HISTORIAN’S CORNER

PHELPS HISTORY

WE HAD A 'BALL'
BY FRED GIFFORD

      We are truly sorry if you missed out on a thrilling evening at last Tuesday's meeting ( April 19th, 2005) of the Clifton Springs Historical Society held at the library. President, George Mueller invited area baseball players of "yesterday" to a fun evening and to recall for all of us those special days when BASEBALL was king.
      Many of the small villages of the Finger Lakes Area (including ours) had teams of players who weekly put on a show for the locals the like of which we do not see today. Representatives from Manchester, Shortsville, Clifton Springs, Phelps and Naples, to name a few, showed up for the Tuesday meeting. The conference room where the meeting was held was filled with nearly 60 people. A fine number of these were "old" players of yesterday and they were supported by many of us who lived in that era when the game of baseball was the king of sports!
      Present was Timothy D. Munn who brought with him copies of the book, which he and Matthew F. Vitticore recently wrote entitled, "From Backyards to Big Leagues; Baseball in Ontario County 1850-2004" The book is a treasure trove of area baseball history and includes hundreds of photos. The book sells for $34.50 and is available for sale at the Canandaigua Historical Society or can be ordered though the Clifton Springs Historical Society.
      The evening began with a short introduction by society president, George Mueller but he quickly turned it over to spokesman for the evening, Harry Reals. Harry was a favorite Clifton Springs pitcher and highly respected by his fellow players. One old team member present was quick to report that, "Harry had a wicked curve ball and if he faced you at bat, you had your work cut out for you!"
      In those days there was a baseball game most every Sunday afternoon. For a time Sunday playing was in question as Clifton Springs Historian, Jim Conners found out in a local 1934 paper. The article read as follows: " Let us not sell out our souls and the peace of our beautiful village to those who would rob us of some of the very best things we possess. What will Sunday baseball profit us? Noise? Drunks? Confusion? We must vote against this sort of thing!" However, baseball won out. Shortly thereafter, a village vote was taken showing there were 412 willing to allow it on Sunday, 124 against and 36 voters abstained. The people had indeed spoken, and the public was the winner of some fine entertainment.
      The home teams used the park area just over the sulphur creek near the old Sanitarium boiler house. This is now known as John Brown Memorial Park. John was a center at many sporting events and dedicated many hours to the game. Visiting teams were sometimes surprised when during a game, the old boiler house let off its excess pressure of steam. A solid white head of steam would screech from the building and the visitors might well have thought they were headed to lands down-under for awhile.
      One of the local Merchants Teams of 1948 included players such as Ed. Walters, George Reals, Vern Powell, Bill Curran, Don Smith, Bob Bremer, George Doherty, Foster Englehart, Jack Driscoll, Eddie DeWeaver, Everett "Fats" Grimsley and Dick Devereaux.
      Harry Reals had several stories to tell and he was joined by some of the area baseball players of yesterday like the Jones Brothers (Tom & Al) of the old Aloquin Team of Hopewell. Coach, Joe Pitcher described some of the fine times his teams had playing baseball. Missed were many of the players of yesterday who are no longer with us but their presence was felt anew.
      In high school the game of baseball was always a favorite and our local citizens turned out to see them play. One very successful group was the team of 1952, which went all the way to the sectionals held in Redwing Stadium in Rochester. There they won the Section 5 Championship. Attached to this article is a photo of these winners of 1952. (Back row - l to r) William Landschoot, John Griswold, Donald Cummings, Leo Schmitt, James Phillips, Richard Love, Robert Lee, William Eikner and Don Ostrander. (Front row-l to r) Richard DeCook, Jay Olschewske, Charles DeCook, Richard Button, August Landschoot, Harry Reals, & Coach George Doherty.
      It was indeed a WONDERFUL EVENING and enjoyed by all who took the time to attend this special meeting of the Clifton Springs Historical Society. I won't list all the old baseball players who attended, for I am sure to leave someone out, and I don't want to do that. Each of them was an important part of the entire team in which they played and friendships were made that have lasted a lifetime. What a thrill it would be today if we could again look forward to those special games held on our local fields.
      We of the local historical society hope to bring you many more such programs of local and area interest. WE NEED THE SUPPORT OF YOU THE PUBLIC and urge as many of you as possible to consider joining our Clifton Springs Historical Society. The fees are low: Single, $10 and Families are $20 per calendar year. Business members are especially needed at the yearly fee of $50 or more. Send your requests to P.O. Box 112, Clifton Springs, NY 14432-0112. We will appreciate your efforts to help us keep, preserve and expand our rich history by joining!.

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