The '51 Rocks

by Matt Musson

  As a matter of fact, I read in Grit or Boy's Life or somewhere, that with his incredible eyesight and Batter's reflexes, Ted Williams was a natural born fighter pilot. The article said that Ted Williams was the best hitter in the whole world and was also the best fighter pilot in the whole world.

  The writer also said Ted Williams might be the best fly fisherman in the whole wide world. But, as far as I know they don't make bubblegum cards with pictures of fly fishermen, so I don't guess that really makes no never mind.

  The point that I am trying to make is that some of the best ball players in America had to give up good years out of their short careers to go and fight. And, a lot of those boys did not come home at all, and the ones that did had surely lost a step (and maybe some toes and fingers.)

  So, here we are five years later. American baseball is finally recovering and the Commies go and start a war in Korea.

  Ain't that's just cold as a grave diggers knee?

  So, throughout the 1951 season, the Graniteers weren't just losing players to injury or to other teams, they were also getting called up to play for Uncle Sam. They had to go and fight at Moo Shu or Inchon or some other damn place.

  And, to tell the truth, I never did understand the whole Korean War.

  First we were losing. Then we were winning. Then we were losing. And, then we were sitting around some line called a parallel, talking and talking and talking. It's a hell of a way to run a railroad if you ask me. But, then nobody ever did.

  What was even more confusing is that they divided Korea up into the North and the South. And, in this war, we were fighting with the Southerners and against the damn Koreans Yankees. Miss Monahan our Social Studies teacher explained that the South had the right to secede from their Union and make their own choices without interference from them Northerners.

  Now I may be just ten years old, but I am pretty sure that we have been down this road once before, going in the opposite direction!

  So, I never did appreciate the Korean War. I often wondered if old U.S. Grant would have understood it any better than I did.

  Poor old Coach Charlie Bowels could not take it any longer. Not only did he have to face powerhouse teams like Morganton, Shelby, and Lenoir but now the Army was snatching up players he was bringing to Granite Falls.

  When our outfielder Billy Church got his draft notice, he was batting over 400! That was the straw that broke Charlie Bowels' back.

  On May 9th, 1951, Coach Bowels threw in the towel. He gave up coaching forever after his 3-10 season with Granite Falls. His last game was our 11-5 win over Lenoir, so Coach Bowels went out a winner. You have to hand it to the man. We started up poor as Job's turkey, but when he left us, he did leave some meat on the bone.

  For five days our Catcher, Ralph ‘Barny' Barnardini took over to skipper the ball club. And, his first game was that 13-9 win over Rutherford. For one brief shining moment, we had an undefeated coach. But, then Rutherford came back the next day and hammered us 23-3.

  Ralph lasted for five days, which was four games plus a double header. He gave up the reins on May 14th and his record was 1-5.

  On May 15th, Fred Dale who had coached the local mill team to the Piedmont League Championship in 1950, agreed to take over at the helm. I guess this really made sense because most of the players at that point were from that same Mill League team. And, our genuine Cuban short stop was out on the DL.

  Coach Dale had a simple strategy: get a man on base. He felt it was easier to get a walk than to get a hit. Why he hardly let the boys swing when the pitcher got behind the batter. If the count was two balls and no strikes or three and one, our boys just watched it go by.

  Coach Dale started out slow as the Graniteers lost both games of a double header to the Shelby Farmers.

  Then on May 17th, the Newton - Conover Twins came to town. The twins whipped us 12-5, even thought Jack Clark hit three home runs on four trips to the plate.

  Coach Dale got his first professional win on Friday May 18th, with an 8-2 romp over Marion at home.

  The next day we played Marion at Marion. And, when pitcher Bill Harbour allowed just seven hits and two runs, the Graniteers got their third set of back to back victories for the season.

  Lawrence Smith of the Daily Record wrote, “Under the very capable management of Fred Dale of Hickory, the Granite Falls team continues to make a strong bid for a first division berth.”

  But, then we lost 9-5 and 9-6. Both games were against Lincolnton. On May 22nd, the Graniteers record stood at 7-19.

  On Wednesday night May 23rd, we took the bus up to play the Morganton Aggies. It was the best road game we played all year.

  Jack Clark did something I never thought I ever would live to see.

  Jack got three hits on five trips to the plate and scored all three times. But, the remarkable thing is that Jack Clark stole home twice in one game!

  After that game, I was pretty sure that Jack Clark could sneak sun up past a rooster.

  When Jack stole home that second time, it was the second of three immortal moments in the Graniteers 1951 season. I thought the Morganton catcher Fred Parnell was just going to lay down and cry.

  The next night, Fred Parnell did hit an 11th inning single that drove in a run, and Morganton beat us 8-7. So, I guess Fred got a share of redemption. In a hundred game season the ball is going to take some bad hops, and you just have to let it go by.

  But, I've always wondered if Fred Parnell would sit beside the fire in his old age, feeling those two steals like a painful catch in the ribs or a broken arm that never did heal quite right.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  Chapter Eight – The Names Change but the Team Remains the Same

  On May 28, 1951, Mr. Killian announced that we were changing our name. The Daily Record reported that M.B. Killian had, “notified various officials and sports writers that the Granite Falls team will henceforth be officially known as the ‘Granite Rocks' and not the ‘Graniteers.'”

  I was never for sure why he did it. As a matter of fact, when I saw him the next afternoon before the game I asked him flat out.

  His reply was short and sweet and right to the point.

  “Marketing, my boy. Marketing.”

  Then, Mr. Killian fixed his hat, straightened his mustache, and walked off to glad hand the gathering crowd.

  So, I still had no real idea why we became ‘the Rocks' but, I sure did hope it was a change for the better.

  It did seem like things were looking up in late May, when Coach Dale signed Bennett (Radio) Jaynes. Radio was a pitcher of some renown in this area, and he started for us as soon as he got unpacked.

  On Saturday night we played Lenoir, and Radio Jaynes took the mound for the first time. He pitched like a champion and held Lenoir to just 2 runs in eight innings. Then, in the top of the ninth Radio scored from second on a single by Tank Sullivan, and we had us a tie game 2-2.

  Unfortunately, in the bottom of the ninth Radio gave up a double, followed by a single and we lost 3-2 but, ‘The Rocks' had a new name and for sure, a new pitcher.

  On May 30th we played the Shelby Farmers close, until their big catcher slammed a three run walk off. We lost 11-8.

  We were still losing but they were close games. With a little more luck we could be chalking up W's.

  On the following Saturday night, we played the Newton-Conover Twins in a game that lasted so long, before it was over our first baseman Wally Carpenter was pitching against the Twins manager, Eddie Yount. We eventually dropped the decision 17-12, but Shine and I missed those last two innings completely.

  In the top of the sixth, Shine and I were sitting in the dugout with the Rocks in the field. That's when Bronco Billy Cross came walking over and asks, “Are you two boys going to play professional baseball?”

  We both nodded, so Bronco pulls a half a chaw of tobacco out of his pocket and says, “then, here you go.”

  Shine and I were grinning like a couple of speckl
e faced puppies as we each pulled a big chunk off and started chewing like nobody's business. We knew our way around Double Bubble, and so we were determined to prove we could chew like the big leaguers.

  But, it sure did not take long for those grins to spin over. Pretty soon we were as green as the ‘bacca’ juice dribbling down our cheeks.

  Sometime in the seventh inning, I remember helping Shine out of the dugout, or maybe he was helping me.

  Anyhow, we both managed to stumble or crawl to the faucet coming out of the back corner of the building. And, between splashing down our faces and emptying our stomachs, we had no idea how the game ended up.

  After it was all over, our equipment manager, Chopper Gaines, threw us into the back of his old Ford pickup and rode us both home.

  I remember distinctly thinking Shine was as pale as the moonlight, stretched out in that pickup bed, between the shovels and rakes and bags of sand.

  The next day, he told me I was a brownish green that reminded him of the muddy Catawba River after a spring storm.

  So, our first experience with tobacco turned me brown and turned Shine white. Ain't that a hell of a note?

  But, one thing is for certain, from that day forward, we stuck to Double Bubble. And, I sure wondered why anyone would chew something that nasty that did not at least come with a baseball card.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  Chapter Nine – Building Character

  Grandpa Tooley once told me that losing builds character. If that's true, then the Rocks were surely gooder than grits, ‘cause we were losing games, losing players and losing fans.

  After that last loss to Newton-Conover, on chew-and-puke night, we even lost our manager, Fred Dale. Fred retired from coaching and moved back to Hickory to go into politics.

  Fred was the most successful manager the Rocks ever had. He finished his season 4-8, even though he never got to coach Wheaties because our little Cuban speedster was on the DL for the entire 12 games.

  Wally Carpenter, our historic homerun hitting outfielder somehow got talked into taking over the helm. And, on his first game as manager, we had Radio Jaynes on the mound and Wheaties back in the lineup.

  We got lots of hits and lots of runs – five in the sixth and six in the seventh. And, Wally won his first game as manager 16-11 over the Marion Marauders. So, Wally Carpenter started out as skipper with a one game winning streak.

  Wally's second outing was not as successful. We got beat up by Lincolnton 16-4.

  But, then we played Lenoir close. The game with the Red Sox was tied 11-11 through nine innings. Second baseman Buck Rogers was called in to pitch. He walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the tenth. The runner got to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third when our catcher bobbled the ball.

  The next batter grounded one just beyond the first baseman's glove and that was all she wrote. We lost 12-11 in the 10th.

  We lost again on the road at Rutherford on June 13th.

  Only 300 paying fans showed up when we returned home to play the Rutherford Owls again on Thursday night June 14th.

  For nine innings we fought those Owls to a standstill, and, this time it was our chance to come off winners. In the bottom of the tenth, Bill Cross nailed a single. Wheaties took off from second like a shot, and just beat out the throw to the plate.

  We poured out of the dugout onto the field and celebrated like it was V-J Day!

  Even better, after that game the fellas took off and left four cold Cokecolas in the ice box. So, Shine and I decided to hold ourselves a race before we went home that night.

  Now, you never did see anybody who could pop open a cap and chug down a Cokecola faster than Shine did on that hot summer evening. And, he was even faster with the second one. I don't even think he paused to take a breath.

  It was a wonder to behold.

  I finished my two Cokes and proceeded to beat him like a red headed step child in the burping contest that followed.

  So, if I live to be a hundred, I won’t forget that night we were victorious over the Owls on June 15th, 1951. It was our 11th W of the season.

  The next day, Saturday June 16th, the world turned upside down. The Rock's second baseman Buck Rogers started on the mound against Shelby, and our top pitcher, Radio Jaynes, came in to pinch hit.

  I don't know what Wally Carpenter was thinking, but it almost worked.

  Buck kept us close, and we went into the ninth only trailing the Farmers 3-0. Radio led off with a single and Jack Clark followed with a single. We had runners at first and third when the Farmer's hurler served up a wild pitch.

  Radio ran home and Jack Clark scampered to second base. From there Jack scored on a single by Dick Bumgarner.

  But, it was time to put out the fire and call in the dogs, because that's when our ninth inning rally died, deader than a doornail and we lost our 31st game of the season 3-2.

  On June 16th the Granite Rocks were 11 and 31.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  Chapter Ten – Surprises

  At home on Monday night June 18th, Wheaties, our genuine Cuban short stop accomplished a mighty feat. He hit for the circuit. Wheaties had a single, a double, a triple, and a home run. As a matter of fact, Wheaties drove in 4 runs which was more than the margin of victory in our 11-8 win over the Newton-Conover Twins.

  But, after Wheaties stole the show at home, we had to go back on the road. That led to five more losses in a row. As painful as they were personally, they were even harder on attendance, and without paying fans the club began taking drastic measures.

  On Sunday, June 24th we got our 13th victory of the season, when Wheaties hit a two-run homer to beat Lenoir 7-5.

  And, Radio James was sold to Statesville, NC.

  I could not believe it! We were selling our best pitcher on a club that had no pitchers and was starting outfielders on the mound. I was flabbergasted. But, there was an even bigger shock coming.

  In early July, Granite Falls sold Jack Clark to Morganton.

  That move staggered me. It was like selling the ‘Man of Steel' to Lex Luthor! Why Jack Clark was practically the heart and soul of our team. It was Jack who stole home twice in one game which was the second of the three immortal moments of the 1951 Rocks.

  Now Jack Clark was gone forever.

  I felt like little Joey Starret at the end of that movie Shane, who goes running out on the prairie shouting, “Shane! Shane! Come back, Shane!”

  But, old Shane just keeps riding off into the sunset.

  Well, we all knew that things were tight, and we knew that the Club had to make its payroll. But, I think that for me that was the next to lowest moment of the entire 1951 season.

  It’s kind of odd, but my lowest moment of the entire season would come just a few of days later.

  *************

  It was Wednesday, July 4th, and we'd just come back from a three game road trip and would be playing at home that afternoon. I was anxious to get to the stadium early to show Shine a green chameleon lizard that I traded for at the ball park in Rutherford.

  Wearing a chameleon on a string, I got to the stadium bright and early, looking for my baseball buddy.

  But, I couldn't find Shine anywhere. He was not in the dugout. He was not in the clubhouse, and he was not out on the field playing ‘flies and grounders' with Bubba or Chopper.

  Then I finally caught sight of a little colored boy up in the stands, and I figured it was Shine. He was walking back and forth covering each row of the seats. At the end of one row, he would drop down and turn around and walk the next, and every so often he would bend over pick something up.

  I decided that I would see if I could sneak up on Shine and scare the daylights out of him with my little green monster. So, I crawled up the far edge of the stadium and ducked down, waiting for him to make his way on over so I could jump out and yell, “Boo!”

  Waiting there ready to spring my trap, it finally hit me just what Shine was
doing. Shine was going through the stadium row by row looking for peanuts left by fans during our double header four days earlier against Shelby.

  Why was Shine picking up four day old peanuts? You would have to be mighty hungry to eat those old stale goobers.

  That is when the truth came over and smacked me upside the head like a wet blanket on the 4th of July.

  This was Shine's breakfast.

  At first I could not believe it. Ole Shine told me every morning of his wonderful country breakfasts. Why just a couple days before he bragged how his Momma had gotten up early and fried a whole mess of catfish in cornmeal. Shine said he had eggs sunny side up, and he dipped fried catfish in the yolk. He had my mouth watering, and I could almost taste that runny yellow egg on the crisp brown fish.

  It had all been a fib. I laid there wondering how many other times Shine got here early to eat leftover peanuts before he spun me those wonderful tales of imaginary breakfast feasts.

  Careful not to be seen or heard, I slinked off around the back of the Granite Falls Baseball Stadium and ran all the way home.

  For me, that was the lowest baseball moment of the entire 1951 season.

  *************

  About half an hour later, I came running back to the stadium sporting my Roy Rogers lunchbox filled up with two ham and cheese sandwiches and a thermos of ice cold milk. I found Shine in the clubhouse rubbing dirt off the player’s cleats with a stiff brush. Shine was smiling and singing and his little brown hands were brushing back and forth beating ‘eight to the bar.'

  I greeted him the same way I did every day.

  “Hey Shine. What did you have for breakfast this morning? “

  “Bacon and brown gravy,” Shine replied with a smile. “I had bacon and brown gravy on white bread with grits. The bacon was crisp and the gravy was thick and salty with just a hint of sweet. And, I had a big ole bowl of buttered grits with pepper and some toasted bread that Momma made fresh last night.”

  He snapped his shine rag.

  “It was the best most wonderful thing that ever touched my tongue. Why I'm so full I couldn't eat a bite if pecan pies were a penny, and I was a millionaire!”