Montpelier has always been a baseball town. Discussions about religion or politics are often less heated than those involving the latest pennant race or an upcoming series. Allegiance to the Braves, Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers or Yankees are common knowledge- the sources of endless bantering and passionate dialog, always directed to the favorite or hated teams’ latest fortunes.
Local communities always hosted their own teams, but not just baseball. During the 1950s and 1960s, fast-pitch softball was a very big deal. It seemed like every community had an elite pitcher, proficient in throwing an endless array of fast balls, drops, curves and risers as his arm whipped in a three hundred sixty degree arc, propelling the ball towards home plate. Stories abounded of teams whose pitchers and catchers almost didn’t need team mates in the field. Dominant pitchers were so over-powering, why bother with fielders? In fact, one famous touring team, Eddie Feigner’s “The King & His Court” suited only four players, nearly always whipping their nine-man teamed opponents. Teams from smaller communities loved to compete against the city-slickers. Competition was always spirited and intense; a major source of recreation and pride for the whole valley.
City leagues were organized, with local businesses or communities fielding teams. Even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints got involved, organizing their wards and stakes by regions and areas whose ward teams competed to play in the largest softball tournament in the world, their All-Church Tournament. Finals were hosted at the George Q. Cannon four-diamond complex in Salt Lake City. Competing to play in the tournament was intense.
In the early to mid-1950s, rural Ovid, Idaho, located about halfway between Montpelier and Paris on the state highway boasted a prolific team year after year. Verlyn Parker, Ovid’s ace pitcher, led his team and they were good, very good. Not just anyone could play for that team. You had to earn that right. Except for one man- he simply walked on the field like he owned the place.
Local legend is that as the team played on their home diamond one sunny day, a large dark car slowed, then came to a stop in front of the diamond at the side of the state highway. The driver door opened and a mustached dark-haired gentleman called out in a rich baritone southern drawl, “Looks like you boys are having some fun. Got room for one more player?”
It didn’t take long for the team to recognize their new-found mate. It was the “Ol Pea-Picker,” himself, Tennessee Ernie Ford. Tennessee Ernie was a real celebrity, who’d hosted his own radio show, starred as a regular guest star, as ”Cousin Ernie” on the I Love Lucy TV show, and recorded an almost endless string of pop hits. In 1955 his “Sixteen Tons” became a mega-hit, with Tennessee’s hauntingly rich lyrical baritone rendition of a coal miner’s lament “You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter, don’t you call me cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company store.” He was a real star, but now he seemed like just another one of the guys…one who just wanted to have some fun playing ball to break up his long monotonous drive.
A glove was found and Tennessee fielded grounders and fly-balls, took a few throws, then swung a couple of bats until he found one he liked. Then for a few minutes the Ovid nine’s most famous walk-on, took a few licks flailing at Verlyn’s best stuff. After a while, he looked at his watch, said he had to get going, then shook hands all around. Waving his hand, he shouted, “Thanks for the game,” before hopping into his car, disappearing over the horizon as he headed for his destination, leaving the Ovid nine shaking their heads. Then they hopped in their vehicles, hurrying home to be the first to tell the tale of this random encounter – “bless his pea-pickin’ heart.”
Source: Oral conversations with Jim Parker, July 2021, recalling the telling of this incident by his father-in-law DeLoy Sorenson.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.