HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1979-06-28, Page 32PAGE 12
Bill is
Auburn's most
sports -minded
citizen
Perhaps Bill Craig's
secret is his breakfast.
Auburn's 'Mr. Baseball'
eats grapefruit, bacon
and eggs, toast and
porridge every morning.
He's 185 and doesn't seem
to be slowing down one
bit.
Bill Craig has lived in
Auburn most of his life.
He was born in St.
Augustine in 1894 to
parents who were also
'born in West Wawanosh.
His grandparents came
from England and
Scotland.
After four years in the
States, Bill returned to
Auburn in 1918 with his
wife Jean, and
established himself as a
carpenter andcement
contractor.
He also established
himself as a baseball
player and organizer. In
the 20's, Auburn was part
of the Maitland League,
which also included
teams from Blyth,
Westfield, Belfast,
Whitechurch and
Goderich Township.
Naturally, the players
travelled to games by
horse and buggy. The trip
was often longer than the
game.
The Auburn team
played in Sturdy's field
until 1927 when Sturdy
wanted to rake it up. The
league dissolved and the
teams played scrath ball
wherever and wh ever
they could.
Bill played second base
and pitcher with the
Auburn team which won
championships in 1922
and 1927.
In 1948, the Athletic
Bill Craig's Midget Boys baseball team won the all -
Ontario championship in 1952. Back row: Wm. J.
Craig, Bob Carter, Alan Wilson, Bill McDonald, Barry
Youngblut, Harold Knox, Ken Patterson, Nelson
4
Association yas formed
with Bill as the first
president. Two years
later, the Association
bought seven acres of
land southeast of the
Community Memorial
Hall for $700.
The Association still
owed $300 on the land
when Roy Patterson,
county engineer, wanted
to buy the roadway for a
new highway. They sold it
Turn to page 13
Patterson. Front row: Gerald McDowell, John
Buchanan, Bob Youngblut, Jack Wright, Tommy
McPhee, George Haggitt and George Wright.
CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE
VILLAGE OF AUBURN
ON YOUR
125th Anniversary
JIM HAYTER CHEV-OLDS
74 KINGSTON ST.
GODERICH 524-7314
-t
Bill Craig: Mr. Baseball
,
WE'RE WISHING
A
WARM WELCOME
RECEPTION
TO ALL HOME COMERS
WITH OUR ,
HIGH. PERFORMANCE
ANTENNAS, TOWERS
AND BOOSTERS
by DELHI and CHANNEL MASTER
WE CONTINUE TO GIVE THE
RESIDENTS OF
AUBURN & DISTRICT
WELCOME RECEPTION TOOL
_ NAPPY 125th AUBURN
Call us for a free quotation
on an expert installation
LVIN!S TV
162 MARY ST. GODERICH 524-9089
Authorized Dealer for Sharp TV
1►\\\ \\\\\�\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\vl1\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\a\ \\N *N.
to
The Auburn Ladies Softball team is from left, upper row, Millie
Blok, Joanne Van Amersfoort, Carolynne Vincent, Joanne Graf,
Rosemary For - , . Mary Ellen Foren; bottom row from left,
Linda Hokkers, Stephanie Van Amersfoo
Blok, coach Bill Sproul. Missing was Caro
Foren, and Mary Ellen Foren.
Gwen- Fisher, Alice
Young, Margaret
PAGE 13
Bill ...
from page 12
for $300, but the county
never used it.
Although he never
played it, Bill coached
successful softball teams.
In 1952 he coached a
midget team to an all -
Ontario OBA Midget C
Championship. In 1953
and 1954, he coached the
same group of boys as
juveniles and they won
again.
Bill remembers two
fine pitchers in Bill
McDonald and Ken
Patterson. In- one
championship game, Bill
al McDonald had the ()the*
team 4:3 going into the
bottom of the ninth in-
ning. The other team had
a man on third and there
were two out. A batter hit
a pitch that looked to be a
sure home run. But Tom
McPhee chased it and
caught it, exclaiming,
"Look what I found!"
Bill still follows
Auburn's 'softball teams
and says there is "a
pretty good girls' team."
He also follows major
league baseball, wat-
ching all the televised
games and listens to the
others on the radio.
He claims to know how
to cure the ills of the
Toronto Blue Jays,
saying his secret is
knowing your pitcher
well. His favourite
players are Fergie
Jenkins and Rusty Staub.
Bill's involvement in
baseball all his life has
gone as far as making
bats. He worked at
HERCO in G .derich
under the late "Hoppy"
Hopkinson. They made
small wood products such
as baseball bats and toys,
in addition to the NERCO.
furnace.
During World War II,
Bill constructed buildings
at the Port Albert R.A.F.
School, Sky Harbour
R.C.A.F. School and
Clinton Radar School.
After HERCO sold out to
Dearborn, Bill joined
the maintenance staff at
Clinton Radar School and
retired from there in 1961
when he was 67.
His carpentry hand and
cement contracting have
played a major role in the
village of Auburn. Bill did
all the woodwork in the
Community Memorial
, Hall and was caretaker
there for five or six years.
He also built the five
water tanks under
Auburn for the fire trucks
to pump from. He and his
sons built the home where
he resides on the corner
of John Street and Mill
Road. Prior to that he
built a home when his
children were young.
That house had a fire
before it was even
completed. His son, Bill,
tripped and smashed a
coal oil lamp and started
a blaze. A meeting in the
nearby church was halted
and a bucket brigade
extinguished the blaze.
The Craigs had six
children - Dorothy, Bob,
Ila, Betty, Bill and Hal,
who is no longer living.
Bill boasts 16 grand-
children and nine g reat-
grandchildren.„ His
grandson Jeff played ball
with a double 'A' team in
Edmonton.
Bill still keeps a big
Turn to page 14
The Auburn Midget Girls Softball team for this year is from left,
upper row, Gary Hakkers, coal:, Vickie Powell, Vickie Rodgers,
Kim Mahon, Joyce Blok, Sharon Markson, Doug Glousher,
coach; bottom row from left, Wendy Powell, Jody Whetstone,
Kathy Chapman, Stephanie Marriott, Debbie Chapman, Lynn
Wraith, Anita Blok.
'his year's Auburn Midget Boys softball team is from left, upper
ow, Jeff Wangster, Rob Plunkett, Frank Van Dongen, coach
Glen Webster, Larry Johnston, Petr Hamming, Dave Plunkett;
bottom• row from left, Steve Plunkett, Doug Dougherty, Mike
Montgomery, Brian Robertson, Neil Hanna, Doug Glousher,
Bobby Robertson.
w