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By LISBETH LEVIN E
Tar Heel Arts and Features Editor
"Play ball," the umpire cries. And like a great supporting
cast in a musical, the chorus joins in. "Peanuts, Chipwich,"
and "Popcorn, get your popcorn here," are all inviting calls to
the world of baseball.
This isn't the game of the century. This probably won't be
the game of the season. But the action off the diamond of the
Durham Bulls and the Hagerstown Suns game could make this
the most memorable for those in the stands.
A vendor walks by, "Cracker Jacks," she chants. "Cracker
Jacks," a mother with her mother and a hungry kid calls back.
. The vendor keeps walking. She finally spots her customers and
returns.
"What's it take Travis?" a man in a Durham Bulls hat and
suspenders angrily asks the pitcher. He has the look of a regu
lar. And make no mistake about it, this is a game for regulars.
This is Single-A baseball; Hometown, USA. It's a game that
smacks of North Carolina tobacco fields, not Shea Stadium.
Sometimes the game is good, sometimes it's not. But the char
acters of these true fans are unfaltering. They, like those
players of the Atlanta Braves minor league team, the Durham
Bulls, know that winning is not always everything. And the
door prizes are just as important in the major league study of
life.
The first prize winner is announced. People look down to
check the numbers stamped on their score cards. An older man
in a yellow mesh hat and a pink shirt walks down the aisle to
the dugout to claim his $10 gift certificate. A pack of Lark
cigarettes peeks out of his pocket. He also has the look of a
regular.
He whispers something to the college-age woman giving him
the prize. "Go sit down," she says to him.
He playfully hits her on the head with a program, then
returns to his friends in the stands. A minute later he's forgot
ten his moment of glory as his head follows the arc of a ball
flying through the air. His mouth is wide open.
The umpire makes a controversial call on a ball. "Hey, you
missed that one, Ump. Come back here when I'm talking to
you," says a man in a red shirt and Duke hat sitting behind the
$10 winner. His long sideburns run along the edge of his jaw
line and a long-stemmed pipe is clenched between his teeth
below his mustache.
Two college-age men with video cameras set up their equip
ment behind the dugout. "Y'all slummin tonight?" one fan
calls.
An old man sitting near the $10 winner grins broadly, expos
ing only gums. "You'll break it, " he says to the cameramen.
One of the men quickly sheds his sport coat in an attempt to
blend with the crowd. The other, wearing an orange T-shirt
and jeans, begins filming.
"It's time for another lucky number," the announcer says.
This time the prize is a car wash. The long-haired woman
handing out the certificates leans on the dugout and flirts with
the cameraman in the orange shirt while she waits for the win
ner to claim his prize.
"Strike three you out," says a gray curly-haired woman
wearing green polyester pants.
It's a game that smacks of North
Carolina tobacco fields, not Shea
Stadium.
One fan, an elderly man with a rim of white hair and large
ears, munches on popcorn. The lower half of his face is in
volved in the process, and the spots of red on his cheek gives
him a distinct resemblence to Santa Claus.
The crowd responds to a Bulls' single with loud applause
and cheers. "It doesn't happen often," a young man explains.
The cameraman in orange trades places with the one who's
been taking notes. The woman handing out prizes beckons
him over and chats until she awards the next prize to a man in
a Yankee hat.
The charge call sounds for the first time. The crowd seems
to be getting restless, and the foxhunting call brings renewed
interest in the game.
The crowd cheers as the next batter steps up to the plate.
"C'mon Bob," several fans repeat.
After two balls, the charge call sounds again. Many fans
stand up and cheer as Bob hits a homer and brings in three
runs. The score is now Durham Bulls 4, Hagerstown Suns, 3.
A teenager carrying a bunch of orange helium balloons with
a yellow one in the middle stops to talk to the cameramen. He
continues his route in front' of the stands and returns a few
minutes later. He has the same number of balloons. He stops
with three others and they hold a miniconvention behind the
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dugout before he begins his rounds again.
Someone in the back stomps on a paper cup making a loud
popping noise.
The next prize-winning number is called As the winner
returns to bis seat after claiming his prize, his friends kid him,
saying he bought two chances. At the sound of a cracking bat,
he abruptly turns to see what's happening on the field.
The two cameramen pack up their gear. A dirty-looking
man wearing a green Hawaiian-print shirt starts the crowd
clapping until the batter strikes out.
A "Let's Go Bulls" sign in red lights flashes across the
scoreboard.
"Peanuts, get your peanuts," a hawker cries.
The winner of the $220 cash prize of the night is announced.
A new gift girl stands behind the dugout fanning herself with a
manila envelope while she waits for the winner. .
"Cmon Bob, hit another one, someone yells at the batter
who hit the last home run. Bob hits his second homer.
A man with longjsh-brown hair and glasses wearing a red
USA T-shirt approaches the girl. She calls the manager. The
man who won the first $10 prize comes down just to congratu
late the big winner.
The manager appears and signs the check, muttering "I
can't believe it." The winner replies "I can't believe it either,"
in a totally different tone of voice. The manager shakes USA
T-shirt's hand. The winner scrutinizes his check on the way
back to his seat.
A small girl with a Band-Aid on her right arm runs to her
mother's arms in tears. She's cuddled and hugged until she
stop crying and sticks her thumb in her mouth. "Mommy, can
I have some Cracker Jack?" she asks.
A heavy woman eating the coveted Cracker Jacks shouts
angrily: "Wait a minute, this is a replay of last night, let's do
something. I don't want to see the same game twice."
The man with the big ears eating popcorn is now explaining
the intricacies of the game to a woman sitting next to him. She
continues to stare at the diamond, her chin resting on her
hand.
The score is 9-4, Hagerstown, when the seventh-inning-stretch
begins. Thank God I'm a Country Boy, plays over the
loudspeaker.
The girl with the Band-Aid is rubbing noses and giggling
with her grandmother. She's still trying to get her Cracker
Jack.
A Bulls pitcher hits the helmet of the run
ner at first base. The umpire warm him about
throwing so close. The Bulls' manager comes
out on the field shouting at the umpire. He
grabs the mask clenched in the umpire's hand
and is promptly thrown out of the stadium.
The $10 winner has moved up to the top of
the stands. He's getting a light from the
manager who signed the check and chatting as
if he sees him every night. His back is to the
game.
Bob, the Bull who hit the two homers, is
back at bat. The crowd cheers loudly. He hits
a grounder and makes the second out. .
The stands start clearing. Hagerstown hits a
hot streak, and soon the score is 13-4. It may
have been an off night for the Durham Bulls,
but they aren't finished yet. One last homer
brings them closer to Hagerstown. The rally
fades and the Bulls finish another night;
Hagerstown 13, Hometown, 5.
3:30 5:30
7:30 9:35
Green
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Three sets of fingerprints and palm prints
will be taken one for the FBI, one for the
State Bureau of Investigation and one for the
city-counry bureau, Layton said. Two mug
shots of Green will be taken, he said.
"Everything that's done to every other
defendant will be done to him," Layton said.
Green's first appearance in court might be
delayed for some time after he turns himself
in. His attorneys could make the first ap
pearance for him, Willoughby said.
Court officials were not expected to set any
bond for Green, who was expected to be
released on his own recognizance. .
If his attorneys enter a plea of innocent,
Green will be tried by jury in Superior Court.
No trial date has been set. If convicted, he
could receive up to 30 years in prison.
Green, who is expected to be a 1984
Democratic candidate for governor, refused to
comment on the charges. He. presided in the
Senate as usual Monday night and Tuesday.
12 The Tar Heel Thursday, June 23, 1933