The Wilmington morning star., 1947-06-15

softbal in Wallace, North Carolina is not something
that opens with the playing Of drums or bugles IN the
four corners of the earth. The season begins IN the neigh
boring Wilmington city with no flags flying. Inc news
services of this nation ignore the beginning OF d he"
sports season in Wallace.
Be that as it may, we wish to report that the SOFT,
ball season got underway in Wallace last week. ana
citizens of the home town players, as wen as the
- roofing section of the invading Burgaw Wildcats hd
: the game covered by a special correspondent.
A lot of things happened besides baseball. Inc guy
Juggling thu Star Spangled Banner recording got lost
we think he's been located with no aid from the ponce. Inc
umpire donned a uniform whether ms Gaining EN- was
poor, or whether he was a player In DISGUISE we oon I
The reporter in this Instance is strictly a Burgaw
rooter. He writes, not a story, but an editorial OF the
tilt. He seems to think the score OF LID vas lopsldeu'
but maybe he's never seen a Tobacco State league
game. Anyhow, here's Burgaw's Tee Jay Bee with
the tale for GREATNESS and impatient fans from ootn
cities.
By TEE JAY BEE
The 1947 soft bail season opened officially at Wallace
Wednesday afternoon when the famed Burgaw WlldcatS
took on. the mighty Wallace Tornadoes in a game that Will
90 down in history as one Of the %highlights in the sports
world, though the Wildcats succumbed to an 11-3 drubblng
at the hands of the unconquerable Tomatoes.
The attendance at this suspicious event was not OF
the OVERLOOKING variety. In fact, the roofing section 10
the right Of home plate was composed OF this reporter
and Mr.. L. Truax. AS the game progressed the two
of us began to devote most of our time to figuring out
just which one of us the boys were trying to NIT with
their bats, as it appeared that about every th5rd oa'ter
would take a mighty whiff at the ball and lose his
bat in the ether. The bat invariably landed in close
proximity TO our station. We retrieved the bats, how
ever, without protest, but when they got to hitting
fou! balls into the ditch behind us Comfortably filled
with water) we drew the line, deciding that wisdom
would be the better part Of valour where eighteen or
twenty inches Of muddy water was in evidence.
AS best this reporter can remember, the first two or
three innings got by without particular incident, the score
at that time being something like, 5 to 3. Then things be-
gan to happen. When our pitcher threw good balls the
"Tornadoes would sock them out of the park, and when he
threw them bad balls the batter walked. If our Wildcats
played close III, the opposition would knock hts over their
IooIo oI 81 wa r1oyaI Innp q VJOnIH non 1nf1GI6 h1OOIpS
We simply couldn't figure any way to get the thing gong
our way.
-. But never let it be said that John Russ, Jimmie Lewis
Punch Pullen, Dave Matthews and Kenneth Futch weren't
fighting. With Umpire Tom Deal calling the plays they
seemed to deserve a better fate. There were many spark
ing plays, but we guess Pulen might be recorded as the
star. although there may be others who could qualify for
this dubious honor. Good old Punch-if he couldn't catch
Il, he would fall down in front Of it, and first base was
well taken care of throughout by this stellar player. Left
Fielder, Jimmie Lewis was overworked, because the Tor
..l!adoes were mean enough to knock most of their balls
ever in the briars and shrubs adjacent to his area, and
Everybody knows that Jimnlies physique is not one suit
able to cope with a lot Of briars and bushes.
- Things continued to go from bad to worse, with
-. the runs piing I'D against the fighting Wildcats. A
a.. conference was called ard out Of this huddle came a
30 revamped lineup. Lewis, Russ, Matthews and Others,
80 found themselves replaced by substitutes, chief of when
800 must have been umpire Deal, who went to left field,
replacing Lewis. It was probably thought tina, if they
-. couldn't win with Deal umpiring-he might get the balls
-: out Of the bushes faster than the original starter, and
=. thus save the game. This shift, however, proved in
-. effective as the last seen of the substitute was when
he crossed a ditch in the vicinity Of the railroad, still
-. chasing a long range homer, which made the total
count Tornadoes II, Wildcats, 3.
~. Thus ended the opening thriller of the soft ball sea-
son. This game was to have been opened with the playing
Of the Star Spangled Banner, but E. T. Pullen, ST., who
was to carry the photograph, got sidetracked somewhere
along the line with machine and records and thus prevented
II proper preliminary to the festive season.
= P. Slate dispatches reaching this desk shed
!. some light on the fate of the mu &c director. These
: dispatches state that the director took the right-hand
. fork of the road at Rockfish Creek Bridge, and some
= fine later was observed naSSInp through "GnShPn
!. Swamp and when last seen was in the vicinity of
4. Sandy Bottom, inouiring as to the location of the
: "Wallace Tornadoes Soft Ball diamond" In the mean
p. time we and the Wildcats had all returned home.
. Any person wishing tickets to future softbaT games
in this loop can contact the Chamber of Commerce we
suppose. After all, from reading the above account of the
Opener, it's easy to see that softball in Wallace is a classic.