FROM WHITING TO WILLIAMSPORT: The 1952 All-Stars Go to the Little League World Series Frank Vargo July 2020

For over 150 years, the cry of “Play Ball!” has echoed across the land from the first games of Spring Training to the last game of the World Series. Every major league player eagerly awaits the start of the season with the goal of playing in the World Series. The same is true for every boy or girl that has played in organized baseball. They all want to play in the “Big Game”.

According to a Hammond Times article from August 25, 1952, Carl Stotz conceived of the idea of a baseball tournament when his two young nephews were excluded from the city league because they were too young. Mr. Stotz wanted a league made up of 9 to 12 year old boys who could show the older boys and the adults that they too could play the game. With the help of two brothers, George and Bert Bebble, Carl organized the National Little League Tournament. It was to be held in Williamsport, PA. This city became known as “The Birthplace of Little League Baseball.”

In 1947, the name of Stotz’s tournament was changed to “The Little League World Series.” The winner of the first Series was a team from Williamsport that defeated a team from Lock Haven, PA, by a score of 16 to 7.

Thus the tradition was established that every August a Little League champion was to be determined by a nation-wide tournament which saw over 8,000 teams play for the chance to make it to Williamsport and win the “Big Game”.

All-Star teams were usually selected by the leagues’ managers and coaches based on how well the players performed during the regular season. The roster of the 1952 Whiting All-Stars included these members:

Danny Adzia – 1st base

Jack Mateja – 2nd base

Bob White – Shortstop

Joe Dybel – 3rd base

Catcher – Joe Eilbacher

Pitchers – Art Mehuran, Dick Szymanski and Bob White

Outfielders – John Duray, Marty Jamrose, Tom Kujawa, John Shields

Utility Players – Richard Gaskey, Pat O’Keefe, Steve Vrlik

Co-Managers – Bruno Coppi and Walter Muvich

Nearly all of the boys lived in Whiting or Robertsdale with one player being from North Hammond. Danny Adzia was the youngest player at age 10. Joe Dybel was 11 with the remainder of their team mates being 12 years old.

The team blasted its way through the Hammond sub-district by defeating Hammond 17 – 2 and East Chicago 8 – 1; the Kokomo district by defeating Crown Point 3 – 1 and Logansport 3 – 0. They captured the Fort Wayne sectional and regional by defeating Jeffersonville 13 – 10; Fort Wayne 2 – 1; Joliet 4 – 3 and Harvey 5 – 1. With these victories Whiting was proclaimed “Champions of the Midwest.”

Highlights of these victories included Art Mehuran, a 5’ 4” 12-year-old right hander pitching two no-hitters; Dick Szymanski hurling four tournament triumphs, allowing a total of only four hits; Bob White breaking up two games with home runs. One homer sailed 230 feet, way over the 180 - foot fence in Fort Wayne.

The team departed on Sunday, August 24. A parade from the Whiting Community Center was led by the Whiting High School Marching Band. They traveled down 119th Street to the Pennsylvania Railroad Station near Whiting Park. From there the eastbound train known as The Admiral transported the team, their managers Mr. Coppi and Mr. Muvich along with Don Koenig, athletic director of the Community Center as well as the head of the Whiting Little League and his aid, Andy Yanas, to their destination.

After arriving in Williamsport to a large welcome by the town folk, they eagerly took a trip to the field where they would play their games. Later, all eight teams were given the chance to ride on local fire trucks for a parade through the streets of the city. A giant picnic for all players, coaches, guests and townspeople was hosted by Little League officials.

Finally Tuesday, August 26 arrived. Whiting was scheduled to play in the second game of the day against the Norwalk, CT All-Stars. Both pitchers, Whiting’s Art Mehuron and Norwalk’s Don Masi, wore jerseys with the number 13. That was only the beginning of this wild game which would take one hour and fifty-five minutes to complete.

Whiting jumped out to a six to nothing lead with three runs in each of the first and second innings. Art Mehuron, who had pitched two no-hitters in earlier rounds of the tournament, then started to have a hard time with his control. He walked five batters in a row to start the second inning. Art was relieved by Bob White who quickly gave up a grand-slam homer to the first batter he faced, catcher Ralph DiMeglio.

With the score tied at 6 to 6, Whiting scored a run in the third without the benefit of a hit. In the top of the fourth, Norwalk’s shortstop, Julio Banda, made a sensational catch of a line drive to rob Marty Jamrose of a hit which would have probably scored two Whiting runs. Banda had made two errors in the first two innings which led to Whiting building up its six run lead. His great defensive effort more than made up for his earlier errors. But Banda was not yet finished being a hero for Connecticut.

The bottom half of the fourth inning proved to be the downfall for Whiting. With two out in the inning, Whiting’s managers ordered DiMeglio intentionally walked, which put the potential winning run on first base, to get to Landa. But the Cuban shortstop, who had been in this country just over a year and had struck out his first two times at the plate, drilled a pitch over the right field wall for a three-run homer. That made the score 9 to 7. Connecticut scored another run in the fifth inning to make the final score 10 to 7.

Bob White accounted for three of Whiting’s runs, walking in the first inning with the bases loaded and smashing a two-run double in the second. Szymanski, Mehuron, Mateja and Eilbacher drove in the other runs. As the old saying goes, “You win as a team and you lose as a team.” Whiting put up a strong battle, but fell just short of winning. The Norwalk, CT, team went on to defeat the team from Monongahela, PA , 4 to 3 to win the 1952 Little League World Series.

Upon their return to Whiting, another parade was held down 119th Street to honor these hometown heroes. Families, friends and neighbors waved and cheered to show their pride in what their boys had achieved. It might have felt good to sleep in their own beds that night, but the boys probably dreamed that they were still in Williamsport playing for the World Series title and winning the “Big Game.”

In 1992, a forty year reunion was held in the St. John Panel Room for the team members and coaches. Coach Walter Muvich had passed away, but Coach Bruno Coppi accepted some autographed baseballs not only from the All-Stars but other players who were in the Whiting Little League in 1952.

The year 2022 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Whiting All-Stars trip to the Little League World Series. No team from Whiting has ever been back to Williamsport.