Main Street – February 23, 1950

By Morris Rote-Rosen

"88" blizzard club is planning another reunion for Monday, March 13. Professor Lewis M. Dougan is in charge of arrangements, assisted by Truman R. Temple, and it looks like the old timers are in for another pleasant evening on their third annual observance. This is the only event of its kind in the area in which a group of people, none under the age of 62, are eligible to join. The 1949 reunion of the "88" club was an enjoyable event. The 1950 one is expected to be an improvement over last year's. One note of regret this year: The absence of Charles I. Sheldon and Will Folger who died during the year.

The people of Granville, in line with the entire country, are helping the Boy Scouts to observe their 40th anniversary as an organization. The Boy Scouts have gone a long way since Hiram Norton was the Granville Scout Leader back in 1910. The graduates of the Boy Scouts, not only from Granville, but from all over the country, have taken their places in their respective communities as valuable and respected citizens, carrying on the ideals of Scouting in their every day life. The Boy Scouts are one of the forces of good of our country and they have proven that the little they ask from the general public for their support is the finest and best method of building good citizens for the future.

Looking over the obituaries in the New York Times, we ran across the announcement of the death of Stephen A. Day of Evanston, Ill. The name of Day is familiar in the early history of Granville. The original Noah Day Sr. came to South Granville in 1792. Two of his brothers who came about the same time were Jonathan Day who settled on the old Luther Temple farm and Dr. Eliphelet Day who practiced his profession in and around South Granville until his death. Noah Day Sr. was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and he was a deacon of the South Granville Congregational Church for many years. He died in 1840.

Stephen A. Day, who died in Frankton January 5, was a former congressman and an authority on the United States Constitution. He was a son of the late William Rufus Day, who was secretary of state in President William McKinley's cabinet and who negotiated the Spanish-American war treaty at Madrid, Spain. He was also a justice in the Supreme Court of the United States for 20 years. All these Days are descendants from the Granville Day family, the last of them may be remembered by the older Granville residents. He was Marcus T. C. Day who lived on Church street, in what is now the Forcucci residence.

It is not too well known that there was a company of militia in South Granville during and after the war of 1812 of which Captain Hosea Day was commanding officer and Noah Day, Jr., sergeant. A mobilization order exists, dated in South Granville August 27, 1816, calling out the entire South Granville company in full field equipment. Fearing reprisals from the British and their sympathizers after the War of 1812, practically all the hamlets and small communities mustered every available man into the state militia to stand fast to preserve the liberties won in the Revolution. Granville had two such companies, the other was commanded in North Granville by Captain Jehiel Dayton.

It has been a long time since we got into a Hot Stove League discussion this time of year, to talk baseball, since it is a dead sport in Granville, but there are some who still like to look back on the Granville baseball days and to recall the Y. M. G. baseball games in Granville a generation ago. Having mentioned the Wells field days in a recent column, the subject centered on these annual games when the rivalry was keen between Granville and Poultney. To have listened to the Hot Stove League discussion, a few days ago, one would think that Granville was in a world series, or thick in a pennant fight.

Having scored officially many ball games in those old days and having written hundreds of baseball lines for the newspapers in the Capitol district, particularly about the local games, several of these members of the Hot Stove League wanted to be refreshed about some of the statistics and batting averages of the players on the Granville Young Men's Guild club. It was a large order to try to search out baseball statistics which made history 40 years ago, but in a moment of leisure we rolled up our sleeves and went to work. Fortunately we ran into an old score book and one look at it proved that the Hot Stove League members knew what they were talking about.

We found in the statistics that there were at least four of the Y. M. G. team whose batting average was over .300. In baseball language it was getting a hit, or better, every three times at bat. We found Tom (Musket) Williams, the crooked-thumbed first baseman, leading the team with an average of .337; Myrddin (Spike) Jones hitting .319; Bill Hughes, .314; Albert Roberts, .303. How these boys could slug the horsehide. It is no wonder that the Mullin red barn developed a leaky slate roof from the baseball hit over the left field fence and bounced off the roof.

The game of the season, of course, was the one played on Wells field day. Nothing so aroused the Granville baseball fans to fever pitch as that game. Ordinary games were won and lost between Granville and its opponents, and they were soon forgotten, but the Wells field day game was one everyone looked forward to. The old score book shows that in the 1909 Wells field day the Poultney team turned the tables on Granville and beat the Y. M. G. team. With the loss of that game went hundreds of dollars into the pockets of the Poultney supporters. Not satisfied that Poultney could repeat Granville immediately challenged for a return game.

The game was again booked on neutral grounds, selecting West Pawlet this time. The West Pawlet fans were eager for this game, their own "Reds" having suffered several defeats at the hands of the Y. M. G. team. A purse of $100 was offered Granville to play Poultney at West Pawlet, the winner to take $75 and the loser $25. A special train was run from Poultney to West Pawlet and the cars were loaded with baseball fans not only from Poultney but with many who got on the train at Granville. The betting fraternity had their pockets bulging full of greenbacks to support their favorites.

Granville came to West Pawlet prepared with an ace in the hole. They hired an out of town pitcher - Cottrell. Names didn't mean much in those days since many were "ringers" either from some prominent college nine, or from a minor or major league ball club. Many used fictitious names. It was Cottrell pitching and Tom (Jakie) Roberts catching for Granville. Shouldice was on the mound for Poultney and Charlie (Mickey) Hayden catching for Poultney. Hayden is present business manager of the Rutland team in the Northern League. And what happened? Granville shut out Poultney with a score of 9 to 0.

Shocked by such disrespect shown by the Granville team to their Vermont neighbor, a game was immediately arranged for Granville to play Rutland in Granville September 25. Rutland at that time boasted an exceptionally high class baseball team. Sports began to lay odds for Rutland to trim Granville. And what preparations were made for this game? Granville sports hurried off to Troy and found a pitcher by the name of Joe Drumm who had recently returned after a successful season in one of the southern leagues. Joe Drumm struck out 14 batters in the nine innings. Granville won the game from Rutland 2 to 0, all in the "lucky" seventh, when Jack (Gutsie) Williams, right fielder for Granville, singled; Joe Drumm singled, advancing Jack to second, then came tall, lanky, wiry, Myrddin (Spike) Jones, Granville's third baseman and tripled, scoring Williams and Drumm.

No salaries were paid to these Granville ball players. They played the game for the love of it and their sportsmanship is a credit to as fine a group a men as ever was organized in Granville. After chopping rock in the quarries all day, cutting, splitting and trimming slate, when the whistle sounded closing the day's work, they could be seen trotting home in their overalls, stopping at the ball grounds, setting down their empty dinner pails and proceed to practice until almost sundown. Next morning they were up at dawn and back to the quarries. They were a credit to the game.