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Page 6 August 15, 2019 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Babe Ruth from page 5
Girls Softball from page 5
Wiseburn from page 5
citing a “relevant, positive footprint” in education
in the South Bay. He then introduced
District new hires, including Rios, Willberg
and Monique Ingram and Julie Walker, who
will be heading the “Counseling Care Team.”
Board member Israel Mora, who ran the
meeting in the absence of President JoAnne
Kaneda and Vice President/Clerk Roger
Banuelos, asked for a quick five-minute break
so that his colleagues and administrators in
attendace could chat with the new hires and
meet family members.
Board members and administrators then very
briefly made their reports. Mora summarized
the members’ thoughts by saying, “We are
very excited for the new year.”
Silvers then spoke, noting there was “a lot
of work going on this summer.” He thanked
all District personnel who toiled over the
summer, calling them “a phenomenal group
of educators.” He also thanked the new hires,
saying it really goes to show that Wiseburn
attracts “the best and the brightest.”
Prior to the meeting, Silvers said that a main
District goal for 2019/20 will be to develop a
comprehensive communication plan, including
newsletters, as well as superintendent chats at
the various school sites. He emphasized the
goal to provide a “more robust platform” for
people to ask questions and give feedback to
District personnel. Silvers added that Wiseburn
plans to dive deeply into developing a
Long-Term Facilities Master Plan.
Also on the District’s “to-do” list, Silvers
said, is developing guiding coalitions (groups
of teachers at each school site) that will
provide leadership in the area of professional
development. He pointed to there being “a
lot of really smart teachers, smart people”
in the District and hopes to see their talents
fully utilized in upcoming years.
Action and consent items were next on
the agenda, which included agreements with
Cruz and Associates Consulting to provide
a keynote presentation during the District
professional development event on Aug. 26;
an agreement with Talking Teaching Network
to support professional development; and a
consultant’s agreement with Melanie Mack
to serve as the Wiseburn Education Foundation’s
(WEF) Executive Director; as well as
the approval of the continuing partnership
agreement with WEF. “We are ecstatic to
have Melanie with us and looking forward
to a real exciting and productive year,” Board
member Dr. Neil Goldman said.
The Board members then had multiple
questions about their approval of purchase
orders and miscellaneous receipts and expenses.
Chief Business Official Dave Wilson
provided context for the members into the
backgrounds of certain District expenses.
The next regularly scheduled Wiseburn
School Board meeting is calendared for
Aug. 22, with the first day of instruction on
Tuesday, Aug. 27. •
start the World Series and signing autographs.
During the 1960s, El Segundo was put on the
baseball map with the Major League signings
of Bob Flynn and Bobby Floyd. In 1964, the
El Segundo Babe Ruth all-star team won the
World Series with one future major leaguer
and four others who played for professional
minor league teams. Members of that team won
two CIF-Southern Section baseball titles. The
1969 Babe Ruth all-star team ended the decade
with another World Series championship. That
team included one future major leaguer and
two others who played a number of years in
the minors. Several members of the ’69 team
played for the 1971 CIF-SS championship
baseball team. That team was selected as one
of the CIF’s top baseball teams of the 20th
Century, according to the CIF.
First-year manager of the Angels Joe Soto
was selected as the manager of the all-star
team along with his assistants John Lowe and
Donny Appleby. In 1969, the only all-star team
was a 13-15-year-old squad. The 13s started
in 1980 and the 14s started in 1999. Soto is
the only first-year league manager ever to win
the World Series.
When the team was announced, it was
thought to be good. Assistant coach John Lowe
remembered, “We knew we had two of the top
pitchers around. So we figured in a close game
we had the edge.” Of the 17 games played,
El Segundo pitching shut out their opponents
11 times, including four shutouts in the World
Series -- a record that still stands today.
So Ed Glotz, Ed Carroll, Jim Bailey, Jim
Aiken, Kim Wolfsburger, Jeff Tidwell, Scott
McGregor, Stewart Swiggum, Steve Curtis,
Ken Dalgliesh, Tim Blackstock, Steve Domann,
Carlos MacClean, Jeff Hancock and Dave
Long embarked on a six-week-long journey
to immortality much like members of the 1964
team experienced after winning their World
Series. Aiken, Wolfsburger, Domann, Soto and
Appleby unfortunately have since passed away.
El Segundo’s first test came in the District
tournament. Glotz remembers the District
tournament as one of the toughest to advance
out of because, he noted, “Seems like every
team had a pretty good pitcher.”
El Segundo would host the District tournament
that included teams from Torrance,
Inglewood, Huntington Park, Venice, Culver
City and Westchester. McGregor threw shutouts
in the first game against Torrance Central
3-0 and the winner’s bracket final against
Huntington Park 2-0. Inglewood proved to
be a scrappy team, but El Segundo’s 4-2 win
put the locals in the driver’s seat. El Segundo
faced its toughest opponent in Venice in the
final. El Segundo led 3-1 in the fifth inning
when Venice put together a rally and had two
runners on base. Hancock came in relief and
induced a tough ground ball up the middle,
but Glotz made a diving stop. He flipped it to
shortstop Domann, who completed the force
at second base to stop the rally. El Segundo
held on for a 3-2 win in the final that sent the
team to the State Tournament.
El Segundo defeated Mint Canyon 2-0, West
Anaheim 3-0 and San Fernando 3-0 to reach
the final. San Fernando managed to figure out
El Segundo’s pitching in the first game and won
8-4. In the winner-take-all final, El Segundo’s
bats came alive while three two pitchers combined
to shut out San Fernando 12-0.
The team flew to Elko, Nevada to play in the
Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament. For
many of the players, this would be their first
airplane flight. They would be representing
El Segundo and Southern California, so Soto
asked the guys to dress appropriately and have
haircuts. When the team met for their flight,
the players were all groomed and wearing ties.
Well, accept one: Carlos MacClean. “I guess
Carlos thought it might be funny to shave his
head,” said Curtis. He also remembers Soto
blowing up at the sight of MacClean showing
up with a shaved head while all the other
players had nice haircuts.
For El Segundo to advance to the Pacific
Southwest Regional (August 5-10, 1969) it
was taking on a special meaning. The team
was being treated like royalty -- and when not
playing, there were plenty of activities such
hunting or fishing. At the ballpark, they would
sign autographs and enjoy being lauded. El
Segundo would be matched up against Hawaii
and the Mexico national championship team
as well as teams from Murray, Utah and
Hanford, California.
In the first game against Hawaii, the two teams
put together a back-and-forth exciting game.
Carroll’s late RBI single was the difference in
El Segundo’s 11-10 win. In the second game,
Carroll’s complete game two-hitter stymied
Mexico. McGregor was 3-4 with three RBIs
to lead El Segundo to a 6-0 win. In the third
game, El Segundo went through three pitchers
including Hancock, Dalgleish and Tidwell
before holding off Utah 8-5. Curtis had a key
RBI single that scored Swiggum.
El Segundo was now 21 outs away from
reaching the World Series. Coach Soto gave
the ball to McGregor, who dominated by striking
out 13 and limiting Hanford to one hit as
El Segundo won 14-2. Tidwell had a big day
at the plate by going 4-5 with three RBIs and
two stolen bases. Swiggum went 3-5 with two
doubles and four RBIs. Wolfsburger added a
two-run double and an RBI single.
El Segundo returned home to prepare
for a trip to Mattoon, Illinois and the 1969
Babe Ruth World Series. When Soto couldn’t
be at practice one day, he asked Ed Helvey,
the 1964 manager of El Segundo’s world championship
team, to fill in. Swiggum remembers
that the team was in awe and a bit intimidated
by Coach Helvey. “Before practice started, he
sat us down at Thompson Field and started
barking out some unfamiliar words that we
hadn’t heard from Joe [Soto]. He said we had
an opportunity to win it all.” Swiggum said.
The team arrived at Mattoon, Illinois and
was treated with much fanfare, but oddly was
not the favorite to win it all. New Orleans,
which had won a record four consecutive World
Series, was the obvious choice.
Before the World Series the nine teams that
also included Mattoon (host); New Orleans;
Springfield, Ohio; North Columbus, Georgia;
Blackstone, Rhode Island; North Seattle,
Washington; Levittown, Pennsylvania; and
Indianola, Iowa attended the World Series
banquet. The featured speaker was Hall of
Fame pitcher Lefty Grove, who mesmerized
McGregor and his teammates with baseball
stories. The team met with Mrs. Babe Ruth
during Opening Ceremonies too.
In the first game El Segundo, with Mc-
Gregor on the mound, faced North Columbus.
McGregor locked up in a pitcher’s duel with
North Columbus’ Paul Wright. McGregor
struck out 14 and led his team to a 2-0 win.
Ironically, both of El Segundo’s runs came on
run-scoring triples by Ed Carroll -- one in the
fifth and one in the seventh. The two samegame
triples by Carroll tied a World Series
record that still stands today.
In the second game, El Segundo defeated Indianola
1-0. The only run came in the fifth inning
when Tidwell legged out an infield base hit and
stole second base. He would later score on an
error for the game’s only run. Carroll threw a
complete game four-hitter and struck out 14.
In the third game, McGregor gave up a
questionable hit in the first inning and then
proceeded to silence North Seattle the rest
of the way in his team’s 5-0 win. McGregor
struck out 16, including a record eight in a row.
Curtis’ two-run single highlighted a three-run
second inning.
There were no cell phones, GameChanger
apps or Internet to follow the team in Mattoon
in 1969. So Dalgliesh arranged with the phone
company to make the hookups to broadcast
play-by-play for the championship game over
the telephone from Mattoon. It was then picked
up by the P.A. system at the Rec Park baseball
field where the stands were full of community
supporters. Little Leaguers were positioned on
the field to represent the play happening. Oh
how things have changed…
El Segundo etched its name in the record
books with a 2-0 win over Levittown. The only
scoring came in the first inning. Tidwell walked
and went to third base on a fielder’s choice
by Domann. Tidwell scored on McGregor’s
RBI single. McGregor would later score on a
double-steal attempt when Glotz stole second
base and the ball was dropped by shortstop
Dale Delise. Carroll tossed a masterpiece by
striking out 11. The final out was a pop up to
Glotz, who tucked the ball in his back pocket
during the celebration on the field and still has
that ball today. “Mr. Carroll offered me $20
for the ball after the game, but I still have it
somewhere,” Glotz said with a smile.
Lost in the victory was the injury that
starting catcher Aiken sustained before the
game started. Bailey filled in and kept Carroll
locked in and focused. “We were on the
same page and Jimmy called a great game,”
Carroll remembers.
El Segundo set a record that hasn’t been tied
or broken since, including shutouts in a series
(four), ERA (0.00), and least amount of errors
(one). That error was made by catcher Aiken,
who dropped a foul ball and the batter later
reached base on a base on balls.
After 50 years, the players essentially all
said the same thing about their World Series
championship run. McGregor noted, “It was a
really special time for a 15-year-old.” McGregor
is believed to be the only Babe Ruth League
World Series-winning pitcher to also win a
Major League World Series game. He did it
with the Baltimore Orioles in 1979 and 1983.
Others such as Curtis said, “Best summer
ever.” Swiggum added, “It was an incredible
time with my best friends.” Tidwell led the World
Series in hitting with a .461 batting average
and said, “It was an amazing experience for
a 15-year=old.”
With El Segundo winning the 1969 World
Series, it snapped a four-year consecutive
run by New Orleans which was vying for a
fifth in a row. New Orleans owns the record
for most World Series 13-15 titles with five,
while El Segundo is second with four (1964,
1969, 1974, 2002). •
one game. This set them up in a difficult
draw for the rest of the double elimination
tournament. They won their first game against
Oakland and lost their second against their
local rival, Torrance. This loss put Gundo
into the losers’ bracket. One more loss, and
they would go home.
The Gundo Girls were not ready to pack
their bags yet and they had an impressive win
against La Puente, then beat Fullerton Hills,
and then faced the California State Champions,
Moorpark. The Gundo Girls, having
tied Moorpark earlier this summer, played a
near perfect game and won 10-0 behind the
pitching of Peacock. Next up were the girls
from North Shore, San Diego. Gundo was not
to be denied, dominating in an 11-0 victory.
El Segundo then faced Torrance again. Lose
and go home. This time the Gundo Girls beat
rival Torrance 5 to 3 and continued into the
tournament. They loss a heartbreaker next
to Ventura, and finished an impressive forth
place in the Western National Tournament.
Gundo Girls completed what was thought
to be impossible - winning 4 straight games
in the Nationals Tournament. They did so by
delivering errorless games in the field, having
gritty pitching and timely hitting. The 4th
place finish at Nationals was a special moment
for this 12u team and El Segundo Girls
Softball. No Team had posted more wins
(6) in championship play as Gundo. They
concluded their impressive run at Nationals
7-3, posting a 31-12-2 overall record in All-
Star tournament play. It was definitely a
summer to remember. •
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