58 Team Reflects On Accomplishments

“The kids were taught to make their bunks properly and to be gentlemen on and off the field. We had a great group of kids..." - Manager Pickle Rossman on winning the New York Daily News sportsmanship award.

1958 Team Reflects On Accomplishments. (1988, August 10). Centre Daily Times, p29.

By DOUG MCDONALD Times Sports Writer

Thirty years have passed and only the names, teams and some of the rules have changed.

Bellefonte won state Little League honors in 1958, and the manager of that team, Harold (Pickle) Rossman, and some of his players took the time yesterday to reflect on that major achievement.

Now, 30 years later, Bellefonte’s All-Star team is two wins shy of another state Little League title. Bellefonte, this time representing District 5, will face Ingomar in one semifinal game tomorrow at Minersville. The game will start at 3 p.m., with the second game (Tamaqua vs Aston-Middletown) set for 6 p.m. Tomorrow’s winners will play for state honors Saturday at 2 p.m., while the losers will square off for third place tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Bellefonte opened the 1958 District 10 Little League playoffs by posting a 13-1 victory at Snow Shoe. A 1-0 victory over Nittany Valley followed and the Bellefonte All-Stars were on their way.

Then Bellefonte defeated Philipsburg for the tier championship and the right to battle Punxsutawney for the district title at Clearfield. Chalk up another 1-0 victory and Bellefonte was only four victories shy of the state title.

Next up was the Section II tournament at Latrobe where Bellefonte beat Huntingdon, 7-1, and Brownsville, 3-0, for the right to play for the state championship at Williamsport.

In the state tourney the following week, Bellefonte beat Erie Seneca and Jessup to earn a spot in the Eastern Regionals at Hy Turkin Field in Staten Island, N.Y.

“We met our Waterloo at Staten Island,” Rossman recalled yesterday. ”We lost to Darien, Conn. 4-3. Then we lost the consolation game, but what meant more to me than winning the state title was the sportsmanship award the kids received after the regionals.

“It was sponsored by the New York Daily News and to my knowledge, that’s the only time the award was presented. I know it meant a lot to me.

“The kids were taught to make their bunks properly and to be gentlemen on and off the field. We had a great group of kids and this team is very similar. I’ve only seen one playoff game, but I wish them the best of luck.

“I just hope these kids can go the whole way. I’m pulling for them. I know they hit the ball better than we did. We had a bunch of sticks, but we didn’t hit the ball like these guys. It seems like there’s a different hero every game.”

Members of the ’58 Bellefonte team were Larry Conaway, Rod Mitchell, Charles (Sonny) Fletemake, Denny Leathers, Bill Foresman, Tom Crater, Ron Howard, John Sodergren, Tom Greib, Dennis Lose, Dan Kahle (deceased), Gary Kellog, Mike Ranio Jr. and Barry Burger. The coach was Bud Haupt (deceased) and the league president was Frank Webster (deceased).

Fletemake, an area automobile salesman, remembers the good and the bad from the 30-year-old experience.

“We’ll start with the bad,” Fletemake said. ”I remember the game we had against Nittany valley. I was coaching third, Rod Mitchell was on third and Denny Leathers was batting. I lost track of the outs and so did Rod. The State College fan next to the fence said there were two out so I believed him.

“Well Leathers hit a shot to left. Mitchell, thinking two men were out, left with the crack of the bat. He was easily doubled off third. From then on, I paid attention to what was happening. I never forgot after that.”

Fletemake, meanwhile, recounted on the games at Williamsport in which he was a participant.

“Mr. Rossman told me to crouch down at the plate. I did. I think I gave the pitcher a 3 1/2-inch target. But it worked. I walked and scored on a double.

“But Mr. Rossman and Mr. Haupt were great inspirations to us. They’re out of the same mold as Andy Thal (the present co-manager) along with Gary Rockey). They’re great for the game. They give 100 percent.”

Kellogg, who works for Cerro, and Leathers did the bulk of the pitching the year Bellefonte made it to the Eastern Regionals.

Kellog, who has attended most of Bellefonte’s playoff games (he managed in the Marion-Walker League this past season), also sees similarities.

“It’s hard to remember what happened 30 years ago, especially when you’re 12,” Kellogg said yesterday. But we had good leadership, and you learned to be good losers, too, under Mr. Rossman.

“But something like this is good for Bellefonte. It helps develop consistency in the baseball program, from Little League, to Teeners and then high school.  But I think the kids are the same. I remember last month’s Suburban game. The Bellefonte kids would step up to the plate, look for the sign then smile or laugh.  The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. That’s where I see similarity between Andy Thal and Pickle Rossman. the kids are playing relaxed and that’s nice to see. They have the potential to win states. I hope they do."

“We didn’t have the power this group has. We relied a lot on singles and doubles.”

Differences in the rules over a 30-year period include the double-elimination format in the early stages of the playoffs and the re-entry rule.

In ’58, it was single elimination from the outset. One loss and a team’s out. In recent years, Little League adopted a double-elimination format at he local level. For example, Bellefonte entered Section II play at Huntingdon last week with a 7-0 record while Tyrone, and 18-3 loser in the finals, had lost one game in seven outings.

“We knew Nittany Valley would be tough,” Kellogg said. ”They had Ken Barto (present State High baseball coach) and Shorty Stoner (present Penn State coach) to mention a few. Looking back, that was a big win. We were evenly matched.

Meanwhile, Thal, Rockey and Coach Bob Wallace made a number of substitutions during Saturday’s game and then re-entered the starters later.

“I do like the rule that applies to regular league games,” Kellogg continued. ”It allows all the kids the opportunity to play. We get kids in for so many innings per game in the field and so many times at the plate.

“I realize the playoffs are different. But I knew some kids who got discouraged, and they had pretty good talent.”