1964 Baseball: Crawford Wins Another Championship

Bill Sandback had just coached Crawford to its second San Diego Section baseball championship in three seasons and he was hesitant when Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune asked for a comparison of the team and the winning 1962 club.

Bob Boone pitched 7-1 record for Crawford.

“This year’s team had a better attitude,” Sandback finally allowed after the taut, eight-inning victory over Point Loma.  “These kids hustled from start to finish. They never gave up all year.”

Sandback pointed to the team’s battery, a core strength of leadership and experience.

Starting pitcher, Bob Boone, went on to play 19 seasons as a catcher and several more as a manager in the major leagues. Usual catcher and sometime pitcher Eddie Hermann played nine seasons behind the plate in the majors.

Catcher whisperer perhaps was Sandback.  Five of his eventually would make the big leagues.

2/28/64

Sophomore Bob Forrester of Monte Vista and Crawford’s Eddie Herrmann hurled no-hitters on the first full day of action.

Forrester struck out eight and blanked Morse, 7-0.

Herrmann collected three hits including a home run and drove in four runs in the 10-0 win over visiting Alhambra Mark Keppel.

3/4/64

Tom Lean of Helix came within one out of a no-hitter.  An infield roller and single to right field after two were out in the seventh inning were the only hits off Lean in the Scots’ 5-0, Grossmont League-opening win over Escondido.

Ray Homesley hit a two-run home run and pitched El Capitan to a 7-4 win over the San Diego State freshmen.

Eddie Herrmann, Wayne Morgan, and Greg Werdick (from left) held the CIF championship trophy after win over Point Loma.

3/5/64

–Larry Bradford accounted for 6 runs with two homers and a single in Kearny’s 16-3, Western League-opening victory over La Jolla.

Charles Wilker and pitcher John Fletcher each added three-run homers for the Komets.

–“Thirteen of the last 18 runs scored against us have been unearned,” Madison coach Bob Bacon complained about his defense after a 5-4 loss to Mission Bay.

“I don’t understand it,” Bacon told Joe Hughes of the Evening Tribune.  “With the same kids last year we had no trouble in the field.”

Two errors led to two unearned runs and made future major leaguer Al Fitzmorris a losing pitcher, 5-4.

3/10/64

Jake Lovejoy and Bob Heathman combined to pitch a no-hitter in Clairemont’s 2-1 victory over Vista.

–Seven errors behind him didn’t stop Escondido’s Jerry Montiel, who struck out 11 and stopped Point Loma on four hits, 3-2.

Kearny’s Charles Wilker slid into home ahead of throw to catcher Dave Burtraw with inside-the-park home run in Kearny’s 16-3 victory.

3/13/64

“We won the game on luck,” El Capitan coach Art Preston told the Evening Tribune’s Joe Hughes. “We didn’t deserve to win because of our defense, but Homesley, luckily, got hold of a good pitch.”

Ray Homesley’s seventh-inning, two-run, 314-foot home run, an inch or two beyond John Quiggle’s outstretched glove gave the Vaqueros a 4-3 win over Helix.

Errors had led to Helix’ taking a 3-1 lead on winning pitcher Dave Duncan, who beat out an infield roller that preceded Homesley’s home run.

—Second baseman Jerry Watson tripled, doubled, and added two singles as San Diego defeated Hoover, 11-4. Jim Perkins and Loren Dantzler also homered for the Cavers.

The win left the Bernie Flaherty-coached Cavers 2-0 in the Eastern League and 5-2 overall.  Hoover fell to 1-1 and 1-2-1.

–Darkness called a halt to Oceanside and University, which battled through 11 scoreless innings.  The Pirates’ Mark Oddy held the Dons to two hits.  Uni’s Dave Timms gave up seven.

Clairemont coach Ernie Beck tutored future major league outfielder Kenny Henderson.

3/17/64

Escondido’s Jerry Montiel struck out 10 and permitted two balls hit to the outfield, but the second was a single in the bottom of the eighth inning by Gene Guerra that scored pinch runner Greg Burton and gave Chula Vista a 1-0 victory.

—El Cajon Valley’s Dwight Stanley singled home two runs in the last of the seventh inning to beat Granite Hills, 3-1, and move the Braves a half game in front of El Capitan in the Grossmont League.

—Crawford took first place in the Eastern League, 4-2 over San Diego, which couldn’t capitalize on 11 hits and Doug Hunt’s home run.

—Lloyd Hutchinson tripled with the bases loaded and Pat Harrison homered in Hoover’s 6-1 win over Morse.

Ray Homesley (left) and Dave Duncan slugged and pitched for El Capitan.

3/20/64

“Let’s face it, our pitching isn’t that good,” said Hoover’s Jerry Bartow.  “Buddy (Schraeder) is an outfielder, but I’ve got to pitch him.  We’ll probably end up playing .500 ball.”

Despite the coach’s protestations, Hoover gained a share of first place in the Eastern League after a 6-3 win over Crawford.

“We gave it to them,” said Colts boss Bill Sandback.  “I counted seven errors.”

Hoover finished 10-5 and third in the league and 11-7 overall.

3/23-25/64

Fierce Winter storms that led to rain and wet grounds postponed the first day of the 14th annual Lions Tournament.  The delay because of weather was the first since 1958.

The postponement was repeated the next day and the event finally was canceled the third  day.

It wasn’t practical, said tournament boss Carroll Wilson, citing “the weather forecast for the rest of the week isn’t very good and we would be tying up players, coaches, and umpires, and the coaches didn’t want to play (as late into the week) on Saturday.”

3/31/64

Hilltop romped to a 12-0, first-inning lead, got a break when rain did not wash out the game, and beat Chula Vista, 18-7.

Bob Childers hit a grand slam home run, followed by Rudy Castro’s three-run shot, and a two-run home run by Bob Litchfield off Chula Vista starter Bart Miller.

Hilltop even scored two runs in the second inning on three punch singles after coach Vic Long issued a mandate to make outs and get on with the game because of the weather.

—Six of 17 games in the County were rained out or called before the required five innings.

Point Loma’s Mike Adamson, who became a baseball No. 1 draft choice and pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, checked Pointers’ starting lineup for championship game with shortstop Don Coley.

4/3/64

Mike Adamson, backed by a 6-1 lead and contributing a home run, held on and Point Loma defeated Kearny, 7-5.

Singles by Pat Harrison and Buddy Schraeder, two errors, and Lance Richard Shaw’s sacrifice fly paved the way for Hoover’s 5-0, 10-inning win over St. Augustine

Al Layton, one of the few seniors for Granite Hills, struck out 14 and gave up only a fourth-inning single to Gary Mattinson as the Eagles downed Grossmont, 2-0.

Al Salmon’s single in the 10th inning gave Helix a 1-0 win over Hilltop.

4/7/64

Sweetwater, 0-10, won its first game, 8-0, over Castle Park on a two-hitter by Ted Williams.  No, not that Ted Williams.

4/10/64

With Al Layton running with the pitch, Jim McKenna ripped a pitch  to right field at Granite Hills, where there is no wall, according to Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune.

The ball rolled toward downtown El Cajon and McKenna won the race after the outfielder’s recovery and throw to home for an apparent home run, but…

…El Capitan first baseman Mike Arnke alertly told pitcher Dave Duncan that McKenna had not touched second base.

Duncan stepped on the pitching rubber, stepped off again, and threw to second base for an out, then struck out the next batter.

Ball game. The Vaqueros won, 3-2, for their fifth victory in a row.

–University defeated San Dieguito, 1-0, on a forfeit in the 14th inning, when Mustangs coach Larry Hampshire argued that it was too dark for his team to hit in the bottom of the inning.

Dave Timms went all the way for Uni, striking out 19.

—Eddie Herrmann hit 2 home runs, including a grand slam, and Crawford beat Lincoln, 7-5.

San Diego’s Doug Hunt was safe at home as Lincoln’s Dennis Sutton awaited throw.

4/17/64

“This is the greatest comeback we’ve had here in six years,” said El Cajon Valley sixth-year coach Harry Elliott after the Braves overcame a 1-0 deficit in the sixth inning and won with two runs in the last of the eighth against Helix.

Al Hamilton’s home run tied the game in the sixth inning and run-scoring singles by Tom Thompson and Ralph Hays were the difference.

The 3-2 victory improved Elliott’s club to 6-1 in the Grossmont League.

Elliott played the 1955 season with the St. Louis Cardinals after leading the Pacific Coast League with 224 hits and a .350 average as the San Diego Padres won the pennant in 1954.

–Charlie Duke’s home run with two on in the seventh inning meant a 3-0 victory for University and the reported end of a string of 43 1/3 scoreless innings by Vista pitcher Matt Taylor.

4/21/64

Dennis Webb’s one-hit pitching stopped San Diego, 3-1, dropping the Cavers (7-3) two games behind Eastern League-leading Crawford (9-1), which rode catcher-sometimes-pitcher Eddie Herrmann’s three-hit pitching for a 2-0 win over Morse.

—Kenny Henderson doubled home two runs, tripled, and stole home for another in Clairemont’s 4-2 win over Madison.

4/25/64

Bob Boone pitched a two-hitter and Greg Werdick hit a third-inning home run for a 1-0 Crawford victory over St. Augustine.

–Sophomore Jake Molina led off the last of the first inning with a home run and Clairemont proceeded to a 6-1 win over Point Loma.

–Hilltop clinched its first Metropolitan League championship in the school’s five years, on the road, at Chula Vista, 3-2, behind Dirk Van Dyke’s two-hitter.

4/28/64

Hilltop (9-0) stayed unbeaten in the Metropolitan League with a disputed, 3-2 win over Castle Park.

Disputed play: The plate umpire ruled foul.  The base umpire said fair.

After several minutes of shouts and arm-waving by representatives of both teams, the arbiters came to agreement that Frank Fernandez was safe with a single. Fernandez eventually scored the decisive run.

—Ray Homesley retired 16 of the last 17 batters including the final 12 in a row and El Capitan won at El Cajon Valley, 4-2, and led the Grossmont League with a 7-2 record. El Cajon Valley and Helix were next at 7-3 each.

Mike Arnke of El Capitan had ball in glove, but Helix’ Al Salmon was ruled safe at first.

5/1/64

Dave Duncan pitched a no-hitter and his two-run home run in the first inning was enough as El Capitan turned back Mount Miguel, 4-0.

Duncan struck out 14 and walked four and got an assist from Ray Homesley, who homered with one on.

—San Dieguito’s Tom Fleming gave up one hit and the Mustangs stifled Oceanside, 2-0.

–Mike Hill of El Cajon Valley, Jerry Montiel of Escondido, and Al Layton of Granite Hills each pitched two-hit shutouts.

—Dirk Van Dyke and Tom Segren combined for a one-hitter as Hilltop topped Helix, 8-0.

—Kearny erred six times behind pitcher John Fletcher, but fueled by Steve Jones’ three-run home run and Larry Bradford’s two run triple in the first inning, beat Clairemont, 7-5.

—Three walks forced in the tying and winning runs and San Diego came away with a 5-4, Eastern League victory over Crawford.

Dennis Maley, Doug Hunt, and Michael Marrs each had two hits for the Cavers.  Ron Layton tripled in two runs for Crawford.

—Tom Fleming allowed one hit and San Dieguito blanked Oceanside, 2-0.

Crawford’s Greg Werdick and Point Loma’s Don Coley awaited call by umpire Shan Deniston, who ruled Werdick safe with stolen base in championship game that Crawford won in eight innings, 4-3.

5/5/64

Kearny won the Western League and Marian won the Southern Prep.

The Komets backed in after a 11-5 loss to Mission Bay was mitigated by Point Loma’s 9-1 loss to Madison.

Marian won its 31st consecutive league game, compliments of a Julian forfeit which gave the Crusaders, who lost their first four games, a 12-4 overall record and 7-0 league standing.

—Ray Homesley’s one-hitter stopped Granite Hills, 4-1, and kept the Vaqueros a half game ahead of El Cajon Valley with one to play in the Grossmont circuit.

–Dave Braswell and Carl Ramsey homered and Hilltop won its 11th in a row in the Metropolitan League, 6-2 over Coronado.  Carlsbad’s 9-0 win over Army-Navy was its ninth in a row in the Palomar League.

Tom Benthusen of Mount Miguel beat throw from outfield to El Capitan third baseman Jeff Serrano. Vaqueros beat Matadors, 5-1.
5/8/64

A two-hit shutout by Tony Pisciotta and 6-0 win over Lincoln (7-13 overall) allowed San Diego to catch Crawford and tie for the Eastern League championship.

The Cavers and Colts, each 12-3, would meet at Beeson Field at the Marine Corps Depot to determine playoff seeding.

Point Loma and Madison will play for the Western League’s No. 2 seed at Mission Bay and Escondido and Sweetwater will meet at Morse with the Metro’s No. 2 at stake.

5/12/64

Field for the San Diego Section AA playoffs was complete.

Crawford topped San Diego, 5-2. Point Loma beat Clairemont (10-9), 2-1, and Sweetwater edged Escondido (12-6), 5-4.

—Walks scored two runs and Bob Boone’s two-run single gave Crawford four runs in the fourth inning.

—Mike Adamson outdueled Jake Lovejoy in Point Loma’s victory, clinched on a triple by Glenn Holmes and a sacrifice fly.

Hilltop’s Terry Maple was safe at third when catcher’s throw got past Chula Vista’s Terry Parker. Maple got up and raced home with run in Lancers’ 18-7 win.

5/15/64

Almost the entire Marian (13-6) student body was in the crowd of about 400, but visiting Carlsbad, behind the one-hit pitching of Arne Larsen scored a 4-2, eight-inning victory in a Class A playoff.

—“You can’t say we wasted our hits,” said San Diego coach Bernie Flaherty.

The Cavers got to Hilltop pitcher Dirk Van Dyke for only three safeties but one was a three-run triple by Tony Pisciotta, enough for a 4-1, Class AA playoff victory.

Hilltop finished with a 16-5 record, best in the school’s five-year history.

—Point Loma scored three runs in the seventh inning to eliminate El Capitan (15-4), 3-2.

The Vaqueros’ Ray Homesley was working on a one-hitter with a 1-0 lead when John Gelb led off the inning with a home run.

Homesley was relieved later in the seventh by Dave Duncan, who wild-pitched in one run and balked in another.

—Bob Boone allowed one hit, a three-run home run by Kile Morgan, but Crawford topped Sweetwater (9-12), 12-3, as Dennis Isom, Greg Werdick, and Eddie Herrmann homered.

–Charles Wilker’s three-run triple and two-run double were  essential for Kearny in its 8-5 win over El Cajon Valley (14-7).

5/19/64

John Estrada pivoted with throw to first base in anticipation of double play by St. Augustine but umpire ruled Hoover’s Eddie Haines safe at second.

Paul Ehrich, with relief in the seventh inning from Mike Adamson and aided by five San Diego (16-7) errors, pitched Point Loma to a 3-2, semifinals victory.

—Crawford advanced to a championship game against Point Loma with a 9-4 win over Kearny (15-7).  Wayne Morgan improved his record to 5-0 and drove in three runs with a triple and single.

5/22/64

There were seventeen strikeouts and 17 bases on balls, plus seven errors by both teams. And not a one of the 600 or so fans, often on the edge of their seats, left early according to Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune.

Crawford persevered to win the CIF championship, 4-3, over Point Loma in eight innings at Beeson Field on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot base.

Trailing, 2-1, in the top of the seventh, the Colts took a 3-2 lead on Charlie Tate’s sacrifice fly and single by Ken Henderson.

John Gelb tied the score with a 330-foot home run over the leftfield wall in the bottom of the seventh but the Colts’ Greg Werdick, playing with a broken nose sustained in the semifinals, walked, stole second and scored on an error.

Crawford’s Bob Boone (7-1) had no-hitter through six innings but trailed, 2-1.  The Colts’ managed only three hits off Mike Adamson (9-5), singles by Eddie Hermann, Dennis Isom, and Ken Henderson.

Crawford, winning its second title in three years, concluded the season with an 18-4 record.  Point Loma was 13-10.

Jerry Watson was safe after going from first to third on single in San Diego’s 6-0 win against Lincoln. Hornets’ Charles Graham was party to play, as was umpire Don Perette.

5/25/64

San Dieguito (14-4) made best use of two hits with walks, bunts and Carlsbad (17-4) errors to win the CIF Class A championship, 3-1, at Palomar College.

The Mustangs also received run-producing hits from Tom Hernandez and Jim Bryant.