Backroads and Ballplayers #83
Stories of the famous and not-so-famous men and women from a time when baseball was "Arkansas' Game." Backroads and Ballplayers Weekly is always free and short enough to finish in one cup of coffee.
Bezdek at the Half, Parker and Allen Make the Hall, and Coal Belt Stories Lost in the 1940s…
I had the privilege of working with the talented folks at Arkansas PBS on the documentary on Coach Hugo Bezdek that was shown at halftime of each of the Arkansas High School Football Championship games. If my phone messages are an indication, many of you saw it.
I am sure my co-host, Kevin Trainor, would agree that the story of the “Father of the Razorbacks” is well done, and all the credit goes to the producer, Shotaro Kanari, and his associates.
Documentary - Father of the Razorbacks PBS Arkansas 2024
The more complete story of the life of Hugo Bezdek can be found on page 56 of Backroads and Ballplayers. A magazine version was published in Only in Arkansas.
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It is a foregone conclusion that I do not live in the mainstream of American sports. The current event I was most interested in yesterday was the Classic Era Committee’s selection for the Baseball Hall of Fame. With a half dozen clicks I found out last evening that the Classic Era selections are Dave Parker and Dick Allen. I cannot criticize either. My guy, Tommy John, finished third. Maybe that is a signal that he was strongly considered. It will be the 2028 induction before we know if he is in the “On-Deck Circle”
This column has been accessed (read I hope) almost 2,700 times in the last 30 days. First of all, thanks, that is amazing and it tells me that there are folks out there that appreciate the history and lost stories from Arkansas baseball’s Golden Years.
The Theme for December is Lost in the 1940s…
Lost Stories From the 1940s
Someone asked me a few months ago if the 1930s was my favorite decade of Arkansas baseball history. I answered a little quickly by saying that the 1930s had the most stories to tell. While that is probably true, the 1940s had their share of memorable events and outstanding individuals.
The decade that “America’s Greatest Generation,” came of age began with the last state championship for the Coal Belt Semi-pro League and ended with a Coal Belt alumnus pitching a shutout in the World Series.
The Coal Belt League Wins Two Consecutive Semi-Pro State Titles
The Coal Belt League was made up of various combinations of town teams that included small towns from Morrilton, in Central Arkansas, to Bonanza, a mining community near the Oklahoma line. Generally, the teams represented teams from towns where coal mining was the predominant industry. The league existed from the early 1930s until World War II.
In the mid-1930s, a young college guy named Elwin Roe pitched for a summer in the Coal Belt League. His friends called him “Sleepy Roe,” and folks back home knew him as “Preacher.” By the end of the decade, the Coal Belt League had disappeared from the sports pages and Preacher Roe was pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
By 1940, Arkansas had held four sanctioned state semi-pro tournaments and town teams from the Coal Belt League had won two. The well-financed Beirne Lumbermen and Little Rock Research Hospital won the first two. Pass-the-hat town teams won in 1939 (Ozark) and 1940 (Coal Hill). Both Ozark and Coal Hill were members of the Coal Belt League.
The lost story of the 1940 Coal Hill state championship team is among the last stories of one of Arkansas’ most successful semi-pro leagues. By mid-July of the 1940 season, Clarksville was the undefeated leader at the halfway point in the Coal Belt season and the favorite to win the upcoming state semi-pro championship to be held in Russellville. “Undefeated in 14 games this season [ ] Clarksville is considered a strong contender for the state title this year.” —Clarksville Democrat 7-15-1940
The Fourth State Semi-Pro Tournament opened July 14 at Russellville City Park. Coal Hill won their first tournament game easily, an 11-3 rout over Bernice, a coal mining community located just south of Russellville. Herb Jackson was the winning pitcher and Dewey Ostendorf batted in three runs.
Two days later an extra-inning game with the Russellville All Stars may have been the pivotal game for Coal Hill. After falling behind 6-5 in the top of the 11th inning, Coal Hill scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to win a walk-off victory that kept them in the winner’s bracket. Shortstop Ray Johnson’s single drove in both runs.
Coal Hill’s next game with tournament favorite Clarksville went as the Clarksville Democrat had predicted. “Apparently headed for the state semi-pro title, the Clarksville semi-pro team shut out Coal Hill 8-0 behind the one-hit hurling of pitcher David Brinkley.”
The underdogs from Western Johnson County did not get the message that they faced a hopeless situation. Coal Hill defeated Ozark, Excelsior (Sebastian County), and Mount Vernon to escape the losers’ bracket and face Clarksville again in the finals.
This time the result was all Coal Hill. The Arkansas Gazette called Coal Hill the “Iron Man team.” Manager Sonny Muldoon’s underdogs dominated the favorites 8-0 and 10-2 to take home the championship trophy.
I would love to hear from family members of these teams. What about the 1940 State Semi-pro championship trophy?
*Some members of the Coal Hill Championship team are pictured above with the Clarksville team of 1949.
Detailed newspaper clippings are provided at the end of this week’s post if you are interested in details of the 1940 State Semi-pro Tournament games.
1949 World Series and the Lefty From the Coal Belt League
In one of Arkansas baseball’s most perplexing mysteries, a college guy named Elwin Roe spent a summer pitching in the Coal Belt League. Roe pitched most Sundays for the Russellville Jeeps and on occasional weekdays for the Dover town team. That summer of 1936 may answer the question of why so many families have grandpa stories about an ancestor playing against Preacher Roe. I have decided that most are possible and many are accurate.
As part of my work at Arkansas PBS, I came across this video of the 1949 World Series. The old newsreel is about 40 minutes long, but the classic old-style documentary contains some great shots of the most famous graduate of the Coal Belt League.
1949 World Series PBS Video Collection - Preacher Roe and the 1949 World Series
Book ordering information: Link
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Coal Belt Tournament Details
Thanks for the reply. Other names that I remember and one is a HOF, Ferguson Jenkins. Adolfo Phillips, Pat Corrales (who managed and coached) another outfielder who could knock the cover off the ball, Alex Johnson. I believe that the manager of those teams also went to the Show for a time, Frank Lucceshi (guessing now). Great teams and always fun to follow, especially for a pre-teen-age kid.
How come no one connects Richie (Dick)Allen to the Arkansas Travelers? I remember seeing Allen play at the Travelers old ball park in Little Rock. Watched him hit a home run that cleared the light poles and may still be in orbit. Also wasn't he the first black to play for the Travelers? During the 60s, the Travelers had a lot of good players stop there on the way to the Show!