EL SEGUNDO HERALD August 22, 2019 Page 11
Calendar of Events from page 3
THURSDAY, AUG 29
• El Segundo Certified Farmer’s Market, 3:00
PM. – 7:00 PM., located on Main Street,
Downtown El Segundo.
FRIDAY, AUG 30
• Bingo, 1:00 PM. - 3:00 PM., 50 Plus, $3.00
minimum, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339
Sheldon Street
SATURDAY, AUG 31
• Saturday Night Dance, 7:00 PM. – 9:45 PM.,
Sports from page 5
and Judah Punnoose had the White Knights’
final goal with an inside blast to make it 9-0.
The Chiefs had been shut out by White
Knights goalie Tyler McCaverty in the first
half, as he posted seven saves. In the second
half, the Chiefs pounded the goal again.
Gavin Claudino scored a hat trick with three
unanswered goals, the last from an assist from
Elijah Kachurka with 1:53 remaining.
Classic Kings Rally for Squirt
Division Championship
In the tightest and most exciting game of the
day, the Classic Kings edged the Unknowns
6-5. It was a game in which the two teams
battled for the puck and where great defense
got in the way of outstanding passing.
The Unknowns scored off the opening faceoff
when Lucas Bryant pounded a shot past
Classic Kings goalie Carlin Oliver. With two
teams with a defensive-minded game plan, it
made for a low-scoring game after the initial
opening-moment goal. The Classic Kings moved
the puck around and Byron Garcia passed to
Brayden Vaneck, who flicked the puck in for
a tying goal. The Classic Kings took the lead
when Gavin Vaneck fed Declan Lister for the
go-ahead goal two minutes later.
The Unknowns took the lead on back-to-back
goals by Donovan Finney. The first came from
an assist off a great pass from Blake Romo.
The second one came with 7:08 remaining in
the first half from a pass from Riley Abrams
for a 3-2 lead.
In the second half, the play was intense.
Saves in goal by Classic Kings net-minder
Byron Garcia and Unknowns keeper Andrew
Paxson kept the game close. The Classic Kings
tied it when Brayden Vaneck took a pass from
his brother Gavin and pushed it into the net
for a 3-3 tie. Four minutes later, Rishi Nair
took advantage of a pass from Xavi Avalos
on a power play to score and give his team a
4-3 lead. Blake Romo gave his team the lead
back with consecutive goals, with the second
one coming with 13:29 to play.
Brayden Vaneck led his team to the title with
two goals down the stretch. He tied the game
on a goal he slapped inside a tight defense.
The eventual winning goal came from an assist
from his brother Gavin for a 6-5 lead. Neither
team managed to score in the final moments of
an intense game that had both goalies making
numerous saves.
Kress’ Six Goals Leads Blueberries
to PeeWee Title
In the PeeWee championship game, the
Blueberries had too much offense for the USC
Bruins. Henry Kress, who scored six goals and
had two assists, led his team to a 10-3 win.
With the Blueberries leading 2-0, the USC
Bruins took advantage of a power play to stay
close. Noah Sutton scored off an assist from
Conrad Hoffman to cut the deficit to 2-1. Mason
Smith scored the equalizer from a pass from
Sutton to tie the game 2-2 midway through the
first half. The Blueberries’ Kress took control by
scoring two goals to give his team a 4-2 lead.
The second half was controlled by the
Blueberries with a relentless offensive barrage
of shots on goal. USC Bruins goalie Noah
Esquivel made seven saves and batted down
three other shots towards the goal, but the
Blueberries just had too much. The lone score
in the second half for the USC Bruins came
from Noah Sutton to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Christopher Donell gave the Blueberries
a 5-3 lead when he took Kress’ pass and
blasted it to the back of the net. Kress put
on a clinic by scoring the next four goals for
the Blueberries. With time winding down,
Zack Patterson passed a shot towards an
empty goal that slid in for the final score of
the game and a 10-3 win for the Blueberries.
’69 Babe Ruth World Series
Heroes Honored
Five members of the 1969 El Segundo Babe
Ruth World Series were honored at this year’s
World Series in Bismarck, North Dakota. Scott
McGregor, Eddie Carroll, Stewart Swiggum,
Steve Curtis and Jeff Tidwell threw out the first
pitch to start the World Series. The reunion
of the five players brought back memories for
each of them, but it was just as important to
talk about their current lives and what their
teammates were doing. They were interviewed
by local TV stations and newspapers, signed
autographs at a special luncheon and were
recognized by the community at local restaurants.
They took a riverboat cruise, visited
Fort Abraham Lincoln and viewed General
Custer’s house as well as attended a church
sermon together.
Curtis couldn’t get over how well the city of
Bismarck had embraced them and he thought
it was first class. McGregor echoed that and
said, “They are treating us first class and as
good as I’ve ever experienced.”
When they weren’t at the ballpark taking in
the games they played golf, visited historical
sites and museums, and relived the 1969 World
Series they won. They also reminisced about
growing up in El Segundo and how they were
taught baseball the right way. McGregor, who
is arguably one of the top three baseball players
to come out of El Segundo, said, “Growing up
in El Segundo, we had the best coaching ever.
From Ed Helevy, Joe Soto, Bill McMullin, my
dad to John Stevenson… They laid the foundation
to our successes on the baseball field.”
Curtis backed McGregor’s sentiments and
added, “We talked about how the team came
together. Nobody was excluded and we won
as a team and it was a total team effort.”
To demonstrate how much the 1969 World
Series championship meant, the five talked
about the mementos they’ve saved or created.
Swiggum has an entire box filled with
newspaper clippings. Carroll saved nearly
all of the clippings (thanks to his dad) of
the World Series, but still covets getting the
baseball from Glotz who caught the last out.
Tidwell put together a reunion book outlining
the summer of ’69. McGregor, who pitched in
two Major League World Series, was named
to the 1981 All Star team and was inducted
to the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, has
a commemorative Babe Ruth World Series
black bat that is signed by all the players and
coaches. It is proudly displayed on his wall at
home among his Major League memorabilia
he collected while playing.
Curtis summed up his five days by saying,
“It was the best vacation I ever had other than
the vacation we all had in 1969.”
Correction and Retraction
In last week’s article on the 1969 Babe
Ruth World Series team, I mistakenly wrote:
“The only all-star team was a 13-15-year-old
team. The 13s started in 1980 and the 14s
started in 1999.” In fact, there was a 13-yearold
all-star team, but the furthest that age
group could advance was a state tournament.
Eventually the regional tournament was introduced
and the World Series became the final
goal in 1980.
Football Team Will Be in Your
Neighborhood for Their Annual
Calendar Blitz Fundraiser
Players from the El Segundo high school
football team will be roaming our neighborhood
wearing their uniform tops tonight between 5
p.m. and 8 p.m. selling their annual calendars.
This is a legitimate fundraiser for the football
program and not a scam. •
The Blueberries celebrated their PeeWee championship by posing with the El Segundo Cup.
Blueberries goalie Aiden McKerron makes one of his seven saves in the championship game.
The Classic Kings held off the Unknowns 6-5 to win the Squirt Division.
The White Knights pose after winning the Mites Division.
Cost: $5.00 Per Person, Adults of all Ages
Welcome, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339
Sheldon St., Call: 310-524-2705.
SUNDAY, SEPT 1
• Bridge & Pinochle Groups, 11:30 AM. –
3:45 PM, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339
Sheldon St., Call Pam at: 310-318-2856.
MONDAY, SEPT 2
• HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!, No School for
ESUSD Students
• El Segundo Public Library – CLOSED...
due to the Holiday.
TUESDAY, SEPT 3
• Pinochle, 11:30 AM. – 3:30 PM., Senior
Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call
Pam at: 310-318-2856.
• City Council Meeting, 6:00 PM., City Hall,
350 Main Street, Call: 310-524-2306.
• El Segundo Kiwanis Club Meeting, 12:10
PM., The Lakes at El Segundo, Contact:
elsegundokiwanis.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT 4
• Bowling, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, 50 Plus, Senior
Club of El Segundo, Gable House Bowl,
22501 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, Cost: $8.50
for 3 games, Call Joyce at: 310-322-7621.
THURSDAY, SEPT 5
• El Segundo Certified Farmer’s Market, 3:00
PM. – 7:00 PM., located on Main Street,
Downtown El Segundo. •