THE GREAT CATCH, or
A SHORT HISTORY OF MY HONORS CAREER

In the summer of 1989, my unofficial part-time occupation was first baseman for Charlie & Doug Auto Service, in Norwich, Connecticut's "Jack Benny League." I had played on this team for many years, with several players having grown out of the crew at Grant City, where for a few years I was the Sporting Goods Manager. The store is gone now (company bankruptcy), but the memories of the crew linger on. After all, I met my wife there!

Before I get to the "great catch" part, I should briefly cover the few awards I ever received in my lifetime. The first were in the summer of 1962, the year after Mantle and Maris had their legendary pursuit of Babe Ruth's 60 home run record (Maris won, with 61, but is still not in the Baseball Hall of Fame!). I was one of the founders and star players of a ragged group of kids who called themselves the Whetstone Sluggers. My good friend Jim Harvey was the captain of the team, and he and I challenged each other to a home run race. Along with my cousins Bobby McLellan, Clive and Susan West, Stuart and Allan Perkins, Bobby Clemick, and the great Paul Just, we dug out a diamond in a field that belonged to fellow Whetstoner Mr. Mills. (Whetstone I should mention is a pond in central Maine.) That took up a big chunk of the first part of the summer. As our season progressed, cousin Bob suggested we keep track of batting averages, because (as he correctly realized) no one beyond Jim and myself had a shot at the home run title, as we were the oldest of the bunch.

Although these old guys are hard to read, they tell the tale of my incredible achievements in taking both the home run and batting titles. The wooden plaques were crafted by Jim's father, Lawris Harvey, one of our greatest supporters. They were presented to me at our end of summer awards ceremony. As I recall, I logged 52 homers, that crossed a fish line about 200 feet from home plate. At the time it seemed a great feat.

My next moment in the sun came in June of 1963 at my junior high graduation awards ceremony, where I took the "Excellence In History" medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution. I must admit the competition was not remarkable, as my classmates had ignored the rules of the contest, which stipulated that the essays had to cover famous events in Connecticut history. They decided to write about famous people, and were summarily disqualified. It's very possible that their essays were superior to mine (an uninspired treatise on the state's Charter Oak tree), but bottom line is I won! I also grabbed a couple of English prizes, but this great day would have to tide me through the next 8 years of my education, which were apparently not award worthy.

Okay, enough back story bragging. On to that great day in 1989 when I momentarily rose to the top of the Charlie & Doug hero list. Adding luster to the day was the fact that my parents were in the grandstand to observe my moment in the sun. Ironically, this was the one and only time they ever came to watch me play in any game. They had missed my childhood sports escapades and now had to settle for a 40 year old son obviously in the twilight of a less than spectacular softball career.
Here's a look at the team. Since I can only remember a few of the names, I will mention none.  Oh, all right, I will point out Charlie (front row, second from right) and Doug (back row, far right).

That's me: far left in the top row. Here's another shot of a younger team that features our cheerleaders.

That's  my wife, Lorie, front row, third in from the right. I am back row, second from right.
Anyway, at first base, I took note of an opposing player, a left hander, who seemed to enjoy smoking line drives down the right field line. I decided to lay in wait for him, and in the 5th inning he steamed one again, this time in foul territory. But because I was prepared, I lunged across the line and nabbed it. It was a great play, and right in front of my parents, who cheered. One of the few times in my life that I knew my father was proud of me. Here I'll re-enact my lunge for the camera.

Well, I guess you had to be there. Anyway, the game's announcer gave me some vocal praise, and he told us later that it was the finest fielding play he had ever seen. Which translated into my appearance at an end of season awards ceremony where they actually gave me a trophy that reads "outstanding fielding achievement." The other trophy was presented to each of us for our winning the Jack Benny League title. That one actually has my name on it, too. I should mention that my daughter was there to witness the award ceremony. It made the entire episode complete, with my parents there to witness the catch and my daughter there to witness my award.

Okay, that's more excitement than most of you can probably handle. I'll leave you with just one more shot of the glove that did the deed. I can barely get it on my hand today, but I will never part with it.

God bless Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who enlivened so many young boys' lives, including mine.