THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
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VOLUME TWENTY-FIVE ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C. THURSDAY, AUG. 31, 1939 NUMBER 8
Scenes by The Herald staff photographer taken at Raleigh last nigut when the Romancos of Roanoke
Rapids won a record-breaking 86 inning game from Rilelgh to take the State Softball championship. Top
picture shows the Championship trophy being presented by Raleigh Commissioner of Public Works Carl
Williamson to Coach Bill Alligood of the Romancos. Others shown (left to right) Bill Speight, Murray
Stacia, Louis Outland, Lindsay Sadler, Manager O. D. Worsham. Far right, looking glum, is Pilot manager
Brock.
Middle shot shows the winning run in the 25th inning (first half) with f rank Rhome, Komanco left
fielder, sliding safely home as Tom Smith, Pilot catcher, goes after the bad thrown ball relayed from the
outfield on Ronald Everette’s sacrifice fly. Umpire Evans is watching home plate behind the Raleigh catcher.
Bottom picture shows John Marshall, Raleigh Softball Commissioner, awarding trophies to Russ De
Berry (left) and Ken Gullfoyle (right), opposing pitchers, as the two most valuable players in the tourna
ment.
Swallows Poison
Brace Rook, an employee of the
Paper Mill here, is in the Roanoke
Rapidg Hospital tonight suffering
from the ^effects of bichloride tab
lets which he swallowed last night.
Mr. Rook, who is an unmarried
man of about 40, is reported to
have bought the tablets early last
night and returned to his room at
215 Washington Street where he
swallowed an undetermined num
ber. Friends noted his condition
and summoned a doctor immediate
ly. He was rushed to the hospital
but the poison had already taken
some effect.
It is reported that Mr. Rook has
been suffering ill health for some
time and has been rather depressed
of late.
DEBERRY PITCHES
ROMANCOS1 TO 0
OVER PILOT MILL
Game Goes Scoreless For 25 Innings
Before Ron Jd Everette Hits Rheme In
By TOM BOST, JR.
Raleigh’s Pilot Mill softball team
gave way in its fifth crisis and
25tli inning early Thursday morn
ing to lose to Roanoke Rapids by a
score of 1-0 and give the Roman
cos the right to represent this state
in the national tournament to be
held at Chicago next week.
For nearly four hours—perhaps
the longest consecutive scoreless
softball game ever recorded in this
state—there was a succession of
scoring threats only to be nullified
by spectacular fielding and equally
as brilliant fielding.
Ken Guilfoyle of Pilot and Russ
DeBerry of Roanoke Rapids, old
colleagues of the Romanocs last
summer, turned upon each other
with all the fury that they had
jointly employed in mowing down
opposing batsmen last year and the
result was an aggregate of 43
strikeouts of which DeBerry caus
ed 26 and Guilfoyle 17.
Mound Duel
The pitching duel at times ap
peared to be somewhat one-sided
for DeBerry as Pilot went a regu
lation game without getting a hit,
but this pitching wizardry was par
tially offset by one of the most re
markable fielding games ever wit
nessed on the part of Guilfoyle. He
tossed 10 men out at the bases and
caught four pop-ups on putouts.
DeBerry was no slouch in the field
either for he threw out 11 of the
hitters that didn’t strikeout. Thus
Pitchers Guilfoyle and DeBerry
handled 25 fielding chances per
fectly.
The crowd of nearly 6,000, the
largest that ever saw a softball
game in Dixie remained almost in
tact beyond midnight.
Excepting the fourth inning
when Roanoke Rapids sent a man
to third there was nothing that had
the promise of a score during the
first 12 innings. And from the
eighth to the 18th innings Pilot’s
hitters failed to put a man on first
base. It was during that streak
that DeBerry got the edge both In
strikeouts and hits allowed on
Guilfoyle.
Guilfoyle Gets Stronger.
When the two teams had played
the equivalent of almost four reg
ulation softball games both pitch
ers were going at their very best
and Guilfoyle was actually recov
ering the prestige he had lost in
the middle of the game. He al
lowed only one hit in the last eight
innings compared to four given up
by DeBerry.
Then came midnight and th*
25th inning. It was August 31 and
the 53rd anniversary of the Charles
ton earthquake. Something just had
to crack and Guilfoyle started it
off by walking Rhome, reserve left
(Continued on Page 8, Sec. A)
ESTIMATED LOSS
IS $25,000 FOR
HALIFAX COUNTY
Fill Near Halifax On
Highway 301 Is Major
Washout
A minimum of $23,000.00 was giv
en by C. F. Gore, State Highway
man of Weldon, as damages done
to highways in Halifax County by
high water last Monday night and
Tuesday. A dozen washouts, the
worst one being a fill on Highway
301 just south of the town of Hal
ifax, was reported from various
sections of the county. Between
$1000 and $1300 damages were esti
mated for several washouts in the
western end of Northampton Coun
ty, over which Mr. Gore is super
visor.
Traffic has been resumed on all
roads except Highway 301, which
will be closed to through traffic
until late Saturday or Sunday. A
large road force is at work on 301,
filling in the high fill just below
the Paul Jones service station.
Quankie Creek rose there until the
culvert would not take the water,
which backed up and undermined
the upper side of the fill until the
pavement of the highway fell in.
Traffic to and from Halifax and
Weldon to Enfield and Rocky
Mount has been routed around by
way of Jackson, Rich Square, Scot
land Neck, and Lawrence. Dam
ages for the washout on 301 alone
is estimated by Mr. Gore to be be
tween $3000 and $5000.
Traffic from Emporia to Weldon
was routed through Koanoke Rap
ids during most of the day Tues
day, as Highway 301 just south of
Pleasant Hill was under several
feet of water.
In the vicinity of Roanoke Rap
ids, the road over pipes in the
Nash Creek, near the present home
(Continued on Page 4, Sec. A>