Lefty Campbell another local hidden gem
Memory Lane has chronicled the rich baseball history in western Pennsylvania. Uncovered from days gone by is another hidden baseball gem. Left-handed hurler Wayne Campbell played his high school baseball at California High School in the early 1950蘑菇视频.
Campbell was part of two Section 19 baseball championship squads with the Trojans in 1952 and 1953.
鈥淲e had some talented players on those teams,鈥� Campbell recalled. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about Don LeJohn, Larry Papini, those are the guys you would think about. We had some other guys like Tom Selep, Ray Huffman, Mike Digon and Albie Litko, some pretty good athletes.鈥�
In 1952 California won the Section 19 baseball championship after a strange series of events.
The Trojans bowed to Charleroi, 3-2, in the regular season final, and were headed for a second-place finish.
But coach Don Cornell protested the game because of a controversial call. The WPIAL upheld the protest and ordered the game to be replayed. The second time around 鈥� at West Field in Munhall 鈥� California won, 3-2, to clinch the section title.
鈥淲e were down by a run and I got a hit down the first base line knocking in a run,鈥� Campbell remembered. 鈥淭hey threw it in trying to get (Tom) Selep, and he bowled over the catcher and scored, and we won the game.鈥�
In the playoffs the Trojans ran into Redstone and a pitcher named Bobby Locke. They were ousted in a 5-1 defeat, as Locke struck out 13 and limited California to two hits.
鈥淟ocke was tough, he was good,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get to play in that game because I had just pitched and we played Redstone about a day or two later. Locke was very good, he could throw a baseball.鈥�
In 1953 California won the Section 19 title again and faced Brownsville in the playoffs. It was Brownsville蘑菇视频 first section title since 1941. California eliminated the Falcons from the playoffs. Brownsville蘑菇视频 Ron Forsythe went 12 innings in a duel against Campbell. The Trojans notched a 4-2 victory.
鈥淲e were very familiar with the Brownsville players,鈥� Campbell offered. 鈥淲e used to play against them in the old Brownsville Telegraph League.鈥�
The Trojans dropped a 5-2 decision to eventual WPIAL champion McKeesport, and their ace, Tom Qualters.
鈥淢y high school coach Don Cornell was a very good coach,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淗e was very calm fellow and he was our wood shop teacher. He was a very good man, I really liked him.鈥�
Campbell was on the radar of several major league scouts who were coming to see him pitch.
鈥淲e had a lot of scouts coming,鈥� Campbell stated. 鈥淭he Baltimore scouts were there, the Pirates were there because I was down in Pittsburgh, the Red Sox were there. The Phillies were scouting me since my sophomore year in high school.鈥�
Campbell also was a part of the outstanding California American Legion baseball squad.
鈥淲e won the two straight Mon Valley Section Championships,鈥� Campbell stated. 鈥淲e beat Washington to win the 25th district championship. We then lost to Mount Pleasant in the American Legion tournament. We had a heck of a team.鈥�
Five players from the 1952 California team in the Mon Valley section of the Washington County Junior Legion League signed minor league contracts.
The others were Forsythe, Bill Whiteko, LeJohn, Papini and Campbell.
鈥淲hen I was pitching Legion ball in 1954, I threw a no-hitter,鈥� Campbell explained. 鈥淚 no-hit Fredericktown, 2-0, and had 15 strikeouts. That was on a Wednesday night. On Friday morning, Pittsburgh had me down at Forbes Field and I threw about seven or eight pitches and I remember the bullpen coach said, 鈥楲et me see your fastball,鈥� and when I let loose, I felt something tear up in the top of my arm.
鈥淚t took me a year to get it fixed. The rest of that year the Phillies were still after and I went to the All-Star game in Washington, Pennsylvania, and I could hardly break a pane of glass. The Orioles took me to York, and I still couldn鈥檛 break a pane of glass and that was the end of it.
鈥淢y arm was shot and I moved to Dayton, Ohio, and I went to Wright Patterson Air Force base to work as a civilian because my brother worked there. That winter, I worked on my arm and pitched a little and I didn鈥檛 get my arm better for about a year or so. Then in 1956, I was pitching in a league in Dayton and some of the scouts started coming around and finally at the end of that summer I signed with the Reds.鈥�
Campbell wound up pitching for Gainesville in the Class D Florida State League in 1957. He went 7-13 with a 4.05 ERA. He appeared in 30 games, 23 were starting assignments.
鈥淎t one time I was 7-3,鈥� Campbell stated. 鈥淭he manager started using me a lot and they had me coming in some in relief and we were still fighting for first place. Then I strained the back of my arm where I was hurt before and after that I kept pitching and I also played some outfield.
鈥淚 stayed out in 1958,鈥� Campbell recalled. 鈥淚 went to the NBC Tournament in Wichita, Kansas, and in 1959 I went back to the Reds and they had me and Jack Baldschun in Tampa. We were there three days and they sent us to Plant City at minor league camp.
鈥淚 was there until the end of spring training and they sent me to Savannah and I never got to play there. They told me I needed to take a 25 percent pay cut. The next day I flew home and that was the end of me with the Reds. I got a release later, they held my contract for awhile so I missed some chances with other teams.鈥�
Campbell pitched in a league in Cincinnati in 1960. Campbell played there two years and the the Dayton League opened up to former professional players. He pitched for Dayton Blatz and Dayton Parkmore. He pitched in the Dayton League for 14 years. In 1967 and 1968 he pitched in the NABF national tournament and his team won the tournament both years in Buffalo, New York. In 1975 he played in the Stan Musial World Series in Battle Creek, Michigan, with the Dayton Dodgers. He quit pitching in 1976.
He was pitching coach for the University of Dayton in 1977 and 1978. Campbell got into computer programmer at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and he worked starting 1964, he retired in 1989.
Campbell started playing softball and senior softball and played for Joseph Chevrolet. He won several national tournaments. He also used to pitch batting practice for the New York Mets when they came to Cincinnati in 1969-70. He still plays senior softball.
In 1978 Campbell was inducted into the Dayton Amateur Baseball Commission Hall of Fame in 1978. He was elected to the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Campbell, 79, resides in Fairborn, Ohio. He is divorced and he has a daughter and a son residing in Dayton.
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the Herald-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.