Terrier Town: Summer of ’49

Back Door into the Playoffs

225 South of Main Street Back Door into the Playoffs That trolley-line season in the valley of the Grand has lived on, drawn out over a lifetime, like the summer day is long and the sun-bathed western sky is far. N EARLY A MONTH LATER, AS AUGUST WAS PLAYING OUT ITS last days, Brantford and London would engage in a onegame playoff, the winner gaining entry into the playoffs. Gibbs’s belief that Galt had more talent was proven during the regular season when we won the pennant. But London, also boasting a talented squad with the likes of Tommy White, perhaps the best pitcher in the league that summer, and home-run hitter Russ Evon, had surprisingly finished tied with Brantford in the last playoff spot. Indeed, Brantford had finished the regular season ten and a half games behind the Terriers. With three games to go in the regular season, things looked grim for the Red Sox. The only way Brantford could make the playoffs was if they won their last three games and London lost their last three games. Which is what happened. It was our team, ironically, that let Brantford get into the playoffs. We met on August 17 in Brantford, in what would prove to be a key game. Summer was closing. The cornfields between the two towns would soon be ready for harvest. For both teams it was the final regularly scheduled game of the season, and we were holding down first place. Brantford needed a win, and even then, the best they could hope for was a London loss so that the two teams would be tied. Then there would be a one-game playoff to see which team would advance to the playoffs. That last regular-season game had been a pitchers’ duel between two of the Intercounty’s best southpaws. Perkins had won all five of his starts to that point. Brantford was sending Gavey to the mound. For the Red Sox, everything was on the line. A loss would end their season. It was a dogfight from the start, and both pitchers pitched brilliantly, but if anyone had the edge, it was Perkins. It was still 1-1 when the ninth inning began. Then Carruth, Brantford’s right fielder, opened with a hit down the left-field line. The ball appeared to land on the foul side of third base by at least a foot, but umpire Slim Somerville ruled it a fair ball and Carruth pulled up at second base with a double. We were all stunned. The ball was obviously foul, we thought. But argue though we did, the fact remained that Carruth was safe at second. Then Hodara beat out a picture-perfect bunt that rolled down the third base line. Carruth advanced to third, and Hodara was at first. For the first time all night, Perkins was in trouble. Hodara stole second the next play, beating the throw by catcher Johnny Clark, and Cooper hit an easy pop fly to Adams at short. It should have been a routine catch, but Adams, who sat out for nearly a month after suffering a severe hand injury in Stratford, was rusty. He dropped the ball. Lillie cringed. Now the bases were loaded and Gavey came to the plate. He promptly hit a fly to right field to score Carruth. That held up as the winning run. It was a bitter loss, because in the first inning we had threatened to take a big lead. Pickard had walked, before Waite hit a single. Then Rosen sacrificed the runners along, before Gavey hitched up his belt and struck out Creedon and Warren. Gavey was to prove as effective in nixing a Terrier threat in the fourth inning when he struck out Adams and Lillie with Warren on first. Our run came soon after Clark walked, only to be advanced by a Perkins single. But he had been thrown out when he tried to take third after catcher Cooper let a ball sail by. Cooper had thrown to Lipka for an easy out. When Waite came to the plate he pulled Lipka in with an attempted bunt before slashing a hit through the hole at third base. Then Rosen singled to right to score Perkins. Perkins had played a spectacular game, fanning six of the first eight batters he faced. The game was already four innings old when he gave up his first hit. In the seventh...