Advertisement in the
Brookline Journal, dated August 13, 1959, welcoming the
top four Little League teams to Brookline for the Pennsylvania State
Finals
of the yearly Williamsport baseball tournament.
Click
on blue-framed images for larger pictures
Brookline's
Community Center Hits The Bigtime!
Brookline has seen its share of
notoriety throughout the community's long history, but the summer of 1959
has to rank among the top in terms of its standing within the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During the weekend of August 14-15,
Brookline's Community Center was host to the Williamsport Tournament's
Pennsylvania State Little League finals.
Local Little League
president Sam Bryen,
a tireless campaigner for the advancement of Brookline baseball, somehow
cajoled state tournament director Tom Foerster, a Pittsburgh native,
into selecting our neighborhood to be host to the biggest Little League
baseball show of the year. This was the first year that the Pennsylvania
state finals were held outside of Little League's home base in
Williamsport, Pa., and the Brookline community responded with open
arms.
An incredible amount of
back-breaking work went into field preparations. Sam and his
dedicated group of workers had slowly been improving the Community Center Field
during the seven years since being first laid out in 1952, but their
efforts now kicked into high gear. With generous contributions from the
Little League Women's Auxiliary and the Brookline Chamber of Commerce,
donations the local citizenry, and volunteer work from many businesses
throughout the City of Pittsburgh, the summer of 1959 saw many
changes.
With an estimated 5000 or more
spectators expected to flood the Community Center area, parking near the
field was expanded, vehicle access improved, and new bleachers were built.
With the help of Bell Telephone pole digging equipment, a new fence was
erected around the entire field, replacing the temporary wood planks that
had been used for several years. The all-dirt outfield was covered with a
new layer of sod, prompting residents to remark that the Community Center
field had the greenest grass in all of Brookline. The Major League style
dugouts were renovated and a new refreshment stand was built.
Hopes were high within the
community that our own 1959 Brookline Little League
All-Stars would
be one of the four state finalists, repeating and hopefully bettering the
feat of the 1958
Brookline Little Leaguers, who finished as state runner-up the previous year. However,
our hometown boys bowed out of the tournament in the District 4 city
finals after a promising four-game winning streak. The Pittsburgh area
was represented, however, by the Ninth Ward Youth Association from
Lawrenceville.
The weekend kicked off with
a large banquet at the Brookline American Legion Hall, welcoming the four
top baseball teams, Ninth Ward (Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh), West Chester
Suburban (Philadelphia), Westmont (Johnstown) and Plymouth (Wilkes
Barre). Guests included Governor David L. Lawrence, Pittsburgh Mayor
Thomas Gallagher, several Pittsburgh Pirate players, national Little
League commissioner John Lindemuth, and many other high-ranking Little
League officials. The banquet emcee was Pirate announcer Bob "The
Gunner" Prince.
Tournament Director Tom Foerster
addresses the crowd at the Legion Hall. |
After the fun-filled night at the
Legion Hall, it was time to play ball. With the Community Center field
packing in a capacity crowd and the weather hovering in the 90 degree
range, Friday's games saw Ninth Ward defeat Westmont, 4-3, in the opening
contest, followed by West Chester Suburban battling Plymouth to a 2-2 tie
in the nightcap before darkness forced a halt.
Another capacity crowd descended
upon the Community Center Saturday morning to watch the action as the tie
game from the previous night was completed. West Chester Suburban came
out ahead, 3-2, on a homerun by Mike Thomas in the team's first at-bat.
After a short break in the action, Plymouth's Little Leaguers bested
Johnstown by a score of 7-1 in the consolation game. Then it was time
for the final contest, to determine the Pennsylvania state champion,
between Ninth Ward and West Chester Suburban.
The Community Center was filled to
capacity for the state finals. |
The crowd swelled to over 3000
spectators to watch the finale. Fans lined the fences, sat shoulder to
shoulder in the bleacher area, and left no empty space on the adjoining
hillside. Television and radio crews from several locations were on hand
to broadcast the game across the commonwealth. The weather was sunny and
the temperature again was in the 90 degree range, making for perfect
baseball conditions.
In the absence of Governor Lawrence,
Senator Joseph M. Barr threw in the ceremonial first pitch. West Chester
Suburban then went to work, led by pitcher Rich Saviski, who tossed a
three-hitter and slammed a two-run homer in the first inning. From then
on it was smooth sailing for the team from Philadelphia as they went on
to a 5-0 rout of Pittsburgh's Ninth Ward, thereby earning a trip to the
Eastern Regional Playoffs in Staten Island, New York.
Players Frank Saviski and Skip Gamble
clutch state championship trophy. |
Brookline's bout with Little
League stardom ended on Sunday afternoon with an all-star exhibition
featuring the best players from the six local community teams, a "cream
of the crop" contest that was attended by the largest crowd to ever view
a Brookline baseball game. Once the game ended, three of our state
teams headed back to their corner of Pennsylvania and one began their
journey to New York, and a chance for fame and glory in the Little League
World Series.
For the citizens of Brookline, it
was back to business as usual, but none who witnessed those four days in
August will ever forget the weekend that Brookline was the center of
attention in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. |
