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Community Corner

Even Ike Liked La Mesa Boys—Colt League World Champions of 1957

That same year, La Mesa's Little League team lost to Mexico in the "perfect game" at Williamsport, and our Pony Leaguers came close as well.

The impressive showing of La Mesa’s youth baseball teams in 1955—their first year of outside competition—was just the precursor of unparalleled success.

A Prophetic 1956 Season

Leaders of La Mesa’s leagues were excited to return to action in 1956.  All the leagues once again topped their participant numbers.  The Little Leagues fielded not only a full “major” league but also minor and “farm” league teams.

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At regular season’s end in July, the local Little, Pony and Colt League all-star teams returned to tournament action—and successful runs.

La Mesa’s American League All-Stars moved through the district tournament held just to the west at the Sportsman’s Park fields at 62nd and Acorn streets in Rolando. 

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The Americans took the title in a hard-fought game from El Cajon on Gary Johnson’s walk-off grand slam to advance to the sectionals in Arizona.  La Mesa’s little leaguers won that tournament and moved onto the regional in Santa Monica where they fell 4-3 to a tough team from Santa Cruz.

The Pony League stars again won their local title and advanced to the regional in Riverside before bowing to Santa Ana two games shy of the World Series.

The local “Mt. Helix” Colt League stars were also district winners, traveling to the regional tournament in San Bernardino.  The Colt Leaguers also fell just short of a trip to Evanston, IL, for the Colt League World Series.

The La Mesa Scout commented on the success.  Although none of the three teams advanced to their respective World Series in 1956, it was reportedly the first time that three separate youth teams from the same community had advanced as far as regional tournaments in the same year.

The Scout noted that these youth baseball accomplishments were amazing for a small city, especially considering the short time that these programs had been in existence (Little League, three years; Pony League, two years; and Colt League, one year).

The Scout made a prophetic statement: 

“It should seem logical that La Mesans can expect one or more teams to go all the way before too many years have passed.  In other words, Wait Until Next Year.”

Little did the editors know what next year’s La Mesa teams would actually accomplish.

1957:  La Mesa’s Triple Play of Champions

After two successful years, the entire community was prepped for a feverish 1957 baseball season.  Players, parents, league administrators and the city responded enthusiastically.

After hearing that more than 1,200 boys ages 9 to 16 (out of an estimated city population of 25,000) had signed up for organized baseball, Mayor Glen Crosbie directed the city to proclaim May 4-12 as La Mesa’s Youth Baseball Week.  The formal proclamation also recognized the previous year’s tournament successes and the pride of all involved in making these programs a success.

During that time, La Mesa American, National and Northern Little Leagues and the Pony and Colt Leagues held their opening days. 

The La Mesa Scout, a weekly,  featured a full page or more of game scores, schedules and detailed coverage throughout the season.  Reports of game-winning home runs, no-hitters and tightly fought contests were big news and covered fully. 

For the Little Leagues, La Mesa National’s hitting prowess was noted in contrast to the amazing pitching performances of the Fletcher Hills and Severin Manor-fed Northern Little League.  The Scout also reported on the Pony and Colt Leagues talent in all aspects of the game.

Also important was a July 11, 1957, Scout article featuring National Little League President Wayne Kuhlken’s efforts to negotiate a long-term lease on the new little league field at MacArthur Park.  Kuhlken had previously led Little League officials and parents in creation of the field and now committed more than $3,200 in future league-donated improvements in exchange for the long-term use deal with the city.  (This is still the home of La Mesa National Little League.  The field later was named in Kuhlken’s honor).

Tournament Time for La Mesa

In late July, the San Diego Area All-Star tournaments began. 

La Mesa’s National Little League hosted the local area tournament games, but it was the amazing pitching performances of the Northern Leaguers that made the most news.  In their five area tournament games, the Northerners gave up only a handful of hits and two runs while scoring 34 runs.

Manager Bob McMullan and coaches Ralph McKirahan and Bill Haggard’s decision on who should start being their most difficult challenge.  

Area tournament pitchers Joe McKirahan, Louis Riley and Francis Vogel (a converted catcher) combined for the first five wins.  The pitching talent was so deep that Jerry Wilson—who had pitched a perfect game and another no-hitter during the regular season—and strong-armed league team aces Dennis Hangli and Dick Gowins were left to the field.

After Northern’s Francis Vogel pitched a shutout and Tommy Blackwood stole home against a tough El Centro team to win the sectional championship 1-0, the Northern squad was off to Santa Monica for the state tournament.

The Little Leaguer’s district tournament win along with the performances of La Mesa’s Pony and Colt League All-Stars fed what the Aug. 8 Scout reported as a case of “Baseball fever raging like an epidemic through La Mesa.”

For the next few weeks, the front-page headlines would feature the heroic efforts of La Mesa’s All-Star youth baseball teams.

Scrappy Pony Leaguers Ride to World Series

The Pony League All-Stars rode performances such as pitcher Neil MacClellan’s shutout of Chandler, AZ, and a tournament championship win over neighboring El Cajon to travel north to Watsonville for the regionals.

After winning their first game 2-1 over Santa Monica, the Pony Leaguers dropped a close game to Covina 6-4.  They fought back behind the pitching of Don Dent, Terry Tucker, Gary Whitcomb and MacClellan to take wins over San Bernardino and Watsonville before gaining revenge in the double-elimination tournament with a 5-4 win over Covina. 

The La Mesans’ victory sent them to the Pony League World Series in Washington, PA.

Unfortunately, the scrappy Western Regional Champion La Mesa Pony Leaguers were struck with their own epidemic—actually a case of the flu.  It was reported that as many of 13 of the 15 boys became sick. Several of the team had to be sent back to La Mesa for rest prior to flying out to Pennsylvania. 

The weakened squad dropped their first game to Denora, PA, before losing a tough 5-4 game to Paducah, KY, and elimination. 

In any other year, a Western Regional Championship and World Series appearance would have made these 13-14-year-olds the toast of the town.  But this year, they would have to share the spotlight.

Little Leaguers Felled Only By Perfection

The Northern Little Leaguers also made the most of their opportunity during the 1957 tournament season.  The team’s performance was even more amazing due to the fact that the Little League tournament was a single-elimination event back then.

After their sectional victory over El Centro, they captured the state championship tournament in Santa Monica starting with Francis Vogel’s 14-strikeout performance in a 3-2 win over Venice.  In the locally televised tournament title game against Santa Ana, 12-year old southpaw Joe McKirahan pitched a two-hit shutout and scored the winning run in the 1-0 triumph.

This victory earned La Mesa Northern a place in the Western Regional in San Francisco.  The first game proved the toughest.  Vogel pitched a three-hitter in an extra-inning 1-0 victory over Tucumcari, NM.  Then McKirahan followed with another pitching gem—a 15-strikeout no-hitter—along with joining Jerry Wilson and Louis Riley in hitting home runs in an 18-0 crushing of Ephrata, WA.

La Mesa Northern was on its way to Williamsport, PA, for the Little League World Series. 

However that pesky flu-bug also traveled with La Mesa’s Little Leaguers.  On arrival in Williamsport, Joe McKirahan, Louis Riley, Francis Vogel, Tom Blackwood and Richard Baker were all too sick to play. 

The Little League officials agreed to delay their semifinal match for the U.S. championship against Northern Regional champs Escanaba, MI, by one day.

It proved to be enough time for Joe McKirahan.  Joe responded with another 15-strikeout one-hitter and hit two home runs in the 7-1 victory for La Mesa.  This provided the locals with a matchup in the World Championship game against Monterrey, Mexico—the first foreign team to make a Little League final.

In the internationally televised final game, the resilient La Mesans were stopped by a pitching performance for the ages. 

Angel Macias, an ambidextrous 12-year old, pitched the first perfect game in LL World Series history in leading the Monterrey team to a 4-0 victory.  Macias’ legendary performance later provided the story for the 2009 feature film, The Perfect Game.

It was a tough loss for the La Mesa boys.  They had given up only three hits during the title game.  But considering their run, it is clear that only perfection could have stopped them in 1957.

Colts Leaguers Are the Champions—Of the World!

The newest of La Mesa’s youth leagues, the Mt. Helix View Colt League—formed in 1955—also made a memorable tournament run in 1957. 

While their younger counterparts were knocking on the door of world titles, the 15-and-16-year-old Colt Leaguers kicked the door in. 

Coach Tom Lean’s team rode the starting pitching of Bob Jordan and Phil Groce, the bullpen of Bill Whalen, Jerry Selness and Tony Carrasco—along with timely hitting of outfielders Mickey Bruce and Don Taylor and the stellar defense of shortstop Bobby Lucas, first baseman Dwayne Hobel and centerfielder Paul Jernigan. 

Although the Colts would be beset by injuries to third baseman Ronnie Lafayette and catcher Mike Cunningham, the team’s performance was nearly perfect.

The Colts started their ride with a sweep of the local tournament, opening with a 14-2 drubbing of Clairemont, then riding Phil Groce’s no-hitter and Mickey Bruce’s grand slam to a 7-0 shutout of San Diego Eastside. Bob Jordan’s three-hitter led the Colts to a 9-0 redrubbing of the Eastside team in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 in La Mesa to advance to the regional tournament in San Bernardino. 

The Colts’ only slip occurred in the first game of the regional with a 7-0 loss to Santa Ana.  Interestingly, tournament officials learned that Santa Ana used four ineligible players—but did not make them forfeit the game.

Mt. Helix View then started on a roll to five straight wins in the double-elimination regionals—3-0 over San Bernardino, 7-6 over Encino, 9-0 over Ontario, 5-3 over San Gabriel and 3-2 over Ontario again for the tournament championship. 

The most memorable of the games was the comeback from a 5-1 deficit to Encino, a game in which team batboy, the manager’s young son Bobby Lean, reportedly told the team as they returned to the bench after falling behind that the comeback would be “no sweat.”  He was proved right!

In the World Series, held at Ontario, CA, Manager Lean’s team was ready.  In the opening game, Bob Jordan and Bill Whalen combined for a two-hit 5-2 victory over San Antonio, TX.  In game 2, Phil Groce pitched another two-hitter as part of a 6-0 shutout of Eastern Ohio. 

The two teams met again two days later with the title on the line for Mt. Helix.  Don Taylor’s RBI triple was the key hit in the 5-4 victory that clinched the World Championship for the Colts.

The guts and perseverance of the 1957 Mt. Helix Colts was no better explained than by the story of catcher Mike Cunningham.  Mike had broken his foot in the district tournament.  After missing just one game, Cunningham gutted out the pain and played every inning of the last nine games on his broken foot.

The world champs got a special surprise when President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a telegram to the team right after the game. 

The August 29, 1957, La Mesa News reported the president’s message as concluding with: “The skill and sportsmanship you have shown on the ball field will bring strength to your community.”

A Community Celebrates Its Boys of Summer

Ike was right.  La Mesa’s pride in its youth baseballers was all encompassing. 

The city undertook a special three-day celebration to honor its heroes—including all the coaches, league administrators and parents who supported them. 

The events started on Thursday evening Sept. 5, with a parade of the three teams along with all of the other 61 youth teams invited to take part and march in uniform. 

The “Parade of Champions” traveled through downtown out to Helix High School where a ceremony was held at the football stadium.

Dignitaries for the ceremony included C. Arnholt Smith and Ralph Kiner, owner and general manager of the Pacific Coast League Padres, Assemblyman Sheridan Hegland and La Mesa Chamber of Commerce and city and county officials. 

Gifts for the teams players included a Great Seal of the State of California signed by Gov. Goodwin Knight, signed baseballs from legendary pitcher and sportscaster Dizzy Dean, and dress jackets for all the players.

On Friday, each championship team was honored with a free luncheon sponsored by the La Mesa Kiwanis Club, then onto a free movie at the Helix Theatre before being invited to go swimming at El Cajon’s El Nadadero Club, where a “teen-age” dance was to be held for the older boys later that night.

Then Saturday evening, the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a “country-style” barbecue dinner fundraiser at the parking lot of Lawton’s Drive-In.  The proceeds wenr to cover team travel costs.

La Mesa Makes the National Baseball Map

Although the local celebration was grand, La Mesa and its youth baseball programs had suddenly become a national story. 

And for the next few years La Mesa would be recognized as America’s Most Baseball-Happy Town—especially when another set of Little Leaguers would capture youth baseball’s ultimate prize for La Mesa.

Next Time:  The City of Champions

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