Roy Hawes
photo by Tim Evearitt
Former Lookouts favorite Roy Hawes was cheered before Wednesday night’s home opener and current stars Michael Gonzales and Adam Walker were cheered at the end by the nearly 4,000 fans who came out on a beautiful spring night to see the Lookouts defeat longtime rival Birmingham, 4-3.
Gonzales drove in what proved to be the winning run in the eighth and Walker tagged a monster round tripper in the seventh and starter Tyler Duffey who pitched seven innings of 2-hit scoreless ball.
Roy Hawes played six seasons with the Lookouts in the 1950s with his best year in 1959 as he batted .299 with 138 hits, 16 HRs and 53 RBIs.
Garbage Men: Three longtime friends - Jack Stewart, Howard Owen and Bill York – are all but an institution at AT&T as they set up shop near section 113 for every night game for the past decade.
“We’ve been coming to the ball games a long time (no day games, no Sunday games), stand the whole game talkin’ baseball and visiting with lots of friends who stop by during the game,” said York a retired policeman who use to handle security at Engel Stadium for years.
Lookouts Bobble Heads: baseball fans are first greeted in the stadium with a big smile and “get your programs” from smilin’ Wanda Goins who has been selling programs ($.25) for 26 years.
May 3 is Harmon Killebrew Bobblehead Night at AT&T Field honoring the late hall of famer and home run hitter with the Lookouts and Minnesota Twins.
But the power hitter has nothing on Mrs. Goins and Richard Thomas (“the beer guy”) who have already had their own bobble head nights.
“I was shocked and had no idea the Lookouts and Erlanger (where she worked for 39 years) were planning a bobble head night for me (4-5 years ago),” stated Goins with a laugh.
Mickey McCamish and the Knothole Gang: McCamish and current Engel Foundation chair Becky Browder and Hawes set up shop on the concourse during the game with a table full of old Lookouts photos for fans to see.
"My brother and I (Dewayne) started working for Joe Engel in the 1950s selling programs and cokes,” said McCamish. “We would catch the bus (a nickel) from our home in East Chattanooga to Engel Stadium for each home game during the summer months and also played in the Knothole League in our neighborhood.
McCamish said that Joe Engel would require his young workers to sell 25 game programs outside the stadium before they could sell cokes inside.
“Doubleheaders were the best as we could make $2-3 a day which was big money for a kid in the 1950s.”
Vision For Engel Stadium: Today, McCamish and others are using those memories to help draw financial supporters on board to help bring Engel Stadium back to life through the recently announced partnership between UTC and the Engel Foundation.
“With a public and private support and backing, we want make Engel Stadium a place where its great past and its present can be on display through various means such as a hall of fame display, interactive screens and a museum.”
Waiting for the Gates to Open: Geoff Wilson, 29, and his wife, Janet were two of the handful of fans in line 30 minutes before the gates opened at 6 p.m.
“We love baseball and come to about eight games a year,” said Janet.
Geoff recalled attending games at Engel Stadium when he was 5-6 years old and a member of the Little Lookouts Club.
Lookouts president/general manager Rich Mozingo is glad Little Lookouts members grow up and still come to the ball park to cheer on the current team.