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I know it’s hard to believe, but in 1974 I was the Chester Youth League MVP.
Back then, little league baseball in Chester was a big deal, and very competitive, with 3 active leagues and hundreds of kids playing.
I modeled my game after Willie ‘Hot Dog’ Montanez, first baseman for the Phillies. To the chagrin of my coaches, I would do all the tricks I saw him do on TV. But they couldn’t get mad cause I was the league’s best.
I get upset when I hear people say that little league baseball died in Chester because the whites moved out. That doesn’t tell the whole story.
When we played, there where just as many black players as there were white. And I’m a witness that most of the best players were black.
However, when the whites moved out, they took the league leadership with them. The men who ran the leagues were mostly white and since they left, the black men haven’t been able to consistently keep an active little league baseball program going in Chester.
I’m excited to see that the Phillies are looking to bring baseball to the Chester area.
I will definitely be at that meeting to see where I can contribute.
I miss Chester Youth, I played from '84-'87! I missed riding up tht gruesome hill but was happy to b playing those days! Moose and Moose, Jr were umping the games! It was sad tht the "diamond" we called home, died long ago! Oh yeah, I made All Stars, 3 years str8!
ReplyDeleteYou can't call that hill gruesome any more. Chester's nicest housing development sits there now.
DeleteFrom where I live, we'd take that wooden bridge over I-95 right at the A-Field and come the back way until they closed it.
i just happened to come thru right when Chester Youth got a major face lift. In my 6 years playing up there, we went from 1 field to 3. We went from an outhouse bathroom to one with plumbing. And I played in the first game under the lights.
I won 2 championships and played on the All Star teams too. The team from Elsmere DE would kick our butts every time.
Oh yeah, the Delaware All Stars stayed cleaning our clock, couldn't stand them, lol!
DeleteSteff during those time was a catcher for GCM and my coach was a minor league pitcher for the phillies and jim (james)harper who recently passed away. (V. Goode)
ReplyDeleteGreater Chester Movement. Pecky was a great coach.
DeleteMy dad was the only coach I know that didn't coach his son. I didn't think he liked me at times, so I always took special pleasure in beating his teams when I could.
Don't tell him I said that.
I pitched for Mr.Harper in the Teener League, those guys were throwing serious heat on the mound, one guy was throwing so hard the catcher had to wear a batting glove, lol!
DeleteCoach Pecky was my major league coach, Catania, it was us and the Controllers tht were the power house teams in tht league, we lost to them in the Championship series, intense series, missed those days!
Delete1st- widener started a program for the youth of chester!!
ReplyDelete2nd now the phillies starting a baseball program for the youth of the area!!!
# 3 has to be good also!!!
hooray for widener and the phillies!!!
There's plenty of good going on around here. Unfortunately, most organizations aren't good at getting the information out.
DeleteI'm the master at cut & paste & post. I wish I received more stuff to do it with.
Chester Youth was a great league. I played there before and after ther got lights, and was also an allstar. The league was full of talent and a healthy competitive attitude. it allowed us to make friends with folks from all around the city.(We weren't allowed to play at Chester West) Walking across that old wooden bridge was an adventure.
ReplyDeleteJoe, you were in your last year when I joined the majors.
DeleteThere's a huge difference between a 12/13 year old and an 8/9 year old.
We had a team of mostly 8/9 year olds and we got beat badly every game. By the time we turned 11, we kicked butt.
The moral of this story is...
Youth sports is important for so many reasons. Besides the obvious excercise, fitness, and motor skill development, we learned how to take instruction, anger management, and how to lose.
It was nice to win, but we had a lot more fun during our losing seasons. For us, it was all about the journey, not the destination.
And like you Joe, I'm sure you can still name most of your team mates.
Steve Burman was one of mine.
Ah, Chester West, they had sum home runs kings from tht league, but Chester East was tough too!
DeleteJ. Jennings and B.Rothwell were two of my teammates on Catania! James Harper, Jr, teammate on Local 413, good ol' days!
DeleteDiallo Minter was a hard throwing pitcher, he could throw around the plate very well, a tough pitcher to hit, he was a big terror on the mound!
ReplyDeleteF.Miller was one of Chester West home run kings!
ReplyDeleteJose and David C. were the Teener League pitcher's nightmare those two had great timing, normally the first or second pitch, the ball was out in the woods, lol!
ReplyDelete