The Key West Citizen

Tuesday, May 28, 1957
THE KEY WEST CITIZEN
Page 7

The Tape Measure
By Joe Ilsley

15 Years Ago
The Navy's sports program was picking up as many additional Bluejackets came here for duty.

J. E. "Red" Bogart was named the Naval Station's basketball coach.

"Red," well known in Miami athletic circles, had been a big star at Miami's Edison High School prior to entering the University of Miami.

He attracted the attention of scouts of the Detroit Tigers and had played a couple of seasons of minor league baseball when war broke out.

The Tigers hoped the hustling redhead would be ready for their big team when the war was terminated.

("Red" later returned to the University of Miami and received his degree. He chose coaching for a career and is presently the highly-respected hoop mentor of the Edison Red Raiders.)

"Red" was a third class storekeeper while on Navy duty here.

In the major leagues, the lowly St. Louis Browns caught up with another redhead, one Charley "Red" Ruffing of the New York Yankees. The Browns, resting in seventh place in the American League, beat Ruffing in the opener of a doubleheader, 4-2 behind the pitching of Eldon Auker. The Yanks came back to win the second game by a 3-2 score with Spud Chandler on the mound.

Vince DiMaggio, lesser known of the great DiMaggio trio, hit a pair of homers, leading his Pittsburgh team to a 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Yanks led the junior loop by a half game over the Indians, while Brooklyn, riding high, was seven big full games in front of the second place Boston Braves.

Diamond Doings
The Havana Sugar Kings, deep in a slump for the early part of the season, are now going full steam in the International League.

They visit the presently slumping Miami Marlins for a four game series starting tonight. A big doubleheader is slated for Memorial Day.

The Key West Conchs have rapped out 11 hits in their last two games, upping their season's average slightly ... That South Broward High School nine which played here over the weekend is a young club, with only three being lost via graduation this year.

The big boy on the mound for the Bulldogs Saturday night is Frank McAnnich, six-foot, 205-pound youngster who also plays tackle on the Broward football team ...

We guessed wrong in predicting that Cuban Navy club would give the Pedro Aguilar All-Stars plenty of opposition in the ball game at Wickers Field Sunday. They banged up our theory that all Cuban baseball players are good, providing very little excitement...

Tempers appear to be working overtime in our youth leagues.

One recent episode resulted in penalties for a couple of youthful diamond hopefuls. Bespectacled players were involved. The Aquarium's Gibby Thrift slid hard into Tony Estenoz, guarding third base for the Johnson club. In a flash, the pair were at each other. Pried apart, they were ordered away from the field except for actual league games for two weeks. The supervisor of the Pony and Prep Leagues—Bill Cates—came up with the judgment, a fair decision.

Biggest baseball news of the year has been practically unnoticed.

Reds steamed through the east and won every game on the long trip. A little later, the Chicago White Sox repeated the performance, although they were tied in one game. Maybe this can explain why the two teams are presently leading in their respective leagues.

The Key West Conchs, boasting a season's record of 17 wins against 2 losses, have given the fans their money's worth. Eight of the wins were decided by one run and the Conchs have won 'em all ...

Minnie Minoso, White Sox outfielder, has been hit by pitched balls over 100 times in his big league career. One year, hurlers 'got' him 23 times, an American League record ...

Our Key West Little Leaguers set a record of some type the other night. In the game Friday night between the Kiwanis Club and the Shriners, the clubs came up with four double plays. This is really an amazing performance. The Shriners won the ball game, 5 to 4 and made three of the DP's ...

The USS O'Brien softball team, on a visit down Texas way, found time to administer an 11-10 beating to a team from the Ellington Air Force Base. Joe Merriwether hit two homers and Joe Kutzko took over the mound duties for the O'Brien club ...

Special For All Fans
Plans are being formulated at this very moment for a giant Boxing and Wrestling Show to be held the night of June 7 at the Key West High School Stadium. There's plenty more on this coming up, but we're giving you advance word to allow you to make plans in advance. The show will see top service athletes in action and will benefit the Key West Library Fund and the Navy Relief Society. We're hoping all groups and organizations support this show completely. Don't miss it! Remember—the date is June 7 under the lights at the high school stadium ...