Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / May 11, 1961, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Pat’s Peckings By NEALE PATRICK Little Leagues Play On Local Basis The Kings Mountain Little League program will be ' strictly a local affair this season, without affiliation with the national organization. So reports Bob Maner who has supervised the base ball program for the 8-12 year old youths for the past few seasons and again will serve as the local commissioner. He says the decision to keep the Little Leaguers playing lo cally only, instead of picking a star team to advance in district and state play in early summer was made for sev eral reasons. The time element was one of the main factors in de ciding tto withdraw from the national organization. In past years, the Little League program has started in April, a month or six weeks before school is out, and the all-star team must be picked in June to proceed into dis-J trict competition. “We have found that much of the interest for all of the players wanes after we pick the all-stars and we have a hard time keeping the league in operation after the out standing boys have advanced into district and area play,” pointed out Maner, “And, even after our team has been e liminated, few of the all-star players want tQ return to the local league,” Maner is of the opinion, and this is shared by many others here in the Little League pbdgrairi, that the season starts and ends too early, when it should be a summer-time program for the youngsters, instead of one which starts the youngsters playing before school is out, then turns them loose without a baseball program just a few weeks after vacation begins. It appears now that eight teams will participate in the Little League program here this summer, and if all the expected sponsors carry through with their intentions, two four-team leagues will be organized. The league schedule will start after school is out, . thus, making Little League a real vacation-time activity for the small fry baseball boys of the community. Several , plans are also in the making to stage a season-end play offs, a popular one probably being a “city world series” be tween the pennant winners in the two leagues. Moss And WCL Do 1+ Again So, the Western Carolina baseball league is winning, again, and the disbelievers are gradually thinning out. Kings Mountain’s John Henry Moss has been making believers out of folks as he has hedge-hopped one problem after another for the past couple of years in carrying out his firm belief that people in this section of the Ole North State want pro baseball. If you have been the least bit observant, you well know that the WCL has been beset with little but problems since Moss dreamed-up the league a couple of years ago. There always seemed to be something blocking the path of good intentions. There was the on-again, off-again assistance pledges from the now-defunct Continental Lea gue, the here-today, gone-tomorrow promises of certain towns fielding teams, the threat of Gastonia to withdraw when its manager was given the heave-ho by the minor league czar, and such recent things as the sudden with drawal of Rutherfordton and the Belmont-vs-Charlotte territorial rights hassle less than two weeks before the first pitch of *61. But with steady persistence and hard work, the local man has succeeded in accomplishing the feat of putting a Class D league on a going, basis for two straight seasons. The majority of observers have been pessimists from the start. They thought the league would not get off the ground in 1960. It did, and all eight teams survived the sea son, although the majority still held that the loop would fold by July 4th. That same group of pessimists said that was all. There would be no ‘61, they sdid. But, the WCL is playing ball a gain. All of which seems to me to be a tribute to John Hen ry Moss, a Kings Mountain native, and experienced in the ways of baseball front-office workings. He has faced more than his share of road-blocks, but he has managed to. re move them or detour them in carrying through his determ ination to put baseball where it belongs in the Ole North State ... on a playing basis. Track Improves Relations In SWC , Putting together one sports note after another: It has not been determined just how important the home field might be in track meets, but just for the record, the Mountaineers have a home-track record of seven wins and two losses in the three years since the sport was add ed to the spring agenda here. The Mountaineers were undefeated in two home meets this year, following a record of four wins and a single loss in the first season of track (1959) and a one-all record in ‘60. Coach John Gamble, incidentally, credits track with improving relations among players and schools in the Southwest Conference ... He took note at a recent meet that the boys not participating in the event at the moment have a chance td meet and talk with the lads from other schools. “No other sport allows the time for such fellowship and comradeship,” says the Mountaineer mentor, “And it seems to me that the overall relations in the Southwest Conference has improved, as result, in the past few years since most of the schools have begun the track program.” A1 Todd who spent last summer here, working with John Moss and bird-dogging prospects in the Western Car olina League for the now-defunct Continental, now is a scout for the New York team of the National League ex pansion program of ‘62 . . . Todd is concentrating his at tention on New York and Pennsylvania, but is also one of the chief scouts for Charlie Hurth’s New York team . . . . Hurth also is well known here, making several visits to Kings Mountain last summer. Darwin (Lefty) Moss of Kings Mountain obtained his re lease from the Jacksonville team of the Sally League and immediately joined Manager Jim Poole and his new Bel mont entry in the WCL ... He joined the club in time to share in the pitching and defensive woes facing the Gaston club which permitted foes to score 99 runs in the first sev en games of the season. This doesn’t have much to do with sports, but it’s merely an item indicating that Kings Mountain youths rate with the best in other activities, too, furnishing two straight winners in two different district competitions in recent years . . . Glynda Lynn and Jan Williams are con secutive spelling bee champions from Kings Mountain . . . And earlier local lads Tony Hampton and Freddie Foster won consecutive Charlotte area soap box derby crowns. END OF THE LINE_Wally Harris (left) who has taken over the catching duties for the Mountaineers in recent games reminds a cou ple of teammates that the club has three to go on the 1961 diamond campaign. Looking on as Harris provides the information are centerfield er Perry Champion (center) and pitcher Barry Gibson. The Mounties close the year with games at Chase on Friday, at Lincolnton Mon* dayand at Belmont on Tuesday. (Photo by Claire Gilstad) Kings Mountain Juniors Open Here June 5 Vs Mount Holly * * * * * • Junior Baseball Candidates To Meet On Saturday Morning 'Kings Mountain American Le gion junior baseball prospects will gather for the first time Sat urday morning at 10 o’clock in City Stadium. Coach Bill Powell, returning to the helm of the Otis D. Green Post 155 youngsters for the sec ond year, asks that all youth de siring to play junior baseball this summer turn out for the session. "This meeting has been called so that I can get a line on the boys who are eligible for and plan to play Legion baseball this summer,’’ said the Bethware High School mentor. "I want to talk with the boys and set up our practice schedules ivith them.” Powell said that he intends to start daily drills next week when all of the high schools which will feed the Kings Mountain Legion team have completed their dia mond seasons. Bethware, Grover and York have finished their campaigns, while the (Mountaineers wind-up their schedule next Tuesday, and Bessemer City is nearing the end of its slate. The Otis D. Green Post expects to draw players from all live of those high schools, and each has several good prospects for the team. Kings Mountain's juniors a gain will play in the southern di vision (League A) of Area Four and the season' will open on Mon day, June 5, against Mt. Holly Pawcreek. i ‘“That starting date gives us less than three weeks of practice time,” Observes Coach Powell, “And that isn’t much time to get ready for the season, so I want to urge all boys to turn out for the meeting on Saturday morning so that we can set-up plans for the practice sessions in the next three weeks.” 1 > A new eligibility date goes into effect for junior baseball this year, permitting boys eight mon ths older to play. All youths born January 1, 1943, or thereafter are eligible to play this summer. Central Unloads Extra-Base Guns To Defeat Mountaineers By 8-1 The Mountaineers finally man-, aged to pay their baseball call on R. S. Central Monday night . .1 but it probably would have been! just as well if the game bad i been cancelled instead of thrioe postponed. Central’s Hilltoppers exploded their big guns to win the game, 8-1, handing the Mountaineers their ninth league loss of the spring. Charles Bailey unloaded a two run homer and Tommy Culbreth! a triple against starter Punch i Parker, pacing the Hilltoppers to! an early lead, with five runs in the first frame and all eight tal lies before Parker departed at the end of the fourth. Jerry Adams made the first mound appearance of his prep career holding the RSC club to I one hit in the last two innings.! He fanned the side, sandwiched around a hit batsman, in the fif th, and gave up a walk and a single in the sixth before settling down to retire the final three batters. Together, Parker and Adams whiffed 11 RSC batters while big Miike Jett fanned nine Mountain eel’s. Kings Mountain’s lone bit of run-making glory came in the| first frame, James Robbs leading KM To Enter Shelby Softball A Kings Mountain team has entered the fast pitch softball league in Shelby and will play jits opening game of the season j next Tuesday night. i The local team is composed of j many of the same players who participated in the Shelby indus : trial circuit last year and went |to the playoff finals. The dub; does not have a local sponsor, but has received add from sever-! ;al sources to purchase equip j ment. The local Recreation Com mission sponsored the team last j year. Lloyd McF&llswill manage the i team which will play games each I Tuesday and Thursday nights at Shelby Recreation Center. Members of the team include: Jerry Ross, Bob Bridges, De witt Guyton, David HullerSer,; Carl Barnett, Charles Smith, Holland Smith, Bud Ross, Har old Pearson, Gene Stone, William Jones, Dean Fleming and Gene Tignor. off with, a single, one of the two; the Mountainers managed for the! contest. He went to second on an error by the oenterfielder on the rap, to third on a wild pitch, then stole home. Parker singled for the other Mountaineer blow in the fifth frame. R. S. Central wiped out the ef fects of Robbs’ run with five tal lies in the first frame. Culbreth’s triple highlighted the three hit inning, with three walks also fi guring in the scoring. Bailey 'banged his homer, fol lowing Ed Parton’s single to o pen the fourth. Coach Fred Withers called on a young inner defense to open the game, with the exception of Robbs at shortstop, the other four players around the horn be ing sophomores or freshmen. Sophs were catcher Wally Har-j rist, first baseman Charles Good son and second sacker Tim Heav ner, and the frosh was Mike Huff stickler at third base. Kings Mountain AB R K rbi Robbs, ss Parker, p-3b R. Pearson, If Champion, If Goforth, cf L. Pearson, rf Goodson, lb Heavner, 2b Hillard. 2b Huffstickler, 3b Adams, p Harris, c * 2 2 3 0 3 3 2 0 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 23 1 2 RS Central E. Parton, If D. Parton, If Bailey, lb Culbreth, 3b Bridges, 3b Dalton, c Dycus, c Hodge, ss Callahan, 2b B. Laughter, rf L. Laughter, rf Scearcy. cf Morris, cf Jett, p AB R 3 ' 2 0 4 2 1 3 0 4 2 1 0 2 1 3 H 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 rbi : :l 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 26 8 6 5 Kings ML 100 000 0—1 RS Central 501 200 x 8 E_Champion, Heavner, Har ris, Searcy, Bailev; LOB _ KM 5, RSC-6; 3B_Culbreth; HR_ Bailey; SB _ E. Parton, Dalton, Callahan 2, Robbs; SF_Bailey;1 HBP _ B. Laughter, Robbs; WP _ Parker 5, Jett; PB Dalton.j Pitching Parker (1) Adams Jett (w) IP H R Er Bb So 4 5 8 8 5 7! 2 10 0 1 4i 7 2 1 1 3 71 The Kings Mountain American Legion juniors will open their Area Four baseball schedule here on Monday night, June 5, against the Mt. Holly-Pawcreek entry The game is the first on the 12-game first round slate for the Otis D. Green Post 155 team which will compete against the same six opponents in the south ern division League A of the Area this summer. Richard E. Shaney, new athle tic officer and business manager for the local juniors, released the schedule here as announced by the Area commissioner John Yan dle of Charlotte. The first round continues through June 28 and will be fol lowed by area playoffs. Kings Mountain closes the schedule a gainst pastonia here. Four playing nights are sched uled for each week, with each team drawing tyo byes during the first round. Kings Mountain six home games include one on Monday, two each on Tuesday and Wed nesday and one on Saturday. Thus, five of the home games will be played in early or mid week and only one on the week end. Shaney said that season tickets for the six home games of the first round will go on sale next week. They will sell for $1.50 per ticket and can be used for all six games or for six admissions to one game. THe season ducats will sell at half-price, the gate ad missions prices being 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for stu dents. Kings Mountain’s junior sched ule: June 5 — MJt. Holly-Pawcreek, here. June 6 — at Charlotte 262. June 9 — iBye. June 10 — Charlotte 9-380, here. June 13 — Shelby, here. June 14 — Belmont, here. June 16 — at Gastonia. June 17 — at (Mt. Holly-Paw creek. June 20 — Charlotte 262, here. June 21 — Bye. June 23 — at Charlotte 9-380. June 24 — at Shelby. June 27 — at iBelmont. Jime 28 — Gastonia, here. Deal Street Pool Opens On Saturday Summer can’t be far away.. the ole swimming hole will be open for business Saturday. Recreation Director Jake Early announces that the Deal Street swimming pool will o pen for the season on Saturday afternoon at 1:30, weather per mitting. The pool will be open on Sat urdays only until school is out, at Which time it will go on a daily schedule. Early has returned to the po sition as summer recreation director arid pool manager, fol lowing his return to pro base ball last summer, and he has 'been making repairs and put ting the Deal Street Pool in tip-top shape in recent weeks. Mountaineer Goli Association Tonn The four low scorers in prac tice rounds ending this week will represent Kings Mountain High in the WNCHSAA golf tourna ment to be held in Morganton next Monday. Five Mountaineer golfers have been playing practice rounds sin ce the schedule ended two weeks ago, preparing the the Assoeia tion meet. The four posting the kw scores will be selected b> Coach John Gamble to play for the Mountaineers. Each team is limited to four participants. The Association meet will be conducted on a 36-hole medal play basis, vbth medals being presented to the three low indi vidual scorers and a ribbon to the fourth place finisher. A tro phy will be given to the team 4 ■ J ■ ’ WNCHSAA Changes Grid And Cage Title Plans The far-flung WNCHSAA of which Kings Mountain High and the Southwest Conference, are members is staying in step with recent restrictions imposed on prep athletics by the state board of public instruction. Meeting in Monroe last week, the Asociaition made certain changes in regular-season and tournament play for virtually all sports, all designed to limit ath letic schedules and night activi ties and insure more time in the class room for athletes and stu dents, alike. The four major changes af fect the three major sports so far as Southwest Conference members are concerned. The football season for WNCH SAA members was limited to 12 games, including regular-season and post-season playoff games. The basic Change is that no con ference playoff game will be per mitted before the Association’s inter-league games. Should two teams deadlock for the title, the winner of the regular season game between the two would be adjudged the conference repre sentative. Should that game have ended in a tie, the league coaches will determine the champion by vote. This new football regulation, thus, will not change the normal ten-game schedule all Conference members play. Two changes were made in the basketball program for the Southwest Conference and all WNCHSAA clubs next winter. Association teams will contin ue to play two games per week, on Tuesday and Friday, as us ual, but the starting time for the first game (girls) on Tuesday night will start at 6 o’clock. The customary 7 o’clock starting time will be observed on Friday nights. The post-season basketball tour naments will revert to the same plan used prior to a change last season. Association members have readopted the plan for the top four teams (boys and girls) from each Conference to partici pate in divisional tournaments, Western and Piedmont. Winners, then, will meet for the Associa tion title. Last year, each of the four Conferences held its own basket ball tournament with all teams participating. The four winners in each division (boys anchgirls) advanced into the Asociaition se mi-finals and finals contests. The only baseball change of note does not affect the South west Conference, with each loop diamond team playing the other seven schools on a home-and home basis. The Northwest and North Piedmont Conferences, however, voted on only one round against each foe. All four conferences did agree on one slight change which will not permit batting practice for afternoon baseball games. Bat ting drills will be allowed before night games. Other changes were slight, sueh as golf, tennis and track meets starting at 3:30 or 4 o’ clock, the customary time. All golf meets prior to the Associa tion finals were restricted -to nine holes, also customary for Kings Mountain. Asociaition entry fees were hi ked to $25 and 25-percent of the! gate receipts from all Conference playoffs. The WNCHSAA also I will employ the same booking I offices for officials for next sea I son. The group also voted to limit a boy to participation in only one sport per season next year. Ladies Handicap Tournament Set A ladies handicap tournament for all member golfers will be held at ithe Kings Mountain Country Club next Monday, May 15. All club members are invited to participate with an entry fee of $1.50. Players participating must have at least one other player also entered in the tournament playing in her group in order that the score might be attested. Some 20 members are expected to enter. Eers To Enter ament Monday j posting the low four-man score. The five Mountaineers vying for the lour berths are Turk ! Palls. Franklin Dean, Robert Plonk, J. T. Jackson and Don Long. Falls and Dean have been the | links leaders for the Mountain eers this season. The two have either won or shared the low me dal score in each of the six : Mountaineer meets this spring. As a team, the Mountaineer golfers won four and lost two matches on the season, defeat ing Belmont twice, and splitting with Shelby and Lincolnton. The local lads won all three matches ! played over the home Kings Mountain Country Club course. Club pro Percy Card has been serving as golf instructor for the Kings Mountain linksmen this season. Rain Delays Game With Shelby; Robbs Lone Hitter Over .300 i The late afternoon shower here Tuesday caused the postpone ment of the Mountaineers game that nigh* With Shelby and the contest was rescheduled to be played Wednesday afternoon at City Stadium. The Mountaineers were begin ning batting practice when the rains came and washed out the game. The Shelby club was al ready on the way here and learn ed on arrival that the field would be too wet to pl^y. With ten games down and four to go on the Southwest Confer ence season, the Mountaineers claim only one .300 batter, sen ior shortstop James Robbs. He has cracked out ten hits in 30 trips to the plate for a .333 aver age. Three other regulars and one pitcheT are over the .200 bat mark. Catcher-outfielder Ronnie Pear son has a .292 average for run ner-up honors. He has obtained seven hits in 24 trips. He is trailed by Punch Parker with a .250 average (7 for 28) I and Perry Champion with a .217 mark (5 5for 23). Pitcher Barry Gibson has rapped two for seven, a .286 average. Although he has one of the lowest averages among regulars, Larry Pearson, an .087 hitter, is pacing the club in runs batted in with five. Perry Champion is-the extra - base leader, with a pair of triples and Parker has slugged the lone homer. Kenny Wilson, now ineligible, was the mound winner in the Mountaineers’ only viotoify. Mountaineer players with bat-' ting figures for the season fol low: Player AB R H Avg James Robbs 30 4 10 .333 Ron Pearson 24 6 7 .292 Barry Gibson 7 0 2 .286 Punch Parker 28 4 7 .250 Perry Champion 23 4 5 .217 Jerry Adams 17 1 3 .176 Jimmy Leigh 19 1 3 .158 Henry Hillard 15 2 2 .133 Warren Goforth 8 11 .125 Larry Pearson 23 1 2 .087 Mike Huff stickler 12 0 1 .083 Charles Good son 15 1 1 .067 Five Mountaineers Qualify For Association Track Finals Five Mountaineers have quali fied for the WNCHSAA track fi nals to be held at Davidson Col lege on Saturday. The five Kings Mountain trackmen gained the finals by finishing within the top six in their event speciality of the West ern Conference meet at Morgan ton last Friday. Steve Brown was the top fin isher among the eight Mountain eers in the meet, tying for third in the polevaulit with a leap of nine feet. He picked up 1% points for the finish. Alton Stewart ran fourth in the 440 and Eddie Ross was four th in the discus to gain the other points for the Mountaineers and qualify for the Association fi nals. The fourth-place finishes were worth one point each to Ste wart and Ross. The other two Mountaineer qualifiers gained the finals as re sult of fifth place finishes, Ches ter Clontz in the broad jump and Robin Whisnanf in the 880-yard run. Neither finish provided points, but did send the contest ants into the finals’ Morgan ton capped the Western Conference meet with 35% points, barely edging Newton, with Hickory third. Kings Mountain’s 3% points was far behind the leaders but was the top total for Southwest Conference teams in the meet dominated by Northwest mem bers. Bill Petrie of Morganton was the individual standout of the meet, winning all .three dash e vents, a feat he also accomplish ed in the Northwest meet the week before. Petrie was one of only five participants for the wining Morganton team which copped five first places and three seconds. Following are a list of cham pions by events in the Western Conference track meet, with times and distances, and the fin ishes by Mountaineers in paren thesis: 100-yard dash _ Petrie, Mor ganton. Time._10.2 secs. Pole Vault — Eubanks, Len oir. Height—9’10”. (Tie for third —Steve Brown, Kings Moun tain. Height_9'.) 440 — Petrie, Morganton. time—53.2 secs. (Fourth_Alton Stewart, Kings Mountain. Time — 55.7 secs.) Discus — Fowler, Hickory. Distance—134’9”. (Fourth_Ed die Ross, Rings Mountain.) Shot Putt — Rice, Lenoir. Dis tance 44’ 10”. Mile — Heffper, Newton. Time 5:09.1. High jump —.-- Church, Lenoir. Height_5’7”. High hurdles — Moehlman, Newton. Time 15.8 secs. Broad jump — Simmons, Mor ganton. Distance _ 19’2”. (Fif th — Chaster Clontz, Kings Mountain). 880-yard run__ England, Mor ganton. (Fifth-Robin Whisnant, Kings Mountain). 220-yard dash ___ Petrie, Mor ganton). Low Hurdles — Moehlman, Newton. Mile Relay —. Won by New ton. Carolina. Clemson To Play At Belmont College baseball boys invade the area Saturday night when Carolina and Clemson p/lay at Belmont Davis Park. .The game is sponsored by the Belmont Le gion. Several players firym the area are on the Tar Heel club, inclu ding Tammy Camp, Heywafd Hull and John Kouri of Shelby, and Larry Jenkins of Mt Holly, the later probably slated to pit ch. Gamble, Barnes Named To Posts For WNCHSAA Coach John Gamble of Kings Mountain High School has been named one of the three new members to the executive com mittee for the Western North Car olina High School Activities As sociation. \ The Mountaineer mentor was - elected to the post at the spring meeting of the group in Monroe last week. Kings Mountain School super intendent B. N. Barnes was re elected to the office as president of the Association, a post he has held for many years. Other new members joining the executive board, along with Gamble, are Ben Marree of R. S. Central and B. F. Hagleman of Lenoir. They join the following hold over members of the executive committee: Dr* R. R. Morgan of Mooresville, W. C. Clary of Chil dren’s Home, Fred O. Drummond of Kannapolis, Robert Gantt of Albermarle and Jack Ward of Mocksville. Clary also serves as executive secretary of the group. KM Closes Season With Three On Road The (Mountaineers will toe busy right down to the final pitch on the 1961 baseball campaign. The dose their season with three road games on as many playing dates, the contests in cluding two against outfits still battling for the title in the close Southwest Conference chase. The busy card starts at Chase High' on Friday night as the (Mountaineers seek their second victory of the season over the only team they have been able to wihip. Kings (Mountain scor ed a 12-2 triumph over the Tro jans here a few weeks ago, al though1 Chase is still in the race for 'the loop crown. A makeup game and the sea son-ender with Belmont close the card next week. The Mountaineers go to Lin coin ton on Monday afternoon at 4 o’clock to play the game postponed from last Friday. The all<tay rain caused the postponement. Kings Miountain lost a 4-2 decision to the Lines (here recently. The season-finale is set for 'Belmont next Tuesday night at 7:30 against a Red Raider club which still is one of the front runners in the Southwest race. Belmont won the first meeting of the two dubs, 5-2, rallying against a tired Barry Gibson in the final innings. Foothills Members | To Play At Boone An invitation has been issued ; to the members of the Foothills ! G°lf League in Kings Mountain ; Country,' Club to attend the an I nual two-day tournament to be j held at the Darnel Boone club j course in Boone on (May 22-23. The Statesville club will be host for the event. The president ! of the Statesville Foothills team j has notified other members that I they should make their arrange ments for motel reservations in the area. * Local members of the league planning to play in the twoday event are asked to contact eith er Mrs. Ann Withers or Mrs. i Brownie Card.
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 11, 1961, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75