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Times Advocate, 1984-07-04, Page 9Page 8 Times -Advocate. July 4. 1984 4 "SportsBert and Ernie start summer recreation program Spotlight By Ross Haugh Here comes Sparky's best While the Detroit Tigers currently enjoy a nine game lead at the top of the eastern division of the Americag baseball league, manage Sparky Anderson is really going to take the balance of the schedule seriously. In a weekend interview with J.P. McCarthy of WJR in Detroit on the question of platooning, Anderson said he would soon be putting out his best lineup regardless of the opposing pitcher whether it be right or left handed. McCarthy had suggested the Tigers were getting better hitting from their left handed platooners than those from the right side and Anderson agreed and made the statement that he would go with his best from here on in. The Tigers proved they are human Sunday as they were bombed 9-0 by the Minnesota Twins right in Tiger Stadium while the Blue Jays pulled out what appeared to be certain defeat as Jesse Barfield cracked two home runs. Barfield hasn't seen too much action lately as the Jays have met mostly right handed pitchers and Bob- by Cox has stuck strictly to -his platooning system. The return of catcher Ernie Whitt to the Toronto lineup will be a big help. The Jays won only six of 15 games when Whitt was on the disabled list. Speaking of the Jays, they went over the one million mark in attendance Saturday in their 39th home date and with another large crowd in excess of 35,000 Sun- day should be well on the way to setting a club record at more than two million. On the bench for good The Cincinatti Reds have decided to retire the number of one of their all-time greats in catcher Johnny Bench. The 36 year-old Bench played 17 years with the Cincinatti club and caught 100 or more games in 13 con- secutive seasons to share the original record by former New York yankee great of the 1930's Bill Dickey. The number five worn by Bench will go along side that of former Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts as they only retired numbers in the 115 year history of the Na- tional league team. Do superstitions help? Are black cats and the number_ 13 unlucky? For a lot of major league ball players the answer is yes. Currently only five big leaguers wear number 13 on their uniforms. They are Buck Martinez of the Blue Jays, Tiger Lance Parrish, Roy Howell of Milwaukee, Dave Concepcion of Cincinatti and Neil Allen of the St. Louis Cardinals. Jerry Royster of the Atlanta Braves wore 13 for a short time until club management decided it would be better to switch numbers. In 1982 wearing number one, Royster hit .295 for a career record. The list of superstitions of ball players is long and varied and managers are not excluded. Sparky Ander- son of the Tigers is a good example. When going to the mound to change pitchers Anderson is very careful not to step on the foul line. Many players also skip over the foul lines. One that does is Manny Trillo of the Giants, but, he does touch first or third base when running from the dugout to his infield position. Superstitions go hack a long way. Babe Ruth knock- ed dirt out of his spikes whether needed or not after every strike and Willie Mays never went to centre field without touching second base. flank Aaron believing the repeating double numeral would bring good luck changed his rookie number five to 44 and then proceeded to hit 44 home runs four times on the way to his record total of 755. Al Rosen, now president of the Houston Astros made an X in the dirt next to home plate whenever he went to hat for the Cleveland Indians. When Phil Rizzuto played for the New York Yankees, he put his gum on his cap button while he hat- ted and oldtimer Chief Bender was so opposed to being photographed on the day he pitched that he once smash- ed an offender's camera. Cleveland Indians manager Pat Corrales had his own ritual as a catcher in the minor lecues. Ile had a manager named Frank Verdi who would go to the mound to talk to the pitcher and stand with tx)th feet on the pitching rubber_ ('orrales noticed that every time Verdi did that his team would lose, so when he saw the manager coming he would beat him to the mound and stand on -the rub- ber himself. The club started winning after that. Former Baltimore pitcher Jim Palmer always pit- ched with the pieces of bubble gum in his back pocket and when Gaylord Perry was with the Seattle Mariners refused td let his teammates touch the ball between in- nings preferring instead to walk to the mound and pick it up himself. in the first inning of every game he pitches, right hander Nolan Ryan inspects the grass between the mound and twine plate. Relief pitching specialist Rollie Fingers believes his moustache brings him good luck. Fingers and all members of the A's were offered $300 by owner Charley Finley to grow moustaches in 1972 Fingers did well in the playoffs and World Series and decided to keep a good thing going. After he retires, Fingers says he will shave off the moustache and live like a normal person. Other habits considered to bring on bad luck are chewing gem instead of tobacco, walk between the cat- cher and umpire when coming to bat. putting a hat on a hotel room bed, opening an umbrella in a room and seeing a black cat. An exception to the black cat theory was Eric Soderholm who would pet it believing that was a good luck act. The 18th century poet Edmund Burke described superstition as the religion of feeble minds. Maybe it is true, hut, don't try to tell it to most hall players. f 4, Exeter's Sports Program and the Bert and Ernie Club kick off their summer pro- gram with the "Polka Dot Door Live" on Monday, July 9. The show is free and takes place at the Exeter Public School grounds at 3 p.m., weather permitting. In the case of rain, the group will ap- pear in the Recreation Centre Hall. The Polka Dot Door is being offered courtesy of the "Bicentennial showcase" which will be taking place in the Goderich Arena at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17. The showcase features Dinah Christie, Shirley Eikhard and Bert and Ernie Club is for a host of others. youngsters 4-6 years. Both Tickets are 85.00 for adults programs cost $5.00/week and 83.00 for chfdren and are and program hours are 9:30 - available at the South Huron 12:00 and 1:00 - 4;00 p.m. Recreation Centre or can be Stephen Township purchased at the Polka Dot Playground in Huron Park Door show on the 9th. began its program on Tues. Youngsters can register for day, July 3rd at J.A.D. the first week of the Sports McCurdy School. Youngsters and Bert and Ernie programs can register at the school for from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. at the a fee of 94.00 per week. Pro- Rec Centre on the 9th prior to gram hours this year will be the Polka Dot Door show. 9:30 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 3:30 Both programs will tun Tues- p.m., Tuesday through Fri- day through Friday for seven day for 6 weeks. weeks starting 'on Tuesday, Lesson programs at Exeter July 10. The Sports program and Stephen Township Pools is for youngsters 7-14 and the began on Monday, July 2. For 1. information regariling registration call Exeter Pool at 235-0373 -or Stephen Township Pool at 228-6331. Exeter Pool offers the following programs this summer: Trim and Swim - Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at 915.00/session. Adult Swimming - deep end only 81.00 for swim only and 91.50 for a lesson. Underwater Hockey - Tues- day from 6:00- 7:00 p.m. star- ting on Tuesday, July 3 for a fee of 810.00 for the summer (must provide own snorkel, mask and fins) Swim Team - *18.00 for the summer - practice weekdays from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Stephen Township Pool also offers swim team. Their prac- tice will be held weekdays from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. and fee will be 115.00 for the summer. Information on adult Ague - Fit and adult swim times can be obtained by calling the pool. The Ontario Youth Concert Band and Canadian Folk Dancers are touring the area as part of this years' Bicentennial and will be per- forming in Exeter on Wednes- day, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the South Huron District High School new gym. Admission for the concert is 82.00 for adults and 51.00 for children or $5:00 per family. The band has received critical acclaim in Canada, the USA and. Europe playing selections of swinging stage jazz, symphonic and contem- porary music. Hopefully, the concert will generate some in- terest in organizing a stage orchestra locally. Lets take this opportunity to see some of Ontario's best young musicians. As local residents are pro- bably aware, Exeter has been selected as the host communi- ty for the 1985 Lake Huron Zone Sportsfest. A meeting will be called sometime in August to set a committee and start to get organized for this major event. Any com- munity members interested in becoming involved in the planning for Sportsfest would surely be welcome. Give me a call at the Recreation Cen- tre if you are interested in helping with the project. Sportsfest '84 is set for Kin- cardine on August 17, 18 and 19. Many local residents have already made plans to par- ticipate in Kincardine. Entry forms and informations are available at the Recreation Centre. Events 'this year are as follows: boys/girls T -Ball, girls squirt softball, girls pee wee softball, boys soccer (mosquito, squirt, atom), seniors euchre, shuffleboard, lawn bowling, ladies softball, ladies slo-pitch, men's slo- pitch, swim meet, fun run, tennis, darts, horseshoes, men's basketball, volleyball, girls gymnastics, boys ball hockey, youth judo, girls soc- cer, outdoor badminton.• men's over 30 soccer, sailing, co-ed 2 pitch, archery, long distance swim, rugger, men's flag football, cycling, karate and events for the handicap- ped. Entry forms are available at the South Huron Rec Centre. As local residents may have read in last week's paper, a six foot giant earthball went missing from the Rec Centre during the Homecoming weekend. The ball is made of white canvass with a blue in- ner bladder with the outline of the world painted in black on the outside. The ball was pur- chased for use by local sum- mer playgrounds and had never been used by the youngsters. Replacement value of the ball is 9600.00 as it has to be specially ordered through a company in San Francisco. If anyone sees a 6' ball go bouncing by their home or has any information regarding the whereabouts of the ball, it would be greatly appreciated. Please call the Recreation Centre at 235-2833. Don't forget the Polka Dot Door on July 9 and the On- tario Youth Concert on July 18. BEDARDS PLAY CHAMPS - The Percy Bedard family team and the 1960 Hensall bantams met in slo-pitch ac- tion at Hensall Centennial, Sunday. From the left are Dick and Jim Bedard and 1960 bantam manager Ernie Chipchase and players Bruce Horton and Jack Chipchase. T -A photo Express split with .Kincardine The Exeter Express gained an even split in a pair of Great Lakes senior baseball league games this week against Kin- cardine. Both games were played in the lakeport town. Thursday night, the Ex- press scored a single run in the top of the eighth inning BEST iN HORSESHOES -- Horseshoe pitching was one of the many sporting ac- tivities at the weekend Hensoll Centennial celebrations. Above, Ted Land of Labatt's presents prizes to Saturday's winner Keith Lovell, Ken Smith, Brian Sanders and Bill Coleman. T -A photo Cowgirls win twice The Crediton Cowgirls end- ed a two week span by defeating St. Peters twice. They play again tonight in MATHERS MOTORS Chrysler - Plymouth - Dodge Dodge Trucks Bob Lammie40. Bus: (519)235-1325 Res: (519)262-2134 136 Main St. N., Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S0 .00 0• JETTA The lowest priced German sports sedan. TURBO Extra performance when you need ,t. DIESEL The most fuel efficient engine available Now you can putt all together for 10,990 Think about it. Auto Rund Main St. North Exeter 235-1100 Parkhill and host Lucan Mon- day night. In their first game, the Cowgirls came away with a 21-1 score ending the game in five innings after having a very successful fourth and fifth inning. Leading the Cowgirls at the plate were Wendi Schwindt, Teresa VanRaay, Brenda Wilds and Kate Steeper with four hits. Adding two hits apiece were Marilyn Smithers, Kelly Ileywood and Fay Schenk. Judy Steeper, Brenda Curry and Wilma Lagerwerf added single hits. Kelly Ileywood was the winning pitcher for Crediton. In their second game against St. Peters the Cowgirls finished the night in five innings by a score of 17-0. Leading at the plate were Teresa Van Rimy and Debbie 1,ord with three singles Cecile Muller helped the cause with a triple and a single and two hits apiece were made by Marilyn Smithers and Brenda Wilds. Adding single hits were Tam- my Regier, Kale Steeper and Kelly Heywood Debbie Lord was the winn- ing pitcher. i and a 1-0 decision and Tues- day night, the home team reversed the situation with a 4-1 victory over the Express. The only run of the game Thursday came as Paul Gilmour led off the Exeter eighth with a single. He stole second and was able to score on a successful bunt by pit- cher Perry Stover. The Express managed a total of six hits against Kin- cardine pitching. In addition to the eighth inning heroics, Kevin Hern contributed a single and double and Perry Stover and Brian Mercer picked up one base blows. Perry Stover went the eight inning distance for the Ex- press. He allowed only five well scattered hits. Stover recorded eight strikeouts and was helped out by a double play in the sixth inning. Only one Kincardine runner got as far as third base. Tuesday's game was a bit different with most of the scoring coming in the first in- ning. Kincardine scored three of their first runs in their first turn at the plate and the only Exeter run crossed the plate in the top of the fourth. Walt Parkinson walked to start the only Express rally, he moved up on singles delivered by Dave Bunt and Dave Bogart and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Steve Pearce. Doug Fairbairn singled in the Exeter first and was left stranded and Ken Pinder doubled at no avail in the third. The other hits for the Ex- press were singles by Walt Parkinson and Dave Bogart in the sixth and a Ken Pinder single in the seventh. Jeff Fuller was on the mound for the Express and after the first inning allowed only two hits. Ile retired the side on strikeouts in the bot- tom of the sixth. Love is like quicksilver in the hand 1,'ave the fingers olx'n. and it stays Clutch i1. it darts away. )(writ fly Parker • A$ s>, r so' 1 • qr.) on County Rd. 6. •J. ezaior 8o1/ $ (country elu6 '/2 Mile East of Hwy. 4 Green Fees wk. days 9 or 18 holes $6.00 Sat., Sun. it Hol. 9 holes $7.00 18 holes $9.00 1 FREE MEMBERSHIP \Shoot a 72 on 18 holes. 1 \ Rules at clubhouse FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 235-1517 FEMALE CHAMPS - Ted Land of Labatt's and Hensall Centennial sports chairman Murray Baker are shown with Valerie Minhimnick and Jilda Anderson who were the female winners in Saturday's arm wrestling champions. T -A photo Courts to Tight up Tennis in Exeter is well underway this season. The Exeter Tennis Club began their season with an "Even- ing with the Pros" which con- sisted of a demonstration of tennis tips and a clinic given by Jean D'Aoust and Jamie Reusch, two pros from Lon- don Tennis Club. These gentlemen will be the instructors for the tennis lessons in Exeter this season. Lessons beginning July 3 and running four weeks were well supported by the club members. A mixed doubles tourna- ment is scheduled for Sunday July 8 at 10 a.m. Anyone in- terested in participating in the tournament or registering for lessons should contact Bill Dinney at 235-0173. The Lions Club has con- firmed that lights for the courts will be installed any day. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Hazel Beaver shoots a 43 Hazel Beaver recorded a 43 to take top honours in the weekly ladies golf tourney at the ironwood golf club. Doris llackney required on- ly 14 putts and hidden holes were won by Elaine Skinner and Grace Drummond. Grace Farquhar won the door prize. A pot luck supper and a round of golf was enjoyed yesterday, Wednesday with members of the Seaforth club as visitors. 1 1983 PROFESSIONAL MEMBER MATHERS MOTORS 136 MAIN STREET EXETERaJDNTARIO NOM 1S0 CHRYSLER C.F. (Cal) Wein BUS. PHONE 235-1525 RES. Phone 235-2635 PLYMOUTH DODGE DODGE TRUCKS Open Gqlfing ThiSaturday No tournaments are' scheduled this Saturday which means you get quicker Tee -Off times, • etc. IRONWOOD Golf Club located a mile east of Exeter off Hwy. 83. THE VENTURE ROYALE TURNS HIGHWAY INTOEASYSTREEL: What's optional on many touring bikes is standard on a Venture Royale. With features like Venture Cruise, the first fully automatic/automotive style cniiCe control available . in any motorcycle, Computer Levelling Air Suspension System and the most advanced motor- cyck' stereo system ever built, the Venture Royale is clearly the most hilly integrated design on two wheels. YAMAHA .1-1cw:n it sh,Ktkllx•. • Very Limited Quantities Port Franks Cycle & Marine Open 7 days a week (519) 243-2703, Port Pranks, Ont.