Times Advocate, 1993-08-11, Page 13Baseball offers a future
partial scholarship
By Fred Groves
T -A staff
STRATFORD - it's 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night and while most teen
tigers are out with their friends, it_seems as though 18 year-old Detek`
Masse is engaged in a personal confrontation.
Jia wipes a combination of sweat and rale ' •
2r eta
yet another pitch; The catcher's glove echoeV
Few people in the stands acknowledge the your .,
out of the inning. But sotnedn ...
For Derek and his brother Dan of Dashwood, baseball is beginning to
have a future. Now with the Stratford Optimists of the Junior Intercoun-'
ty League, they will soon be heading to Northeastern Oklahoma Col-
lege.
Although they don't know what they will study, they'll only have to
pay a2,000 as the rest will be picked up through an athletic<sel-
ar,hrp
rhi$`past sutnnter, the too have both received partial scholarships and
are looking for**head#>tps their. 'rhe process' which
led up to4040.0140Ships begat earlier this sad tt#1er.
"It first started when I tried 0ut.f r the Ont X44 a<:J
{darts
scout saw me, said Uetrekbefore Frttiay it
`#ord against London Tccumschs.
e was asked to. go to an invitational camp in London where theme
*tit several:61511ege scouts.
Derek, 18, asked if Data, l9, could come along for the tryout and
scout from Northeas t# for thein both and offered them scholarships
Stake that ume; they've beets prnpab't ig.
14e sent usabitheh of information, yearbooks and stuff, said Derek.
Friday night* five innings, Derek, Stratford's starting pitcher, struck
out four, but -gave up seven hits including a third inning homer. It's not
one of his better outings.
Northeastern has a history of taking Stratford players as Jeff Mi-
chaels, now with the Optimists, was in Oklahoma last year.
"It's competitive, they were in the finals last year, said Derek of his
and Dan's new team.
Derek is 6'1" and weighs 175 pounds, Dan, a year older is much larg-
er at 6'S" and close to 200 poutfds'Both are right-handed pitchers and`
their size will be an advantage.
Although •they>:are-<heading., to„the United States, Northeastern ha -
players ft'ort cross North Amer t.
"The team We're going to looks at a lot of Ctutadians,"said Dan.
While Derck was struggling on the inound in Friday's game and spent
a lot of time picking mud out of his spikes because of the rain, brother
Dan was warming up in the bullpen.
If theumpires hadn't stopped the game because of rain it would have
been Dan who made the trip to thc hill in relief.
The two;:brotheo, help each other on the diamond and no doubt will
be a comfeitin nch other when they travel far -from home to go to col-
lege.
"I'm nervous as it is. Going down by myself would be worse," said
Dan.
Stratford Optimists has a history of having Exeter and area players on
their team, Mark Russell was the designite4<hitter in Friday's game and
sliced a single down.the rightfield line whichscored a run.
Russells' lead 9ffence
Express rally to beat Hanover
EXETER --Down by a game and
trailing the second in the best -of -
three playoff series against Hano-
ver, the Exeter Express rallied from
behind to advance in the Ontario
Baseball Association Senior 'D'
playoffs.
Although as of presstime it was
not known who the Express would
take on next, what was certain was
the locals got some key perfor-
mances out of three individuals.
Pitcher Dave Atthill allowed just
three hits in seven innings in the fi-
nal game of the series while Scot
Russell and Dave Russell both hit
the ball with a lot of power.
Sunday, Atthill led the Express in
a 15-5 win in thc deciding game.
This contest was played a day late
as Saturday's rain meant the post-
ponement of a doubleheader the
day before.
On Saturday, the Express came-
, from -behind to win 14-12 after
dropping the opener of the series,
8-7 on the road Thursday night.
Exeter 1540anover 5
Sunday's game saw tie hosts
jump into a big,5-0 lead in the first
frame as Dave Russell and Doug
Schade led that inning each with a
pair of rbi doubles.
In the third, Dave Russell's three -
run homer and catcher Bill Glo-
ver's double help make 11 10-0. Att-
hill retired the first six bauers he
faced before giving up a single in
the third.
Hanover pitchers continued to
have trouble with Dave. Russell, the
Exeter first baseman as he clubbed
a two -run homer in the sixth for his
ninui rot 01 the game.
Atthill worked until the eighth
when he gave.way to Scot Russell
who had a seventh run homer, his
third in as many games.
Exeter 14, Hanover12
Facing elimination on Saturday,
Exeter came back after slipping be-
hind 6-1 in the first inning.
But with a swing of the bat, Scot
Russell's grand slam in the fourth
pulled the locals to within a run.
Exeter's biggest offensive inning
came in the seventh as they sent 10
batters to the plate and scored six
runs off of four hits and three er-
rors. Bill Glover'slnple put theFat-
press ahead.
Rick Boon had four hits includ-
ing a double while Fred Gregus
connected for three singles.
-Hanover 8, Exeter?
The visiting Express came to
play Thursday night as they were
up 4-0 in the first on Scot Russell's
grand slam.
However HanoXer slipped away
and pulled close before scoring two
runs in the bottom of the ninth and
the winner in the tenth.
Boon and Scot Russell led Exeter
with three hits each in a game
which saw the Express receive ten
walks.
Baseball notes:: 'Hitting certain -
1
ly wt;li't be a problem for Exeter in
the next series as Scot Russell went
7 -for -14 with three homers includ-
ing two grandslaniers in the series.
His cousin Dave had nine rbis in as
maw trips to the plate and Rick
Boon had six hits in 12 at bats...
George Shaw reflects
on his hockey career
Every kid wants to
play In the NHL, but
1 didn't”
Those words, sidelines
spoken by Exeter resident
George Shaw may be a- little by
surprising, but in the 1930's Fred
and 40's when he was one of Groves
the better hockey -players in
Canada, professional hockey
was not that appealing.
It was more -profitable to play in the Quebec Senior League
and, at times, there seemed to be more recognition.
Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux is the highest paid player in the
NHL today, pocketing over $6 million a season. Shaw said
that the famous Howie Morenz came up to him once with the
startling news that Morenz was going to be paid the huge sum
of $10,000 per year'to play.
Shaw, a centreman, played for the Cornwall Flyers of the
Quebec Senior League after four years of pl ing pro in Eng-
land. Four of the six teams in the Quebec Lague were par-
tially owned by the Canadiens.
"It was the best hockey in the country. If you couldn't make
the Quebec Senior League, you'd turn pro. It was better than
the pros, they were making more money."
Shaw explained on Saturday aftemoons at the Montreal For-
um, there would be a pair of senior games which would draw
more fans to them than the Canadiens who played at night.
Although he was playing in a senior league which paid him,
hockey was not a means in which one could making a living
so he worked during the day at a job which the team helped
him get.
While hockey has been a popular sport in North America
for over 90 years, it's also been very big in England where
Shaw played in a pro league.
"I just went over. I knew a guy who went over and he liked
it."
He said he'd play in England for a month and then head
across to Europe, travel through the big cities, and play for
another month.
After 80 or 90 games a year in England in rinks which were
20 feet wider and 20 feet longer than those in North America,
Shaw wanted a rest from hockey.
But he didn't get it.
When he joined the air force, looking to be a pilot in World
War II, he quickly found out his hockey talents were more
valuable than his ability to defend his country.
"I said I was sick of hockey and I didn't want to play any
more."
The air force made a deal it seemed with the Montreal Ca-
:nadiens to keep Shaw close to Montreal so, if need be, he
could suit -up for the pm team on occasion.
He did -have to keep his obligation to the air force so he
would ._go mp with a flight instructor to leam how to fly and
they would land in Montreal by coincidence. Told to have his
hockey equipment on board with him, he would play three
straight games with the Canadiens.
"In the air force, you'd play or you'd be doing dirty jobs."
.4-- "'Shaw explained that -he could play twee'garnet withtive'€ai,
nadiens without having to turn pror+fe did that.one week and
was surprised to find himself heading back to Montreal the
next week for more games.
With the Canadiens the rules were a little strict. For exam-
ple a blind pass to the front of the net would mean a fine of
$10, $25 if it was during the game.
And goalies, if they wandered behind the net in practice,
that costs $10 and $25 if it was done during a game.
Somehow the agreement with the Canadiens meant three
games "per stint".
After his hockey playing days in the Air Force, Shaw final-
ly said he'd had enough of the game and packed it in.
And what does he think of hockey now?
The biggest difference Shaw notices is the slap shot. Players
have to stop, lift their leg and shoot but as he remembers,
Howie Morenz would skate and his opponents would never
know when he was going to shoot.
Ob, how times have changed.
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