Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of articles about McClatchy athletes and teams chosen for its new sports Hall of Fame.
The 50 athletes/coaches and teams from 1938 to 1962 will be inducted as part of the 75 year McClatchy celebration on Sept. 20 at the Riverside Elks Lodge.
For information about the athletes and how to get tickets, go to restoretheroar.org.

At noon on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1947, 24,000 frenzied football fans squeezed into Hughes Stadium to see the unbeaten McClatchy Lions and the Sacramento Dragons battle for the Sac-Joaquin League championship.
As a wide-eyed 8-year-old, this was my first football game and would become a Thanksgiving tradition for my family that would last until the 1970s, when the Turkey Day game ended.
Turkey Day 1947 would be the greatest sporting event in Sacramento history with more than half the city attending. After the school opened in 1937, the up-start McClatchy Lions began to chip into Sacramento High School’s athletic dominance by the mid-1940s.
One-half of the city was “Lion Red” while the other half was “Dragon Purple.”
North of Broadway, you were a Dragon; south of Broadway in the suburbs of Sacramento, you were a Lion.
In 1939, McClatchy first beat Sacramento 13-6 behind all-city running back Fred Wristen.* The only tie was in 1940, and Bob Geremia was the star of the 1942 game for the Lions.
1943 brought the Lions a close win 13-12 and the undefeated 1944 McClatchy* team slaughtered the Dragons 44-0 and 25-0. McClatchy had won the last five years, two in 1944 and 45 because there were no night games during World War II, and local teams played each other twice.

The 1947 team
In 1947, Sacramento was coached by George Relles and led by quarter-back Jack Higdon and running backs Henry Barsanti, Vic Frediani and Ed Day.
Burt Delevan and Peter Mering anchored the line. The closest game was against Grant where the team trailed 7-0 at half. The second half was led by Day, Frediani and Mering, and Sacramento ended up winning 19-7.
The Lions, coached by George Bican,* were led by the “high-stepping twins,” John Pappa* (14 touchdowns) and Del Rasmussen* (nine touchdowns).
Rasmussen had run for almost 700 yards and averaged 13.4 yards per carry. Pappa had more than 400 yards and fullback Chuck Marino had almost 300 yards.
Tony Geremia* was an outstanding passer and kicked extra points. Ends Curtis Rowland* and John Matulich were his favorite receivers.
The McClatchy line was led by all-city tackle/linebacker Leon King*, guards Sturmer White and Bill Burns*, all-city center Vern Sampson* and tackle Clarence “Tiger” Orr.
Grant Deary, Bob Farmer* and Bob Norris came in on a strong McClatchy defense that had four shut-outs during the year.
The Lions averaged 33 points per game on offense.
The winning streak
McClatchy started its winning ways on Oct. 4, with a 36-0 win over Christian Brothers with Geremia throwing touchdowns to Pappa and Marino.
The following Friday in the rain at Hughes Stadiums, the Lions beat Woodland 26-0 with Rasmussen running for 121 yards and Pappa 77 yards. At Grant the following week, Geremia threw for more than 200 yards and the “twins” each scored once for a 45-13 victory.
Bican pulled out his bag of tricks and put Leon King at fullback for a touchdown and extra point.
Meanwhile, Sacramento was rolling along beating CBS 27-0, Turlock 12-0, Stockton 12-0, Modesto 25-7, Lodi 13-6, Woodland 21-13 and Grant 19-7.
Defense was the heart of the team, and everyone expected the Lions to give a tough match when they met the Dragons on Thanksgiving Day.
Leading up to the big game, McClatchy visited the Lodi Flames, and before 5,000 fans, Pappa (94 yards and 3 touchdowns), and Rasmussen (68 yards and 2 touchdowns) ran wild for a 39-0 victory.
Rowland blocked a punt and Farmer intercepted a pass to preserve the shutout. The following week against Modesto, with Pappa having a bad heel and Rasmussen the flu, Marino was the workhorse with 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Rasmussen still had 89 yards, Rowland a TD and Deary an interception at linebacker.
Nov. 27 was here at last.

Turkey Day game
The city was in a frenzy.
The local radio station KFBK had a huge pep rally on the air at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with Tony Koester, the Sacramento Solons announcer, as the MC. On Thanksgiving morning, people began lining up for tickets four hours early at 8 a.m.
The headline of the Sacramento Bee on Friday, Nov. 28, read: “Lions roar to 35-14 victory over Dragons before record 24,000.”
The article read: “A storming fireball C. K. McClatchy High School eleven collaborated with the greatest crowd in the annals of Sacramento sports yesterday to bust the record books wide open in the most dynamic and colorful Thanksgiving Day football game ever produced within the confines of Hughes Memorial Stadium.
While more than 24,000 gridiron enthusiasts crammed into every cranny of the arena for the first time in its history, overflowing into the aisles, hanging precariously on the rims, and spilling out on to the track surrounding the playing turf, THE RAZZLE DAZZLE LIONS cannonaded their way to the Sac-Joaquin section championship with a glittering 35-14 conquest of the Sacramento Dragons.”**
The Lions struck early and often building up a 21-0 halftime lead. Del Rasmussen* carried only nine times for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Sacramento Bee article continued: “The fair haired boy…was dashing Del Rasmussen, a swivel hipped, squirming, prancing ball packer of all-conference magnitude who broke the Dragons’ backs with two long touchdown scampers. Fronting the way for him and sidekick John Papa was a dominant offensive line led by the 220 pound Leon King…who was tremendously effective at tackle and linebacker. Geremia had an outstanding game, with fourth and goal at the three, he crossed up Sacramento with an end-around to Curtis Rowland for a touchdown and a 21-0 halftime lead.”**
McClatchy scored twice more in the third quarter with Marino scoring a touchdown in his fourth straight game against the Dragons.
Sacramento blocked a punt and scored to start the fourth quarter. Again in the fourth quarter, a missed handoff resulted in a fumble at the Dragon 22.
“Henry Barsanti caught the ball in mid air and set sail for the goal line. Pappa, however, picked himself up off the turf and, after spotting Barsanti 15 yards, amazingly overhauled him on the Lion nine. Fumbleistis set in on the second play, and Rasmussen recovered to thwart any hope of a Dragon rally.”**
When the game ended, it took Bican and Principal S. A. Pepper 20 minutes to break through the many well-wishers to celebrate the Lions’ first section title in football. When they arrived at the locker room, the team went crazy.
“The Lions coach waited for the cheering to subside. Bican tried to speak but was choked up with emotion before he finally said, ‘My 45 boys all looked good.’ My boys all blocked in excellent fashion and we were ready for this one.’”**

Great athletes
The 1948 graduating class had many outstanding athletes. Section championships were won in football and track, a tie with Sacramento for the baseball championship, and the basketball team led by Rasmussen, Dick Balfour and Matulich won the northern section, but lost to Stockton for the Sac Joaquin title.
Roger Osenbaugh* and Jim Westlake would go on to play professional baseball with the Solons.
Balfour would win the section pole vault and Pappa would win the section 100 and 220 for the third straight year.
Pappa would go on to UC Berkeley and score two touchdowns in the 1951 “Big Game” and play in two Rose Bowls.
Rasmussen would become a star running back at Santa Clara, and King would be a starter at Stanford and play in the 1952 Rose Bowl.
However, 65 years later, I think I remember Rasmussen dashing for long gains, Pappa chasing Barsanti over 60 yards to catch him on the nine, crushing hits by King and Sampson, and Geremia throwing darts to Rowland, Rasmussen, Matulich, and Pappa for big gains.
24,000 people in Hughes Stadium for one exciting, colorful, afternoon – I definitely remember that.

*Denotes Hall of Fame inductees
**Sacramento Bee quotes from sports writer Murray Olderman and Tom Kane

jim@valcomnews.com

Note: This is part two of a two-part series regarding Land Park resident Lou Coppola.

Land Park’s longtime resident Lou Coppola has certainly drawn much attention for his ongoing work with the Nor Cal Big Bands Preservation Society and his longtime career in radio. Another detail about his life was his involvement in sports, both on and off the radio airwaves.

Voice of the Solons

RADIO BEAT. Lou Coppola, far left, sits alongside KGMS radio owners, left to right, Irv Schwartz, Jack Matranga and Steve George, at an Adlai Stevenson for president speech on the state Capitol grounds in October 1952. / Photo courtesy, Lou Coppola

Many former fans of the Sacramento Solons – the Pacific Coast League baseball team that provided entertainment for local sports fans long before the 2000 debut of the Sacramento River Cats – remember Lou. Or they at least remember his voice.

It was Lou’s voice that was heard at Edmonds Field at Riverside Boulevard and Broadway during the Solons’ latter years in Sacramento.

The son of Italian immigrants Emilio and Rosa Coppola, Lou worked at the stadium as the Solons’ public address announcer from 1956 to 1958 and in 1960.

‘Can-do’ attitude

Obtaining the job was a self-motivated endeavor, Lou recalled.

“I had heard that (Solons co-owner) Fred David was not happy with the guy who was doing the PA, so I went over there and I said, ‘Hey, I do PA, no problem. I’m at home and I’ve done it at all these places. I’ve done radio in Korea and I’ve done radio in Pittsburg and in Oroville and I’ve covered every sport.’ He said, ‘Would you like to go to work?’ And I said, ‘Sure.’ He said, ‘I’ll pay you $10 a night.’ That was a smile. Boy, $10 a night to do the PA!’”

Lou noted that that amount of money was a large upgrade from his former days of being paid $2 per night as the PA man for city softball games in Concord.

He added, “To get the $2 a night, I had to drag the field and line it for the games. In those days, $2 just went so far.”

Play-by-play announcer

Lou’s career also included providing play-by-play radio coverage for Sacramento State College (today’s Sacramento State University) and Christian Brothers, El Camino and Woodland high school sports, promoter J. C. Agajanian’s 200-Miler at the old State Fairgrounds, an LPGA tournament at Valley Hi Country Club and local tennis and boxing competitions. He also interviewed many Major League Baseball players during spring trainings in Tucson, Ariz.

Crafting an image

In 1959, Lou helped create mental images for many radio listeners who tuned into KCRA’s AM radio station for Solons home and away games. KCRA later added the FM station, KCTC.

During one of his recent interviews with this publication, Lou described his memories of that year.

“Only one year did (KCRA owners, the) Kellys decide, ‘We want to take (Solons radio broadcasts) away from KFBK,’ and they made a bid and got it,” Lou said. “I think they paid $32,000. (At Edmonds Field,) I did the engineering, but (Stu Nahan) would do the play-by-play for maybe the first six innings and then he’d have to leave to go do the 10:30 (p.m.) sports on (KCRA) Channel 3 for the TV side. I continued (the play-by-play) by myself, finishing up the game. I also was the official scorekeeper at the same time. I had to score while Stu did the play-by-play and then I did the play-by-play and continued scoring.”

Re-creations

ON THE AIR. Lou Coppola is shown during his KCRA radio years in this 1970s photograph. / Photo courtesy, Lou Coppola

Lou also shared his memories about providing re-creations of Solons away games for the KCRA radio station.

“The re-creations were fun,” Lou recalled. “We borrowed a lot of the things that we heard from other people doing re-creations and the fact that you had to have a certain kind of crowd noise there to emphasize whether it was an important play during the course of the game. We would have to make it sound special that the ball hit the bat and it was going to be a good hit. You had to make that sound. And you would have a little mallet and the mallet would make the sound of the ball hitting the bat. We would have a little hanging bat with a flat surface and one side had been shaved, so when you hit it, it wouldn’t bounce off. The catcher was so close to our microphone – we pretended he was – ball one, outside, ball two. We wouldn’t call curve balls. We could say, high and inside, we could say high and outside, we could say low. From our vantage point, we couldn’t tell really what were the breaking pitches. We could only tell by the speed of the pitch which was a fast ball, which was a breaking pitch. And there weren’t too many pitches in the dirt. The pitchers for the Solons were all very, very accurate. I don’t think they gave a lot of walks, as I remember.”

And in recently re-creating one of his often-used re-creations, Lou slapped the inside of one of his thighs. He then explained that the sound made by this action was used to simulate the sound of a hardball hitting a catcher’s glove.

Tony Koester

Although Lou and Nahan provided radio play-by-play in 1959, the most notable play-by-play Solons game announcer was KFBK’s Tony Koester, who spent about 20 years working in that role.

During the Solons’ final season in 1960, Lou returned to his former position as the Solons’ public address announcer.

Met Solons players

Lou said that he had the opportunity to see many notable Solons players, including infielders Harry Bright, Milt Smith, Nippy Jones and Leo Righetti, catchers Cuno Barragan and Bob Roselli, centerfielder Al Heist and pitchers, Bud Beasley, Marshall Bridges, Roger Osenbaugh and Bud Watkins.

These players played under the managerial direction of the rotund and jovial Tommy Heath.

Unique baseball memory

Although Lou has a great number of baseball-related memories regarding Edmonds Field, when asked to describe one of his favorite moments at the old ballpark, he shared a memory that was not directly associated with the game itself or anyone on the playing field.

“One of the best things that I can say about Edmonds Field is that my son attended a lot of ballgames (at the stadium) – actually before he was born,” Lou said. “The year was 1957 and it was my second year at the PA. I had a box seat for my wife (Betty) given to me by Fred David along the first base line and she was allowed to sit there with Charlie slowly growing inside (of her). And on the night of July the 4th, 1957, Mrs. Coppola, Betty, was saying, ‘I don’t feel good and will you tell Lou, I’m going home?’ And she told the usher to tell me that and he said, ‘She’ll see you at home.’ She got home and I had to do an extra inning ballgame that kept me up past midnight. So, when I got home, it was about 12:15 (a.m.) – we lived in Hollywood Park then – and about a half an hour later, she said, ‘I think we’ve got to go to the hospital. I think the time has come.’ We got over in about 15 minutes to Sutter Memorial (Hospital) and we had in 35 or 40 minutes a new boy, a new son, Charles Christopher Coppola.”

And as a sort of icing on the cake, Lou added that the Solons won the extra inning affair, 2-1.

Unfortunately for the baseball city of Sacramento, after the 1960 departure of the Solons, it was without a professional ballclub until 1974, when another PCL team, which was also known as the Sacramento Solons, began the first of its three years playing at Hughes Stadium.

Another professional baseball drought followed until the arrival of the River Cats.

‘Thrills galore’

Lou, who also played as the catcher for the Concord Athletic Club’s traveling team from 1947 to 1950 and spent 19 years playing on a Golden Seniors Softball Club of Sacramento team, said that he fondly looks back on his days of working for the Solons.

“It was low key, compact and kind of challenging (working in the PA box), but it was just enriching,” Lou said. “For a baseball guy who played in high school and semipro for about 10 years in the Bay Area, it was a great experience working for the so-called ‘open league.’ It gave me thrills galore. It was good baseball, good offense and defense and good guys.”

Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series highlighting local baseball players who live in the publishing area of Valley Community Newspapers. Read the first part of this story at www.valcomnews.com.

The Noah’s Bagels Baseball Gang, as described in part one of this series, meets weekly at Noah’s Bagels in Town and Country Village and features a variety of local baseball players of the past.

Below are the names and memories of some of these former players.

Walt Fitzpatrick: “I grew up in Napa and I went to California Concordia College (in Oakland), which is really a combination of high school and college. I played baseball there from 1949 to 1953. My mom (Elsie Fitzpatrick) moved (to Sacramento) in 1949 and I played here in the summers of 1949, 1950 and 1951 in the 100-pound league. That’s when I met most of these guys (in the group). I wanted to play for Southside Legion, but I didn’t go to Christian Brothers (High School). I played on the Bill Irwin team down in Oakland and the Sacramento Solons Rookies in 1952 through 1954. I played in the County League, Rural League and the Tri-County (League). I played a total of 10 years of semi-pro ball, and also in the Army.”

Joe Sheehan: “When I was a kid, I was born and raised down by McKinley Park and (the notable local baseball family) the McNamaras lived right around the corner from me, and we played on all the youth teams at McKinley Park. I played third base. I played (baseball) for Christian Brothers High School, Southside Legion, Sacramento (Junior) College, and after college, I played in the Army in 1955 and 1956. The best team I ever played on was the Sacramento (Junior) College team. We were state champions in 1952. I played on the team with some of these guys (in the group), including Cuno Barragan.”

Mike Lateano: “I was an Oak Park boy and I graduated from Sac High in June 1950 and I played football, basketball and baseball at Sac High. I was all-city in football, but baseball was actually my first choice as far as what I really liked. And when I went to Sacramento Junior College, I played football, basketball and baseball there. I was drafted during the Korean War and went overseas and played service ball. When I came out to Sacramento State, we won a championship there in about 1957 or 1958. I also played bush baseball, the county league and the Rural League, and played for the Solons Rookies and such.”

Gary Mason: “From 7 or 8 years old, most of us started playing the sand lot ball. If there was a vacant lot on the corner, we made a baseball diamond out of it. We used to play in Oak Park at McClatchy Field, Land Park, 21st and C (streets), McKinley. We played at all the places. I played until about 14 or 15 and then I got out of it and went into other things. Growing up, I really liked (Joe) Dimaggio and later on, (Mickey) Mantle. A good friend of mine was Harry Bright, who played for the (New York) Yankees, then came out here and managed the Solons.”

Tony Latino: “I grew up in Oak Park. I played on a lot of teams and I could play anywhere. I caught, played shortstop, I pitched. Whatever they needed, I did. I had an uncle who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After I played sports, I got into fast-pitch softball and coached for years. In the old times, things were tough, we were all together, we all knew each other. It was a lot of fun. I really like being a part of the (Noah’s Bagels) group. There are a lot of good stories, a lot of good memories.”

Jim Barudoni said that he briefly played baseball for the Sacramento Solons and enjoyed his greatest success in baseball as a member of the national champion University of Southern California team of 1958 and the following year’s team, both of which were led by the legendary coach, Rod Dedeaux.

Jim Westlake: “I grew up at 2331 P St. Probably my favorite player growing up was my cousin, Wally (Westake). He was in the majors (from 1947 to 1956). He spent most of his years with Pittsburgh and then he played in the 1954 World Series with the Cleveland Indians against the New York Giants. I played high school baseball (at Christian Brothers High School) and then I played on the junior college team in 1952 and 1953 and in 1953, we won the state championship and Nick Capachi (another member of the “baseball gang”) was on that team. And the year before that, I played with Cuno (Barragan of the “baseball gang”) for Sacramento Junior College. I played a lot of bush (league) baseball around town in all the leagues. I met a lot of great guys. I think that’s the real joy, the real benefit at any level in baseball is the guys who you meet. You form lifelong relationships.”

Rick Costello: “I pitched at Chico State in 1953 and I played softball in the service and we got in this tournament (in Alaska) and then I came out (of the Army) and played one more year at Chico State and after graduation, I went down to Southern California and played for the El Monte Indians. It was kind of like semi-pro. I had a tryout with the L.A. Angels of the Pacific Coast League. It was a three-day tryout and I made it all the way to the third day. In 1965, I came to Sacramento and I played in the Mexican league. We (were sponsored by) the C and C Club (at 326 15th St.).”

Bill Werry: “I grew up in Oak Park playing in the youth leagues and city league and I played (American) Legion ball for Post 61 for three years and I played high school ball at McClatchy High for three years. (While with Post 61), we played the state championship finals at Edmonds Field (at Riverside Boulevard and Broadway) against a team from Los Angeles called Crenshaw Post and they had some pretty good players, who went up to (play) Major League ball. Over the course of two seasons (at McClatchy High), we won 41 or 43 straight ball games. I made all-city as a catcher for three years and when I got out of high school, I signed with the Dodgers organization, which at that time was the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a minor league contract and I played three years of minor league ball. My first year was in 1955 with Bakersfield in the California state League.”

Good times as a group

Fitzpatrick said that reliving baseball memories is an enjoyable experience for members of the group, which also includes Bob Alejo, Pete Campos and Ron Pyle.

“The common denominator is baseball and this goes back 60 years and we all kind of grew up together,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s always a good time (meeting with the group).”

Agreeing with Fitzpatrick, Lateano added, “We have a lot in common – not just baseball – because we grew up in this town. We like to reminisce. Hopefully we can continue this (group) for several more years.”

lance@valcomnews.com

Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series highlighting local baseball players who live in the publishing area of Valley Community Newspapers.

For a group of mostly Sacramento natives who grew up playing baseball in this very rich baseball city and a few other places, a tradition was born about five years ago.

The Noah’s Bagel’s Baseball Gang meets weekly at Noah’s Bagels in Town and Country Village. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

It was around this time that a group of seniors calling themselves the Noah’s Bagels Baseball Gang began meeting once a week at Noah’s Bagels in Town and Country Village.

Continuing their weekly gatherings since this time, this social group has grown to include 18 members.

The very first members of the group were Jim Westlake, Dick Alejo and the late Danny Mooradian, who are considered the founders of the group.

In speaking about the formation of the group, Dick said, “We just felt like every time we would go out and see some guy, we would say, ‘Hey, we meet here for coffee. Why don’t you join us.’ Pretty soon, here we are (as a large group).”

Joe Duarte, one of the earliest members to join the group, said that there are various ways that one can be eligible to become a member of the group.

“(To join the group, one should) know somebody, played ball with somebody (or) went to school with them and played ball with them,” Duarte said. “Some of these guys played minor league baseball. Only one – Cuno Barragan – played in the big leagues. He caught for the (Chicago) Cubs for (three) years. Almost all of them, except for two or three, played high school baseball. I never played high school baseball, because I went in the merchant Marines in 1944, when I was 15 years old.”

Duarte said that he eventually became a baker, but chuckled when asked about bagels, saying (back then, in the 1940s), I’d never heard of them.”

During one of the group’s recent gatherings, the following members of the group in attendance shared information about their connections to baseball.

Barragan: “I was born (on June 20, 1932) and raised in Sacramento. I graduated from Sacramento High School in January 1950, and I played football and baseball at Sacramento Junior College. I signed a contract with the Sacramento Solons in 1952, and I played my first year of professional baseball in 1953 for Idaho Falls and then came back and went in the service in 1954 and 1955. I did two years of active duty in the Navy. I went to spring training with the Solons in 1956, was optioned to Amarillo, Texas, Western League, and had a reasonably good year there, and played with the Sacramento Solons in 1957.”

Barragan added that after a brief retirement in 1958, he eventually was drafted from the Solons by the Chicago Cubs in 1961.

“My first at bat was (at Wrigley Field on) Sept. 1 against the San Francisco Giants and I hit a home run off of Dick LeMay on the first pitch. It was pretty exciting.”

Members of the “bagel boys,” as the group is sometimes called, enjoy a moment during a recent gathering at Noah’s Bagels. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Dick Alejo: “I was born in 1936. My professional career was not that big. I just went down to Mexico and played for a team, called Puebla, with Cuno Barragan and Sparky Anderson (who later played and managed in Major League Baseball). Besides that, I played for the American Legion Post 61, McClatchy High School and in the Winter League and at Sacramento Junior College. I did well, but I’m not going to (the National Baseball Hall of Fame in) Cooperstown!”

Nick Capachi: “I played on all the city leagues growing up – the 125-pound, 75-pound leagues – then I played for (American) Legion, high school, county leagues, the Placer-Nevada League and the KFBK all-star team,” said Capachi, who turned 77 last April. “I also played on the (Sacramento Junior) College team. We won the state championship in 1953. We beat Long Beach for the state championship right here at (William) Land Park. I also played in the Army, while I was stationed in the Presidio (in San Francisco).”

Augie Amorena: “I went to Sacramento High School and graduated in 1948. My parents (Amelia and Augustine Amorena) were immigrants from Spain. I started playing baseball when I was about 14. I played Summer League in the different weight divisions. I played (American) Legion, Sac JC and local Winter League, Spring League. We had a team in the Winter League, Julius Style Shop, and Joe Freitas was the manager. We were all young kids, just out of high school. The enthusiasm, the fun, we could hardly wait until Sunday to play ball. We did okay. We won a championship one year. And I played minor league baseball four years (including his time in the International League with the Edmonton Eskimos). I also played in the service for the Army team (in Hawaii).”

Cuno Barragan, a member of the Noah’s Bagel’s Baseball Gang, played baseball for the Chicago Cubs from 1961 to 1963. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Mike Bakarich: “I was born on Mother’s Day, 1944, at Sacramento County Hospital. When we were younger, there was no Little League. You played in the 100-pound league, got weighed.  I grew up in West Sacramento and I had to take the Gibson bus and the streetcar to go to McClatchy Park to play baseball. They couldn’t remember my name, so they called me ‘the kid from across the river.’ I played with these guys since I was in the 7th grade, probably. I went to Grant Tech (College, which was located across the street from Grant High School) and I played all three sports there. Then I played baseball in the Winter League, in the National Division, played in the County League and the Rural League and I quit playing hard ball in 1960 or 1961, because I like to play fast-pitch softball. We were playing maybe 75 or 80 ball games a summer, and trying to play baseball and softball was kind of tough. With the fast-pitch softball, I’ve been to two world tournaments and two national tournaments. I played all over the United States. I’m in the fast-pitch hall of fame and the baseball hall of fame in Sacramento.”

The group had its own T-shirts printed to wear at their meetings and to present to some of their friends. Shown above is a close-up view of the front, center part of one of the shirts. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Various locally renowned people have established their homes in the Riverside-Pocket area at different times during the history of this historical community. And among these notable residents was former Mayor Clarence L. Azevedo.

Clarence L. Azevedo served as the mayor of Sacramento from 1956 to 1959. / Photo courtesy, PHCS

Clarence, who was born in Mountain View, Calif. on Oct. 21, 1909, was the son of John Lawrence Azevedo and Rosa Agnes Silva Balcao Azevedo.

John Lawrence immigrated to Sacramento from the Azores Islands with his brother Frank in the early 1890s.

In 1893, the two brothers constructed a house on the old Jackson Road, five miles east of Sacramento in the town of Perkins, and a few years later, they engaged in winemaking.

Frank later established a farm in Natomas and John Lawrence farmed in Mountain View.

In addition to farming, John Lawrence was able to occasionally provide Portuguese interpreting for the courts through his knowledge of Portuguese and Latin, which he acquired while studying for the priesthood in the Azores Islands.

While residing in Mountain View, John Lawrence met and married Rosa Agnes and together they had three children, who were born in Mountain View.

The Azevedo family eventually sold their Mountain View ranch and purchased a summer resort in Calistoga, Calif.

It was there that the family moved into a 14-room house, rented out cabins to tourists and made wine for the government.

With the establishment of Prohibition, the Azevedos lost the majority of their income and moved back to the Sacramento area, where the couple had their fourth child and John Lawrence went to work for his brother in Natomas.

John Lawrence later worked at Manlove Station, east of Perkins, where he managed the McGillivray Ranch.

On Jan. 10, 1920, John Lawrence became a victim of influenza and, as a result, died at the age of 58 on June 6 of the same year. And Rosa Agnes died nearly 17 years later at the age of 52.

Following his father’s death, when he was 10 years old, Clarence, who was the oldest of his siblings, worked at a grocery store in Brighton, near Perkins.

At the store, he worked after school for 10 cents per hour from 4 to 7 p.m., then he returned to his home in Brighton to milk his family’s cow and sell quarts of milk by horseback.

After his long day of school and work, Clarence would spend time on his homework by the light of a kerosene lantern.

When Clarence was 14 years old, he spent an entire month operating the aforementioned grocery store, as well as its associated gas station while the business’s owner was on vacation.

And while he was still working at the grocery store in 1923, Clarence, who was then attending Sacramento High School, purchased a used Ford touring car for $180.

Clarence turned his vehicle into a means of making money, as his car became a sort of school bus for out of town students.

In being well aware that the county assisted out of town students by paying them $5 per month to attend high school, Clarence filled his car each day with six other out of town students and then collected his passengers’ $5 per month payments.

During the summers, Clarence earned 25 cents per hour performing cultivating and irrigation work at the nearby Rooney hop fields.

Alice Azevedo stands inside her Oak Park apparel shop on its opening day, Aug. 17, 1935. / Photo courtesy, PHCS

When he was 18 years old, Clarence applied to work at a Safeway grocery store one afternoon.

Because his desire to work and earn money was so strong, Clarence claimed that he was 21 years old on his application.

Furthermore, he showed up the following morning, without waiting for someone from the store to call him, just in case a store employee had quit their position and created a job opening.

Clarence’s persistency paid off, as he was hired to work at the Safeway store at 2430 J St. His first job at the store was peeling onions.

With his work ethic and drive, Clarence, who eventually worked for Safeway for 16 years, graduated to the order department following an incident in which he took a $132 grocery order from a Sloughhouse farmer.

At a pay rate of $22.50 per week, Clarence worked from 7 a.m. until whatever hour his work was completed each night.

Being that he lived in a city that was fanatical about baseball, it should come as no surprise that Clarence showed a great interest in baseball.

In addition to his dedication to Safeway, Clarence, beginning when he was 15 years old, played 15 years of semi-pro baseball as a catcher for teams in Perkins and Florin.

Although Clarence participated in this popular sport with such notable players as Joe Marty and Stan Hack, Clarence admitted that he was “not in their league.”

While he was still 18, Clarence married 16-year-old Alice Banks and the couple had one child, Phyllis Jean.

During the early part of his marriage, Clarence was living with his family in Stockton, where he worked at a Safeway for 10 months.

After transferring back to Sacramento, Clarence successfully managed various Safeway stores.

In about 1940, Clarence, who was then residing at 831 El Dorado Way in East Sacramento, became the manager of a new Safeway store at 2900 Freeport Blvd.

The only other person working at the store at the time was a butcher, named George Zarzana, who resided with his wife, Mary, at 1906 P St.

Within its first sixth months, the store grew from a first week’s total of $315 to the highest volume Safeway store in Northern California, and employed seven clerks.

Azevedo also set up a training course for new employees, and he earned $5 for each employee hired and trained.

Safeway’s upper management was so pleased with the quality and effectiveness of Clarence’s work that he was presented with the opportunity to become the supervisor of 27 Siskiyou County-based stores.

Apparently Clarence did not accept the job, since Alice was well established in the capital city with her own business, the California Apparel dress shop at 2925 35th St. in Oak Park. She had opened the store on Aug. 17, 1935 with $750 of Clarence’s Safeway bonus money.

The exterior of the third Oak Park location of California Apparel is shown in this 1952 photograph. / Photo courtesy, PHCS

Clarence left Safeway on July 10, 1943 to assist Alice with California Apparel, which at various times had stores in other locations in the Sacramento area, Roseville and Stockton.

Recurrent vandalism forced the Azevedos to close the last of their Oak Park stores – there were three such stores at different times – at 2930 35th St. in 1952.

In the same year, the Azevedos sold the remainder of their stores and began to operate a very large California Apparel store in the Fruitridge Shopping Center. This store, which was entirely managed by Clarence and earned $2.7 million in its last full year, continued to operate until April 28, 1986.

During the time that he was managing the Fruitridge store, Clarence became involved in politics and was appointed to the city council in 1953 to complete the term of Roy Nielson, who had been elected to the state assembly.

In 1956, Clarence began serving in the first of his two terms as mayor, a position he held until 1959.

It was also during this era that Clarence was a member of the executive committee of Solons, Inc. – the organization which purchased the Sacramento Solons minor league baseball team in 1959 – and the head of a committee designed to study the feasibility of financing the fairgrounds at Cal Expo.

In his latter years of his life, Clarence, who passed away at the age of 91 on Feb. 14, 2001, two years following the death of Alice, resided on 43rd Avenue, just off of South Land Park Drive, in the Riverside-Pocket area.

Ron King holds a baseball bat with engraved autographs from the 1971 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. During his scouting career, Ron was a scout for three World Championship teams. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

This man, Ron King, who is known as “Ronnie” by many of his closest friends, grew up at 309 W St., near Southside Park, as the only child of Manuel and Anna King.

When he was about eight years old, Ron, 82, who presently resides in Sacramento with his wife Betty, began playing baseball.

It was at this time, during the 1930s, that Ron planted his roots toward becoming a notable figure in the city’s professional baseball history, which dates back to the 19th century.

Born to play ballBaseball was very much a large part of his life at a very young age, Ron explained.

“I used to carry a catcher’s glove with me all the time in case somebody wanted to play catch,” he recalled.

Ron honed his baseball skills during his youth on Sacramento fields, as he played in local city league games.

He also picked up a baseball job in 1937, when he became employed at Cardinal Field – home field of the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League – at Broadway and Riverside Boulevard.

Ron initially worked at the stadium as a visitors’ batboy, then the following year, he gathered baseballs off the roof with Norman Greenslate, another youn

Ron King, who was a catcher during his baseball playing days, is shown in this c.1945 photograph. / Photo courtesy of Ron King

g, local baseball player.

In 1940, Ron once again became the visitors’ batboy, followed by the scoreboard operator in 1941 and 1942 and a visitors’ clubhouse boy from 1943 to 1946.

While working as a scoreboard operator, Ron was paid 25 cents per game and 35 cents per doubleheader.

Considering Ron’s love for baseball, working at Cardinal Field, which by 1945 was known as Edmonds Field, was a dream job.

Working at the stadium presented Ron with the opportunity to meet professional players. And for Ron, this was an experience that was the equivalent of a motion picture fanatic meeting Hollywood movie stars.

The CB years

After gaining experience playing on city league baseball teams during his childhood, Ron played baseball for Christian Brothers High School, when the school was located at 21st Street and Broadway.

Since baseball was Ron’s greatest passion in life, it did not take long for him to become known as a “baseball nut.”

Evidence of Ron’s love for baseball can be seen on a page of a 1946 edition of his high school newspaper, The Talon, which includes a write-up with the following words: “Do you want to know anything about baseball? Ask Ronnie King.”

Land Park resident Ron King points to a photograph of Steve Sax, one of the top players who he scouted during his Major League Baseball scouting career. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Ron said that Brother Eugene Ward, Christian Brothers’ principal at the time, was a big influence in his life.

“Brother Eugene said to me, ‘If I asked you to read a page, you can’t tell me what you read.’” Ron said. “I looked at him and said, ‘No.’ Right about when baseball was going to start, (Brother Eugene) gave me a poem and he said, ‘I want you to learn this poem. I’ll give you a day to learn it and if you don’t learn it, you’re not going to play.’

Determined to play baseball at the school, Ron learned the poem so well that he can still recite the poem to this day.

Fortunately for Ron, who was given more than one lesson in discipline from Brother Eugene, and Christian Brothers High, Ron achieved much success playing high school baseball.

In 1946, the year that he graduated from the school, Ron was named as one of the 12 players of The Sacramento Union’s All-City Team.

Reminiscing about his four years of playing varsity baseball at Christian Brothers High, where he was also the student body vice president during his senior year, Ron said that the baseball team had much success during this time.

“We didn’t lose too many games,” Ron said. “Our pitching staff was pretty good. We had four pitchers on the team and three of them pitched in the National Division of the Sacramento Winter League and (this semi-pro division) was the big thing before pro football took over. The games used to draw quite a few people.”

At the age of 15, Ron became the youngest player to ever join the National Division, which played its games at such places as William Land, McKinley and Stanford parks.

The minor leagues

Following his time at Christian Brothers, Ron began to live out his dream, as he signed with the Cleveland Indians organization and played with its Bakersfield farm club in the California League in 1946 and 1947 and then in Billings, Mont. in the Pioneer League in 1948.

Ron King, shown sixth to right in the front row, was a player-coach for the Salem Senators of the Northwest League. / Courtesy of Ron King.

In 1949, Ron played in Dayton, Ohio and was part of a pennant winning team in the Double A Central League.

Ron took on a new role in baseball in 1950, when he served as a substitute catcher for various teams’ catchers who were recovering from injuries.

Ron said that it was during this segment of his career, playing for teams in Dayton, Ohio, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wilkes Barre, Pa. and Oklahoma City, Okla., when he “learned how to travel.”

After taking time away from baseball in 1951 and 1952 to serve his country during the Korean War, Ron joined a Reading, Pa. team, which ended up posting a 106-42 won-loss record in his first season with the Eastern League club.

In 1954, Ron came home to play in familiar territory, as he became a member of the Sacramento Solons. But his time playing for his hometown team was short-lived.

In 1955 and 1956, Ron was a player-coach for the Salem Senators of the Northwest League.

Team manager

Ron was selected to manage the Senators on the road, because the team’s owner, who was also the Senators’ home manager, did not like to participate in the road trips.

Ron King shows off his 1997 Major League Baseball West Coast Scout of the Year ring. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Since it had been one of his dreams to manage a team, Ron said that he was excited to become the team’s road manager.

Since minor league managers at the time were also required to be players, unless they owned the team they were managing, both Ron’s playing and managing career came to an end during a playoff game in 1956, when he severely injured his back.

But true to the well-known line, “When one door closes, another opens,” a new door opened for Ron when he was contacted by Joe L. Brown, general manager of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates.

Talent scout

Ron said that Joe L. Brown, who was the son of the actor and comedian Joe E. Brown, offered him a job as a baseball scout for the Pirates organization.

“(Joe L. Brown) said to me, ‘The streetcar only comes by every so often, so if you want to be a scout, you better get on the streetcar,’” Ron recalled.

Making the decision to jump aboard this figurative streetcar, Ron began his new role in baseball.

Ron said that becoming a scout was one of the best decisions he made during his many years in baseball.

And when asked how well he transitioned into the role of a scout, Ron showed how much of a natural he was for this position when he said, “Well, I don’t know, you just went after the guys who could play and who had the tools. And I knew what I was supposed to look for in a player.”

While working for the Pirates from 1960 to 1974, Ron scouted the following notable players from Sacramento: Bob Oliver, Jim Nelson, Greg “Duke” Sims, Rod Scurry, Rich Standart, among others.

Commenting that different scouts have different methods of scouting players, Ron said that as a scout, he placed great emphasis on a player’s speed.

“Speed was the big thing,” Ron said. “Power became second and then the arm became third, except with the catcher, shortstop and the right fielder.”

During a time when the Pirates wanted Ron to relocate back East, he instead took a scouting job with the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 25, 1974.

Ron King is shown in his Salem Senators uniform in this c. 1955 photograph. The circle drawn around his head indicates that he was selected to play on the team. / Photo courtesy, Ron King

While maintaining his Sacramento home base with the Dodgers until 1987, Ron scouted various players, including Steve Sax, R.J. Reynolds and Rudy Law.

Sax was one of Ron’s biggest recruits, as he was drafted into the Dodgers organization in 1978, won the National League Rookie of the Year award and was a five-time All-Star in 14 seasons.

Following his time with the Dodgers, Ron worked for three years as a national cross checker for the Philadelphia Phillies before taking a job as a national supervisor in his second stint with the Pirates.

Ron, whose best friend in baseball was Pittsburgh Pirates legend Willie Stargell, is also known for scouting many other notable players, including Max Venable, Rich Rodas, Matt Whisenat, Brian Clark, Joel Adams and certainly one of his favorites, the All-Star catcher, Jason Kendall.

One of the proudest moments in Ron’s baseball career, which ended in 2000, came in 1997, when he was named the West Coast Scout of the Year by Major League Baseball.

Now in his retirement years, Ron, who still enjoys watching professional baseball games, as well as serving as president of the Southside Improvement Club and reading mystery books by James Patterson, Michael Connelly and John Sandford, said that he enjoys reminiscing about his many years working in baseball.

“I got to do everything I wanted to do,” Ron said. “Every time I woke up in the morning, I looked up at the sky and said, ‘Thanks.’ When you get to do what you want to do all the time, you’re pretty lucky. So, (being employed in baseball) was a dream come true.”

lance@valcomnews.com