Lloyd Thomas (DDE 764) - Naval Cruise Book

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gaffefgaf .iam Reorganized during the cruise, the team showed great possibilities. Playing in a tourna- ment among the destroyers Wilson, Harwood, Keppler, Thomas and carrier Cabot, the team won 5 and lost 3. Among the victories was a 20 point win over the Cabot and a similar win over the French Naval Base team at Oran, Algeria. Two double overtime losses to the Wzlson were among the thrillers. Watch out for this team, They can go'j'! ROSTER OF PLAYERS: Dhaens, CS2 - Captain Birkett, RM2 - Co-captain Schwendeman, RM2 Wilson, RD3 Whitley, RMSN Teske, SN Crotty, SN Cain, SN Smith, FN Spradlin, SN Ricketts, PN2 While in Oran a temporary volleyball court was set up on the dock just adja- cent to the ship using materials at hand. Several games were played as part of a tournament which could not be com- pleted because of interference with scheduled softball games, but many games were played just for the sake of relaxation and exercise ....

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will al... The Lloyd Thomas opened the 1952 Softball season early in February with an ll to pr-HCUCC game victory over the U.S.S. Goodrich. The game was highlighted by a bases-loaded homerun by Gunn RM3 in the fourth inning. Our 'next win came in Oran with a 12 to 9 slugfest win at the expense of the U.S.S. Keppler. These two games proved to be just the warm up we needed to begin the first round of the CortDesD1v 62 tournament which opened in Oran. Qur first opponent was the highly regarded carrier nine from the U.S.S. Cabot. The big boys were quite surprised to find that they were no match for the Thomas team, going down to a 6-3 defeat. Shortstop Eshbach SKSN, was the hero of the day blasting a two-run homer in the fifth'to break a tie score, while Gunn was busy striking out 16 Cabotmen. From this remarkable start, we really hit bottom when the Kelbpler nosed us out 5 to 7 in the second game of the tournament. The Thomas went back to its winning ways the next day though, by defeating the U.S.S. Harwood 8 to 5, with Eshbach again taking the hitting honors with a homerun and a triple, while driving in four runs. The U.S.S. Wilson was next on the list and this game was to determine the tournament leadership. Once more the Thomas was up to the test, winning another slugfest 10 to 6. Our remarkable shortstop did it again, this time in the first inning. This game terminated the Hrst round of play,- with the Thomas and Wilson tied with a .3-l won-lost record, and the playoff was scheduled for Ville- franche. The Wilson proved to be just too much that day winning 6 to l, but an assist will have to be given to the six errors contributed by the Thomas. Our only run was scored on a home- run in the seventh by Gunn. The second round of play got underway the next day, and the Thomas took three straight victories, all of them forfeits from the Cabot, Keppler and the Har- wood. A playoff for the championship between the Thomas and the Wilson was never scheduled and the tournament ended in a tie. But of course we like to think that the Thomas would have beaten them anyway, thereby taking un- disputed ownership of the title champions . Scherrer RD3 is the leading hitter in the club with an average of .478 for the seven games that were actually played. Eshbach is the home-run and RBI leader with a 5 and 14 respectively. Gunn is the strike-out leader with 43. Curran QMC, was elected captain for this year, and we think he's.off to a wonderful start with a great bunch of guys. ln competition against the Cabot's boxers and wrestlers the Thomas team, although outpoint6d by the Cabotmen, did better than any of thC other destroyer teams. The Smoker was held on the Cabot while the ship was in Gran with Franzen, Engott, Powell, Christensen, and But- ler competing for the Thomas .... .

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Disc Jockeys Chuck Birkett, Bob Scherrer QKevin O,Sl1C2lD, Don Fisher, Jim Gallagher, and engineer John Kelly combined their talents on the long voyage home to give us two very enjoy- ruide 5006 .Slot yvith over ,350 photographs taken while underway and at the six ports visited during the Mediterranean Cruise, tlIe stalf was faced with the task of organizing the material in readable form in a minimum of time. As would be ex- pected this proved to be no simple job for the bunch of odd-lingered seamen we were. But with maximum utilization of all those who had had previous year-book experience and the cooperation and support of all hands, we managed to finish the book. Wfe present it to you hopefully for your approval and wish to thank all those who helped in its compilation. PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF Casquarelli, Hank R. Heim, James Kustra, Edmond F. Reeves, Gerald W. WRITING STAFF Gunn, William Kelly, John M. Maher, Darrell G. Mink, William R. Ricketts, Theodore Smith, Roy C. EXRT STAFF Bebble, Gene A. Dinsbier, Douglas P. PUBLICITY AND BUSINESS MANAGER Mereen, Samuel CRUISE Book OFFICER LTQIG C. B. Conlin able hours of music and fast chatter each night thanks to the use of Chaplain Hogan's platter spinner .... On the trip back from the Mediterranean when 21 March rolled around a birthday party was cele- brated for the nine plank owners shown above who were members of the crew Eve years ,ago when the Lloyd Thomas was Hrst commissioned at the Bethlehem Steel Company yards in San Francisco. Those present from left to right back row: Roberts, 1JCV1llC,. C. E., Mfoody, Dootson, Morris. Front row: King, R. G., Cunningham, Morton, R. L., Dietrich. L