verdugo288

I’ll never forget the first year I went into the Legion Post in La Crescenta in late 1989 and asked them for money to sponsor our team.  At the time there was a “La Crescenta” Legion team, but it didn’t have anything to do with Post 288.  In fact, when I made the initial contact with a guy named Dave Haskell…I was told they had NOT sponsored a team in almost 30 years.  That was really not so encouraging to find out.  However, I had a good feeling about Haskell from our first phone call.  He, at the time, was The Commander of Post 288 and had a lot of pull there and said he would at least give me a chance to make my pitch to the rest of the members of The Post.  However, he made it VERY CLEAR to me that this was not going to be HIS decision and that if I wanted any help putting this thing together that I was going to have to convince ALL of the members of Post 288.

I went to the meeting and was introduced to about 30 people and just started walking towards the podium.  They all said “STOP!”  I learned that it was a Legion tradition that when you were to speak at one of these events you had to be officially “escorted” to the podium by two members.  So I walked up to the podium with one old veteran holding my right arm and another veteran holding my left arm.  On top of that, they all clapped in unison to the beat of our footsteps as we approached the podium.  Needless to say, by the time I made it up there, I was crapping my pants.

I nervously made it through my speech.  These were SERIOUS guys.  And they listened to every single word I said.  You could see the painful expressions on their face as they began to realize that I wasn’t coming in here asking for 50 bucks.  Most of them objected to getting involved.  They felt that they would help us out and not get any recognition or appreciation.  It was NOT looking good.  After about 10 minutes of going through rebuttals with Dave Haskell moderating, a really cool thing happened that kind of swung things in our favor.  Haskell, a former football player from USC back in the 1940’s said to the men in the room “Since you wimps in attendance tonight are being so protective of The Post’s money…I got 100 bucks here out of my own pocket to somehow help these kids…. now,  will any of you ladies be willing to match it?”  He then slammed down a $100.00 bill on the podium. 

There was this one big chubby guy who hadn’t said a word the whole night.  He looked PISSED.  And I was thinking I was the guy he was pissed at.  I was wondering what this guy was gonna say when he finally spoke.  He had a beard and he was a pretty mean-looking dude.  After Haskell’s challenge, his face turned beet red.  He walked straight for the podium (nobody escorted THIS DUDE up there).  He reaches into his pocket…and slams down $200.00!!!!!!!!!!  I found out later that his name was Ken Zuetell.  Zuetell’s move kind of swung things in our favor.  To this day there is only one word I can use to describe Zuetell’s move……..CLUTCH.  Then a guy named Jess Rogers verbally committed to $100.00.

At this point the room was filled with about 30 old guys that were arguing with each other and it was getting LOUD and some of the comments they were making to one another were getting PERSONAL.  Ever the diplomat, Dave Haskell decided to excuse me from the war I had started and to leave them alone while they slugged it out.  He winked at me when I left and I realized that he had kind of taken a liking to me and my idea of having a team.  And I could sense that he wanted to be a part of it behind the scenes.  He said he would call me later that night and let me know how things had turned out.   As I was leaving, I could hear Haskell saying to the group “Gentlemen, I think it’s time for us to put our money where our mouth is.”

Sure enough about 9:30 PM the phone rang.  Haskell had pulled it off !  And he congratulated me as the new coach of Verdugo Hills Post 288.  He said they could commit to “about 1000 dollars”………………I was elated.

Dave Haskell worked behind the scenes with me and taught me how to go in and visit The Post every once in a while…even during the off-season,  and (as he said) “work the crowd.”  He said “I can teach you how to get even more money out of these guys next year”………..and I listened to and followed through with all of his instruction.  And you know what?  He was right.  Everything he told me to do WORKED.

The next season, they gave us $1500.00 .  The next season…..$2000.00.  The final season (1993) they basically gave us a blank check.  I never abused it.  I think the last season we spent about $3000.00 of the Post’s money.  They basically told me before the last season…”get the kids whatever they need.”  And the way I see it, none of it ever would have happened without Haskell, Zuetell, and Rogers slamming down their hard-earned money on that podium that night.  They understood that you guys really wanted to play at that level, and I wanted to prove I could coach at that level, and win at that level. It was beautiful.

After the 1993 season, I was already planning for 1994.  And I had every intention of making ’94 another great season for us.  I think I stopped by in October of ’93 or something and pitched them on the idea that it might be a pretty cool thing for Verdugo Hills Post 288 to have a TEAM BUS.  General had volunteered to do the repairs if needed, and I told the Legionnaires that they might be able to put it to use year-round just kind of making sure the Members of The Post had rides to meetings, etc.  General figured we could pick up a used bus for 12-15k and being the brilliant mechanic General was (and still is) he would have fixed it up with all the bells and whistles.  The guys at The Post loved the winning and the tradition we had created, and they LOVED the idea of having a BUS!!!  I will never forget laughing to myself when I left that meeting….thinking to myself….”these wonderful old guys are gonna buy us a frickin’ BUS!!!!!!!!!!”  And you know what?  They WOULD have done it………..

The problem was………..1994 never happened.  I gave up The Team. 

Can you imagine the uproar we would have caused around the league pulling up to games in a frickin’ TEAM BUS???????????

Yes-sir-ree…………from $1000.00 to a TEAM BUS………not bad, huh?

One of the great things about managing this team for all of those years was the media attention we got.  I guess there just wasn’t a whole hell of a lot going on sports-wise during the summer months so we got coverage from The Los Angeles Times, The Daily News, and The Foothill Leader.  Every time I turned around there was someone calling me, or asking me questions before a game, after a game, and sometimes even DURING games.  It was great to get the exposure for the players.  Legion was a pretty big deal about 20 years ago, yet now if you look in the L.A. Times during the summertime the coverage is literally non-existent. 

We had some great quotations that the newpapers actually printed.  I said some pretty crazy stuff.  Some of you may remember them but if you don’t, I have recently hooked up my scanner here in my office and will be attempting to scan the headlines or quotes or whatever and get them on this blog.  I have told a number of people through the years about some of the stuff I said but I doubt anyone believed me.  Well, ‘Ol Gee just found all of the scorebooks of every game I EVER managed PLUS a huge box of newspaper clippings.  At least I was bright enough to keep all of that stuff.  Now if I can just find that damn video Yves’ mother gave me of miscellaneous highlights of the ENTIRE ’92 season I can embed some cool video footage on this blog as well.  So keep your fingers crossed that I can find it……….

The question I could never answer to the reporters was always asked to me BEFORE the game started.  All of our players would line up in a circle either in left field or right field, depending on which dugout we had that day.  Before they even stretched or played catch they went through this ritual before every game starting in ’92.  While our opponent was on the other side of the field stretching or playing catch….and some dumb-ass coach micro-managing them….our guys were playing this game they invented called “FLIP.”  If a reporter got to the game early, they would always come up to me before the game and chat a little.  This was when I was invariably asked the question “What are they doing out there?”…….

I never really knew what the hell they were doing or what the rules of “FLIP” were.  I was busy going through my OWN pre-game ritual.  So when asked the question “what are they doing out there?”   I would usually answer with “bonding, I guess”……..

I would then tell the reporter that this was indeed a REAL game they were playing with REAL rules and that there was only one winner and everybody else lost.  We would watch the circle of players.  Some guys had their hats on bill in front.  Some guys had the bill turned sideways, some guys were wearing their bills backwards……..and they kept moving their hats into different positions as the game went on.  I didn’t know what the hell the rules were but it was fascinating to watch.  It was also funny to watch who was “eliminated” from the game as it went on…and how they would bitch about being “ganged up on” or someone or a group of guys “cheating” as they dejectedly returned to our dugout.  It seemed that if anyone got “eliminated” from “FLIP”…it was ALWAYS someone’s fault other than their own…….

I never could explain to any reporter what in the hell “FLIP” was.  All I know it that it was a beautiful pre-game ritual.  I could get the field ready and post the lineup and get a lotta stuff done while “FLIP” was happening.  Then the players would magically on their own start playing a little catch and/or stretching as needed.  The guys prepared themselved for our pregame all on their own.  And they were ALWAYS ready to give a great pregame show when it was our turn to take the field.  You know why this happened game after game?  Because there were no egos on this team.  Hell, sometimes you can WIN the game before it even starts with a sharp, crisp pre-game.  I will go on record right here and say ‘FLIP” was the reason there was always a great pre-game and the reason that there was always a certain confidence and calmness about our players that kept them from ever getting too anxious about ANY game or situation.  “FLIP” was a HUGE part of the success of our team(s)……

The problem is……….I still don’t know what the hell “FLIP” is……………..so could someone please explain to me what the hell it is/was in case I am ever asked again?

You know we developed quite a reputation around the league as the greatest raggers to ever play the game.  We would literally say anything to anyone and were quite unapologetic about it all.  Many people have questioned me about it through the years.  People would ask me why I let the guys say all the shit we said.  Well, I always would tell them “I didn’t hear anything……….what did they say?”

It could have been an ump, an opposing coach, it didn’t matter.  That was always my answer.  “I didn’t hear anything….what did they say?” 

“What do you mean you didn’t hear what they said?” they would ask…moving in closer to me, always a little righteously indignant about it all.

“I have a hearing problem” I would then explain…………”You know, just a few years ago I was in a METAL BAND.”

“You were?”

“Oh yeah”………I would say……….”I suffer from this degenerative hearing condition called CHS”………

“Really?” they would ask “What is it?”

“Can’t Hear Shit”………..I would tell them.

That would usually get a smile and get me off the hook.  But the truth of the matter was…………I heard EVERYTHING.  You see, when you play in a band the P.A. System is in FRONT of the band.  The musicians on stage only can hear their normal practice volume.  All of the painful volume is specially reserved for the audience.  So, no…I never suffered from CHS………….and thankfully I didn’t.  Because I had a front-row seat to listen to (in stereo I might add) the greatest rags ever heard in the history of baseball.  But for those of you who may not believe ‘Ol Gee played in a Band……check out the following video footage we just put up on youtube.  Yes-sir-ree that’s ‘ol Gee up there on the left side of the screen with my old band Warrior/Cold Fire.  Enjoy!!!!!!!

The Drummer in this lineup we had here (Nick Menza) went on to join the band MEGADETH after we disbanded and played with them for 10 years.  As some of you know, I’m now a Golf Pro.  People ask me if I’m a “scratch” golfer all the time.  “Yes, I tell them……..and I’m also a scratch bass player, too!!!”

Yep………that was his name ……Harry Leroy Magee.  My Grandfather.  I had to write this story.  He’s the guy.  Blame it on him.  He’s the guy that gave to me the love of the Game of Baseball.  Sure, we all know how great The Game is.  We all love to play it.  But there was no better time when I was a kid and listening to the magical Baseball stories told by my Grandfather (or…..”Grand-Dad” as we called him)  Harry Leroy Magee.   After you listened to him tell Baseball story after Baseball story….you realized that Baseball was more than a game.  Just through his simple words, he brought to life the sights, the sounds, and yes…..even the smells of this Great Game.   And to this day, every time I tell a baseball story, I want to tell ’em just like Harry Leroy Magee told them to me when I was just picking up a baseball for the first time back in the 1960’s.

He was (according to his words) a banjo-hitting, slick-fielding middle infielder who was a switch-hitter and took pride in being able to hit the ball the opposite way from either side of the plate.  You know, one of those “scrappy” players.  He played semi-pro ball.  He played hard-nosed defense.  He went in spikes up to break up double-plays.  He taught me everything about the game he knew.  He gave me every tip in his book to give me the edge on my opponent.  He was the reason I played my whole career as a switch-hitter.  Why?  Because I wanted to be just like Harry Leroy Magee.  He taught me that no matter how hard you get hit by a pitch, you NEVER let the pitcher know it hurt you. 

He tried to push his love for the game on my Dad when my father was growing up.  My Dad just wasn’t really into it.  So they didn’t have that “Father-Son-Baseball” thing going on when my Dad grew up.  I think it created a bit of a rift between them.  Then I was born.  And all I wanted to do was eat, live and breathe baseball.  I think my love for the game actually pulled the two of them closer together.  My dad actually became quite a student of the game, and was probably the best hitting coach I ever had.  The three of us would sit and talk baseball for hours.  And I think that’s what made Harry Leroy Magee so happy late in his life.  He just wanted to enjoy “The Ballgame” with his son.   Just about every summer he would drive out to California from his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his wife of over 50 years to visit our family and watch me play baseball.  From the field I could see Grand-dad, My grandmother (who we nicknamed “Ning-Ning”…), and my Dad having a great time taking it all in……….. 

I found this great picture of the three of us and just wanted to share it with you guys.  Three generations all in one shot!  My Dad never really liked to pose for pictures.  He was always the guy TAKING the pictues.  And with his expensive Hasselblad cameras…..he didn’t trust anyone touching them.  So the picture here is indeed some rare footage.  I look at it often.   And when I look at this picture, I cannot help but think of The Game of Baseball.  And I cannot help but think of the great stories told by Harry Leroy Magee.  And I also look at this picture and realize how at the time of that picture…who would have known that the little kid in the stroller was one day going to coach the Greatest Team, with the Greatest Players, who Played in the Greatest Games ever played?  And live to tell the stories RIGHT HERE on this blog? 

I may never tell the stories quite as well as Harry Leroy Magee……and I’m not sure ANYONE could.  But I’m gonna do my best to try!!!! 

We all have stories to tell here.  Please share your memories here.  We’ve all gone our different paths in life.  But we will always have a bond that is held together by the Game of Baseball, the memories, and Verdugo Hills!!!!!!!!!!  I encourage you all to speak out……….Thanks to Hagge, Workman, and Canale for breaking the ice and making some comments here.  Now………..let’s have some fun with this blog, and tell some stories, Harry Leroy Magee style!!!   I’m sure that SOMEWHERE out there ‘Ol Grand-Dad is reading every word………..and smiling!!!!!!!!