Give the ball to Billy...

This is my second year with the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball team. At 64 years old, I'm considered a rookie on the team. Everyday, I show up for practice and I'm amazed at all the players out on the diamond...some are fielding ground balls, some are taking their turn at the plate, and some are in the outfield chasing fly balls.

Probably forty percent of them are in their 70s, another forty percent in their 80s and the balance of the "Boys at Udall" are in their 60s. There's one player who always gets my attention and he is 80-year-old Billy "Doc" Heiny. For some reason, I seem to be drawing a parallel between Doc Heiny and Billy Ray Reynolds, the main character in my fiction novel, Billy's Victory. Now, Doc Heiny is 5-foot-6 and weighs 118 pounds, while the main character in Billy's Victory stands 4-foot-8 and weighs 80 pounds, soaking wet.

And, what is so crazy, Doc Heiny started playing baseball just 12 years ago and just loves to play the game. On the other hand, Billy Ray was just starting to come into his own, in Billy's Victory, just a few months shy of his 12th birthday. Heiny also loves to pitch. He'll take to the mound every time his manager calls on him to do so. He's like the energizer bunny. He'll give you five, six, or seven innings...every time out. And he can still run! Heiny has played in more than one Diamondbacks Fantasy Camp, an event which takes place every January at Tucson Electric Park. They have a nickname for him at the camp. They call him "wheels".

"I enjoy the game and I love being around the guys," Heiny said. "I never get tired of playing." Heiny realizes that 2010 may be the last year for the fantasy camp. "I feel kind of sad about that," Heiny said. Billy "Doc" Heiny is a retired dentist, but one thing is for sure, he's finally found a sport he can stick his teeth into.

Willie McCovey...a class act

From the desk of Dan Price

I read an article recently that San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval smacked a home run into McCovey Cove on the 50th anniversary of Willie McCovey's debut with the Giants.

 McCovey spent most of his 22 Hall of Fame seasons with the Giants, starting in 1959 and ending in 1979. Sandoval's round-tripper jogged my memory, and I recall, as a sportswriter in 1995, I recalled interviewing a retired relief pitcher by the name of Greg "Moon" Minton. Minton also had a lengthy career in the majors. He ended his 16-year career with an ERA of 3.10 while pitching 1,130 innings and a won-loss record of 59-65. Minton retired in 1990.

I caught up with him in '95 when he had settled in Phoenix and had gone into the real estate business. At any rate, he told me this tale about McCovey and a Giants' rookie, whose name escapes me (you know, I'm a senior citizen...give me a break!). Minton said the rookie showed up in the locker room on his first day and discovered the shoes he had brought didn't conform to the Giants' standards. Of course, this unnerved the rookie. But, as the story goes, the following day, the rookie returned to the locker room, and on the bench, in front of his locker, were three pairs of shoes-all in his size, all of which conformed to the Giant's guidelines on apparel. According to Minton, the shoes came from McCovey, and it wasn't the first or the last time he had witnessed McCovey putting his teammates first.

As for McCovey, his Hall of Fame statistics are well documented. He finished his career with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBI. The hard-hitting left-handed first baseman was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

The greatest high school game I ever saw...

The greatest high school game I ever saw took place during the winter of 1996 in Mesa, Arizona. I was a young sportswriter...well not so young. I was 51 at the time.

The game involved the Chandler High School Wolves against the powerhouse Mesa Mountain View Toros. What made this game so emotional and so memorable was the fact that two months prior to the game, Chandler's football coach,Jerry Loper, one of the most well-respected football coaches in the history of Arizona prep sports and a former coach at Mesa Westwood and Tucson Amphitheater,was hit by a drunk driver and killed while he was taking game-film to a high school in Mesa.

The Wolves, sporting a 3-3 record, dedicated the remaining games on their schedule to Coach Loper and went on to win six in row to set up a showdown in the state 5A semifinals against a powerful Toros team led by Todd Heap, who is currently a star tight-end for the Baltimore Ravens.

With seconds left in regulation, the Toros were clinging to a 20-17 lead to a team most folks figured Mesa Mountain View should have put away in the first quarter. All they had to do was punt the ball and then snuff out the return.

But Yohance Scott, who went on to play for Eastern Arizona JC and the Utah Utes, ran the ball up the sideline and was thrown out of bounds. To the shock of everyone in the stands, a Toros' player on the sidelines received a penalty for coming onto the field...and to make matters worse another unsportsmanlike penalty was called...and all of sudden, the Wolves found themselves with a field goal attempt.

The game clock had run out and the game could not end on a penalty. Of course, the football sailed through the upright and overtime ensued.It then took three overtimes to decide the outcome, but Mesa Mountain View finally prevailed, 37-30, as Heap hauled in the winning catch.

All these year later and I can still recall the game as if it happened yesterday.

Kubek, Gowdy and Scully...my favorite sportscasters

Tony Kubek,72,who spent nine years roaming the infield for the New York Yankees from 1957-65 and then moved on to the announcer's booth for 24 years as a baseball analyst on television, received the Ford Frick Award on July 26 at the Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown.

Kubek was rookie of the year in 1957 and finished his career as a Yankee with a .266 batting average. Kubek, found his way to the television booth in 1966 and hooked up wih the legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy, and for a short while, teamed up, and enjoyed the down-home, say-what-you-want style of commentator Dizzy Dean.

I remember being glued to the sofa, every Saturday morning as I watched, from beginning til the end, the "Game of the Week". Dean, who won 30 games in 1934 as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, once said, "I ain't what I used to be, but who the hell is."

Kubek and Gowdy, who died in 2006 at the age of 86, are both in the Hall of Fame where they belong. As is, my favorite sportscaster of all time, Vince Scully, who is still in the booth announcing games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scully, in his 60th year with the Dodgers, has a delivery as smooth as they come. If Vince has made a mistake on the air...I sure haven't seen it. He's the man. Scully called Don Larsen's perfect game. He called Sandy Koufax's perfect game. He was on the air waves when Hank Aaron blasted his 715th home run.

If it was up to me, I would've awarded him an academy award for his portrayal of himself in the sports movie, For the Love of the Game. Born in the Bronx (in 1927), Scully is now 81, but if we're lucky...maybe...just maybe... we'll be able to turn on the TV or the radio and catch the "voice" of the Dodgers for a few more years.

AzBCA Hall of Fame baseball coach prepares for 60th year as football referee

Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame coach Cliff Myrick, 81, will take the field in September to begin his 60th season as a football referee.

Myrick, a former baseball coach at Catalina High School in Tucson (1957-1989), with a 5A state title in 1967 and a runner-up spot in 1977 to his credit, said today,in a phone interview,"It's getting harder and harder to run up and down the field, but this is the year...I'm tryin' for number 60." Myrick was inducted into the AzBCA Hall of Fame in 2000, along with, to name just a few, such names as Jim Crawford (St. David),Roy Coppinger (Coronado), Hal Eustice (Sahuaro), Bob Everett (Gilbert), Ted Fowler (Mesa) and Art Griffith (Winslow).

Myrick still keeps busy in the off-season. "I look forward once a month to our retired coaches luncheon," added Cliff. "We meet over at Randolph Park, discuss different things, and have a lot of fun. I also keep busy working out at Agua Caliente Park, doing odd jobs like cutting down palm trees and keeping the grounds clean."

The work at the park keeps Myrick in shape as he prepares for yet another season, which sometimes, takes him on the road to such places like Winkleman, Benson, or other southern Arizona burgs that light up their football field on a Friday night. Fifty-nine years and counting!

Myrick, with out a doubt, is well-known and well-respected by his peers as a baseball coach and a referee in the state of Arizona.

TOTS pitcher a legend at Hope College

Tucson Old Timers right-hander Ron Boeve, 74, spends his winters in Tucson with his wife, Sonny, and three days a week, during his brief stay in the old pueblo, you'll find the Michigan native over at Udall Park playing baseball with the TOTS.

Unfortunately, his days on the Tucson Old Timers pitching staff were cut short last January when he injured his left arm in an early-morning practice game and found himself back in Holland, Michigan awaiting surgery. "It was the rotator cuff. I won't be pitching for a while," Boeve said recently, from his home in Holland.

And that's bad news not only for the TOTS, but also for the players on his Hope College baseball team. As for the TOTS, finding hurlers who can throw with a zip on the ball...and with control to boot who are in their 70s, is a plus. Ron fit that category. Boeve, who has been the assistant baseball coach at his alma mater, Hope College, for 28 years and one of the team's batting practice pitchers, will be missed this February when the college's 2010 team heads for Florida for 10 preseason games. "We've been going down to Florida for many years," added Boeve. "We get those games in and then we head back to Holland in time to open our regular schedule."

Boeve went on to say that despite the fact his left arm is still under construction, he feels it'll be quite awhile before he takes the mound again. Ron was a baseball and football star for Hope College in 1953-55 and 1958-60. Nestled in between his college days was a three-year stint in the U.S Army with the 101st airborne division. Boeve was selected twice, as a catcher, to the All-MIAA conference team, once in 1959 and then again in 1960. He also played tight-end on the football team. All three of his children are college graduates, Sue and Craig, from Hope College and Gretchen, from American University.

As far as Ron's teammates on the TOTS are concerned, they expect to see him back at Udall Park...say in November of 2010. One thing is for sure, the TOTS will be there. The Tucson Old Timers have been taking the field every year since 1968.

Fun at the movies...what's your favorite baseball flick?

Okay, all you baseball fans out there.

What is your favorite baseball movie? It's probably not hard to figure out my top three. They're all about an aging baseball player who refuses to put his glove away and hang up his spikes...for good.

They are, in no particular order: The Natural (released in 1984), The Rookie (2002) and For the Love of the Game (1999).

Now, The Natural, stars Robert Redford who plays the mysterious Roy Hobbs who comes out of nowhere to join a major league team. Roy's new manager is Pop Fisher, played by Wilford Brimley, who said, after meeting the aging rookie for the first time, "Son, you don't start playing baseball at your age, you retire." And so the friendship between player and manager begins, followed by plenty of twists and turns as the movie heads for its dramatic conclusion.

On the other hand, you have The Rookie, which is a true story about thirty five year old Jimmy Morris (played by Dennis Quaid), a high school science teacher and baseball coach in west Texas, who discovers he can throw a ball faster (98 mph) and better than he did in his playing days when he was a 20-year old fighting for a roster spot in the minor leagues.

As for The Love of the Game, it's a fictional story about a baseball player (played by Kevin Costner) fighting "father time"...as he pushes his aging body, one last time, as he tries to do the hardest thing for a pitcher to do in baseball...throw a perfect game.

The Glory Days of Joe "Jackrabbit" Hernandez

The class of 1959 will be honored at Arizona Stadium on November 7th during the halftime show of the 2009 homecoming game -- a contest which will pit the Wildcats against the Washington State Cougars.

As far as Arizona football goes, I recall the Wildcats battled through a dismal '59 season, winning just four games. But, what I do remember very vividly... was what happened two years later. That's when a trio of backs and a crafty quarterback propelled Arizona to an 8-1-1 season and its first ever top-20 ranking. The trio of running-backs included Joe "Jackrabbit" Hernandez, Bobby Lee Thompson and Walter Mince. The QB was Arizona-bred Eddie Wilson of Chandler.

All four were drafted in the National Football League draft of 1962. Wilson played in the pros for five years. I was just 16 years old in 1961, but I'm sure it was that special season -- the Year of the Jackrabbit -- which transformed me into an Arizona Wildcat fan...forever.

By the way, Arizona tied Nebraska,14-14,in 1961 and finished the season with a 22-13 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Perfect Game

The 18th perfect game in major league baseball history occurred yesterday when White Sox hurler Mark Buehrle shutdown Tampa Bay in Chicago.

Okay, you old timers out there, can any of you recall some of the other perfect gems thrown by the superstars of the past? The first one that was documented was back in 1880... and it wasn't by Wyatt Earp. The pitcher was John Lee Richmond. The first one in the 1900s was hurled by the great Cy Young, in 1904, and the third occurred in 1908 by Addie Jones. Now, I'm pretty sure none of my readers were around for those three perfectos.

But for me, the one I remember was Don Larsen's perfect game in the fifth game of the 1956 World Series when the New York Yankee pitcher mowed down my favorite team of all time, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0. We didn't have one of those fancy TV's back then...you know the one that produced an on the screen colored peacock...ours was just the black and white variety, but it did the trick.

Oh, what I game it was! Larsen, to my dismay, handcuffed the likes of Junior Gilliam, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Sandy Amoros, Carl Furillo and Roy Campanella. The fella who took the loss was pitching great, Sal Maglie. On the otherside, could it have been any better than this? A starting Yankee lineup of Hank Bauer,Joe Collins, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Enos Slaughter, Billy Martin, Gil McDougald and Andy Carey. Mantle and Bauer drove in the only runs of the game.

I was 11 years old...my eyes were glued to the black and white screen, but for a young baseball-crazed kid, it seemed like living color.

Remember when...men's fast-pitch softball flourished in Arizona

Back in the 1960s,1970s, and 1980s, men's fastpitch softball flourished in the state of Arizona.

It was the Tucson Kings who dominated the scene over at Santa Rita Park, the center arena for fastpitch softball in those days. Standout players like Dick Griesser, Ray Judd, Cal Hodgeson, and Ned Stock took to the field nightly to lead their respective teams.

 In Phoenix, it was such teams as the Southern Truck Raiders, Hays Roofing, and a team called Seventh Avenue Auto Parts, which was fortunate enough to have a hard-throwing pitcher by the name of Jay Bob Bickford. Jay Bob was one of three hall-of-fame pitchers to take the mound in Arizona during the heyday of men's fastpitch softball; the other two were Jerry Wells and Gil Aragon.

 If you talk to an old-time fan of the game who can still remember those bygone days, he or she may argue that Wells, who pitched for Hays Roofing, was the fastest of the three hall-of-famers. Some say Wells could throw up to 100 miles an hour. Unfortunately, for the Tucson teams, it was the Phoenix-area teams that dominated the game back then. At any rate, men's fastpitch was big enough in those days to attract Eddie Feigner and the "King and his Court" to both Phoenix and Tucson.

Feigner was well known back in those days as a big promoter of the game, and it was well-documented that he could throw the white oval over 104 miles an hour. Feigner, who hailed from the Washington state area, assembled a traveling team consisting of a catcher, a first baseman, and a shortstop. The four of them traveled around the country, taking on all nine-man teams that were willing to play them in an exhibition game.

In the early 70s, Feigner and his crew showed up at Hi Corbett Field one night before a Tucson Toros game for an exhibition contest against a Tucson team called That's-A-Bargain Furniture. That's-A-Bargain was no match for Feigner, who not only threw rockets to the plate but also struck out his share of players blindfolded from second base as 5,000 fans looked on. Feigner pitched over 10,000 games in his career. He struck out a total of 141,517 batters and, at one point in his career, faced and struck out (in another exhibition) Willie Mays, Wille McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew, and Roberto Clemente. Feigner passed away in 2007.

Armen Dirtadian...still a tough draw for up and coming amateurs

Fifty-six year old Armen Dirtadian is still a tough draw when it comes to matchups in the Arizona Amateur Golf Championships.

On Wednesday it took Anthony Bagneschi of Scottsdale 17 holes before he was able to dispatch Armen, who had qualified for the third round of the 2009 Arizona Amateur after posting a two-day total of 143 (75-68).

Armen was one of 64 golfers to make it to the third round and he was just five strokes out of the lead, going into the Thursday's play at the Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa. Dirtadian, arguably one of the best all-time Tucson amateur golfers to tee up a golf ball (along with... of course, the great Dr. Ed Updegraff), won the Tucson City Amateur four times and is known for his many talents away from the golf course.

Dirtadian, a professional actor and singer, was a member of the cast of the 1950s motion picture, Desert Bloom, which starred John Voight, who portrayed a war veteran who fought off his own personal demons, while desperately holding his family together.

Do you remember when...?

Who is your favorite all-time pitcher from the University of Arizona?

There are many to choose from. Of course, closer Trevor Hoffman comes to mind, but that's a no-brainer...he's still around and in his 17th season and heading for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

But how about some oldtimers? For instance, there's Tucson's own Ed Vosberg, currently the pitching coach for the Tucson Toros, who pitched 10 years in the Majors, finishing with a 10-15 record with 233.1 innings pitched. And, how about Craig Lefferts...remember him? Lefferts broke into the big leagues in 1993 with the Chicago Cubs. Lefferts threw 1,145 innings in his career, and ended up with a record of 58 wins and 72 losses. But, being an old guy, my favorite is Don Lee. Now, there's a name from the past. Lee broke into the Majors in 1957 and hung around for nine years. Lee, who was born in Globe, Arizona, went 40-44 in his career, while pitching a total of 828.1 innings.

And, of course, there's plenty of former Wildcat position players who took the field in a Major League uniform, such as Eddie Leon (1965), Ron Hassey (1974),Terry Francona (1978),and more recently players such as Kenny Lofton and J.T Snow.

But we'll hold those stories back for another day.

Watson's performance at British Open...outstanding

Some of the radio talk shows and some of the media outlets are saying Tom Watson choked down the stretch at the 2009 British Open.

Aren't they missing the point?

What the 59-year-old Watson accomplished, despite losing to Stewart Cink in a four-hole playoff, reminds me of the 1996 sports flick, Tin Cup. Of course, it was a different story line, but Kevin Costner's character, Roy McAvoy, lost a fictional U.S. Open by going crazy on the 72nd hole by refusing to lay up and ended up with an outlandish score in front of a screaming crowd around the 18th green.

His love interest said, "Roy, years from now, they're not gonna remember who won...but they'll remember your 12."

And...that is exactly what golf fans will remember about Watson's performance last weekend.

They call him "Mr. Blue"

One of the best all around players on the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball team is 70-year-old Baxter "Chico" Bigham.

Chico can still bring it as a pitcher, play a mean shortstop and is one of the top hitters on the squad.

When Bigham is not playing ball, he is usually on the road...somewhere, umpiring high school baseball games. According to Sherry Villasenor, who is a board member for the local chapter (Tucson Umpire Association)of the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association), Chico is the cornerstone of the umpires in the southern Arizona division. "He's been an umpire for almost 30 years and he's still at it," said Villasenor. "You'll still find him traveling out of town to umpire games in such towns as Winkleman, Safford or Morenci. Whereever he's needed he'll be there."

Chico grew up in Monroe, North Carolina, but spent some of his adult years in Flint, Michigan and at one time worked for Fisher Body, making 1957 chevrolets. He even worked in Pittsburgh for a short time. "I worked the night shift all the time in Pittsburgh. I had a chance to go to Forbes Field once to see the Pirates play. We got there just in time to watch it rain. The Pirates never got to play that night...rained out." Chico, who retired from the state of Arizona after 28 years, still knocks the cover off the ball. He finished the month of June with a .692 batting average.

They call him "Blue" when he's behind the plate -- umpiring high school games. They call him the "stud" when he's performing on the field for the TOTS.

Hershel McGriff finishes 13th in Nascar race

For most of us senior citizens, the thought of getting on the interstate causes us some stress. So for a moment put yourself in a race car, bending around the first turn at the Portland International Raceway... and by the way, you are 81 years old, competing in a sanctioned NASCAR race.

Last Sunday, that is exactly what Green Valley resident Hershel McGriff was doing.

McGriff finished 13th in the race. Fifty years ago Hershel competed in over 200 races on the racing circuit. Last Sunday, McGriff broke his own record as the oldest competitor in a NASCAR sanctioned race.

Hershel is back in Green Valley attending to his mining business. McGriff is owner of Twin Buttes Properties, which is housed on a 9,000 acre spread near Green Valley. He's been in the business for 25 years. McGriff said, during a phone interview yesterday, that he'll hang up the racing gear until next year."I haven't raced for seven years, but I just had that urge to get back out there."

McGriff added that the average racer(on the circuit) is around 25 years of age. It's obvious Hershel doesn't sit around every morning and watch the birds chirp, instead he's up at five o'clock in the morning and heads for the office early. Hershel and his wife, Sherrie, spend a lot of time away from the office as well. "We take off in the motor home a couple of times a year and go to Maine to see the leaves fall,or maybe Key West, Florida," McGriff added. "We have our computers and everything we need to conduct business inside the motor home. It works out pretty well."

Chances are, that motor home will be parked outside Portland International Raceway this time next year, but Hershel won't be inside taking a snooze. He'll be rounding that first turn...chasing those 25 year olds.

Do you remember the "summer of 1962"

It was forty years ago this month when astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Seven years earlier, in my fiction novel, Billy's Victory, the main character, Billy Ray Reynolds, traveled with his grandfather to the old fishing hole on the outskirts of the town of Johnsonville,while overhead -- deep into space, astronaut John Glenn orbited the earth. It was the summer of 1962. Do you remember what you were doing on that special summer day?

book cover for Billy's Victory

Dr. Ed Updegraff visits TOTS

Dr. Ed Updegraff, arguably the best amateur golfer to ever set foot on a golf course in the state of Arizona, showed up at Udall Park last week to watch a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game.

Updegraff, a well-known urologist, is 87 years old and, of course, has been retired from his practice for quite a while now. According to his friend and golfing partner, Billy Heiny, who incidentally is 80 years young himself and pitches and catches for the Tucson Old Timers baseball team, the doctor is still swinging the golf club with authority.

"Ed is still out there shooting his age," Heiny said.

Updegraff was practically unbeatable in the 1950s. He won the state amateur in 1952, 1955, 1961 and 1969 and followed those accomplishments with a state senior amateur title in 1993 at Green Valley's Canoa Hills. Billy Heiny, who takes the links occasionally when he's not on the baseball field, still gives Updegraff a hard time about a round of golf they played together back in the 60s.

Heiny, who had a dental practice in the same building with Updegraff years ago, tells a golf tale about the time he shot a 71 at the Tucson Country Club to edge his friend by a stroke. "I always bring that one up," says Heiny, jokingly.

Clarence Fieber

Clarence Fieber, the oldest player on the Tucson Old Timers baseball team, celebrated his 89th birthday last week. Fieber's favorite position, believe it or not, is catcher and three days a week at Udall Park, he straps on the gear and takes his spot behind home plate.

Clarence has played for the TOTS every year since 1983. Clarence was a dairy farmer back in Wisconsin and started playing baseball in 1931. Fieber adds, "I've always played baseball...never that softball stuff. I grew up on a farm, near a town called Saukville, just outside of Milwaukee. I started playing for the local town team as a teenager and I have played ever since...also played in Australia and New Guinea during World War II."

Clarence shows up for every game in his Chevy pickup. On the back of the pickup is a wooded, black and white dairy cow. In the cab of the pickup, he has a special switch, near the dash... and when he activates it, the horn sounds...and the cow moos, signaling Clarence's arrival at the ball park.

Jerry Smarik

Seventy-seven year-old Jerry Smarik is one of the many characters on the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball team. After each game, the former Navy man and retired postal carrier, who is in his 18th season with the ball club, lights up a stogie and takes a puff or two.

 Smarik hails from Detroit and spent his childhood days playing baseball and taking in games at Tiger Stadium...let's make that Briggs Stadium. "When I was a kid we'd go down to Briggs Stadium to see the Tigers play. We'd get there early and the management would let us clean off the seats prior to game time. We'd get a quarter, a nickel or a dime from the customers for each seat we had dusted off and then we'd get in free to the game. It was a heck of a deal back then."

Smarik still gets a kick out of playing ball. He's at Udall Park every Monday, Wednesday and Friday...hardly misses a game. During the month of June, Smarik batted .413 and had nine RBI. He gets kidded a lot by his teammates...because he's been known to hit into his share of double plays. He jokes, "I help to speed up the game."

Brad Tolson

One of the more well-known ballplayers on the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball team is left-handed hitter Brad Tolson.

Brad, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, was an outstanding pitcher on the University of Arizona baseball team from 1948 to 1951. In fact, his dad, Andy Tolson, was a star hurler for the Arizona Wildcats from 1922 to 1926.

What a bloodline!

Brad, at one point in his career at Arizona, won 16 games in a row, winning 10 games to end the season in 1950 and followed up with six straight wins to open the 1951 season. Brad leaves the pitching duties to the younger players on the TOTS team, but he does play a mean first base and can still pick those wild throws out of the dirt with ease. Brad is still blessed with a sweet swing at the plate. Brad finished the month of June with a healthy .462 batting average for the TOTS as he went 12 for 26 with eight RBI.

As for his UofA pitching performances decades ago, "I don't recall if it (the win streak) was a record or not...that was a long time ago." However, he does remember having his streak stopped by USC. "I never won a game against USC, but my dad did." That...he remembers.

The Boys at Udall Park

On the eastern edge of Tucson, behind the Udall Park Recreation Center, you can hear the crack of the bat every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning as a group of seniors between the ages of 60 to 89 play the game of baseball. They call themselves the TOTS...the Tucson Old Timers.

In the following weeks, you will get a chance through this forum to meet a few of these "boys of summer" and...they all have a story to tell.

Tucson spring training

It's hard to believe spring training is leaving the old pueblo...especially for an oldtimer like me who recalls walking into Hi Corbett Field on a breezy March afternoon with my eyes glued to the diamond as I watched the 1958 Cleveland Indians warmup.

On the field, in front of me were Russ Nixon, Mickey Vernon, Minnie Minoso, Larry Doby and Rocky Colavito as well as pitchers Herb Score, Mudcat Grant and Hoyt Wilhelm.

Spring training will be missed!