Peter Pan was the top movie in theaters in 1953, with a lifetime gross of over $87,400,000. It was 60 cents to go to the movies. The Massachusetts schoolboy baseball tournament was held at Fenway Park, and there was no admission required.
The tournament featured powerhouse Bay State schools from: Somerville, Newton and Milford. The fourth school represented were the diminutive Patriots from Concord. Enrollment was barely 100 students, and that encompassed three other towns(Bedford, Carlisle and Lincoln). Concord was in the midst of a 59 game winning streak on the gridiron, but baseball had never been its strong suit.
Future Cleveland Indians' draftee, lefthander Dave Bouchard got Concord off on the right foot with a complete game victory over previous State Champion Somerville, 3-2. The game featured a two run homer into the left field screen by stocky catcher, Dave DiRuzzo. The ball was belted just to the left of the flagpole atop the center field wall and scored Ken Olsen from first base who had reached on a single.
The Lions from Newton were the semifinal opponent for Concord. The game was tied 3-3 in the eighth inning when Newton's Mike Oliver blasted a line drive over the head of Concord centerfielder, Don Cullinane. The shot one hopped the wall as Oliver raced around the bases. The speedy Cullinane retrieved the ball off the wall and threw in the air to the cutoff man. Shortstop Ken Olsen made a perfect throw to third baseman Dave Wade who applied the tag on the hustling Oliver.
A late tally by Concord in the bottom of the inning gave them the lead and they hung on for the win, 4-3. The winning pitcher was righthander, Al Stockelberg. Concord would face Milford in the finals. Righthander Ralph Lumenti would be pitching for Milford. Ralph was just three years away from professional baseball with the Washington Senators in the American League.
Milford led throughout the contest and held a 5-4 lead into the ninth inning. Concord had rallied in the eighth, cutting the deficit to a single run. Lumenti had struggled mightily with his control and walked two batters
while getting two outs. He faced Arthur Duggan with hot hitting Ken Olsen on deck. Duggan worked a 3-2 count and time was called while the Milford manager, the catcher and infielders huddled at the mound. Duggan walked over to the ondeck circle for some instructions from Olsen.
"Whatever you do, don't swing. He can't find homeplate with a compass. Take your walk and I'll either tie or win the game."
Hoosiers - In 1951, Norman Dale arrives in the rural southeast Indiana town of Hickory to become a high school teacher and head basketball coach. He was hired by Cletus Summers, the principal and a longtime friend of Dale's. Dale, just out of the Navy, had been a champion collegiate coach until he struck one of his players. The coaching position in Hickory is a last chance for him.
The school enrollment is so small that Dale has only seven players on his squad. At his first practice, Dale quickly dismisses one, Buddy Walker, for not paying attention and talking while the coach is talking. Another, Whit Butcher, walks out in support of his friend, leaving Dale with only 5 players, the minimum needed to play.
Hickory shocks the state by reaching the championship game in Indianapolis. In a large arena and before a crowd bigger than any they've seen, the Hickory players face long odds to defeat the defending state champions from South Bend, whose players are taller and more athletic. But with Jimmy Chitwood scoring at the last second, tiny Hickory takes home the 1952 Indiana state championship.
The same can not be said for Concord. Their best hitter remained in the ondeck circle. Arthur Duggan did the opposite of what he was told, chasing the 3-2 curveball in the dirt that was a foot off the plate. 63 years may have moved the cost of a movie ticket to $7.92, but it hasn't moved Ken Olsen from wondering, "what if"?
Paul Murphy
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
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