RE
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By JOHN HOINSKI
Staff Writer
The easiest way to gauge the success of an
organization is by the number of people who want to
get in on it. So, if you want to measure how successful
Little League Baseball has been, consider that its
participants can no longer exclusively be called, ‘The
Boys of Summer.’
Once considered a sacrilege to have girls play in a
little boys game, Little League baseball has expanded
to include all children, and not just for the sake of
playing the game which has come to be known as our
national pastime.
foul lines and prepares youngsters for the competition
they will face later on in all phases of life.
“I try to put across a number of things to my
teams,” said Len Dorrance, who has been a manager
with the Back Mountain Baseball Organization for two
years. “The first thing I teach them is sportsmanship.
Whether they win or lose, the first thing I tell them to
do is to go over and shake hands with the players from
the other team.
“We put across to them that you can’t win all the
time,” Dorrance added. “You give it your best, but
you're not going to win every time. In life, everybody
experiences victory and defeats, and I'm not just
talking about baseball. You experience that on all
levels so we try and instill that at an early age.”
Charlotte Slocum, who had been involved in Little
League for 15 years and who now coaches the
Misericordia women’s softball team, also trys to instill
a humanitarian attitude.
“We teach them fundamentals, fair play, leadership
and personal pride,’”’ Slocum explained. ‘And there
are two big things we try and stress. First, we teach
them to be competitive and to be a good sport. We
expect them to put out 100 percent effort, but we also
expect them to act like ladies, too. I’m sure there are
fimes when they get caught up in the emotion and
express their anger, but that’s something we don’t
tolerate.
“Secondly, they must have discipline,” Slocum
added. ‘‘But you have to gear it to their age level. You
can’t expect a person to do more than they are
capable of.” And that goes for coaches as well. You
can’t have someone there who doesn’t know the game
or you're defeating your whole purpose.”
Judging by the history of the Back Mountain Little
League, players and coaches have proven they are
among the most competitive in the valley.
In addition to a number of district titles, the BMLL
boys also captured a state title in 1962 under the
coaching of Jack Bestwick and Bill Sponseller before
being eliminated by Pitman, New Jersey, in the
Eastern Regionals in Massachusetts.
In 1979, the Back Mountain Nationals won the
Northern Tier title, only to be stopped by York 2-1.
Most recently, in 1984, the Nationals again fielded a
superb team, going 7-0 in All-Star competition. They
were defeated, however, by eventual state champ
Milton in sectionals.
To their credit, the girls have also had a lot to brag
about and have earned a reputation over the last six
or seven years as one of the finest teams in the
district.
In fact, the girls have claimed five D-16 flags in the
past six years. Last year the Back Mountain Nationals
Girls Softball team barreled over the competition
before they dropped a 5-3 decision at Shippensburg in
sectional ‘play. In 1984 they proved to be the class of
the valley, once again, advancing to sectionals where
their own mistakes played a major part in a 4-3 loss to
West Union from Mifflinburg.
But, one of the finest moments for the BMLL came
in 1984 when both the boys and girls claimed district
titles on the same day. And they did it in style when
Todd Sallo and Beth Finn both hurled no-hitters to
defeat Nanticoke, 6-0 and Mountaintop, 11-0, respec-
tively.
The organization, which has been chartered since
1950, will open its 1986 season on April 26.
oh
Best foot forward
Field.
Surviving
the fitness
crunch
I usually flee from commitment.
When I hear that someone I know
has gotten married, I say, with a
sneer, ‘Good for him, the poor
sucker. Better him than me.”
When it comes time for New
Year’s resolutions, the most ambi-
tious I get is when I resolve to be
around for next New Year’s eve, or
that I won’t miss last call for the
rest of the year.
So, when I found myself sitting in
my car at Kirby Park on the first
day of spring, watching well-heeled
joggers going through the motions
and thinking seriously about joining
them, I knew this was a turning
point in my life and that I ought to
take careful note.
That I had become doughy in the
mimddle was only too Kindly
pointed out to me by my siblings.
Younger brothers and sisters can be
terribly cruel, especially when they
are practicing cutting remarks that
will carry them through adulthood.
With the thought of the latest
assault on my pride still making
pieces of my ego, I resolved, and
the right word is ‘resolved’ to hit
the cinders as soon as I finished the
beer I was drinking.
As I was thinking and drinking, I
grew indignant about my lot. Who
started this insanity that cajoles
perfectly normal mothers to run
upon muddy cinder tracks in 20
degree weather?
What makes young overweight
Yankee overachievers (yoyos for
by-pass?
What ever happened to the strong
silent types, the ones that smoked
and drank and got all the women?
Did Humphrey Bogart ever run a
mile in his life? Can you picture
John Wayne, Clark Gable and
Robert Mitchum doing windsprints?
I can’t!
That was it. I decided then that
the physical fitness craze we are in
the middle of is nothing more than a
nasty plot to make every one of us
conform to some one else’s twisted
idea of what should be what; and
furthermore, that I didn’t care how
many health-spa, fitness-machine,
diet-pill-low-calorie-frozen-food com-
mercials I had to endure, I would
not be corrupted.
I knew that the course I had
selected was frought with untold
peril and unspeakable ridicule. But,
darn it, it was for my country, and
it was worth it.
As I drove out of Kirby Park that
(See ROGERS, page 12)
N
Dallas Post/Ed Ce
Eyes straight
Tommy Adams isn’t about to
take his eyes off the ball as
he prepares to snag a flyball
during tryouts for the Back
Mountain Baseball Organiza-
tion held Saturday at the
Back Mountain Little League
Field.
SUPPORT THOSE
THAT ADVERTISE
IN
THE DALLAS POST
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
+ Staff Correspondent
It was 38 years ago that the
newly-elected president of Back
Mountain Baseball, Inc. became
interested in Little League — an
interest he never lost. |
In 1948, George Poynton, cur-
rent president of Back Mountain
Baseball, Inc. got his first taste
of Little League when he became
a playing member of the first
Shavertown Little League team -
the Shavertown Shavers.
His dad, Cecil G. Poynton,
Laing Coolbaugh and Bill
Thomas were three adult volun-
teers Poynton remembers as
being in charge of the team. He
is not sure whether they desig-
nated themselves as coaches and
assistants or coach, assistant
coach and manager, but Poynton
remembers that the three men
~taught the younger boys the
important basics of playing as a
team.
Among those he remembers as
being members of the team are
Lee Eckert, Bill Thomas, Peter
Lukasavage, Ray Balut, Steve
Balut, and maybe (he’s not sure)
Ralph Ell, also John Baur.
Poynton very definitely
remembers that at that time
their uniform consisted of only a
cap and a tee shirt with the
name in flock letters on the back
of the shirt.
“We were real proud of those
caps and shirts,” he said.
George Poynton pitched for
that first Shavertown team which
played its games on the former
Kingston Township High School
field, now the field adjacent to
Westmoreland Elementary
School. It was the high school’s
field at the time and the Little
League merely shortened the
base distance and the outer limit
of the outfield for their games.
Practices? Most of their prac-
tices were pickup field games
anywhere in the neighborhood.
‘““We rode our bikes,” said
Poynton. ‘‘Between Dallas and
Shavertown and wherever there
were enough kids around, we’d
stop and have a ‘scrimmage’
game. It gave us a lot of prac-
tice.”
Poynton is not certain of the
exact number of teams in Little
League at that time, but he
believes there were teams in
Shavertown, Fernbrook, Dallas
Dairy, Lehman, Trucksville and
Westmoreland. Later, these
teams became the Dodgers,
Giants, Tigers, Yankees, Orioles
and Indians.
In 1950, the Little League field
was moved to the site where
Burger King is now located. The
Wilkes-Barre Barons’ ground-
skeepers came out to take care
of the new field on a volunteer
basis and were helped by several
adult volunteers from the Back
Mountain including Charles
Steinhauer, now moved from this
area.
Poynton was a fast ball pitcher
and many of the players he faced
were unable to hit his pitches.
Seldom were they able to put the
ball out of the infield. He played
on the team one year because of
the limit on age. Because there
was no Teeners team at that
time, Poynton was unable to play
until he reached high school
where he played as both a junior
and senior high student. Around
that same time, he became a
member of the American Legion
team which played during the
summer months.
Following graduation from
high school, George Poynton
enlisted in the U.S. Navy where
he served for two years. After he
was discharged, he returned
home and pitched for the Jenks
team in the then Bi-County
League. ;
George Poynton married the
former Margaret Weigel and, for
a number of years after that,
although he did not lose interest
in Little League activities, had
little interest to become involved
since his two older daughters
were not interested in playing on
a softball team.
It was not until his youngest
daughter, Laura, said to him one
day, “Dad, I want to go out for
Little League.”
“Okay, I'll find out who is
coaching a softball team,”
George told his daughter. ‘No,
said Laura. “I want to play
hardball.”
That was the new beginning.
The first year out, Laura played
on the Dallas Reds Minor League
team. The second year, George
Poynton took over as coach of
the team and Laura remained as
a member of the team until she
was 12 years of age in 1984. In
1983, the Dallas Reds won the
Minor League title, a feat in
which Laura played a key role.
Since that time, Poynton has
become increasingly involved in
the hardball teams until this
year when he was elected presi-
dent of Back Mountain Baseball
Inc., succeeding former presi-
dent Frank Joyce. It was Joyce
whom Poynton credits for influ-
encing his (Poynton’s) involve-
ment in the league activities.
Prior to becoming president,
Poynton served as safety officer
for two years, in charge of insur-
ance and making certain all
members abide by the rules. He
also umpired in the Minor
League last season.
While coaching the Dallas
Reds, Poynton also spent hours
Rygiel Studio photo
and hours with his daughter out-
side of the league, teaching her
how to pitch, catch and hit.
He enjoyed coaching the team
because he had the full support
of the entire families of the team
members.
“Parents’ support is a key
factor in the success of the team,
both at team practice and at
games as well as at home,” said
Poynton. “It is important that
the parents support the coaches
and managers as well as the
kids. This year, parental support
is crucial if managers and other
officials are to be successful.
Fewer kids are signing up and
parents need to encourage them
to get out to register.”
As president of the Back Moun-
tain Baseball Inc., Poynton is
responsible for a correct inter-
pretation. of communication
between Williamsport (sport
headquarters) and the local
board of directors, and making
recommendations for running the
league successfully. He is also
responsible for all coaches, man-
agers and adult volunteers.
By STEVE SVETOVICH
Special to The Dallas Post
We have a good enough club to be
competitive and be a contender. If
‘we can get some consistency out of
our pitching staff, I think we’ll be a
contender all year long,” observed
Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach
Claude Osteen during a recent visit
to the first Steamtown Coaches
Clinic at the Hilton at Lackawanna
Station in Scranton.
Osteen, a crafty lefthander, won
196 games and lost 195 in his 18 year
career in the Big Leagues. He spent
nine of those seasons with the Los
Angeles Dodgers where he won 147
games while losing 126. He fash-
ioned a 3.30 career ERA and won 20
games in 1969 and 1972.
Osteen, the Phils’ pitching coach
for the past five years feels that the
Phillies starting rotation is not quite
set. “We have some puzzles to solve
in spring training with our starting
pitching,” he said. “We need one
more starter and possibly two,
depending on what Steve Carlton
does.”
Osteen talked about the Phillies
off-season trades in which they
acquired outfielder Gary Redus and
relief pitcher Tom Hume from the
Cincinnati Reds for starting pitcher
John Denny, and relief pitcher
Steve Bedrosian and centerfielder
Milt Thompson from the Atlanta
Braves for catcher Ozzie Virgil.
“We did add to our ballclub by
getting a good short man in Bedro-
sian and a couple of good players in
Redus and Thompson. The potential
for these guys adding to our offen-
sive destiny is great.”
The 46-year old Osteen also com-
mented on the controversial trade of
popular catcher Ozzie Virgil.
“The biggest chance our club has
taken is giving up Ozzie Virgil. I
question whether Darren Daulton
can catch a full season. He’s never
done that. There’s no question we’re
going to miss Virgil’s 19 home-runs.
I don’t thkk Daulton can replace
that, at least not right away. Our
other catcher, John Russell has
power, but he must learn the strike
zone.”
On the condition of Steve Carlton:
“The biggest thing that happened to
Carlton last year is being able to get
back and get a couple of starts
under his belt after his injury. It
wasn’t the results we were looking
for in terms of winning or losing as
it was in giving him peace of mind
in knowing that his shoulder was
okay. I think he found that out.
Knowing “Lefty” the way I know
him, I think he’ll be fired up and
ready to go this year. I don’t think
you’ll see a power Steve Carlton by
any means, but this guy can still
piteh...and still win.”
The Phillies’ starting rotation
going into the season consists of
Carlton, Shane Rawley, Charles
Hudson, and Kevin Gross. Gross
quietly emerged as the club’s stop-
per last year.
“Kevin worked hard last year,”
n said. ‘“We spent a lot of
hours in the bullpen working and
talking. He has some bad habits and
tags hung on him in the minor
leagues. He’s always had the stuff
and the pitches. He’ll continue to
improve. He’s already good. I'm
looking for big things from him this
year,” the polite Osteen revealed.
Osteen’ began his big league
career in 1957 with the Cincinnati
Reds, but pitched in only 26 games
for them in 1957,-59-60-61. He was
traded to the Washington Senators
in 1961 and won his first big league
game that season. He toiled there
until he was traded to the Dodgers
in 1965 after going 15-13 in the 1964
season.
(Steve Svetovich, a resident of
Scranton, is a freelance writer.)
. Boys and Girls Little League
Hardball and Girls Softball will hold
final tryouts on Saturday, April 5
(raindate April 6).
Hardball-Dallas, Shavertown and
Trucksville hardball tryouts will be
held at the complex on the upper
fields at East Center Hill Road and
Church St. Any player wishing to
move-up must attend at least one
tryout and all 10, 11 and 12 year olds
not on a major league roster must
tryout this year.
Players 12 years old report at 9
a.m., 11 years at 10 a.m., 10 years
at 11 a.m. 9 years at 1 p.m. and 8
year olds at 2 p.m. In case of rain,
12’s report the following day at 1
p.m., 1I’s at 2, 10’s at 3 and 8’s and
9’s at 4 p.m.
Hardball-Lehman area, tryouts
will take place on same date as
above at the Lehman Junior High
with 12’s and 11’s reporting at 10
53
ed
a.m. and 10’s, 9’s, and 8’s at 11 a.m.
(Raindate) 12 and 11’s report the
following day at 1 p.m. and others
report at 2 p.m.
Girls Softball-All girls softball
players, except Lehman 9 to 12
years old, report to Dallas Junior
High on the same date at 10 a.m.
Lehman 9 to 12’s report to Lehman
Senior High at 10 a.m. on same
date. (Raindate) All girls. report to
their fields the following day at 1
p.m.