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"The Golden Triangle" Dobbin, Dacus, Montgomery Let’s Talk Baseball! James Price tells of the sport he was most interested in this way; "Baseball was always a favorite pastime; the more dedicated players living around Dobbin usually found two teams playing on Sundays just north of the present day Mock’s Store at the intersection of Hwy 105 and FM 1486. This is the same spot of ground that Donald Denn said that the golfers used as a golf course. In the first stages of getting together to play baseball they used homemade bats and fashioned balls sometimes out of salvaged cord string wrapped around and around with hopes that it would last for a game. The teams were made up by the blacks against the whites and James said the blacks were usually the winners. However, he said for a few innings things would go along peacefully but as the score became one-sided then voices began to get louder and much foul language and accusations began and when a supposed bad call by the umpire favoring one side or the other the game would turn into chaos. The game seldom lasted past the sixth or seventh inning. Sometimes the game had to be called off because all the balls had been lost in the great thicket or bushes and trees around the "ball park:; or when the hooraying threatened the peace, mostly among the black players. Jay Gould Ford was the star pitcher for the black team and on the white team there was a Wetuski pitching and a Wetuski catching. The war interrupted baseball but there was enough interest to keep it alive and after many of the Golden Triangle boys returned and got settled down around 1950, interest began in earnest. In the early 50's the game really got serious. Emmett Rumfield, who’s forefather was of the earliest business men in Dobbin was the "mover and shaker" in organizing a real :surenuf" baseball team". These young men were now able to afford real "store bought" baseballs and bats. They were able to buy and wear real fine-looking uniforms and their team had a name the Falcons. Moving further up the ladder the team became a member of the Timber League, this called for participation in such towns as Conroe, Waller, Tomball, Spring-Tamina. This team really got down to business and acquired a site for a real ball park. This was located where the some of Johnny and Earline Weisinger now stands. They fenced the area, built bleachers and I am sure there was soda water and maybe food to be sold at the game time. This was a far cry from the small open spot of land north of Mock’s store, on that field there would have been no place to sit but on the ground and no place for privacy if the necessity arose, which I am sure cut out any lady spectators. Those pre-war games were probably too rough for anybody but the players themselves. Many of the Falcon players have relatives still around the Golden Triangle. If I ever knew or had forgotten until I was reminded by James’ story of the post-war baseball team, that my beloved brother Pete Martin was the Falcon team pitcher. My remaining family of three sisters treasure this bit of information about one gone but not forgotten. Some of the local players include names like Rumfiled, Williams, the Phillips from Plantersville, the Sander boys, the Hancock brothers, James Price, Flemming, Purvis and Geisinger. My first romantic interest came about after I was in high school and the object of my affections was Norman "Red" Branch. The family lived in a house where the Jim Dennis daughter has a trailer, the second street over from "Main" in Montgomery. Ms Branch was running a cafe in a building between where the Old State Bank building now stands and Dr. Young’s Yard fence. There was an open space between that building and the Phil Berkley store (now an antique shop). This is where Norman would cajole someone to let him practice pitching baseballs every evening after school. Norman eventually was recruited by the Conroe team and while there was spotted by Dick Hooper a former professional ball player, as result the Dobbin Falcon’s lost the chance of getting better pitcher than my inexperienced cowboy-farmer-pulpwooder brother. To dispute the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder"it worked the opposite for me--Norman went off to college and the New York Yankees and I stayed home to raise a couple of families and more cows. James tells me of Norman coming back to Montgomery on several leaves from the New York Yankees to play relief pitcher for my brother and the Flacons. There were a few very exciting moments when "Red" took the pitchers mound and also there were several strike outs. There was a lot of high spirits and great attendances to the games. One very interesting game was played against Spring-Tamina in Spring, while the Dobbin team was at bat one of the Spring players, Bobby Knee kept calling encouragement to their pitcher, every throw his pitcher sent Bobby would say "Come on big pitch, strike him out, you know you are better than he are!" Until next week. |
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©Montgomery
County News, 2004 |
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