SATURDAY, A'JSUST 7, 1S3-TK CAT.CUSA TJS-5
art
Elson Remembers: . .
Th DSightt TCig-gg ago
accdl
99
ta, New Orleans and Phoenix.
Bulls i
; By Elson Armstrong, Jr.
' Durham's baseball
team, the Bulls, won the
first half Of the Carolina
League's Southern Divi
sion but floundered in
the playoffs. Now they
are stumbling around in
the waning weeks .of the
second half of the season
looking more like tame
cows than raging bulls.
As 'August opens, the
BuUsre-tn third place
j
many"" tigm games
behind the front running
Peninsula Pilots.
In the league's Nor
thern Division, Alexan
dria, the first half
champs, is currently only
about a game out of first
place, but they are play
ing less than .500 ball.
But then the northern
division is the weaker of
the league's two divi
sions. But why have both
first half champions
fpund the going so tough
,'in the second half of the
season? Why does it
sometimes seem that
minor league baseball
fluctuates between feast
and famine?
The answer boils down
to the practices, the
philosophy and the
politics of minor league
baseball.
Philnsnnhieallv. a
minor league team, like
politics.
Obviously, winning
baseball is a combination
of talent and chemistry. 1
All baseball managers,
and coaches with other
sports, for that matter,
agree that you have to
have people who can do
organization, Durham is
their upper echelon class
A team. Atlanta has two
class-A affiliates. The
other one is Anderson,
S.C. This team, though,
is considered a
below the Bulls.
Savannah is the Atlan-
the job, and these people ! ta organization s double-
must click wen iw'r" imwumu.
.u ! nffnnrsp of the International
all this must be molded , League is the tnple-A
By Elson Armstrong Jr.
Have you ever wanted
to be in three places at
;once? That's right not
two but three! t
-. Even now, almost 17
years after the fact, I
wish I could've made
myself appear at three
different Durham sites,
on the night of
December 10,' 1965.
It was basketball ,
season and the Bull City
quaked with excitement.
On the collegiate scene
Duke's powerful Blue
Devils were hosting that
legend of legends
UCLA. At that time,
UCLA had won back-to-,
back NCAA titles.
Duke and UCLA had
met for the natfonar
championship in March,
1964 and UCLA embar
rassed the proud Dukies
98-83. The win gave
John Wooden his fjrst of
what would eventually
become 10 national
crowns. UCLA beat
Michigan 91-80 in the
1965 NCAA Final.
When it was announc
ed that UCLA was com
ing to Durham, all the
tickets to 9,000-seat
Duke (now Cameron) In
door Stadium for that
game were sold before
the season began. ,
Duke with the likes of
Ctoio VarpnHaV lav
stepv Buckley; and Bob Verga
were a tall and talented
bunch that had designs
on the 1965-66 NCAA
crown. Duke entered the
big blast ranked No. 3
and unbeaten, ulla
the Ashevifli visitors
were so confused by the
Hillside press that they
were constantly nitung
forbidden broadcast l-A school this night!
rights to the spectacular Stephens-Lee was much
Because it was Tuesday tauer than the Hornets
'niftVit an1 'Knnonnff . UA .sv-a tlia fAlrtrc
1115,111 &iivi nvvi...p 'aim iiivj wuit 11 iv a - "
agreements with the rqf N.C. Central (maroon i thc werneaa gym ngnis
N.C. High Schools ?m rav anH ioVt . as they attempted to lob
Athletic Association, the that Hillside waso good
game was blacked out. that NCCU had decided
bven wun inai, a tn 1:,v that n:ffht.
Hillside was led by
' number of us- at Hillside
were Wot tha( disap
pointed because our
Hornets also had
Durhamites stirring.
In march, 1965,
Hillside had won the
State 4-A Championship
with an awesome com
eback over favored West
Charlotte in the title
game. HHS had trailed
43-19 at the half and was
still down by 30 in the
third stanza. The com
eback was so great that
West Charlotte had to
catch Hillside in the
fourth quarter to send
the game into overtime!
Hillside emerged the vic
tor 80-78.
The Hornets had
opened the 1965-66
season against arch-rival
Little River of Durham
which had won the 1965
State l-A Champion
shiD. The bia surprise in
that game was Hillside's
George Outlaw, John
"Goat" Bullock, June
Harris, Mike Hayes, and
others who formed what
many of us still consider
as Hillside's best-ever-basketball
team.
Across town, there.
! was yet more, excitement
as Merrick-Moore,
which had won the State
3-A Championship (Yes,
Durham made a clean
sweep in 1965), was get
ting prepared to take on
Henderson Institute.
Merrick-Moore was
'favored but nobody had
envisioned what a whip
ping they would lay on
the Bulldogs.
Incredibly, all three of
these tilts got under way
at about the same time. I
was attending the
Hillside game.but friends
' brought radios to listen
to the Dirke game.
The evening started a
e 1 11c evening sicuicu a
easy dismantling of the iittje siow for Duke and
busy ueavers 10 me tune Hillside as UCLA
nf a 1 38-70 hlow out
the worst ' beating ever
for Little River!
On Dec. 10, 1965,
Stephens Lee, a Western
jumped out front 6-0 and
Stephens Lee was up 6-4
in the early goings (I
didn't know what was
haDDenina over at
e minor league team, a ui ., w ,..r ? - au u..w...
i the Durham : Bulls, is y an efficient organiza- club which is one step jjkewise was unbeaten
DurhL'sowlKMilesI : The Bulls appear J&"" ' Local tension was
Wolff, Bulls' General
Manager ' but as a
practical matter, the
team is owned by the
parent organization, a
major league baseball
team. The Durham Bulls
team is affiliated with
the Atlanta Braves.
What that means is
that the players are ac-l talent
tna lv contracted to the Otten
Braves, as is the Bulls'
manager, Bobby Dews.
' And thus enters the
learning process. Minor
they winning? league players .0 such
The politics in minor cities as Anderson
league baseball generally ' Durham, and Richmond
and within the Atlanta, are not yet seasoned
organization specifically, . enough to make the
keeps moving players in !N parent club. . Therefore
I f thA Rniu' thev are sent tc the
miu uui vf . -
, , - - iiaLJU'tmn, vwi
N.C. 4-A power from. Merrick-Moore but boy,
Asheville made a visit to wftllH 1 find mit iatern.
me iNesi inmsiue Hillside and
Gym) and they Drougnt
auite a contingent ofi
-j - . vtllK,
fans who eagerly et us, time The Hornets
know that Hillside SCorel 30 in the first
wouldn't be. playing a quarter . By the second,
Duke
seemed to explode with
vengeance at the same
passes over the lightning
quick Hillsiders.
. Over at Duke the nor
mally poised UCLA
Bruins were getting ,
humiliated as Duke, with
the crowd going" crazy,
had rallied and taken1
over a 20 poiat spread.
By halftirae UCLA was
behind 42-21 and
Stephens Lee had
"held" HiUside to 54
points.
! The two locals made it
worse for the visitors in
the second half as
Hillside scored 76 points
to smother Stephens Lee
130-70 (we all gave a
'Bronx' cheer when the
Asheville quint matched
Little River's total
points).
As I was. leaving the
gym I heard that Duke
had dumped UCLA
82-66" and it would've
; been worse if the 'Devils'
had substituted with ten
minutes to go in the '
game!
Later on in the even-
ing, while watching local
sports on TV, I heard
that Merrick -Moore had
just plain leveled
Henderson by a score of
117-27!
Geeze, if I could go
back in time (as the cur
rent hit song says) to that
.'65 love affair, I would
definitely try to be at
Hillside, Merrick
Moore, and Duke all at
, once. - r -
team througnout me
season. This causes the
to fluctuate and
uDsets the i
chemistry needed to win
consistently.
In the Atlanta
; . .. : I
Winner, of
pic golds.
Jew Owens Trophy Award
i
'JfllD
Evelyn Athford
Winner of
Sebastian Co.
award.
IbsImm'' J
r I It'
m 1
U C-BERKELEY
xr
i
Edwin Moses
for yqur Olympic
but stay in school
and get a good education. ,
Track was only a means
to an end." Douglas kept
this in mind. As a result,
Schieffelin ft Co. has ba
come the original corporate,
. When most Americans nomics surged to a rush of strive
think of Jesse Owens, they 50 first-place votes with the teams,
remember a man who was a five continent blue ribbon
superb example of the spirit jury. Coe easily outdistanced
of athletic achievement and Edwin Moses, America's top
comradeship among nations. ; 400 meters hurdler, who
It seems fitting, then, that a was runner up with six
.fSniAiia .n..Hj4 m- firafa In third ' nlaca wll
llVO.IIUIM IWU W MAIM" f " V
our athlotoa ahnnM kar Evelvn Ashford. the U.S.A. 's sDonsor of this event.
his name. . . '" peak women's sprinter, who Other finalists in the com-
u had the same number of petition to memorialize the
The tost arnateur atn- but WM ouUcored on name of Jesse Owens were
SS!..?rStrfB!,"e0Bd TOtM 26 to 9. by Mary T. Meagher, C No. 1
Sebastian Coe of Ureat Brit- MrtM nimmlM atar f thm V S .
tin, the worlds fastest at i-..i hn . fm.rth m
a 1 ' 1 ark .. l rk . I A 1 I A.
once 101a -, nero uougias, oicnerova 01 tne soviet un
vice president of Schieffelin
A Co., Importers of Hennessy
: Cognac, and rounder of the
Award, to "pursue track and
r
league, teams during the
whole- season. This
policy benefits Pennisula
each season. Since they
were formed in 1976,
they have made the
league playoffs each year
and each year, they've,
won some kind of cham
pionship. Thus the Pilots are
.threatening to run away ,
with the second half.
Durham consistently
beat them in the first
half race and since then
several Bulls have moved
upward in the Atlanta
organization..
A similar situation oc
curred in 1980 when Pen
ninsula was in the'
league's northern divi
sion and Durham in the
southern. Both teams
Vvon both halves of their
pennant races and they
both possessed talent
galore. When the overall
league championship
began, several of
Durham's key players
had moved on and, as a
result, the Pilots swept
' the. Bulls for the cham
pionship. , During the
season the teams had
split evenly, but since
! Penninsula never lost
any of its talent, it was
the better team in the
see playoffs.
. Anotner iacior iu tun
sjder in minor league ball
is the so-called "bonus
baby" players. These
players are considered
sure shots by the, parent
club, and they are
carefully groomed in the
minors. If the Bulls sent
such a player, then Bob
by Dews will probably be
ordered by Hank Aaron
to play s the "bonus
baby" every day. This
may disrupt the
chemistry of the team,
but Dews has no choice.
He will have to play him.
But there's ano'her
side of the polit.es.
the classic distances of 800
meters. 1.000 meters and
the mile. .
The 25-year-old student
of social history and eco-
ion, ,: women's . all-around
gymnastic performer, who
waa fifth. They each re
ceived one first place vote.
minors to sharpen their
skills and each player
dreams of quickly mak
ing the big time.
In minor league ball,
players are promoted or
demoted according to
their performances and
evaluation of the parent
ball club. Hank Aaron,
who currently directs
player personnel for the
Braves, said during a
spring visit to Durham
that "the hardest part of
my job is to tell one of
these kids that they are
not going to make it and
to give him his walking
papers." -.
Since Atlanta has an
investment in Durham
players, . Hank Aaron
decides who will play
consistently for the
Bulls. Team manager,
Bobby Dews, has to
abide' by the parent
club's decision.
Former " Bulls'
Manager "Dirty" Al
Gallagher "disagreed with
the policy. "I like to win.
I'm going with who I
think are my best
nlavers. Afterall. I
them everyday
Gallagher's philosophy
eventually led him into
disfavor with Atlanta1
and he was fired after the
1981 season.
Fans face this dilemma
with mixed emotions.
They want to see their
heroes ott the Bulls per
form well but then the
fans have to find new
heroes because good
players are moved to
cither Savannah or Rich
mond often before the
season is over.
With players constant
ly being promoted or
demoted it is difficult for 1
minor league teams to Sometimes for whatever
maintain that delicate reasons players are mov
chemistry needed to win. ej around or released by
In the Carolina the parent club. The fans
League, the Penninsula . may not agree with the
Pilots are a notable ex- actions especially if the
ception. Their parent player is one of their
club the Philadelphia, favorites, v They
Phillies, unlike most ma- sometimes take out their'
jor clubs, don't take frustrations by hatassing,
players from their minor the player who replaces
their hero.
Some players, despite
outstanding statistics,
are not moved upward
and' in frustration they
quit or are traded to
another organization.
While some of the cur
rent Bulls were
I frustrated when they
were told that they had
A. It
to olav class-A Dan
Elson's
Pro-Grid
Predictions
If
ball
professional foot
avoids a players'
strike and we are lucky
enough to have a NFL
season, this is the way 1
ivj Jf J Jv V "
nrmther season thev were think it will turn out:
quick to add that it s no
reflection on Durham.
Miguel . Sosa the
popular short stop who
is in Durham for the
third straight year, said,
"Sure we want to move
up but we also love
Durham and the fans
here, it would be great if
Durham would become a
Double-A or Triple-A
club so that we could
play here and advance
too."v '
Sosa, a native of the!
(Continued on Page 7)
NFC East
1. Dallas
2. New York (Giants)
3. Washington 1
4. Philadelphia
5. St. Louis
NFC Central
1 . Tampa Bay
2. Detroit
3. Minnesota
4. Chicago
5. Green Bay
NFC West
1 . San Francisco
2. Los Angeles (Rams)
3. Atlanta
4. New Orleans
AFC East
1. Buffalo
2. Miami
3. New York (Jets)
4. Baltimore
5. New England
AFC Central
1. Cincinnati
2. Pittsburgh
3. Cleveland
4. Houston
AFC West
1 . San Diego
2. Los Angeles (Raiders)
3. Denver
4. Kansas City
5. Seattle
Professional & Tradesmen
Center
''Seryirig Your Home Improvement Needs'
Tate Construction
And Realty
(second location)
., Residential. Church
And Commercial Construction
Complete Real
Estate Services
682-3062
Sturdivant Roofing
Company
Gutters. Rooling .
Waterprooting
688-4944
RMV Electric
Residential and Commercial
Electrical Wiring
682-3062
Morrow & Dixon
Construction Co.
Water. Sewage
Storm Drain Lines
682-0532
Let us Solve Those Home Problems Today!!!
2919 Fayetteville Street
Tradesman, Do You Need Office Space
Utilities, Secretarial And Janitorial Services?,
At Any Of The Following Numbers:
Tate Realty Co. Leasing Agetit
942.1938 942-6325 682-3062
4
w
1
1
th Paid
tact Us-