All-Stars remember the best of times

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Members of the 1960 Anderson American League All Star team that played in the Babe Ruth World Series in 1960. (Back row: Marion Hovermale, Max Perry, Ron Mayberry, Roger Denny, Gary Lewis, Steve Callowy, coach Ralph Row, Front row: Eddie Ray, Jim Holsapple, Al Stoner, Mike York, Bob Carol Aaron Piper
Members of the 1960 Babe Ruth team which went to the National Championship gather during a reunion to look over scrap books, a letterman jacket, and old video. Aaron Piper
Roger Denny signs baseballs during the reunion of the 1960 Babe Ruth team which went to the National Championships. There is a ball for each of the members of the team, signed by all the members of the team and the coach.

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July 30, 2010

1960 Babe Ruth team recalls a magical summer

By Justin Albers For The Herald Bulletin The Herald Bulletin Fri Jul 30, 2010, 10:17 PM EDT

ANDERSON, Ind. — Everybody, it seemed, remembers something different; no two stories were exactly the same.

But all the players on the 1960 Anderson American All-Star team agreed on one thing: the Babe Ruth World Series experience was one they will never forget.

The Americans got together Thursday night at the Anderson Elks Lodge to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of their magical summer. It was evident that none of the players have forgotten the memories created during those months.

“We rode the fire trucks every time we won a tournament,” Mike York said of a tradition that is still practiced today. “That’s what I remember most. Those firetruck rides were something else.”

The Americans won the Ohio Valley Regional that year and earned a trip to St. Paul, MN to play against the best teams in the country. The team got a big send off from the Anderson community before making the trip on a chartered bus. Those in attendance included Carl Erskine and the mayor.

As exciting as the summer had been up to that point, the Americans would soon have to deal with disappointment in the first game of the World Series.

They left 14 runners on base and lost 6-1 to a team from Mecklinburg, N.C. All of a sudden, the boys from Anderson found themselves in the loser’s bracket with their hopes of a championship all but wiped away.

“It was a game we definitely should have won,” said Steve Cummins, a retired airline pilot who now resides in Washington. “It was just a heartbreaker.”

After a win against a club from Missouri, the Americans were forced to return home due to rain. They didn’t have the luxury of waiting it out because they had to return to Anderson for school.

But the trip wasn’t all bad. Cummins said being at the World Series was a joy in itself.

“At that age, being able to travel to other parts of the country was new,” he said. “We stayed at a university dorm up there and we got to eat in the dorm dining hall.

“We played at a AAA stadium which, to us, was a huge park. You couldn’t find a rock in the infield anywhere to divert the ball. That was certainly different from our Babe Ruth fields in Anderson.”

When the Americans returned home, they were treated to a huge banquet at a local venue. York said a grocery store paid for the meals, and each player received a trophy and a jacket.

But Marian Hovermale said the players didn’t deserve all of the credit for the team’s success – the coaches were a large part of it. The Americans had three coaches – Everette Delph, Ralph Rowe and Ronnie Fletcher – none of which had a son on the team. Delph and Fletcher have since passed away, but they were represented by family members at Thursday’s banquet.

“I remember all of the individual attention we got from the three coaches we had,” Hovermale said. “They not only saw talent, but were as interested in character and teamwork as anything. They taught us that winning was just the by-product of doing the best we could do.

“Those things that I learned at that young age helped me later on in life.”

Even though many of the Americans’ players had never been on the same team prior to that summer, the Babe Ruth journey bonded the entire team. Many remain friends to this day, despite the fact that half of the team went to Anderson High School and half attended Madison Heights.

“Marian Hovermale was the best man at my wedding and we went to college together,” Cummins said. “We’ve been apart for many years because I’ve lived on the West Coast since school, but that type of thing bonded many of us.”

“Without that summer, and getting to know those people better, I probably would not have those extended friendships that I have now,” Hovermale added.

When the teenagers were selected to the Anderson All-Star team, they were only boys. After going through a once-in-a-lifetime expedition with their closest friends, they became men.

“I think it gave me a realization that things above what you think can be achieved can actually be achieved,” Cummins said. “I’ve been very successful in my life, I feel, and very lucky to have had many opportunities afforded to me.

“For many years I had two jobs at one time and was able to handle those types of things, mainly because of the ability to get along with others, the teamwork. I think a lot of that was started in the summer I played with this particular group of guys.”

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