One Shot at Forever (37 page)
Chapter 13
The Stonington field, where the Mt. Zion game was played, may well have been the worst in the area. There was no fence or infield grass, just a backstop opening onto a big swath of rocky dirt. Since the field was originally an elementary school, the little grass that did exist in right field quickly gave way to the concrete of a basketball court. As a result, right fielders learned to pack tennis shoes rather than spikes.
arguably his team's third-best pitcher
: The reason for “arguably” is because Neighbors remains resolute in stating that Gary Jones gave him the best chance to win, even if he wasn't the most talented pitcher on the team. Relevant to the situation: The last time Mt. Zion faced Shartzer they'd teed off on him. (The thirteen runs, allowed on a day when the wind was gusting out, were the most Shartzer gave up in any game in his high school career.)
In retrospect, the decision appears easy, however. Gary Jones was a decent high school pitcher, but Jeff Brueggemann went on to be drafted by the Minnesota Twins, played Double-A ball against Snitker, and rose as high as Triple-A with the Toledo Mud Hens. He then became a minor league general manager, followed by a big league scout, and now works as an MLB envoy.
Then again, Neighbors went on to success himself. In the years that followed, Neighbors would build Mt Zion into a dominant program. When he retired twenty-nine years later, it was as the eighth-winningest coach in Illinois high school history.
routing Decatur Eisenhower
: This was a monumental upset at the time, especially considering Eisenhower had beaten MacArthur. Coming into that game, MacArthur was undefeated, having destroyed city competition all year. Knowing his team needed an advantage, the Eisenhower coach had employed a novel strategy. Before the game, he gathered his players. “Boys, we're going to do something different,” he had said. “I want the first four of you to lay down bunts.” To the players' surprise, it worked. Four drag bunts later Eisenhower was on the board. The bunts both set the tone for the game and provided the winning margin when Eisenhower pulled it out 6â5.
After besting a program like MacArthur, the Eisenhower players weren't worried about Macon. That week, starting shortstop Jack Zimmer ran into two players from the 1962 state champion team. One of them, Roe Skidmore, had been called up by the Cubs just the year before (and would finish his MLB career with one of the most unusual stat lines in baseball history: one at-bat, one hit). “Keep that Eisenhower tradition going,” Skidmore told Zimmer. “Don't let that little school beat you.” Not that the Eisenhower players were cowed. “Looks like we're playing a bunch of women today,” Zimmer remembers a teammate saying on the day of the game. “They can't be as good as they're touted to be. They're probably smoking pot between innings”
the star catcher they came to see
: The background on Mt. Pulaski comes from interviews with John Jaggi and news clippings
The stories about Scott Taylor and his father are from interviews with Scott Taylor, who still treasures those memories. As for Bob Taylor, he was so enamored of the Ironmen players that once, upon receiving World Series tickets, he chose to bring Steve Shartzer instead of his own son.
Chapter 14
this was the Macon High Prom
: Jane Nelson kept an impressive scrap-book from the prom, and much of what is in the book comes from her. The Macon High yearbook was also helpful.
“Mod Squad Bids for State”
: the funny thing about this story is that the photo the
Herald & Review
chose to run to accompany it was of Dale Otta. Now, not only was Otta perhaps the least “mod” of the Ironmen but the photo the
Herald & Review
used was from the 1968 Macon High yearbook, when Otta was a freshman and sported short, well-combed hair and a buttoned-up shirt. He looked about as mod as Howdy Doody.
Champaign Central boasted
: The description of the school comes from news clips and the current athletic director at Champaign Central.
The background
on Lynn Sweet Senior comes from Lynn Junior, Jeanne Sweet, and their archives, which include photos, letters, and other mementos. The details of his military service come from the National Archives and Records Administration, based on information releasable under the Freedom of Information Act. The description of the Battle of the Bulge comes from Sweet's family and friends, including Fred Schooley, and may well have been embellished over time, as such tales are.
The story about playing snow football comes from interviews with Sweet and Schooley, the latter of whom has a particularly vivid memory of the experience. As he says, “Sarge came out and was running through fucking everybody.”
The description of McClard, and his thought process, comes from his wife, Vi, who has very fond memories of Macon, and now considers their time in the town perhaps the happiest of their lives.
Chapter 15
The Bloomington game description comes from interviews with Sweet; the Ironmen players (especially John Heneberry, who tells delightful, drawn-out versions of the key plays); Jack Heneberry; and a surprising number of newspaper stories (Spahn slumping on the bench is from one, for example). There are different recollections about the exact timing and number of bats procured during the bat run to Bailey & Himes, but in this case I've relied primarily on Sam Trusner's recollection, as he was the one making the bat run.
He'd forgotten to cover the base:
This oversight, coupled with a few others, were what inspired Sweet to have Fred Schooley come down to Macon the following weekend and provide a two-hour clinic for the boys on where to throw and which base to cover in a number of situations.
“You got any of more those heart pills?”
: This wonderful anecdote comes from Jack Heneberry.
fractured a bone
: There are varying accounts of Steve's injury. Dislocation is what was reported in the
Herald & Review
, but I read and heard other descriptionsâmost commonly a fractured wrist. Shartzer clearly didn't bother himself much with the terminology; he says he assumed it was broken. Forty years later, he says the wrist still aches at times, no doubt in part because it was never properly treated.
Chapter 16
The description of Macon's reaction at the start of this chapter and the next is based on a number of recollections, including everyone from Jack Stringer to Diane Tomlinson to Carl Poelker. Those who were particularly helpful included Dale Otta (whose mom used to take him out to follow the fire trucks) and Jane Nelson. As for Schley's wifeâthe one with “diarrhea”âwhile attending the game she had her picture taken by one of the
Herald & Review
photographers, whereupon she leapt up and pleaded with the photographer not to run the photo, lest her cover be blown.
J
UMER's
C
ASTLE
L
ODGE
: Descriptions of Jumer's are based on the memories of the players as well as media accounts, in particular those in the Peoria
Journal Star
and on the Bradley University website.
Seven baseball teams gathered
: Media coverage of the state tournament was such that there were two stories about just the banquet alone. Most useful was John Peterson's “Lane Tech Heavy Favorite” in the Peoria
Journal Star
on June 2, 1971. This also provided the tournament poll numbers.
welcome banquet was only
: This and subsequent descriptions of the tournament events and atmosphere are from numerous newspaper stories, as well as from Sweet and others who were there. One story that was particularly useful was “Lane Tech Will Tie Baseball Meet Mark” in the Peoria
Journal Star
on June 1, 1971, written by the Chicago Tribune News Service.
“Macon and Nashville, opponents this morning
⦔ This excerpt is from “Macon Players Supremely Confident” by Joe Cook, which originally ran in the Decatur
Herald & Review
on Thursday, June 3, 1971.
1971 State Tournament Poll by Illinois Sports Writers
: This poll originally ran in the Peoria
Journal Star
on Thursday, June 3, 1971, in an article by John Peterson entitled “Lane Tech Heavy Favorite in Pre-Tourney Poll.”
official tournament program
: Both Sweet and Otta were kind enough to share copies of the program.
twenty-two from major league teams
: This and other descriptions of the scouts are from a pair of stories by Phil Theobald of the Peoria
Journal Star
.
Dick Snitker lay propped in his hospital bed
: This scene was necessarily re-created, since Dick has passed away. It is based on Brian and Angela Snitker's recollection and best estimate of what happened at the hospital. The timing (11:30
A.M
.) is based on the two-hour duration of the game recorded in box scores. Dick Snitker would go on to listen to the rest of the tournament games from the hospital.
“for a press conference”: This description of the presser comes from Joe Cook and Fallstrom, as well as from Sweet and Trusner. The quotes are from the newspaper stories that ran in the wake of the interview session. One analogy I didn't include came from E. W. Hesee of the
News-Gazette
, who compared Sweet to “a youthful Mark Twain.”
Chapter 17
The background on Lane Tech comes primarily from the school's impressive website. I also drew from interviews with members of the 1971 team, news stories, and a visit to the school. Descriptions of making the team are from the players, as are the Papciak anecdotes. Tom Jennings, the coach at Lakeview High, is one of those who was subjected to Papciak's griping. Jennings remembers how Papciak was “always complaining even though he'd suit up twenty guys for varsity and have another twenty-five up in the stands, any of which would have started for me.” When Papciak would start in about Tech's practice conditions, Jennings wanted to tell him what it was like to have your players walk dozens of blocks to practice every day.
“Many high school coaches try to imitate Lombardi.”
This excerpt is from “Sweet Ignores Coaching Rules,” which originally ran in Bob Fallstrom's “Once Over Lightly” column in the Decatur
Herald & Review
on June 4, 1971. Courtesy of the Decatur
Herald & Review
.
Chapter 18
The description of the Macon fans who traveled to the game comes from interviews with a number of those on hand, in particular Jane Nelson and Scott Taylor, as well as photos from the tournament. The official game count, as recorded in the papers, was 1,971. Those who stayed in Macon on that day describe it as a “ghost town.”
senior named Cliff Brown
: Brown was known as a superfan at Macon, and many spoke highly of him. He also appears to have been something of a class jester. Here is the senior statement he made in
The Ironmen Scene
upon graduating: “After graduation I plan to grow my hair long and become a hippie. Then I will start on drugs and blow my mind. After I have done this I will fight the draft. This will be great, because everyone thinks I like the Army and I am a clean cut kid.”
The description of the Lane Tech game is based on interviews with Sweet, the Ironmen players, the Lane Tech players, Joe Cook, Bob Fallstrom, and others, as well as numerous newspaper accounts.
Chapter 19
no one was better prepared
: The subsequent description of the Waukegan team and its approach in general, as well as in the final, comes from interviews with Joe Mirretti and Mike Uremovich, as well as dozens of newspaper accounts. In the end, Uremovich was named the tournament MVP, but he struggled with the game just like Shartzer and Wronkiewicz. He was drafted in the second round of the MLB draft in 1971 by the Minnesota Twins but was eventually cut after six years in the minors. Uremovich never gave up, thoughâat one point he showed up unannounced in the office of Charlie Finley, the owner of the Oakland A's, intent on convincing him he could still play. Finley called security.
The description of the title game comes from interviews with those involved and the spectators, as well as newspaper accounts and a short, grainy video provided courtesy of Chris Collins. Of particular interest among the newspaper stories were the number of classic photos that ran in the Decatur
Herald & Review
that Saturday, including a wonderful one of the Lane Tech drummer in which he looks like he's at an Allman Brothers concert.
didn't have much time to grieve
: The anecdote about Fitzhugh and “Coach Smith” comes from the Ironmen players, who were too upset at the time to find it funny but now find it hilarious. The Lakeland College coach anecdote comes from a story by Joe Cook that ran in the Decatur
Herald & Review
following the tournament.
Chapter 20
The description of McClard's reaction during graduation comes from a Joe Cook story entitled “They'll Remember Macon” in the
Herald & Review
on June
6
. The full quote: “We like to keep graduation as formal as possible,” McClard said, “but it was impossible⦠We were sitting in the gym waiting for everyone to get back. And here comes a large mass of students carrying Sweet on their shoulders. I would have been trampled to death if I had tried to stop them.”
Given a few days to ruminate upon the tourney, the media ending up deciding it absolutely loved Lynn Sweet. The
Herald & Review
ran an editorial entitled “When Losers Are Winners.” Chamberlain, the AP writer, wrote a follow-up story entitled “Coaches Relieved When Unorthodox Macon Lost.” It described the annoyance of the opposing coaches and included the following editorial passage (which was unusual for an AP story): “Actually Macon was an extremely well-disciplined team, gritty and determined. It was a group of high schoolers averaging close to B grades and eagerly pointing for college. In these days that is pretty unorthodox.”