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Mark Benecke
For many of us growing up in Mt Baker and Rainier Valley, playing sports was a favorite pastime. Jerry and I played Pony League baseball in the 7th and 8th grades, while attending Asa Mercer. I wish I could remember all our teammates....but one I'll never forget was Buford Neal. He was a fearsome power hitter and physically far superior to anyone else on the team. Opposing pitchers were often intimidated by Buford's imposing presence at the plate. Never an easy out, facing Buford was like going up against a junior Hank Aaron. One memory actually happened on Franklin's hard dirt ball field, which was our main practice field. Although I wasn't a pitcher, I was pitching batting practice and Buford was the hitter. I was probably about 5' 2" and weighed 110 lbs. I try and throw Buford a roundhouse curveball and he smacks it rapid fire like a speeding bullet back to the mound. The ball hits my right ankle square on the bone. I didn't have a second to jump and avoid getting hit. I fell to the ground in pain, thinking my ankle had been shattered. Buford was the first player to get to me...to see if I was o.k. He cared so much and was so concerned that I might be hurt. What a great teammate! Fortunately the ankle wasn't broken, just bruised and sore.
I wish I could remember more of the players on those teams. I recall playing with Henry Bowyer (class of 69), Jerry Israel, my brother Jerry, Ron Gibson (class of 69), maybe Ron Henderson and Dempsey Hendley. Please let us know if you recall any of the players who played Pony League ball back in '63 and '64.
It's easier to remember our Little League teams because they were made up of players from a much closer proximity...so you were likely to see them at school. For Pony and Babe Ruth teams, players were drawn from a larger area that encompassed several neighborhoods - Mt Baker, Rainier Valley, Seward Park, even Beacon Hill.
Speaking of Little League, I vividly recall tough games against Lakewood, a team that included the likes of Tom Rhodes, Al Ovadia, Wayne Henry, Dave Azose hanging out on first base, etc. We had Larry & Gary Bingham, Armenious Patterson (class of 69), Steve Strehlo (class of 67), Jerry Israel, Mark Pennington (who later pitched for the Huskies), great friend Roland Caliboso, etc. I don't remember ever beating Lakewood...but I did get a hard line-drive rbi single to left center off Rhodes in our final game! Sports really does bring people together...from all walks of life. And those lessons we learned all those years ago about teamwork, working together, being part of team, playing to win, playing by the rules, practice, setting goals, believing you can win....certainly helped us become who we are today. R.I.P. Buford. Your memory will always be with us!
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