Chaykun: Bonner grad Graham boosts Military stars

Published: Sunday, July 11, 2010

By Harry Chaykun, hchaykun@delcotimes.com

The people at the Delaware Valley Brandywine Visitors Bureau and Delco Athletes Hall of Fame picked the right week to have the United States Military All-Stars baseball team visit the area.

The problem was that they couldn’t pick the weather.

The All-Stars faced the Delco Diamonds at Wilmington’s Frawley Stadium Tuesday night, and the temperature, which crawled past the 100-degree mark that afternoon, played a part in holding down the crowd.

Those who did attend saw an exciting game between the Military Stars and the Diamonds, a 17-and-under team that competes in the National Amateur Baseball Federation and the Marzano Scout League.

The visitors earned a 2-1 decision over the Diamonds. Rob Graham, the Monsignor Bonner grad and Briarcliffe Senior EDCO pitcher who recently returned from four years of active duty in the Marine Corps, threw the first three innings for the Military All-Stars.

Graham gave up the Diamonds’ run when he threw wildly to third base.

“This was really great,” he said as he paced the dugout as his teammates tried to solve the Diamonds pitching staff.

Terry Allvord, general manager of the Mililtary team and a former Chester resident whose uncle, the late Leigh Allvord, is a member of the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame, was happy Graham agreed to pitch for his team.

“We’d love for him to stay with us,” said Allvord, whose team was headed to New England for the weekend and will play at Doubleday Field in the shawdow of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

La Salle University’s Eric Van Wyk, a Diamonds alum who throws for Concord in the Delco League, went the first three innings for the Diamonds and shut the All-Stars down.

Ridley High senior Norm Donkin, an All-Delco football and baseball player, poked a double to deep center field and also played well enough at third base to take home the award as the game’s outstanding defensive player.

Wednesday morning, the All-Stars, who by that time were traveling in a bus that did not have air conditioning, attended a symposium on the glory years of the Delco Baseball League, hosted by former Delco League president Jim Vankoski at the DelVets Post in Brandywine.

Several men who played in the Delco League in the 1940s and 1950s who spoke at the program also talked about their days in the service. The members of the Atlantic Umpires Association, headed by Bob Stevens, who is in his 57th season of working baseball games, also attended the symposium. Stevens, Mike Lech, Dennis Gallagher and Bob Hempton served in the Marines, Rod Walcome served in the Army and Dennis Cini served in the Air Force.

Vankoski presented a slide show that included pictures of Delco League teams from the 1920s. He talked about the members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, including Connie Mack, Frank “Home Run” Baker, Chief Bender and Hack Wilson, who spent time playing in Delaware County. Mack actually spent a season as the Delco League’s commissioner.

Vietnam veteran Ed Dougherty, the St. James High and Delco League pitcher who became a professional golfer, was there to share stories of his days as a player with Willie DeJarnette’s Eureka Red Sox team in Chester.

Dougherty and Bobby Shantz, the Army veteran who won 25 games for the 1952 Philadelphia A’s, took part in the opening ceremonies before the game at Frawley Stadium Tuesday.

John Latorocco has been coaching Aston Valley Senior Babe Ruth teams for a long time.

“Upper Darby (UDHL) no-hit us last week,” Latorocco said. “That’s the first time in 17 years of coaching that I can remember one of my teams being no-hit.”

As the Delco Senior Babe Ruth League’s playoff tournament went on, Latorocco’s players brought their big bats with them.

“We had at least a half-dozen guys get at least two hits in our win (13-10) over Roxborough,” Latorocco said. “And Mike Lancellotti came on in relief in the second inning and gave us six good innings to get the win.”

Aston Valley’s hitters stayed hot early in the first game of the championship series against UDHL Friday night, building a seven-run lead before host UDHL rallied for a 10-8 decision.

The Delco Senior Babe Ruth League All-Stars will be in Pine Forge (near Boyertown) for the state tournament. Delco will play Friday morning against the winner of Thursday’s opening-round matchup between West End (Williamsport) and Chesmont. The state champion will be crowned Sunday.

The chart that includes the statistics of local players in the minor leagues will appear in the next Sunday Times. Here’s a quick update on some local players.

Mike Antonini (Cardinal O’Hara) is a starter with Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League. He is 5-7 with a 4.08 earned run average and 73 strikeouts in 99 innings. T.J. Chism (Sun Valley) is 1-0 as a reliever with the Mets’ Kingsport franchise. He has a 1.93 ERA and five strikeouts in 42/3 innings.

Strath Haven’s Brad Gemberling has a 2-5 record and 39 Ks in 51 IP with the D-Backs’ South Bend Class A team.

Jordan Ellis (Radnor) is 3-3 with a 2.27 earned run average in 33 games with the Phillies’ Lakewood Blue Claws team.

Mike Costanzo (Archbishop Carroll), who began the season with the Camden Riversharks, is hitting .274 with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 48 games with Cincinnati’s Carolina Mudcats franchise in the Class AA South Atlantic League.

In the Independent leagues, Aston native Ben Davis has a 2-4 record in 54 innings with the Riversharks while Ridley product Mike McGuire, a former Indians farmhand, is 3-4 as a starter with the Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League.

Military All Stars To Be Back in Town

For the third year in a row, the Delaware County Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau and the US Military All Stars are joining forces to promote the awareness of All Americans in support of the honorable sacrifices that our Armed Forces make in defense of our freedom.

The All Stars consist of outstanding players selected from all branches of the military. For the past 21 years, they have toured the country playing baseball teams at all levels during their Red, White and Blue Tour of America. This year, the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame, in partnership with the Visitors Bureau, have invited the All Stars to participate in three events:

The first is a game against The Delco Diamonds--a youthful group of talented players from Delaware County. Helping to coach this team will be former major league pitcher and Delaware County resident Pete Filson. Pete pitched a total of six years in the majors, his last being 1987 when he played with the New York Yankees. The game is scheduled to be played Tuesday, July 6th. at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware. Opening ceremonies begin at 6:30pm. Starting pitcher for the military team will be Marine Rob Graham, a Bonner High School graduate just back from a tour of duty in Iraq. This Living Legend game will honor US Army veteran and 1952 AL MVP winner Bobby Shantz.

On July 7th, beginning at 11am, the All Stars will be part of a symposium in which former baseball players from the Delaware County Baseball League--the oldest incorporated baseball league in the country--will reminisce about the glory years of the league, years that spanned the era from just before World War II through the Korean War. This event will be held at Delaware Veterans Post #2535 on Veterans Drive (just off Naaman's Road) in Wilmington, DE.

Closing out the All Stars tour will be a basketball game against the Old but Slow Paul Arizin All Stars. This game will be played July 7th at the Paul Arizin Court in the Media Youth Club, Media PA. Opening ceremonies will begin at 6:30 PM. The court is named for the late Paul Arizin--a Marine Corps veteran and member of the NBA Hall of Fame.
For more information on any of these events, contact Jim Vankoski at (610) 909-4919 or bvankoski@hotmail.com