Eighty years ago, on June 17, 1937, Wally Moses, outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics, was pictured in the Bulletin at batting practice wearing a polo helmet, an adaptation of which is suggested as a protective measure against the possible beaning of the batter by a pitched ball.
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from the Bulletin files:
100 years ago: June 15, 1917 – Manteca was defeated by Melones last Sunday in a bingful game. Manteca made 17 hits and 11 runs. Melones made 13 hits and 12 runs. Kiel Potter was the battery fiend of the day, making four hits.
90 years ago: June 16, 1927 – In a long, drawn out, listless game Sunday, the Manteca Maulers baseball team easily whipped the Hughson Highlanders by a score of 10 to 6. The Maulers scored enough runs in the second and third innings to win the game. Eddie Forsell had two hits and scored two runs for Manteca.
70 years ago: June 19, 1947 – The local Junior Legion baseball team defeated the San Andreas nine Saturday by a score of 17 to 7. The game was played on the local high school diamond. The battery for Manteca was Perez and Willis.
50 years ago: June 16, 1967 – Rich Hardesty gave up only one hit Wednesday evening as the McFall-Grisham Post downed the Salas Brothers Legion of Modesto in a non-league contest 7-1. The big blow for the Mantecans came in the second inning when Frank Teicheira rapped a home run to start the locals on a five-run romp. Jim Hill had two hits in three trips for the locals.
40 years ago: June 17, 1977 – Try outs for this year’s Pop Warner football team were announced by Manteca Youth Football team coach Don Widmer. Physicals will be held on July 26 and practice will officially begin on July 30. This year, the team will have two clubs, Widmer said, and any boy between the ages of 9 and 14 and between 85 and 135 pounds is invited to try out. Coaches for the larger midget team will be Widmer, Bill Mendosa and Don Carney. Smaller midget coaches are Frank Guinta and George Azevedo.
30 years ago: June 15, 1987 – Frank’s Exxon Babe Ruth 16-19 Baseball squad swept their second straight doubleheader Sunday as they posted easy 6-0 and 6-2 triumphs over Newman at Orestimba High School. The Manteca team got stellar pitching efforts from Eric Hill and Robbie Woods to key the effort. Franks’ hitting attack accumulated 18 hits in the two games. Gary Shockey led the locals with three hits in the first game. Hill pitched a four-hit, 11-strikeout performance. Donnie Hill, after sitting out the first game, came in to single twice and score two times in the nightcap.
The South team handed the North and Manteca High coach Mike Henry a lopsided 89-75 defeat in the 12th annual Kiwanis North-South all-star basketball game Friday night at Pacific’s Spanos Center. Manteca High’s Kevin Wentworth was one of the few bright spots for the North and the only local player who peaked with 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
20 years ago: June 16, 1997 – The Sierra Babe Ruth 16-18 Baseball team lost the first game of a doubleheader with Tuff Boy Trailers from Manteca High, but came back in the second game to edge Tuff Boy 3-2 Sunday and break Tuff Boy’s unbeaten streak. Sierra’s Robert Perkins and David Carter led the charge in the second game with doubles.
Valley Oak League Baseball Most Valuable Player John Thomson of Sierra High and VOL Softball MVP Kimi Ota of East Union High were named to the Cal-Hi Sports all-state teams it was announced recently. Thomson was a major force behind the success of the Timberwolf baseball program, which improved greatly this recent season. The infielder/pitcher intends to hone his skills at San Joaquin Delta College next season. Ota, a junior, was the lone underclassman named to the all-state team. The EU centerfielder came on with a flurry late in the season to help the Lady Lancers finish second in the VOL.
A trio of Manteca Dolphin swimmers each won three events Saturday during the annual Oakdale Invitational. Nathan Toone, Katie Riley and Melissa Brock helped the Dolphins swim to a fifth-place finish at the event behind first-place winner Tracy. Toone swam to wins in the 100 IM, 100 free and 50 free. The East Union High student was the high-point winner for the boys’ 15-16 age group. Riley was successful in the 25 fly, 25 back and 25 breast. Riley was named the high-point trophy winner for the girls 7-8 age group. Brock completed the Dolphins’ trifecta by finishing first in the 50 breast, 100 free and the 50 free. She won the high-point trophy for the girls 9-10 age group.
10 years ago: June 20, 2007 – For the third consecutive season, East Union High’s softball pitching phenom Erin Arevalo took home the Bulletin’s All-area MVP. Erin finished first in the state of California with 430 strikeouts in 205 innings, was eighth in the state in winning percentage (.767) and 10th in the state in ERA (0.31). At the bat in her cleanup role as a junior, Arevalo hit .442. “I actually think Erin hasn’t reached her full potential yet,” said EU Coach Brian Goulart.
Toby Fox, a 5-9 junior outfielder for Manteca High who led the Buffaloes to its first Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berth since the 1980’s, was named the Bulletin’s 2007 All-Area MVP in baseball. Fox, a transfer from Pacifica’s Terra Nova High, led the league with a .581 batting average, was second in stolen bases and was chosen to the VOL first team. “He was the MVP of our team as voiced by his teammates,” said first-year MHS Coach Neil MacDannald.
In one of their most dominating days in the pool this season, the Manteca Dolphins outshone the Hughson Sea Dogs last weekend, 1051-662. Seven Manteca swimmers finished with three first-place finishes each. Devyn Peraza (15-16 girls) won the 50 fly, 50 back and 50 free. Jon Brandi (15-16 boys) took the 100 IM, 100 fly and 100 breaststroke. Amber McKinney (15-16 girls) finished in front in the 100 IM, 100 free and the 50 free. Charley Donnely (13-14 boys) won the 100 free, 100 back and 50 free. Jonathan Buonauro (7-8 boys) topped the 25 free, the 50 free and the 25 back. Mallory Brubaker (5-6 girls) won three races as did Natalie Randolph (9-10 girls). She finished first in the 100 IM, the 100 free and the 50 fly.
Sierra High’s standout hurdler Avery White earned his second straight All-area Boys Track MVP honor. He broke his own Sacramento Meet of Champions 110-meter hurdles record with an impressive time of 14.66. He had won the 300 hurdles at the VOL championships, both hurdles at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III meet and the 300 during the Masters. This past Sunday, the junior competed in the 48th Annual Golden West Invitational, which features the top track and field athletes in the nation, at Folsom High, placing sixth overall in the 300 hurdles at 38.98.
East Union High seniors Kristina Hammarstrom and Sheniece Vargas were named the Bulletin’s All-area Co-MVPs in girls track. At the VOL track championships at Stanislaus State, Hammarstrom won all three distance events (800, mile and two-mile). Vargas won the 400-meters and was runner-up in the 100 and 200 meters.
