Brownsville’s Columbia starred in early 1950s
Brownsville High School has always had a strong baseball tradition and has sent numerous players on to professional baseball. One of the names on that list is Dave Columbia who was a standout infielder for coach Charlie Slick in the early 1950s.
Columbia played baseball on the sandlots in Brownsville in the old Brownsville Telegraph Junior Baseball League with the West Brownsville team supervised by Burgess James Forsythe and Leroy (Bucky) Grover. They captured championships the two years that Columbia played. Columbia made the Brownsville High School baseball squad as a freshman, and was a star shortstop three years running.
Brownsville had not won a baseball section title since 1941. Columbia was on the team that ended that streak in 1953. The Brownies lost to California in the WPIAL playoffs as Wayne Campbell out dueled Ron Forsythe and beat Brownsville, 4-2.
The Brownies were Section 20 champs in 1954 and fell to Charleroi, 1-0, in the WPIAL playoffs. Cougars ace Adam Vlanich tossed a four-hitter and recorded 10 strikeouts.
鈥淚 got on base in the first inning in that game,鈥� Columbia recalled. 鈥淚 stole second and stole third. Coach Slick was going to squeeze me in and he changed his mind.鈥�
Brownsville went on a pretty good run starting in 1953, and had a string of section championships stretching into the 1960s.
Columbia has high praise for his old coach Charlie Slick.
鈥淚 enjoyed him,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淗e was all business about coaching. He was a great coach, he stressed the fundamentals. He was really fantastic.鈥�
Columbia graduated from Brownsville in 1954. He and Bill Connors had a tryout with the Pirates that year.
鈥淚 was 17 when I went to the tryout,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淚 was on third throwing the ball around and then they called me in to bat. I wasn鈥檛 a real good hitter and that hurt me. George Sisler was watching infield practice and he told me, 鈥楽on you鈥檝e got the strongest arm I鈥檝e ever seen.鈥� But I didn鈥檛 hear from the Pirates after that.鈥�
Columbia also played in the County League and with the California junior American Legion team. He was picked to play in two All-Star Legion games, and a big league scout later wrote him in December.
Two days later he wrote back: 鈥淚 would like to inform you that I will report to Melbourne, Florida, on March 1 for a tryout with the New York Giants. Yours truly, Dave Columbia.鈥�
It was a pay-your-own-way invitation. Columbia, with help, scraped together $135 for bus fare and two weeks room and board.
Columbia was selected by the editors of Life magazine from a list of 200 recruits with the New York organization. He was a subject of a six-page spread in the magazine titled, 鈥淭he Boy Baseball Couldn鈥檛 Turn Down.鈥� While the magazine article was a smash hit, Columbia蘑菇视频 tryout with the Giants was not.
鈥淚 was real good in the field,鈥� Columbia stated. 鈥淏ut once again, I wasn鈥檛 a hitter. They signed me to a $175 a month contract and sent me to Sandersville of the Class D Georgia State League. I lasted about a month there and I got released. Then, I played ball back in Brownsville for one year. I played with LaBelle in the County League, and I played infield and I pitched. I was doing real good pitching. They told me with the Giants that I wouldn鈥檛 make it as an infielder to switch and become a pitcher. I had pitched before at different times. I had a terrific fastball and a good curve ball. I had real good control.
鈥淧itching got me noticed again by the scouts. The Cubs saw me in the County League. I signed with the Cubs and went to Arizona for spring training. In 1957 they sent me to Paris, Illinois, in the Class D Midwest League.鈥�
At Paris, Columbia went 7-10 with 5.67 ERA. He played 12 games at second base and had 37 appearances on the mound, including 13 starts. He batted .228 in 55 games.
The next season in 1958, the Cubs sent Columbia to Carlsbad, New Mexico,聽in the Class D Sophomore League. With the Potashers he went 6-6 with a 6.41 ERA. In 22 games, including 12 starts, he batted .333 in 36 plate appearances.
鈥淚 was supposed to go to a team in California in 1958,鈥� Columbia stated. 鈥淚 was having some arm trouble in spring training so they sent me to Carlsbad where it was real warm, they thought it would help my arm. I won the first five games and I was still having arm trouble. Then I lost they next five games. I was taking treatments, they called them Diathermy. Deep heating of tissues is accomplished by the use of high-frequency electrical current. It felt like your head was going to explode, you could only do it 20 minutes twice a week. It would help, but as soon as I pitched it was the same thing all over again. They made me carry a frying pan around all day long hoping to stretch my arm, it didn鈥檛 help much.
鈥淚t got worse and I went to the manager and said put me on the disabled list or release me. He talked to Chicago and they released me, they didn鈥檛 want to put any money in me. That was the end of my career. I came back to Brownsville and I played a couple of games in the County League and my arm was bothering me so bad I just quit playing baseball. That was 50 some years ago and that right arm still bothers me.鈥�
Columbia, now 80, got into construction in the Brownsville area for seven years, then joined the Painter蘑菇视频 Union and was a painter until he retired when he was 62 years old. He had a heart attack one week later. He had a stent put in three years ago and hasn鈥檛 had any heart problems since. He resides in Brownsville with his wife of 57 years, Bernice. They had four daughters, one is deceased.
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.