25 years later… Little League All Stars

March 23, 2014

25 years later

Little League All Stars

Memories That Last a Lifetime!

By Jack Coll

3-23-14

On April 12, the Conshohocken Little League will do something it has been doing for 58 years and that is hosting Conshohocken’s Little League “Opening Day Ceremonies.” The league’s very first opening day ceremony was held in 1955 on a field located behind the Conshohocken Bocce Club, (CBC) located on West Third Avenue. Opening Day Ceremonies back in 1955 included four Little League teams with twelve boys on each team for a total of 48 players. (Sorry, no girls allowed back then)

Conshohocken Little League 2014 President Charles Mascio stated that opening day ceremonies this year will be very special in this, the league’s 59^th opening day ceremony. More than two dozen teams will square off on opening day, festivities are expected to kick off around 9:30 a.m.

The league’s President and current Board of Directors are honoring the league’s 1989 District All Star Champions. Members of the team who are able to attend will be called onto the major league field at approximately 9:30, recognized and honored with a plaque for their accomplishments a quarter of a century ago. When a child is 11 or 12 years old, well life has a tendency to go by pretty quickly, finding time to recognize accomplishments at that age, are slim.

So the microphone will be on, more than 250 current little leaguers will be lining the field, a lot of them not sure what the honors are all about, but they will stand at attention, watching and listening about these past little leaguers, and hey, maybe they won’t be listening, but they’ll know that something special is going on.

Hard to believe that as the names are called, one by one these little leaguers at heart will cross the first base line, most of them 36, or 37 years old, some with children and perhaps little leaguers of their own, perhaps some of them will be there to coach their own children.

I haven’t seen some of these guys for well, 25 years. When the All Stars walked off the field in Cheltenham, after beating up on Horsham with an 11-1 District Championship victory, the All Stars moved onto middle school, and then high school and a number of them went onto college. Most of these guys went on to play sports during their high school careers. Then came the pressure of jobs, marriage, family, and before they knew it, 25 years have passed, a quarter of a century my friends. Twenty five years ago when I was writing and photographing them playing little league games, I was as old as they are right now, interesting how time flies.

Conshohocken has had a long history with All Star Championships, it started in 1958 when Louis Cappelli was the President of the league, and Cappelli got a lot of help from guys like Bob Wesley, Joe Novak, Emilio Cardamone, Ange Damico, and Jimmy Verrone. That 58’ All Star Team had a number of good players including Dennis Doughtery, Fran Januzelli, Joe Tadeo, David Reed, Wayne Flowers, and Joe Logan. Ange Damico managed that team with Ray Gravinese.

In 1965, it was also a special year as the Conshy League All Stars picked up their second District 22 Championship. Bob Herron was league president in 1965, Bob received plenty of help from Tony Baranowski, Joe DiMarco, and Joe Kelly. Jean Young and Madeline Galette also chipped in making it a successful year. John Woznicki pitched a 9-2 victory over Oreland to capture the league’s second District Flag. That 1965 All Star Team was loaded with talent including John “Bucky” Priest, Frank Herron, John Larcinese, Michael Piotrowski, Tommy D’Annunzio, John Plower, John Westerfer, Paul Kurkowski, Tom Plower, Bill Schank, Walt Napierkowski, John Woznicki, Larry Tadeo, and Billy Galette. Phil Gravinese managed that squad with a little help from Frank Toby. If the 89’ all stars feel old when they take the field in April, do the math on these guys.

Conshohocken went on to enjoy a great decade throughout the 1980’s with District Championships in 1981, 1985, 1988, and again in 1989. Back to back District Championships are extremely rare but the 88’, 89’ teams pulled it off. The Conshohocken major leagues in 1989 were very competitive with the Orioles going 11-4, the Falcons went 10-5, and the Hawks turned in a 9-6 season.

Capturing the 1989 District Championship was no easy task, although the Conshy stars made it look easy. I dusted off the 1989 Little League All Star file and refreshed my memory, I see they outscored their opponents 35-14 in five games that included five home runs by Conshy including grand slams by John Gebhardt and Michael Ricci.

Game one was a flat out blow-out as they beat Oreland 7-0, (I remember Oreland had some pretty good All Star teams back in the 1980’s). Game two was a little closer as they beat Del Val 4-3 in a pretty tight game. Conshy followed the Del Val win with a trip to Upper Moreland to play Upper Moreland American. Michael Ricci pitched that game and allowed two runs on two hits, but Ricci struck out 15 batters in route to Conshy beating UMA 3-2. Conshy scored all their runs in the third inning with two outs. Bobby Caucci drew a two out walk and Vinnie Keaser beat out an infield ground ball making it first and second. (That Vinnie Keaser was a real pain in the ass ball player if you were playing against him, as a matter of fact he beat out most infield ground balls, would help himself to a double when it should have been a single, would score a run when he should have stopped at third, and just to rub a little salt in the wound he would always smile at the end of a play, Vinnie played in a world of his own.)

With two on and two outs Justin Aman follows with a double scoring Caucci and Keaser, and yes there was a play at the plate on Keaser, when the ump was done waving him safe Keaser stood at the plate smiling. Ricci singled to score Aman and Conshy and won their third game in route to the championship.

In late July, Conshy traveled back to Upper Moreland to take on the Upper Moreland National Team, I guess they figured if the American Team couldn’t beat-em, the National Team would. The game looked good for Conshy as they sent an immediate message to the National’s scoring ten runs in the first two innings to take a 10-0 lead behind the bats of Rob Reed, Eric Storti, Ricci and Gebhardt. The Nationals scored two runs in the bottom of the second but the Conshy parents, coaches and players were already celebrating on Upper Moreland’s turf. Things got a little testy in the fourth inning when UMN scored four more runs making it 10-6, and two more runs in the fifth inning making it 10-8 going into the final frame. With one out in the bottom of the final inning the UMN put players on first and third with one out and Conshy desperately holding onto a two run lead. A pop up to Justin Aman at shortstop was the second out and a screaming line drive to Scott Aman at second doused any hopes of the National’s pulling off a ten run comeback victory. Billy McCann, Jason Storti and Robby Reed also contributed nice leather in the victory.

The District finals pitted Conshy against Horsham, (another Little League powerhouse over the years). It didn’t turn out to be much of a game. Thanks to a first inning home run by Justin Aman the score was tied after one 1-1. Conshy turned the lights out in the third inning that started when Reed walked with the bases loaded making it 2-1. Storti was hit by a pitch making it 3-1, Gebhardt un-loaded the bases when he hit a rocket over the centerfield fence making it 8-1, Storti and Scott Aman scored two more runs that inning making it 10-1. Reed put another run on the scoreboard when he hit a bomb of his own over the center field fence that his father Mike, just happen to catch. Steven Irwin, Joey Daly, Chris Couchara, Michael Maxwell, and Billy McCann also played well in that Championship Game.

Yea, this team will be honored, hopefully all the members of the team can take the field on April 12, and be recognized for bringing a little joy and excitement to the community a quarter of a century ago.

The middle aged former boys of summer will look at each other, laugh a little, un-doubly talk about how big the field looked when they were 12 years old, and how small it looks today, most of them, even at the age of 36, 37 years old could stand at home plate and throw a ball over the center field fence. They’ll notice the size of the 12 year old players taking the field, telling each other that they were never that little, or that small, or that thin, a few of the guys will stick around to watch a little of the opening day game, and expand on their own stories, how they had a 560 batting average back in the day, could’a been 600 if the ump didn’t screw me by calling me out at first that one game, and the ump really missed the zone when he called me out on strikes with men on second and third, yea, I really was that great,” I’ll back ’em up on that, they really were that great.

But now, well now it’s time to turn it back over to the stars of 2014, no-one wants to talk about the old guys, after all they could never be as good as the young guys, no-way.

The young guys are just getting started on their Little League memories, the young guys aren’t concerned with getting up to go to work tomorrow morning, and their body doesn’t hurt after playing hard for seven innings, and certainly they aren’t worried about getting the kids off to school, no these young guys are the greatest that ever played the game.

And maybe, just maybe, if they are good enough, and they bring a little talent to the team, and have a little luck, maybe, just maybe if they have a Gebhardt, a Ricci, and Keaser, Aman or Reed on the team, they too will capture a District Flag, and maybe in the year 2040, they will be called back to Sutcliffe Park to walk out onto the field to be honored for wining a district championship, just maybe, and when they do, perhaps they too will bring their own children. And the boys of ’89, all grandparents of course in 2040, they’ll show up at the fence, and once again tell their little league stories all over again, ( by that time they will tell anyone who will listen how they bated with a 780 average, but it could’ve been 800 if the ump, well you know) with a little luck that’s the way it will be, just maybe.

See ya April 12, at Sutcliffe Park!

Editor’s Note

Throughout the 1980’s, 90’s and 2000’s, Jack Coll was a freelance Photographer and writer for several publications including the Conshohocken Recorder Newspaper. Along with his other duties of covering serious news, High School, college and professional sports, Jack always had a soft spot and would take the time to cover all of the community events such as little league. Jack spends most of his time these days writing books on the history of Conshohocken and vicinity, and writes on numerous topics for Conshystuff.com including history pieces, sports, and his memories of being the voice of Conshohocken for a generation or so.

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