by Bob Linehart
posted July 14, 2008
Though many of us may not realize it, the 1980s may have marked the end of an era. As Jonathan Welch, now a dentist with a practice on Signal Mountain recalls, “This was right before the time when everyone had computers and had 14 different things to do each day. Baseball was a community thing, everyone came out to watch the games whether they were playing or not. To a lot of us, Signal Mountain baseball was as much about fellowship, as life lessons learned.”
This year marks Dixie Youth Baseball’s 50th anniversary. On Signal Mountain, our recreation baseball league is beginning its 46th year as members of DYB. This is also a very special year – for the first time, Chattanooga communities will be hosting all of Tennessee’s DYB State Championship tournaments. Sixty teams from around the state in four different age divisions – more than 1,500 children and parents are in Chattanooga for the tournament. Signal Mountain will host the 9- and 10-year-old division championship, which will consist of 15 teams.
In 1983, Gary Davis had just moved with his family to Signal Mountain. His boys were just at the age to begin playing baseball. He volunteered to coach a team because “it seemed like the right thing to do for a father to be involved with sports and kids.” Gary coached for several years, became the league Commissioner, and even when his boys left SMYB he served as the Tri-County district director for Dixie Youth Baseball for six years.
Gary said, “I have so many great memories from SMYB, baseball brought so many families together on this mountain. To this day, some of our best friends were parents from my boy’s teams.”
Lasting friendships were common among the players as well. Moe Galbraith, one of the standout players of his era said he played the game because most of the players in the league then were his best friends from his neighborhood and school. “A lot of the guys I played with growing up are still good friends of mine.” Galbraith, now an executive with advertising firm Outdoor Nation says, “Even my boss, Doug Conner was an umpire when I was a pitcher in the league.” Asked if Doug gave him a wide strike zone, Moe wisely changed the subject.
Davis, Welch and Galbraith recall players such as Blake Waller, Scott Wicker, Clint Paramore, Justin Guthrie and Timmy Sparks. Coaches Mike Garvich, Larry Welch, Bob Waller and especially Tony Rutledge really made the league special.
But baseball was more than just friendship and fellowship. Gary Davis adds, “Baseball is a hard game, it is difficult to play and difficult for boys to maintain their confidence. Some kids play for an entire season and the best they did was to get a walk. If we could teach them to play a new position, learn a new skill, and develop a relationship with the boy it was rewarding. Not all the boys were going to be great baseball players. I think winning was the least important part of the game. I hope as a grandfather I get to coach again and teach them how to lose well, to be able to play every position on the field, to let them bat first for a change, and to develop and enjoy those relationships with the boys once again.”
The dads were the real workhorses of the league. Jonathan Welch recalls playing in an All-Star tournament one year. “Soddy-Daisy was hosting the tournament, and it had been particularly rainy; several of the games were rescheduled and the tourney delayed. We were supposed to play the semi-final on a Friday night and the winner play the next morning. The state championship would begin the following Monday so the games had to be played. The Soddy field was wet, the Dads found a semi-dry field at Dupont park. They worked and worked, raking the field, and adding dirt to dry it out. Somebody even put diesel fuel on the field to dry it out. The game didn’t start until around 9:00 pm, we didn’t finish until midnight. I remember the field had a terrible smell and we probably killed all the grass, but we won the game and played for the championship the next morning in Soddy-Daisy.”
One of Moe Galbraith’s best memories was being called up to play in an older division. He had to face Joey Meyer – a lefty, who threw very hard. It was intimidating, but a real thrill to bat against an older boy and a great pitcher. Moe recalls a special all-star tournament, “I think I was twelve, I had been hit by a car and broke my leg right at the end of the season. But I traveled with the All-star team. We went to Lookout and lost to them 17-2 in the first game. We then went into the loser’s bracket and won every game, eventually beating Lookout in the final two games to win the tournament. That may have been Signal Mountain’s first team to go to the state championship, but I couldn’t play because of my leg.”
Moe is now giving back to the league as its vice president, umpire coordinator, and a coach. It isn’t uncommon to drive by Scott and Rutledge fields and see Moe working on the fields getting them in shape for games. Asked why he is so involved, Moe responds, “I just really enjoy working in the leagues now. I’m older and I know winning isn’t the most important part of the game. I realize how much we appreciated the Dad’s being there for us and giving as much time to us as they did. I feel like I’m paying back those Dads who helped me out when I was young.”
Bob Linehart
blinehart@comcast.net
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