Staff Writer I have known Merle Lane for quite some time, buying plants from him at the plant nursery and teaching his children (excellent students) at Forney High School. And I would see him and his family members around town from time-totime. And then one day, I received a telephone call from Mr. Lane, asking if I would like information about the “olden days” Crandall Men’s Baseball Teams.
My Dad had played in the Forney Men’s Organization on the Southland Athletic Softball Team (late ‘40s and early ‘50s), and he had sometimes told me of experiences he had had and about the men with whom he had played. And, as I remember, they had played against Crandall and other area teams.
He used a glove that by today’s standards looked rather comical, and his uniform was “baggy” by today’s As I remember his few stories, they played “fast pitch,” and Rob Roy Johnston was one of the pitchers.
Dad knew all about baseball, too, so I figure he must have played quite a bit of “hardball” in addition to the little bit I heard about softball.
So, yes, I was very interested in Mr. Lane’s information. And when he brought it for me to use, I was ecstatic to see that he had “printed” out the details, made copies of the team photos, and also printed out the names of the players!
So, let me share with you Readers, mostly in the words of Mr. Merle Lane.
“Please find enclosed two vintage photos of the Crandall Baseball Teams from the 1940s and 1950s.”
“The photos with the dark colored uniforms were the original uniforms from the 1940s, and the light colored uniforms were from the 1950s. I have listed all the players’ names that I could remember, and some that my ‘kinfolk’ knew, on the backs of each photo.”
“I would like to make note that my dad, Howard Lane, is in both photos, as a player in the dark uniforms, and he was injured in the light uniforms. He was working for Ford Motor Company in Dallas at the time and got a piece of steel lodged in his hand and developed blood poisoning and nearly lost his hand. He did return to play later in the year.”
“In those days the league they played in included teams from Crandall, Warsaw, Rylie/Kleberg (don’t remember if there was a team from both Rylie and Kleberg), and Forney. (I am pretty sure Forney had a team at that time, because I believe my Uncle Morris Warren played for them.)” “I remember we were on our way to Kaufman for a game and almost had a wreck on Hwy 175, so I assume Kaufman was in the League!”
“I guess you can understand my memory being a little fuzzy because it has been over 70 years since these events took place, and I have become a little forgetful.”
“I hope this will give you enough info. to be able to do an article about these guys; they really loved the game, and it was just about the only entertainment folks had back then. I remember that the stands were always packed, and they would take up collections so they could continue to buy bats and balls and uniforms if needed.”
“Thank you in advance for taking the time to look this over. If you have any questions, please give me a call, and I will do my best to answer them.”
Mr. Lane: “I thought I had better type the names of the players for you, as some of the ink ran on the back of the photos.” *I thank Mr. Lane for taking the time to give information and names from our close neighbors in Crandall and would welcome any additional information about “historic” topics from any of you folks out there. (Themer)*
CITY OF CRANDALL BASEBALL TEAMS DARK UNIFORMS: 1st row, left-to-right.....Pee Wee Helm, Howard Lane, Mac Adams, Scott Rushing, Pete Estep 2nd row, left-to-right..... Mac McClennan, Charles Griffin, Billy Gene Baker, Unknown, Unknown, Barny Rushing, Bob Miller, Ray Adams LIGHT-COLORED UNIFORMS: 1st row, left-toright.....Pee Wee Helm, Scott Rushing, Pete Estep, Mac Adams, Penny Porter 2nd row, left-to-right..... Unknown, Howard Lane, Barny Rushing, James Homer Pritchet, Mac Mc-Clennan
SOME BASEBALL TEAMS OF FORNEY HIGH SCHOOL Teams for which I Could Find Players’ Names (Annuals) 1962.....Front row seated from left: Morris, Cascio, Phillips, Cross, Duckworth..... Middle row seated from left: Criswell, Senter, Duckworth, McCuistion, Norwood, Hampton, Hensley, Sline, Beeler (mgr.)..... Top row standing from left: Coach C. O. Phillips, Hammond, Warren, Boles, Popp, Moore, Latham, Beeler, Penny 1965.....Standing from left: R. Duckworth, L. Pike, S. Beeler, L. Anderson, J. Duckworth, P. Adams, C. Colwell, B. Sexton.....Kneeling from left: B. Williams, T. Cheney, D. Penny, J. Wortham, B. Curry 1969 District Tri-Champs.....Standing from left: R. Hollon, D. Hall, F. Whittenburg, S. McDonstandards. ald, D. Themer, D. Yeager, R. Termin, M. McDonald, Coach Ed Johnson.....Kneeling from left: M. Frazier, P. Farmer, D. Chapman, A McCuistion, R. Dobbs, D. Penny, J. Whittemore 1975.....Standing from left: Eacret, Rogers, Evans, McReynolds, Hatley, Banister..... Kneeling from left: Medina, Ashley, Skinner, House, Stewart 1979.....Standing left-toright: R. Medina, R. Curry, M. Harris, B. Kinard, T. Mc-Commas, Coach Mark Vinson..... Kneeling from left: D. Belz, P. Kent, R. Anthony, J. McAnally, B. Benedict 1983.....Standing from left: J. Daily, G. Pinson, M. Puyear, R. Duck, J. Johnson, M. Stewart, T. Hawkins, S. Murphy, Coach H. Barrett..... Kneeling from left: L. Oliver, J. Morrison, J. McCurry, T. Scribner, T. Cheney, C. Scribner, K. Bramlett, K. Warren, T. Shanks 1985.....Top row from left: T. Kuykendall, C. Scribner, B. Duck, R. Harmon, S. Thompson, P. Hughes, K. Shanks, Coach Barrett..... Middle row from left: S. Hilyard, T. Costello, B. Cunningham, D. Henderson, A. Richters, M. Nichols..... Bottom row from left: C. Walker, F. Pierce, B. Blair, M. Duckworth, B. Williams, T. Mueller, J. Bartels 1994 Area Champions..... Top Row from left: K. Mc-Cuistion, B. Proctor, G. Fremuth, J. Garcia, C. Hudson..... Middle Row from left: J. Chandler, D. Jones, J. Welch, J. McCoy, C. Chambliess, C. Hughes, R. Sweaney, S. Gray.....Bottom Row from left: S. Ketron, B. Duncan, T. Goode, B. Chambliess, L. Penny, B. McCuistion 1998 Regional Semi-Finalist..... Top Row from left: Coach Ortegon, W. Themer, A. Thigpen, K. Boyd, C. Thigpen, C. Bragg, C. Power, Coach Arden.....Middle Row from left: D. Dean, C. LeCroy, N. Harris, M. Murray, B. McDowell .....Bottom Row from left: B. Kral, S. McDonald, J. Pritchard, C. West, B. Beene
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