Baseball

     If you don't care at all about baseball, you're out of luck this time........and it's YOUR fault because you didn't contribute any stories or memories about anything you care about. Shame on you. When is the last time you contributed to this column???? Well then, quit your whining.
     Almost all of this week's contributors are into baseball so........
     Mark Tompkins wrote, "Every time I see something in the Korner about Boone baseball, it triggers questions as I have no recollection of anything other than town team baseball in Boone in the 50's. I don't think there was any Little League, Babe Ruth or Boone High School baseball until later. When? Sometime in the 60's? Scroll yearbooks don't show any BHS teams in the 50's. When did you start coaching? As for the town teams, who coached and sponsored them in the 50's."
     The Kornerman is going via memory which, granted, ain't what it used to be. Seems to me that Little League and Babe Ruth came into play in the late 50's, kind of in conjunction with BHS baseball that I believe was revived in about 1959. Bill Sapp came over from teaching and coaching at Grand Junction, I believe, and he was such a baseball backer, he agreed to coach a BHS team if the sport was revitalized here. There had been high school baseball in the 40's but it had been dropped and remained absent until coach Sapp's arrival here.
     Mike Jacobs, a former minor league player, came to Boone as a railroad executive in the late 50's and got semi-pro or town team baseball going here on into the 60's. Anybody remember the Boone Falcons? They imported some good players from around the state to go with any Boone athletes, entered a league and had some very good teams for a period of time.
     In answer to Mark's final question, I coached youth baseball for 25 years, some Little League but mostly in the Babe Ruth league. That started in about 1958 when I came home from service.
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     Mike Loehrer provided a nice offer this week. He wrote, "If anyone wants team Little League pictures, 1955-58, I have them all. In addition, I have most of the Babe Ruth stuff plus a picture of Patty Jensen, Iowa and Boone's very own Teen Queen. If anyone is interested, my address is 5769 Strathmore Lane, Dublin, OH 43017."
     In explanation, I, the Kornerman, coached a Ruth all-star team that finished second in the state, by the way, somewhere around 1960 and each team in the state field was to submit their own Teen Queen candidate and ours was Patty Jensen. She accompanied the team to Sioux City where the tournament was held and I believe she was named the Teen Queen of the state meet.
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     Willie lives in San Diego and laments the fact that the San Diego Padres "will never be a winner." He wrote, "When I moved to San Diego in 1959, an older gent I worked with said that and so far, it's been true. This ain't Green Bay, too many pleasant distractions and dishonest politic-pro sport connections. Like many other cities, we build a playpen for the Padres under the delusion of becoming a contender, dream on. I, personally, have never been in favor of public support for pro teams. When the Padres got their gift, San Diego Chargers (NFL) owner Alex Spanos immediately says, "What do I get?""
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     The Kornerman understands there will be another of those Honor Flights that gives veterans an opportunity to participate in a one-day flight to Washington D.C. to view the various memorials. This one is scheduled for September 6 and will leave out of the Fort Dodge Airport. Boone's Erling Larson will be one of the veterans going on the trip.
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     Boone Area Deaths: Marshall King, 83, Boone. BHS-48. Longtime grain farmer and commercial cattle feed lot operator. Boone area survivors include his wife, Jean and son Jon of Boone and sister Audrienne Swedlund of Stratford. He is also survived by another son and three daughters....................
Robert Miller, 50, Boone. Attended Boone schools. Worked at Sunoco for 23 years. Boone area survivors include his wife, Kim, daughter Katlyn Miller, sisters Rita Miller and Rose Warrick, brother Wade Lewis, mother-in-law Marilee Taylor, brother-in-law Chad Taylor and sister-in-law Tawnya Sullivan all of Boone.
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     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments....
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com