Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLEC TOR l -cl- Like heck, sneered Hank Gowdy. VVe'll give him a hard time trying to break in with us. lf he gets a good throw from me on those double plays, my name ain't Purdy, said johnson, the short stop. Blimp Arnolds, the immense catcher, grinned. Don't worry, no college boy will get your job if I have my way about it. ' The next day, on his arrival at the ball park, Mike's anger was aroused at the sight of a stocky, rather sawed off, but alert athlete in a many hued sport shirt. Now if there was one thing that Mike could not stand it was guys who wore what he termed them new fangled sport shirts. In fact, there was a rule in the club forbidding the wearing of such clothes. Bitterly reflecting upon this, Mike entered the locker room. Zeke Hupfel yelled out none too gently, Where's the rah-rah boy? Has he got a chaperone with him? Mike was in the act of replying when several other players uttered cries of amaze- ment, and Blimp Arnolds managed to murmur, Gosh, take a gander at that shirt! Mike wheeled, and there in front of him stood the same fellow he had noticed as he entered the ball park. Within a few seconds Tommy Dugan had sensed the hostility of the players, but he broke out cheerfully, Well, so you're the famous Wildcats. Then he added, This is me, Tommy Dugan, in person, and you'd better like me, for if you don't I'l1 make you. He took them completely by surprise as though he had just dropped through the roof, and they were silent as though awe-struck. He turned to Mike and said: Come on, dearie. Shake me out a suit and let's get going. Mike, one leg out of his pants, froze in that awkward position, and found himself as incapable of making a comeback as any of the other players. In the confusion, Mike had forgotten to tell Tommy where to bat in the practice before the ensuing game with the jackrabbits. So when Purdy john- son stepped to the plate, he found Tommy standing there before him, giving no impression of wanting to move. Tommy was a good live inches smaller, but the manner in which he looked at Purdy made him move back involuntarily. Now Frankie Blumenhack, the batting practice pitcher, had no intention of giving Tommy a good pitch to hit at, and proceeded to throw them in the direction of Tommy's head, but Tommy promptly slapped them back and bounced them off Frankie's shins. Thereafter Frankie showed remarkable con- trol. The game was running along smoothly, with the Wildcats leading the -Iackrabbits by 4-1 at the end of the sixth inning. Tommy had been playing bang-up ball, and snared many a grounder that Jake Flowers would not have gotten within ten feet of. It was on the next play that it happened. Purdy had just fielded a grounder and Tommy had covered second, expecting Purdy to throw it to him for the forceout. However, he never expected Purdy's speedy throw, and missed it completely. This made him look very bad, and the enraged fans began hooting him. Only now did Tommy realize the extent of the grudge of the older players. 25

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THE REFLEC TOR .iL1.ll- - 1 lillil Sport Shirts, and How By Warren E. Erbe, june '37 Out of the thick steam which filled the shower room of the Altooner Wildcats, came the cheerful, shouting voices of the players. Boy, oh boy, did you see me hit those three over the fence? Did I make that pitcher look silly! yelled Jake Flowers, heavy slugging second baseman of the Wildcats. Three out of four for me, remarked Hank Gowdy, the pudgy center fielder. W-all, drawled Alabama Jones, the first baseman, I-all got me foh hits, if-n that thar scorer didn't rob me 0' that last double. Pitcher Dutch Dowling was howling with glee. He had made four hits including a home run, which established him as the leading hitter of the league. It did not matter to him that he had just lost his twenty-seventh game. The whole team was in a joyful mood, even though their loss had firmly entrenched them in last place in the Buckeye league. They had lost their last twelve games, but did not seem the least bit depressed over this fact. The only men who were glum were Tony Rondetti and Purdy Johnson, for they had gone hitless in the afternoon's game. This scene was typical of the Wildcats' dressing room. The club was composed of a group of hardy veterans who believed in frequent hits and did not bother over games won or lost. Manager Mike Randolph was one. of the old school of baseball players, and threatened to kick off anyone who dared to bunt instead of hitting. It did not matter to him that Zeke Hupfel's ex- treme slowness permitted many flies hit to his sector to fall fairg and that Butch Jamison, at third, could hardly pick up a grounder, as long as they hit in the neighborhood of .360. The whole team was picked mainly for their hitting strength rather than for their fielding ability. To Mike it made no difference that the team was last in the league as long as they led the league in batting. ' Things rolled on happily until one morning, as Mike Randolph sat in his office, the telephone jangled loudly. As he replaced the receiver he swore to himself. Bah, curse the luck, more of that dang office interference. Now they are wishing that punk Dugan on me, and I gotta play him immediately, even with jake hitting .379. Curse the luck. As he opened the morning edition of the Daily Star in the locker room the following day, he spotted the headlines: Wildcats purchase sensational rookie. It went on to list Tommy Dugan's capabilities and told of his college life and his participation in many sports there. It mentioned that he was ai fiashy fielder and had set a college record for double plays, though he batted only 276. jake Flowers, the Wildcats' second baseman, was Worried, for he knew that he had slowed down considerably and was in danger of losing his position. Well, broke in Tony Rondetti, hefty left fielder, what shall we do? Give him an easy time and let him set an example for other college boys who want our jobs? 24

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PHE REFLECTOR Tommy decided to have it out with Purdy immediately after the end of the game, and then give them a dose of their own medicine the following day. As the players trooped into the locker room, they were joyfully chatting over tl1e number of hits that they had made, when Tommy interrupted them. He stepped in front of Purdy and exclaimed, What do you mean by throw- ing that ball as if you were pitching. Trying to make me look bad, eh? l'urdy's massive form started to shake, and he said, Look what's asking for a fight-little half pint. VVhy, with one finger I--. Before he had finished his sentence, Tommy had grabbed him by his arm and left leg and began slowly to twist Purdy into odd shapes. Not for nothing had he been college wrestling champion. He then slammed a half Nelson on Purdy, and, after a few minutes, Purdy dropped limply to the floor, his face fiushed with embarrassment. None of the other Wildcats looked will- ing to take up where Purdy had left off, so Tommy left the Club House, feel- ing lots better after his little work-out. Manager Mike Randolph whistled to himself: If it weren't for them danged sport shirts, well--. The next day, in the second game of the series, they were leading by two runs, when Tommy decided to give the VVildcats a dose of their own medicine. As he fielded a sharp bounder, he immediately cut loose with a scorching throw to second base, where Purdy should have been. However, he had loafed, expecting Tommy to dash over himself to make the putout. Therefore the ball Iiew into the left field boxes, and two runs crossed the plate, tying the score. It did not go unnoticed that Purdy had been at fault, and he was in for a great deal of razzing from the bleacher fans for the duration of the game. In the seventh inning Tommy proceeded to put the Wildcats ahead with a ringing double over third base, driving in Zeke Hupfel, who was on second. VVith two out in the ninth, the last batter-up for the Jackrabbits hit a ball slightly out of the first baseman's reach, and as he scrambled for it, Tommy ran to cover first. Alabama Jones, the first baseman, deliberately threw it low, trying to make Tommy look bad. Tommy, however, stabbed out his hand for the ball just as the runners' spikes tore into his hand, gouging it in several places. But the putout had been made, and the Wildcats had Hnally won a series from a team. Tommy was lying on the rubbing table, having his badly injured hand sterilized and bandaged, when the players trooped in. Alabama Jones edged up to the table and asked the Doc how Tommy was, and when informed that the injury was somewhat serious, he began to fumble with his glove and grin sheepishly. After much deliberation he finally spluttered his apologies to Tommy for having made such a deliberately bum throw, and then turned to the rest of the team and said: If you-all don't think this heah boy am O. K., you-all can come and see me and I'll attend to you-all. Zeke Hupfel nodded his approval and said, All right by me. He wrecked his hand to save the game, and it does feel mighty good to win once again. So my vote goes for him too. The rest of the team all chimed in with Alabama and Zeke, and Tommy grinned at them, feeling glad that he had won their 26