"The Game" Revisited

The 50th anniversary celebration of a special moment.

August 17, 2009 was the 50th anniversary of "the game," Massachusetts' 4-2 win over Maine on Steve Grant's 3-run home run in the ninth inning, the game that decided the 1959 Atlantic Baseball Association (ABA) pennant.  I couldn't believe it had been 50 years.  That's half a century.  I still remember vividly watching the ball Grant hit, rising higher and higher and disappearing into the night sky as it sailed over the left field wall.

 

The Aces had been down to their last out, trailing, 2-1 before Grant's "shot heard 'round New England."  Of all the thrills I have experienced in my association with semi-pro and amateur baseball in some capacity for 44 of the past 58 years, nothing has topped this one game and the significance of the results.

 

It was thought we might get as many of the players who had participated in that game together for some sort of celebration, maybe even a game between the most recent Maine and Massachusetts teams, the Meteors and Minutemen, respectively, of the 1987-2000 era.  A full game between the original participants seemed a little unrealistic.  Those players are now in their 70s and played their last old-timers contest 9 years ago.  Thankfully, all of them are still alive, but some are not in the best of health and would not have been up to such an exercise.

 

The players did plan a get-together which would include a re-enactment of that game.  At first, the idea was to play the entire ninth inning, picking up the contest with two out and the two runners, Walley Jones on third base and Michael Andrew on second, and Grant at the plate.  Depending on what Grant did, the game would continue from that point to its ending.  Later, it was decided only Grant's at-bat would be re-enacted, regardless of how that at-bat would turn out.

 

My thought was, suppose Grant walks?  That would load the bases, but nothing would be resolved as far as the outcome of the game was concerned.  Johnny Cooper would be on deck and the temptation to continue might be hard to resist.  Even worse, I feared, suppose Grant strikes out?  It wouldn't really change anything.  This was being staged just for fun.  It would, however, leave a bad taste in the mouths of the old Aces, their families, and fans everywhere.

 

Why ruin a good memory?  Why not just celebrate -- light some fireworks, raise a glass of wine, do a "Hip, hip, hooray!" and go back to bed to pleasant dreams of pennants past?  Nevertheless, plans for the re-enactment went forward.

 

The players still had a great relationship with each other and their families.  They got together frequently for various activities, even vacation trips together.  The camaraderie they had developed as teammates and friends had not only continued, but even grown over the years.  Even the rivalry with the Maine players had developed into many lifelong friendships.

 

For many, the ABA had fulfilled a dream to play organized baseball at some level beyond school days.  It was obvious at that time they were not going to be Major Leaguers or to have a shot at any level of professional sports.  Indeed, some who could have chose not to.

 

Remember, this was before free agency, the Players Union, and the multi-million dollar contracts professional athletes make today.  The ABA provided an opportunity to stay home and advance in a regular career where they were going to eventually make a living and yet earn a little extra income on the side doing what they loved.  They didn't have to leave their families for long bus rides for mediocre pay in the bush leagues.

 

Many of the Massachusetts players always said these experiences were the happiest of their lives, especially winning all those championships.

 

The re-enactment was held at Portland, at the site of the home park of the Maine Meteors where the actual game was played in 1959.  The original ball park where the Meteors used to play has been torn down.  It is now a church parking lot.  Next door is a playground, complete with a fenced-in softball field, where the re-enactment took place.

 

After a reunion and a cookout in the church parking lot with lots of steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs on the grill, the players retired to the ball field to get down to serious business.  Though they had not played a competitive game in 9 years, they had spent the whole weekend practicing.  A few curious onlookers milled around, none of whom were aware of the significance of the event.

 

Without uniforms, the players were decked out in shorts and t-shirts as they took the field.  Maine's pitcher, Bob Andrews made a few warmup tosses to his catcher, Mike Jackson.  The Meteors' infield had Bobby Davis at third base, Don Brown at shortstop, Ron Malone at second base, and Ed Dodd at first base.  In the outfield was James Coleman in left, Fred White in center, and Bob McDonaldson in right.

 

7-foot Walley Jones, the basketball star for the old Aces, took his place on third base, representing the tying run.  Jones had pinch-hit a single with one out and had moved over to third on a double off the left-field wall by Michael Andrew, the Aces' rightfielder.  Andrew, representing the winning run, stood on second base as the now 75-year-old Grant stepped into the batters box.  The score stood: Maine-2 Massachusetts-1.

 

Before the staging began, Jones called out to Grant, "You'd better hit it a long way.  I don't run as fast as I used to."

 

Everybody knew expecting Grant to hit a home run again was too much to ask.  I just hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself.  I found myself thinking again, "I wish we hadn't done this."  I needn't have worried.  Grant came through again, driving Andrews' first pitch toward deep centerfield.  Back, back went White, but the ball hit high off the top of the 9-foot chain-link fence.  Grant circled the bases as Jones and Andrew scored easily with the tying and winning runs.  By the time White recovered the ball and threw it back in to the infield, Grant had wound up on third base with a triple.  Massachusetts had beaten Maine again, just as they did 50 years before.

 

The celebration continued late into the night.  Even on the long bus ride back to Cambridge, the Aces' players were really whooping it up.  Though some of the team members had driven up to Portland with their families, we chartered a bus just in case some of the guys might be in no condition to drive.  It was definitely a night to remember.

 

MASSACHUSETTS ACES RECORDS, 1952-2000

All-Time Won-Lost-Tied Record: 288-211-17 (.575 Percentage)

Exhibition Games: 73-60-4.  Old-Timer's Games: 17-7.

Overall All-Time Record: 378-278-21 .574.

CHAMPIONSHIPS WON: ABA Pennants-7 (1952, 56, 57, 58, 59,

62, 66).  ABA Playoffs (1958).  Semi-Pro World Series (1958).

Semi-Pro Tournaments-2 (1961, 63).  Old-Timer's Tourna-

ments-2 (1991, 94) not sanctioned by the National Association

of Semi-Professional Baseball Clubs.  TOTAL: 13 championships.