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1996: EU grad kicking for NFLs Bills
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80 years ago, on July 24, 1936, winning its first game in three starts, the Manteca Canaries softball team trounced the Lodi Air Kings 12-2. The local songbirds had a barrage of 16 hits to annex the tilt. Pitcher Uldric Hussey pitched four innings, Charley Percival tossed two more and Benny Hooper pitched the final inning without trouble. Percival and Ernie Theiler each had three singles, while Percival added a home run to his total.

 

In other sports stories

from the Bulletin files:

90 years ago: July 29, 1926 – The Record Pubs were decisively beaten on their home grounds last Sunday by the Manteca DeMolay baseball team by the score of 17-0. The Record team made 13 errors and was held down to a no-hit, no-run game by Dutch Washington, pitcher for the DeMolays, who handled the ball like a professional. Henry Theiler featured for Manteca with a homer, double, triple and two singles in six times at bat.

 

70 years ago: August 1, 1946 – Playing a very good brand of baseball, the American Legion team defeated the Latin American Club on the local high school diamond Sunday, 7-5. Leon Bridge pitched a tight game, striking out 11 men and allowing five hits. He will be a senior in high school next year and is one of the most promising Buffalo pitchers to show up for some time. Fred Hubbard led the hitting for the Legionnaires, going three for four.

60 years ago: August 2, 1956 – The high-flying Manteca Lions youth baseball team finally met its match. After not losing a game in 13 starts, the Lions finally dropped an extra-inning thriller to a Babe Ruth team from Livingston. The score was 8-7 in eight innings. Trailing by five runs in the seventh inning, a flurry of walks capped by a triple by Bruce Checchi gave the Mantecans five runs, necessitating an extra inning.

 

40 years ago: July 28, 1976 – A no-hitter by a Delano pitcher Tuesday eliminated Manteca’s State Farm Insurance team from the State Babe Ruth 16-18 Baseball Tournament in Wasco. The Delano pitcher had 10 strikeouts and three walks. Brett Chamberlain circled the bases in the sixth inning on a fielder‘s choice and a throwing error on the Delano catcher.

The Central California State Babe Ruth 14-15 Baseball Tournament in Visalia came to an end for Manteca Tuesday night when San Luis Obispo stopped the local all-stars 6-4. Mark Azevedo, David Perry and Steve Burrows all poled a pair of hits for Manteca in the final game.

 

30 years ago: July 28, 1986 – Eric Wohle, James Harvey and John Lowry each won three individual events and took part in two victorious relay efforts to capture high-point trophies and lead the Manteca Dolphins  youth swim team to second place at the Mid-Valley  Swim Conference championships Saturday in Los Banos.  Wohle broke three individual records, plus was part of the record-setting 200 free relay effort. In the boys 13-14 group, he took the 100 free in 54.16, the 100 IM in 1:03.28 and 24.33 in the 50 free. Harvey won the 100 IM, the 50 fly and 50 free in boys 11-12 and Lowry won the 100 free, the 50 fly and 50 breast in boys 9-10.

 

20 years ago: July 30, 1996 – In one of the closest finishes in many years, the Manteca Dolphins held on for first place in the Mid-Valley Swim Championships held in Oakdale Friday and Saturday. The Dolphins claimed the title with a 686 point total — just 21.5 ahead of runner-up Tracy Tritons. Hughson was a distant third. It was the third straight Mid-Valley top trophy for the Dolphins. Triple winners for the champs included Devin Tailes and Beau Riley (10 and under) as Riley stroked to new records in the 25 and 50 freestyle and 25 backstroke races. Other triple winners were Rebecca Rehm (7-8 girls), Lynae Brown (11-12 girls), Sonia Tuchtenhagen (13-14 girls) and Nathan Toone (15-16 boys). Brown set new records in the 100 IM and 50 breaststroke and Tuchtenhagen did the same in the 50 and 100 freestyle.

East Union High graduate Armando Avina will be the Buffalo Bills’ primary field goal kicker in today’s NFL pre-season opener against the Washington Redskins due to an injury to veteran Steve Christie earlier in the week. This will be the NFL debut for the former Lathrop resident. Avina was a standout kicker/punter for the University of Nevada-Reno football team.

 

10 years ago: August 2, 2006 – Sierra High athletic director Greg Leland found the perfect fit. Nick Olmo was hired as the school softball program’s second-ever head coach on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the SHS athletic department. Olmo will fill the void left by Nicole Burrows, who stepped away from the post she had manned since the program’s inception in 1995.

Sierra High graduate Jordan Durrance will attend Pepperdine University and play baseball for the school’s NCAA powerhouse baseball team. Durrance will be on an undisclosed scholarship offer. The Bulletin’s reigning All-Area Baseball MVP was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 42nd round.

Northwest eliminated the Manteca Babe Ruth Baseball15 year-old All-stars from the Central California State Tournament in Lodi yesterday by a 5-3 score. Manteca batters struck out 10 times in the game.