State College Little League Playoffs Spark Memories of the 1960s

It was the evening of July 25, 1964. The Beatles were the reigning kings of pop music, having made history that spring by placing five of their tunes at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list. (Can you name those tunes?) Barry Goldwater had just claimed the Republican presidential nomination 10 days earlier at the party’s convention in San Francisco. And the Penn State football team would soon begin fall practice for Rip Engle’s next-to-last season as head coach.  

But on that Saturday night in 1964, I wasn’t conscious of anything in the broader society. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was the starting pitcher for the Little League All Stars who represented State College Borough. Just 11 years old, I was going against a bunch of mostly 12-year-olds from Mountain Top, the Little League from Snow Shoe, Clarence and neighboring towns.  

Was I nervous? Well, as part of the pre-game ceremonies, players were individually introduced and asked to take their places along the baselines for the playing of the National Anthem. When my name was called, I ran up from the dugout, tripped on the top step and sprawled across the dirt.  Yes, maybe I was a little nervous…

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Some 52 years later, the State College Little League will open playoffs tomorrow (Friday, June 24) at 6 p.m. in Bellefonte. You’ve got to figure the atmosphere will be supercharged. Bellefonte has a rich baseball tradition that was capped off last week when the high school team won its first state championship. And the town’s baseball fans will surely come out to Webster Field in big numbers.

But no one should worry about State College’s ability to compete. In recent years, their talent has been divided into two All Star teams — State College American and State College National. This year, playing under a revised charter, the locals will field just one team and it should be a strong one. Just as important, the team’s manager, Eric Gulley, is espousing the philosophy of “positive energy” that he learned from predecessors Rob Raquet and Jeff Shoemaker.  

A BROTHERHOOD

“We focus on playing with emotion,” says Gulley. “When a kid fails, we all get behind him with positive energy. Baseball is a game of failure where we consider a .333 batting average as pretty darn good. When one of us fails, there’s 12 other kids who will pat him on the back and rally around him. The brotherhood has taken over.”

Gulley knows that Little League is sometimes criticized by those who think too much competitive pressure is placed on young people. His attitude? “I do play to win,” says the State College manager. “The opportunity to win a District championship while representing State College is a big deal. But this is much more about the memories that the kids create outside the baseball lines. The Slushies after practice, going with their teammates to Welch Pool, walking to Weis and buying a bag of candy. These kids hang out all day together, playing games like ‘Switchie’ (a form of Wiffle ball that requires left-handed batters to bat righty and righties to bat lefty).”

Gulley and his fellow coaches — Wes Olsen, Bob Martin, Derek Leydig and Thom Yoder — are resolute in their efforts to develop character. Not only do they want to instill a team-first perspective, but they also want to teach responsibility.

“At every practice,” says Gulley, “we ask every kid to shake the hand of every coach or other grown-up who helped out. And if a kid is late for practice or forgets some piece of gear after practice, I tell the boys that I want to hear from them — not from their parents. I tell them, ‘You’re 12 years old now.  It’s time to be responsible for yourselves.”  

It seems that the teaching and modeling is making an impression. Asked for their comments on a survey, the State College Little Leaguers produced some age-appropriate misspelled words (“series” became “sires;” “putting” became “puting”) and some beyond-their-years wisdom:            

• What is the best part of being on this team?   Said Evan Martin, “Having my best friends around me and playing the game I love.”  

• How do you hope to contribute to the team’s success?   Said Sean Adams, “I want to be a team player who gives his best, each and every day, to the team.”  Added Jake Gulley, “I hope to contribute to the team by playing the position I’m told and do as best as I can.”  

• What will you still remember about this team 10 years from now?   Said Juman Sung, “Us working together and us hopefully winning Districts.”  Added Brayden Kuruzovich, “That we were all really good friends and a very good team.” And Drew Moerschbacher said this: “That this was a one in a lifetime experience.”

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The local Little League scene has changed dramatically since the 1960s.  Back then, the Centre Region had two leagues. Suburban Little League served the townships that surround State College, and it produced such notable athletes as former Pirates pitcher Stan Belinda and LSU’s former head football coach, Mike Archer.  And then there was Nittany Valley, the league that served the borough and helped develop the athletic talents of Barry Parkhill, a former ACC Basketball Player of the Year who is a legend at the University of Virginia. (Today, the name “Nittany Valley” is used by a Little League that serves Pleasant Gap and several townships east of Bellefonte.)

Other changes have come about through the national or international Little League structure.  Today, for example, competition is handled on a double-elimination basis rather than the sudden death that we faced.  

GOOD OBJECTIVE, BAD RULE

And then there’s the matter of how to protect those young arms of Little League pitchers.  Nowadays, this objective is wisely accomplished by limiting the number of pitches that one kid can throw within a certain number of days. But back in the ‘60s, there wasn’t such a precise approach. Our old rules were simple — and a bit draconian, in my opinion. If a pitcher threw even one pitch in a tournament game, he was ineligible to take the mound in the team’s next game.

Well, in 1964, Nittany Valley had two stud pitchers, fire-throwing righties Doug West and Tom McNichol. We beat Bellefonte in our opening game, 4-2, but we needed to use both McNichol and West to overcome our formidable rivals from the north. And that left me — the 11-year-old with limited velocity — to face Mountain Top.

Some would say I did okay, giving up six hits and no walks. The problem was this one Mountain Top player, Ray Cingle. His name is pronounced “Single,” but on that day, he didn’t hit any singles. He blasted two home runs and we lost, 4-3. And, yes, those were the days of single elimination.  

I’ll never forget walking off the field that evening. Some kids would have just shaken off their disappointment. Others would have set their sights on a root beer or a cherry popsicle. But as for me, I cried. I figured I could have done better. Maybe I let the team down.   

Time heals all wounds, they say, and that was true for me until the next summer’s Little League tournament. Alas, our Nittany Valley All Stars lost in 1965 to Tri–County as my buddy, Dan Harrington, and I shared the pitching. Finally, in June of 1970, I completed my recovery from “Cingles” when I saw an item in the Centre Daily Times.  It mentioned that Bald Eagle Area High School’s Ray Cingle was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th round of the Amateur Baseball Draft. I always thought Ray had a nice swing.  

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Maybe you’ve already made other plans for tomorrow at 6 p.m.  But as for me, I’ll be at Bellefonte’s Webster Field. I’ll certainly make a point to cheer for good plays by both teams, but I’ll yell louder for my boys from State College.

I would ask you to attend the game to help the kids make a memory — but they won’t need any help with that.  Instead, why don’t you come to Webster Field to make a memory for yourself?   Where else can you find athletes who will play with their whole hearts — for no pay — and maybe even shed a few youthful tears?