03/29/2024
Thoughts While Shaving
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Thoughts While ShavingI love this time of the year. As a youngster (14-17), growing up near Bladenboro, it was baseball time and the Bladenboro Spinners, a semi-pro team, was the best team in the USA, so far as I was concerned.

Nothing better than heading out to Spinner Field, just west of Bladenboro and behind the cotton mill, where they played for many years in the 40s, 50s, and into the 60s, as I recall. The old ballpark was abandoned many years ago and replaced by low cost housing. In my mind, I can still see it and hear the cheers and chatter, including the questioning of umpire’s sight and judgment..

Many pretty good players played on the team at one time or another. See if I can recall some of those I remember from the 50s.

George McKeithan – catcher
Levi Bridger – 1st baseman
Willis Nance – 2nd baseman
Livingston Lewis – pitcher and position player
Johnny Lee Hammond – 3rd baseman
Vic Davis – pitcher, extraordinaire

Outfielders were numerous and at this time, can’t remember a single one, but just a little jogging of the memory would open up another chapter.

Bladenboro Cotton Mill was the owner of the park and team and great supporters.

After a days’ work at Hinson’s Supermarket, spending time at Spinner’s Park was as good as it could be.

You can re-live some of those times in a book released several years ago by George G. Suggs, Jr., “A Return To The ‘Boro”, good reading, especially for the locals. If you fail to locate the book, a shorten version is on the Internet. Just Google.

The way to make coaches think you’re in shape in the spring is to get a tan. Whitey Ford (Yankee pitcher)

The two most important things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen. Bob Lemon (major league manager)

I was so bad, I couldn’t have driven Miss Daisy home. Andy Van Slyke (outfielder)

robert g hester
rgh4612@gmail.com
910-876-2322

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