastime. Boys here would play Little League until they reached an age of around 13 or so. Then they would move on to Pony League. Games were played at the old ballpark on Rainbow Hill. Many of the boys back then (especially the ones who lived in the country) would work on the farm all day and then play ball at night. The teams back then had a sort of geographical identity, as a volunteer coach would round up boys from each little town in the county and form a team. There were teams from Caledonia, Wallonia, Golden Pond, Montgomery and Cadiz to name a few.
I said all of the above to say this. I recently ran across an old Cadiz Record article from Aug. 16, 1962. That would be 50 years ago for those counting. The story detailed a little league game played by the boys of summer in 1962 and listed the top hitters from the league that year. I thought I would give you a look at it to see if any of the wildly intelligent readers of Coach’s Corner could remember the sluggers mentioned.
Wallonia 15 Cadiz Blues 7 August 16, 1962
Wallonia coasted to its 10th straight win of the year, this time taking the Cadiz Blues 15-7. After rolling to a 13-1 lead through the first 4 innings, Wallonia survived a shaky 5th inning, which featured a homer by Marty Bozarth. Willie P’Pool, who struck out 14, was the winning pitcher.
TOP TWENTY HITTERS
Little League
Charlie Clark, Caledonia .657
Willie P’Pool, Wallonia.541
Milburn Hardy, Caledonia.538
Larry Taylor, Golden Pond.535
Lannie Turner, Golden Pond.486
Dan Moore, Golden Pond.458
Teddy Birdsong, Golden Pond.444
Jimmy Goode, Caledonia.441
Marty Bozarth, Cadiz Blues.429
Roy Hancock, Caledonia.429
Rudy Adams, Wallonia.400
Tony Ford, Golden Pond.400
Gary Thomas, Cadiz Blues.393
Jerry Hargrove, Wallonia.370
Kenneth P’Pool, Wallonia.364
Tony Lester, Montgomery.353
Terry Proffitt, Montgomery.349
Larry Rogers, Montgomery.333
Steve Higgins, Golden Pond.319
Jimmy Kennedy, Cadiz Blues.316
If you saw the name of someone you know on that list of fearsome hitters, give them a call and tell them they made the paper 50 years after their Little League career was over. As a matter of fact, you might want to get their autograph. It looks like they were some pretty good hitters once upon a time. See you at the ballpark.
Enthusiasm Makes the Difference
Mike Wright is the head coach of boys basketball and cross country at Trigg County High School. Emails concerning Coach’s Corner can be sent to jmcgill@cadizrecord.com.
