The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1951-02-22
BEHIND
HOME PLATE
By DOUG STEWART


Rufus Edwards, general manager
of the Hagerstown Braves, tells me
that while no definite word has been
received from the front Office of the
Boston Braves, it is expected that
the Hagerstown club will report to
Myrtle Beach, S. c., around the goth
of March to begin spring training.
He also tells me he expects to get
the players contracts in the mail
within the next few days and that
he will release the names of those
who have signed their contracts, as
quickly as he receives them.
AS l have said in this column
many times before, the makeup of
the 1851 Hagerstown team will not
even begin to take shape until after
spring training actually gets under
way While it is true that the Ha-
gerstown club has about thirty play
ers on its roster (this includes the
two pitchers just assigned to Hagers-
town by the Denver club, Gerald
Levinson, young right handler, and
Seymour Bud" Niles, rocky grad
uate from Tufts College,, just how
many of them will wind up in
Hagerstown uniform depends on
what they show Dutch Dorman as
the real training grind develops.
It must also be remembered that
the Boston, Braves will have other
clubs training at Myrtle Beach and,
as was the case last year, the Ha-
gerstown roster could be very much
affected by players now assigned to
the Glass AA or A clubs that may
not quite make the grade with them
this year, and could therefore finally
wind up with Hagerstown.
Too bad that Mr.. Smith, the own
er of the Trenton team, was forced
to move his club to Salisbury, due
to the fact that he could not lease
the ball park in Trenton, but l think
he has made a fine move in taking
his club to Salisbury, which has al
ways been a good baseball town Git
was a member of the Eastern Shore
League until it folded up).
With Wilmington fans having come
through with a guarantee of at least
$4,000 paid admissions in Whining
ton in 1851, and Salisbury guarantee
ing Mr.. Smith $4,000 paid admis-
sions, the Interstate League should
be in better financial shape than
ever, and the jump to Salisbury,
after all, will not be any further
than the jump to Trenton.
My congratulations to the boys of
st. Mary's High School Basketball
Team on winning their last seven
games in a row.
l have always had a soft spot in
my heart, through the years, for the
boys of st. Mary's School, because of
the fine. fighting spirit they have
shown in all their athletic activities.
While st. Mary's High School is
smaller than a number of other
schools throughout the state, their
coach, Father Charles Dausch, has
= never picked soft spots for them and
l can remember when, in some of
their lean years while they were
taking plenty of beatings, they were
always in there fighting and when
those kids used to meet me on the
street their usual cry was: 1--WE lost
that one Mr.. Doug, but we sure are
going to win the next one"
And so it is a real thrill to me to
find them with such a fine winning
streak this season, and l hope they
keep it up.
Congratulations to Pat Duffey on
being named president of the Wash
ington County League for 1851 and 1
wish him and his league every sue
cess.
1 was also glad to hear that Paul
Macy, who did such a fine job dur
ing the years he headed the league,
has consented to take the office of
vice-president