Lindy McKay stopped by Buzzy’s Country Store yesterday to show me a scrapbook that his wife Shirley had put together for him. The very first picture in his book is the one above of the 1951 St. Michael’s Ball Team that competed in what they then called the Church League. Each parish had a team and they would play each other on Sunday afternoons. The ball games were not only very competitive but also were very popular drawing large crowds to watch them. (Remember this was 1951, pre-T-V, most businesses were closed on Sundays, etc. there probably wasn’t much else to do!)
Pictured above are: First row (l to r): Webster Hutchins and Dictator Cullison; second row: J. Frank Raley, Johnny McKee, Lindy McKay, Bill Raley, Bernie Wathen, and Jimmy Bachelor; top row: Wally Yowaiski, Jack Lancaster, Francis “Pinch” Mattingly, Foley Mattingly, Les George, Joe Taylor, Reggie Aud, and “Baby Joe” Norris. Any ball team with guys on it nicknamed Pinch, Dictator and Baby Joe, you know they were good. In fact Lindy told me they went 15-1 that year!