World Series Has Begun Again
The World Series began last night. Though I do not watch a whole lot of baseball during the regular season anymore, I do like to tune in to the games each fall when the series begins. I am not really pulling for the Dodgers or the Astros but glad to see 2 really good teams who have not been to the series in a number of years square off.
I guess my enjoyment of watching the World Series each year goes way back to my childhood when it seemed the series was the most important sporting event of the year. Back then, me and all my buddies would root heartily for our favorite teams and baseball playing heroes during the fall classic each year. This was the ultimate conclusion to having played little league during the summer, spending many Saturday afternoon watching baseball broadcasts with Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese calling the games and following the pennant races throughout the summer until time for the series to begin.
Back in the day, all of kids who played little league here in Bonifay were on one of four teams, all coached by the local high school coaches as a part of the summer recreation program. The teams during these years were sponsored by The Bank of Bonifay, Bowen Hardware, Bush Auto and Tri-County Telephone Company. All games were played after school was out for the year in June and early July and seems like the games were on Monday nights and Thursday nights, two games per night. We played each other about 4 times each for a total of a 12 game season, the league champion based on the best record. At the end of the season, there were no all-star games, no going on to tournaments anywhere, and the concept of travel ball was about a half century away in time. I am also pretty sure that every player did not receive a trophy just for being on the team though I guess my memory could have failed me on this point. However,I do not recall having a trophy for participation on the shelf in my bedroom at home.
One of the great things about baseball is the continuity of the history of the game. Back then before free agency, players played their entire careers with one club. In addition, there were only 20 teams total in the majors, 10 in the American league and 10 in the National league. So, it was not unusual for teams to have fierce rivalries with one another. I can still recall how much I hated the great Baltimore Orioles teams of that era because they were rivals of my Yankees. Same thing for the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
Each generation of kids can recall the great players and teams from their era and we all are sure that our players and teams were the best ever. Based on the statistics of the various eras, each generation may have a valid argument. Were the ’27 Yankees with the Babe the best team ever? Maybe the Yankee teams of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s were the best of all time with the great Joe DiMaggio Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford. What about the Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds of the ‘70s with Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and Tony Perez? Or heaven forbid, maybe one of the more modern teams of the last 10 or so years would be the best of all time. This argument for the best of all time can go on forever with no way to settle the dispute.
For me, my team was always the great New York Yankees of the 1960’s. I can still name the starting lineup for them from this era: Catcher – Yogi Berra or Elston Howard; 1st base Joe Pepitone; 2nd base – Bobby Richardson; 3rd base – Clete Boyer; SS – Tony Kubek; LF – Tom Tresh; CF – Mickey Mantle; RF – Roger Maris; P – Whitey Ford, Mel Stottlemyre.
Anyway, back to watching the series. During the 1960’s when I was a kid in school and really into watching the World Series, all of the games were played during the day, only on one channel and would often start at 1:00 p.m. Many times I can remember someone bringing a transistor radio from home to school during the series to try and listen to the games between classes. I also remember a couple of times when one of the coaches would bring a portable TV to the gym and set it up, complete with tin foil on the rabbit ear antenna and let us watch the game if we happened to have physical education class during the time of the day when the game was playing. I might even recall some certain young fellas sneaking up to the gym to watch the games when they were supposed to maybe be in science or social studies class.
I guess from these early years of loving to play baseball with my friends, watching the game on TV and then finally watching the World Series each fall, I have just come to look on the fall classic as one of the simple pleasures of life. Baseball fan or not, it is a part of American culture.
If you are a fan, I hope you enjoy the games.
Bill Lee 