Time moves slower in early July, and I find myself reflecting on some past baseball personalities I have seen in our area.
n Bud Bickel: The spring of 1971 was like no other for high school baseball in the Kanawha Valley and the St. Albans Red Dragons. It was the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese calendar, and Bickel declared it that way for his baseball team. He scheduled 50 games for St. Albans and would play tripleheaders on Saturdays if he could. The Red Dragons were led by Danny and Roger Chambers and advanced to the semifinals of the state tournament, where they lost to East Bank.
n Charleston Southern pitching: When I was a kid, playing for Charleston Northeast Big League, it was always a big deal to play against Charleston Southern from Kanawha City. They always had big-name pitching in the early 1970s, and players such as Butch Glover, Whitey Ferrell and Steve Brown went on to pitch at Morris Harvey. Many of their players, such as the late Ralph Jean, Chuck Green, Kenny Shock and Bucky Lowe, played on great football or baseball teams at Charleston High.
n Jack Eastwood: An outstanding all-around athlete at Nitro, Eastwood was a catcher for the Wildcats from 1970-72. He went on to play football for Bobby Bowden at WVU and was on the 1972 and 1975 Peach Bowl teams.
n Keith Fout: He was one of the more enjoyable local catchers to watch when he played in high school at DuPont and college at West Virginia State. His 1999 Yellowjackets team went to the Division II World Series and finished third.
n Billy Joe Hicks: It is hard to imagine area baseball and softball fields without Billy Joe Hicks stirring up dust in the infield. Area fans have been watching him play or coach for the last 50 years. He coached Hurricane High to a AAA state title in 2002.
n Bruce Kison: The first pitching star for the 1971 Charleston Charlies, Kison would later be a pitching star for the Pirates in the 1971 World Series win over the Orioles. He was the winning pitcher in the first night game played in World Series history.
n George Kopacz: He was a left-handed power-hitting first baseman for the Charlies in 1971. He played briefly in the big leagues and struggled to hit, but he was the International League MVP in 1970.
n Frank Scagnelli: He is best known for coaching girls basketball at Charleston Catholic. My daughter Erin played for him in 1999 and 2000. I remember as the head baseball coach of the Fighting Irish in the early 1970s.
n Tony Solaita: A popular first baseman for the Charlies in 1973, he was a minor league legend. He became a national baseball celebrity in 1968 when he hit 49 home runs in Class A ball as a New York Yankees farmhand. He later would play in Japan and averaged over 40 home runs a year. Tragically, he was murdered in 1990 in Anerican Samoa at the age of 43.
n Rennie Stennett: He played so well in Charleston in 1971, he was quickly called up to the big leagues. He stayed 11 years and was a career .274 hitter.
n Richie Zisk: I remember well what a big deal it was when AAA baseball came to Charleston in 1971. This was not the low minor leagues, this was AAA, one step away from the big leagues. We saw Jim Rice, Dale Murphy, Fred Lynn and Cal Ripken Jr. play for opposing teams and knew they were destined for greatness. That first season, the most anticipated Charlie was Zisk, a right-handed power-hitting outfielder. We were lucky to have him and he went on to a 13-year major league career and hit 207 home runs.
n Freddie Wright: Wright excelled in basketball and baseball at Winfield in the mid-late 1970s. He went on to play basketball at Fairmont State. His son Brandon was the starting shortstop at West Virginia State this past season.
Contact Frank Giardina at flg16@hotmail.com.