Seventy-year-old Jeff Helzel, a first baseman for the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball team, was rummaging through his dresser drawer the other day and came across a newspaper article from 1963. Naturally, Helzel eyed the headline: Reds Sign Curry Senior. "Yep, that article came out in my hometown paper," said Jeff, a TOT since 2009. "I was a senior at Curry College in Minton, MA. I actually didn't see the article when it came out. But someone sent it to me."
The Cincinnati Reds sent the 22-year-old, 6-foot-2, 180-pounder to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to play "A" ball with the Red Raiders. Helzel spent one year with the Reds' minor-league affiliate. He went 8 for 52, including a double. The young left-handed first-sacker recorded 100 putouts and four assists and made just five errors.
Helzel played just one season for the Red Raiders. A knee injury ended his short stint in the minors, but as he puts it, "I had my shot." He also played a couple of years in the highly-competitive Cape Cod League. According to the newspaper clipping, during a two-year span, he batted .404 and hit 17 homers.
As a TOT, Henzel has three round-trippers -- including a tape-measure job over the right field fence in his first at-bat back in the spring of 2009.
Many of the TOTS have a claim to fame. Jeff is at the top of the club's list in that regard...and the article he found sure brought back some memories.
Above photo: Jeff Helzel, now a home run hitter for the TOTS.
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