Out of the Past
Trotter, Medics vied for Fay-West title 41 years ago As much as we hate to admit it, that observer was very correct when he opined that sooner or later, all good things come to an end.
And so it was with baseball season awayyyyyyy back there in this week of 1965. Summer in itself is a great time of the year, with sunshine and baseball, and if nothing else suits your fancy, just enjoy the good days by being lazy.
Summer quickly enough turns into fall with football and Indian Summer days, but why rush things, let’s just enjoy for the present what we have in front of us.
When the last column ended, baseball was down to the final round of the Fay-West League playoffs, where Trotter and the Connellsville Medics were battling for top honors, Trotter holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven games finals.
Trotter then took a 3-1 lead with a 7-6 win in what could also have been called “Family Night At The Ballpark.” It was a family battle on the mound, as Casper Voithofer, pitching for Trotter, bested his cousin, Matt Voithofer, in a battle of 7-hitters, although he had to stifle a Medic rally in the last inning when they got three runs and had the tying run on third. But a fly out ended that threat.
The Medics stayed alive by winning the next game, 7-5, as John Cott pitched a 4-hitter, and fanned 11. He was in trouble only in the fourth, when Don Soberdash belted a grand slam. Tom Sankovich and Bill Witt homered for the Medics, and Cott and Joe Backa hit doubles.
Trotter then clinched the championship by winning game six, 7-1, as Bill Rosky edged Jack Osler in a battle of 5-hitters, none for extra bases. Augie Reich and Bob Brier had two hits for Trotter. Three runs in the first put Trotter up for good, coming on hits by Reich and Bob Flockvich, around a walk and an error.
Trotter had a young right fielder on that championship team who’s still a pretty good hitter, only today he does it with a political bat, Senator Richard Kasunic.
John Migyanko, of Uniontown, R.D. 3, was elected president of the newly-chartered Fayette-Yough Valley Chapter of PIAA Football Officials. Ray Renninger, Uniontown, was elected vice-president; Disey E. Simon, Uniontown, secretary-treasurer, and booking agent; Tony Grimaldi, Connellsville, and Warren Bailey, Fairchance, board of control members; and Ed Spotts, Connellsville, rules interpreter.
Other charter members of the new group included Mike Kmetz, Fairchance; Lindsey E. Bierer Jr., Nick Bubonovich Jr., Gene Holub, Bucky Jenkins, Tamer Joseph, Jerry Spellman, and Ronald Williams, all of Uniontown; Wally Cable, Billy Dugan, Larry Metsger, and Herman Welsh, of Connellsville; Charles Slick and John Daley, Brownsville; John Egidi, Masontown; Ted Nypaver, Rices Landing, and Tony Russo, Newell.
Elsewhere in sports that week:
-Tommy Byrne shot a 54-hole card of 77-74-71-222, and won his third consecutive Junior Championship at Uniontown Country Club. Butch Ruby was second with 80-78-74-232. Davis Fox shot 93-87-93-273 to win the First Flight, over Steve Mullen, 90-101-91-282.
-George Bednar, Myron Myrga, and Mickey Mucci have been named assistant football coaches at Frazier High. Jim Newmyer was earlier named new head coach, succeeding Don Mains, who accepted a similar post at Ford City.
-Russ Lopez, Morgantown, W. Va., and teacher the last three years at Waynesburg High School, has been hired as physical education teacher, and head football and basketball coach, at Point Marion Junior High.
-Jack Trump, Connellsville, defeated Joe Krock, Uniontown, 6-1 and 8-6, to reach the singles finals of the Morgantown, W. Va., Open Tennis Tournament. Trump then teamed with Allen Welsh, tennis coach at California State, to defeat Jim Bird and Bob Smith, of Morgantown, 6-1, 6-3, in their doubles semi-final set.
Trump then beat Jack Dorsey, of Wheeling, W. Va., 4-6, 6-3, 9-7, to win the singles championship, the first time in the tournament that he had to go three sets. Trump was unseeded coming into the event, and battled his way up through the ranks to win it all.
Because of the time needed for the singles, the doubles final match for Trump and Welsh was postponed until the weekend.
-Juan Marichal, of the San Francisco Giants, was set down for nine days and fined $1750 for hitting LA Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. The fracas stemmed from Roseboro nicking Marichal with a throw back to pitcher Sandy Koufax.
-Would you believe! The Pirates collected 26 hits in one day – one day – and moved up to fifth place, just 41/2 games out of first, with a doubleheader sweep of the Giants, 8-0 and 6-5. Bill Mazeroski had six consecutive hits in the two games. As Perry Como sang, “Dream along with me…..”
Jim Kriek is a Herald-Standard correspondent