Friday, July 18, 1958
THE NEW^BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Page 3
At S««n in The Mirror's
of Athletes
and Events
Retirement of Irv Dickens as the
athletic director at Wilson’s
Charles L. Coon High school re
moves a fine figure from the world
of sports.
During hia nine years as baiseball
coach at the Wilson school he pro
duced three Eastern AAA cham
pions. More important than his
enviable record was his unfailing
sportsmanship.
Irv exhibited the same sort of
sportsmanship when he was play
ing second base for the Wilson
Tobs. Playing it so well, we might
add, that he repeatedly rated All-
Star selection in the fast Class D
loop.
New Bern fans have no trouble
recalling his timely hitting and
fancy fielding during his many
appearances at Kafer park. Even
when the hustling veteran was tot
ing Father Time on his back he
robbed opposing batters of count
less base hits, much to their con
sternation.
Never one to deliver that lohg
ball when he stepped to the plate,
Dickens didn’t clout a single home
run during his best season—1946.
However, in achieving a batting
average of .305 he collected 124
hits, including 21 doubles and three
triples. He scored 88 runs, drove
in 44, and stole 25 bases.
Defensively, he had 340 put outs,
315 assists, and committed 42 er
rors. Rarely did he make a miscue
in the clutch, and the ones he made
were more than offset by his bril
liant stabs and those would-be
Texas Leaguers that he grabbed in
short right or center field.
Moose Shetler, at first base, was
the only New Bern Bear to make
that 1946 All-Star team. Rocky
EDWARDS RADIATOR
SERVICE
Route 5 — Highway 17 South
Promptness and
Experience in Cleaning
and Repairing
* Radiators
WOODROW
MOORE'S
Supplying Indoor
■ Comfort With
Heating and Air Conditioning
Now located 318 First St.
BEAR
Whejsl
Alignment
Can Add 50%
to Life of Tires
Get Our Free
"BEAR" Inspection
Today
PAUL'S
Kinston Highway
Dial ME 7-4204
Floyd Paul, Sr.
Floyd Paul, Jr.
Mount’s Charlie Munday was the
catcher, Eddie Bauer of Wilson was
at third, Greenville’s Ray Carlson
at shortstop, and Greenville’s Vern
Blackwell, Wilson’s Johnny Wolfe
and Fayetteville’s Ed Musial in
the outer garden.
Rocky Mount's Bill Kennedy and
Goldsboro’s Bill Herring were the
All-Coastal Plain pitchers. Herring
was also named manager, with
Rocky Mount’s Dave Fowler given
the nod for the utility assignment.
Kennedy was the only unanimous
choice, while Dickens and Shetler
each landed all but one vote in the
poll. It was, to say the least, a
choice aggregation.
Speaking of big Moose Shetler,
he led the league in hitting that
year, with a lofty .362 mark. Com
ing to the plate 403 times in 123
ball games, he came through with
146 hits. He batted in 95 runs,
scored 83, and had 31 doubles, 11
triples and 20 homers to his credit.
It’s hard to believe in retrospect
that he even stole 10 bases.
Twenty?-five billion postage
stamps are sold and used in the
United States each year.
Ted Williams Truly Great Star
Those who criticize Ted Williams
and his critics are many, evidently
haven’t bothered to delve into the
inner qualities that make the Red
Sox star as truly great off the base
ball diamond as he is on.
They ignore his tireless but un
sung work as national chairman of
the Jimmy Fund, created to fight
the tragedy of malignancy in chil
dren. They minimize his heroism as
a pilot in World War Two and the
Korean conflict—five years of mili
tary action that robbed him of his
chance to set many a new all-time
record in the national pastime.
'They obviously don’t know or
care that other Major League play
ers on- all teams say he goes out
of his way to help even the most
obscure rookie improve his per
formance at the plate. Sports writ
ers may heap unkind words on Ted,
but ball players praise him to the
sky.
New Bernians who had the priv
ilege of knowing the baseball im
mortal during his brief stay here
irked him immensely. As far as th'e
editor of The Mirror is concerned,
we found him to be remarkably
modest, completely frank and hon
est, and emphatically fond of kids.
Well do we remember his eager
ness to comply, when we asked him
toi attend a work-out of New Bern’s
American Legion knee-pants team
at Kafer Park. It meant canceling
a fishing trip that Ted was dressed
for, but he passed up the fish and
we headed for the park instead.
Bill Kafer will never forget that
day. Ted asked Bill for his auto
graph, and the little redhead,
though flabbergasted, scrawled it,
and William tucked it away in his
pocket.
Bill Lansohe, Jr., had a different
experience. We were en route to
a downtown lunch counter when
the Lansche youngster stopped Ted
and asked him for an autograph.
Ted was in a mighty big hurry
(another fishing trip on tap) fent he
asked Billy for his name and in
cluded it in the autograph. Then,
blushing with' embarrassment as
only a Lansche can blush, Billy ask
ed for a second autograph to give
a friend.
Readily obliging, Williams said,
“I’ll just write my name, since I
don’t know your friend as well as
I know you.” Billy’s chest puffed
out like a bantam rooster’s, as He
walked away.
Then there was that time at the
Hotel Queen Anne, when Ted had
just checked in. He was sprawled
on the floor with his five-year-old
daughter, adorning a coloring book,
when we heard a knock on the
door.
In walked five Negro chamber
maids, to clean up a room that was
already clean. It was quite appar
ent that they were more concern
ed with seeing Ted William}; than
they were with straightening up th©
room.
They finished the job in three
or four minutes. No piker when it
comes to tipping, Ted handed each
of the five a dollar bill as they
marched out, walking on air.
Let others speak evil of Wil
liams if they want to. In New Bern
he proved he was the nicest sort
of celebrity—a guy with a heart.
TAKE YOUR VACATION
ON YOUR SAVINGS
AT
WHOLESALE BUILDING
... SUPPLY CO. —
Iarolina^ largest and most complete
building supply house”
HIGHWAY 70 PtMILES FROM NEW BERN CITY LIMITS