Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-09-25, Page 17Banner' ln$ba Advs*ce aid MOOlit F'oreat Oates le readby.13,, PeoPle•la "heartload M1dwas**, 4144 44 3,5 restilera;.In ail* of %MO b$m! s. 6 In The Listowel Bowser, The Wingham Adyn .Times orest Confederate bit Wenger ,Itros. Limited. mali Women's Lib would, say the only reason that men: are better baseball players than women is ii because in their childhood Women were raised to be house- wives and mothers and not to be competitive or athletic. Sociobiologists would say that men are better baseball players than women because at concep- tion, women's genes are pro- gramed to matte them More sub- missive and physically' weaker than men. Bob Harrow would say that all- * star women's pitcher Joan Joyce is as good a pitcher as any man any day. , Bob Harrow is coach, mana- ger, fpunder, Dutch uncle, and guiding light of the Milverton Suns women's baseball team. The Suns play in the senior di- vision• of the Provincial Women's Softball Union of Ontario, (PWSU). Women's baseball isn't new by any means, but it entered into .a new era in the early 1960's with the organization of- the • world championships. These champion- ships have become the most prestigious event for women's baseball throughout the world. They draw teams from such *diverse places as Republic of China, Puerto Rico, the Nether- lands, Australia, South Africa and the Virgin Islands. A sam- pling of the team names is equally interesting: Pandoras, Belairs, Jets, Mohawks and Saints. • The world championships are held once every four years. Last year they were held in Stratford, 9Conn., and the home team, Ray- . bestos Brakettes took the.o oi y title justin Ja an and Australia. The next world tourna- • ment is headed for Canada and is slated for Calgary in 1978. Leading up to the world championships is an hierarchy of championships within each country itself. For the Suns this means that they must win in their own Ontario league to qualify for the Canadian championships which in turn would lead to the World championships. Ontario first then the �rld. All women's baseball in Ontario is governed by the - Provincial Women's Softball Union (PWSU). The PWSU senior league of Ontario includes the duns, The Kitchener Kieswetters, The Willowdale Lyndal Homes, The Fort Erie Don Deans, and the Brantford Royals. The PWSU by the way, is the only independent provincial softball association in the country which is exclusively for women. The women's organizations in the other prov- inces are just a branch of the Tio men's. The Ontario championship is a goal that has escaped the Suns so far and one that the team wants very badly. This year they came in third in the provincial finals behind the front running Kitch- ener team. Bob Harrow, coach and manager said, "All the teams finished the season within a few points of each other. On a S'1 Z • • givenday any teas can beat any other team. One good break and we'll be in for the title." It's a very'a'mbitious desire for the team considering: that this was just their fourth year in the senior division and prior to 1968 the Suns weren't even in the PWSU. They were playing as a tealm and looking for a league to join. They entered the PWSU at the intermediate level and that same year took the Intermediate title..The following year they captured the Intermediate 'A' championship. In 1971 the became a .senior team and made it to the finals. In '72 they took the Senior 'AA' title. Mr. Harrow said, "We've moved up a long way in the league in a very short while. It has taken us some time just to- catch up with ourselves ... but we're out for the championship." The senior level of women's softball is as high as the Suns can go. There are no other leagues or divisions to move up to; this is the top of the ladder:' Women's softball is all amateur. They've thought about going professional but the money just isn't there. "We'd have to pay the girls at least the equiva- lent of a summer job," said Mr. Harrow. "Our experience with men's softball tells us that we'd be wasting our time." All the team members have to hold a regular job during the week to survive while playing ball. None of them seem to mind about money. They feel that their amateur status keeps it a game and not a business: Mr., .Harrow said, ,"The nice -thififf7P444.MatOrOPort i.� that money isn't what gets you the viayers. They play ball because they love it. If that. spirit isn't there, .they can't survive as a team. Money has long been a tricky point, in amateur sport. "You must always be very careful about your financial affairs,'" said Mr. Harrow. "We even had a government inspector down to check how much we were paying our umpires! It's crazy. The umps are in it for about the same reason as the girls, they get paid very little, and what happens? .. . We get inspectors ! " The Suns have been sponsored •by the Milverton Sun Newspaper for the last couple of years. In spite of this sponsorship, the team must rely heavily on fund- raising to support themselves. Fund raising begins even before the regular season and continues throughout the sum- mer. As early. as February they hold dances and bingos. In' the past, they've had Ballathons, a 51 inning marathon ball game, and a draw for a free trip for two to the Calgary Tournament. The winner of the draw had to cor- rectly guess the total weight of the suns team. Often the solution to a money problem is to simply dip into their own pockets The team membel's had to pay their own way to the Calgary Tournament. Money MILVERTON SUNS'.°catcher-fielder Mary Deveaux hits a foul ball during the August Ball -O -Rama when Erie, Penn - shortages are just a factof life for tgarn, ,hut as Walter Gerth, president of the ball club said, "You can't measure in dollars and cents what we're all. getting in return from the whole experi- ence. Take the Kansas City Tournament, for instance. We went down there two years ago and letters and postcards are still going back and forth. We've all got a lot of memories. As well as an exchange of teams, we had an exchange of ideas and friend- ships." THE SUNS The girls who make it onto the team are often already known to Mr. Harrow through league play. Many of the girls have even played against the Suns at one time. Others on the team have come up through the Milverton junior feeder club called the Mill- wrights. Mr. Harrow has been a coach of the junior club so he is familiar with the calibre of a player before he approaches her to join the club. Some of the players haven't come through the league system and it's not strange for him to re- ceive letters from girls he doesn't know who wish to join the clu,t. A girl from Timmins sent him a letter one fall asking for a spot on the team. She flew down to see Mr. Harrow that winter. "She'd been something of a superstar up in Timmins," he said. "As soon as I saw her play, I knew that BETTY CAPES and Mary Deveaux were two of the four girls sharing a farm house for the summer. A barn was also on the property. (Cork Photo) sylvania ladies competed. she'd make it. She was a damn Sood41iax $adt taY4 vi --u Or a eotfple of years.. She ender for up deciding that she wanted to go back and live in Timmins." Mr. Harrow said that he's more than willing to try out ''any girl who thinks she is good enough for the team. "They're all great girls," he said. `I can count on every one of them. Take Marylin McComb, for instance. She's a team member from Chatsworth who just got a job in Edmonton. I won't give it a second thought. I know she'll be back next summer to play with the team." id. For -two years it a row she 41**,, .'v e l tile . v�all le catcher for all of Canada. When she got married at eighteen, her husband wouldn't let her play any more. "An all-star catcher retired at eighteen. I couldn't believe it!" he said. THE COACH Bob Harrow has been playing sports since he was a child and coaching since he was 17. He grew up in Rostock and got started in athletics with the Junior Farmers.. ' He said, "When you're involved with the Junior Farmers, it's just natural to ,help out wherever you can. I began coaching the girls' teams and have .continued ever since." Being coach and manager of a• baseball team which plays 60 games a season and travels across the continent in the course of a summer is a full time job for many. For the coach of the Suns, it's just part of his daily schedule.' Mr. Harrow has a busy 250 acre dairy farm, he does custom buying in western Canada of stockers and pigs, he coaches a men's hockey team in the winter, is on the fair board and' judges at fall fairs. His schedule is hectic but he enjoys the amount of time that goes into the team. "Some people get up at 3:00 in the morning to go fishing," he said, "but my hobby isbaseball." It can get a bit more ensive than fishing, but he has ubt that ,it's worth it. BALL AND MARRIAGE "Marriage doesn't always end a girl's ball playing career," said Mr. Harrow. "I've had some girls who were married and even had babies and still come back to the team." Four out of twelve of the girls on the team are married. Mr. Harrow remembered one of the girls who had been on the team and quit when she got married ... his wife Sue. They decided that it might make prob- lems if she continued to play while he was coach. Mrs. Harrow also felt that the responsibility of a marriage, as well as two young sons, took up enough of her time to end her serious ball career. She still plays in an industrial league. Mr. Harrow recalled another girl who was an outstanding catcher. She started with the team when she was sixteen years BALL ADDICTS The players have diverse ages and backgrounds. One girl is part-owner of a printing shop in London, one works with a veterinarian, a couple work at factory jobs, one is in her final year of medicine at the Univer- sity of Toronto, one is going into her second year of phys. ed. at Yorkand one has just received her degree in geography. Softball brings them all together. At twenty, Mary Deveaux is the baby of the team. Still of junior' age, she is a couple of year ahead of herself playing for a senior team. "At the other end of the scale," said Mr. Harrow, "I've got girls between 35 and 40 who are still hellish good ball players." The team usually consists of twelve players. It may seem like a small number but most of them can play a variety of positions. Mr. Harrow said, "I don't need to worry much about the girls not showing up. They've got such enthusiasm that 1 could count the games on one hand where a girl didn't make it to a game this summer. The ones that did miss a game hada good reason ... these girls are dedicated, they've got the will to succeed, they're like ball addicts." The girls do have to devote their summer almost exclusively to ball.. Their social life during the season revolves around ball related activities. Over the summer the players become a pretty close knit group. Four of the girls shared a farmhouse for the summer just outside Milver- ton. THE GIRLS Doris Coultes has been with the Suns since 1968, longer than any other member presently on the team. She works at the veterinary clinic in Milverton. She plays either second base or pitches and said that she's just as comfortable at either. "Pitching is a different kind of concentra- tion to second base. When you pitch you initiate plays, at second base you react to a play." "When the season begins in May," she said, "that's when you have to make the committment to the other players as well as to Bob -- you can't cop out in the middle\of the season, it wouldn't be fair." "You have to have the desire and the competitivejpirK7she said. "There are lots of girls with the raw talent but unless they decide to stick with it, they won't inake =it," Doris remeifibered when die was just beginning to learn how to play ball. She had four older brothers who played ball a lot. They used to stand her in front of the garage door and throw the ball" at her. "I had to catch it or get hit," she laughed, "that's how learned. When I could catch it then they let me play with"them ." She credits her parents with havinga lot to do with her career. She said that her father didn't send her to ball games, he took her. She said that most of the girls' parents still come out to the games. "That kind of encourage- ment from the stands makes all the difference." Marg Skillings, 23, plays third base. She was originally from Woodstock. Before joining the Suns she played for two years with the St. Marys Jets. This is her fourth year with the Suns. She said that she doesn't have a social life in the regular sense of the word brit that the team is her social life. "We often have dances or barbecues after the games and even the fund raising projects are a sort of social event." She doesn't care that she can never make any money out of playing ball. She figures that the sense of accomplishment, not just for her personally, but for the team is what makes it worth- while. Mary Deveaux, aged 20, plays catcher, fielder and short-stop. This is her first year with the Suns and she is also a full-time student at York University. She's studying phys. ed. and hopes to teach it when she graduates. "Playing with the Suns has been a terrific experience," she said. "I've never played for a team that had so many fans who even follow ypu to your away games, When we went down to the Erie, Penn. Tournament there were eleven players and about thirty fans." Mary worked this summer in partnership with Mr. Harrow's wife running a feeder lot. She said, "Here I was, straight from the city, knowing nothing about cattle. Bob got this business going for us so I could make enough money this summer to go back to school. Bob even found the four of us this farm house. He helped us move in and gave us a fridge and stove. Bob is what makes this team tick." Betty Capes, 22, is the catcher and is originally from Sarnia. Betty has just graduated from McGill University with a degree in geography. "Baseball is my career," she said, "it's more than a hobby. As long as I'm playing ball, I'll find work wherever the team is." She used to belong,to a folk group and still sings atveddings. "Sometimes people do a double take when I tell them that I'm a baseball player. They just can't understand a grown woman tak- ing baseball seriously" "As fax as the team is con- cerned," she said, "we're • here because of Bob and *e stay because of him." w One of the nicest things about the game for her is theians ."The encouragement from the fans has: made us win games, that I'm sure we would have otherwise lost." SEX There are women ball players and there are men ball ployers. "In this area women's ball teams will putdraw men's teams five to one,", said Bob Harrow," and women's teams aren't a novelty anymore., It's because the girls' games have more 'action, more plays made and more hitting. Your average men's games are all hitting and running with pos- sibly fire strike -outs." The women's games also have a number of different rules to speed things up. For instance, in a man's game if a good play has been made, the players usually go into a routine of snapping the ball around amongst themselves. When girls play,. if the ball doesn't go directly back to the pitcher after each play, .the umpire penalizes the team by calling a ball against the pitcher. A technical difference between men's and women's baseball is that the woman pitcher stands 40 feet from the. ,batter and the man Mr. Harrow said, "The men are stronger, tan throw longer and can bat harder but you'll never see men make any smarter moves or better catches." He's quite an. authority On men women players he rently coaching will listen toy Yolu them They not only listen. when they get out there th what you've told *gni. won't listen. They' ant o ll coach what to do, Thorne!) at n'1',' nearly as reliable at; Q _?up for . games or practu .,, want to go to dancesqr; to see their.. girlfrien4 have all kinds of excused: showing ups devoted to Lite game. h get a hell Of a lot more ems+ than the , guys" North ''ericar� . . have women coaches y B?t was the only two . M v 3*i League tolava . the other Y hi women coachi There is also one w1'nen umpire in the league Sher y` play for theClinton team. an exceptionally good umpix said Mr. *tow; ; in :fact she sometimes;11n1pires the' men's` championship " The Ontario Championships were held in Milverton one y`e<aur: and they had a record cr'..owd,'ror the Ontario Tournamment, fans. This almost quadrupled Milverton's population for ,.a•. couple of days. s. "That's what ''you call coin, munity participation," said Mr. ,,, Harrr�ow. "The hotels andmotels were jammed and the people list,' kept on coming in.? The town liiteraliy ' opened up its doors, toi accommodate all the crowds: 'fit was a community exp fence, l' int%e _i i k,, the teams and fans motel rooms and a schedule of the games. We had a terrific time on and off the, field. We made friends for -our- selves as well as for Milverton." TH E CALGARY tournament was a holiday as well as a ball trip and members of the Milverton Suns enjoyed seeing the Rockies. DORIS COULTES worked in the Milverton Veterinary Clinic while playing for the Suns. She played second base and pitched. (Cork Photo) •