I coulda been a contender.

If not for Bobby Pendergrass and Donny Kirsch.

The three of us were kids crazy about baseball when we were growing up in Portland and though they never heard of me our lives intertwined.

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Bobby and I were on the same baseball team at Woodlawn Grade School. He was the best hitter on our team. I sometimes got to sit next to him on the bench.

I never had a mitt but I did have a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and always brought it with me at practice. I got it from one of my customers when I delivered her Oregon Journal paper one day.

One day she asked me if I played baseball and I said I planned to be big leaguer someday. So she was impressed and went to a hall closet and got a shiny baseball bat and gave it to me and said it used to be her son's and said I could have it because her son left when he grew up and never came back from going to war.

It looked like new so I always kept it in my locker and took it to the baseball games and practice.

I was pretty lucky because my history teacher, Mrs. Goulet liked me and she had a really fancy car and when I told her I was planning on being a baseball star and owned a Louisville Slugger she was impressed and offered to drive me to the school games no matter where and even brought my shiny bat. She even came and picked me up and drove me home.

One day I was watching our team practicing and Bob Pendergrass came over and asked of he could try my Slugger and I was so thrilled that he would talk with me I said "Sure." But be sure to hold the Slugger trademark facing the sky so it would not break and he said "Sure" and went up to the plate with it and hit the first pitch and he forgot about the trademark and "Paw," the Slugger" flew into two pieces and I felt like bawling but he handed me the handle and said he was sorry.

I took it home and wrapped some friction tape around it but I never dared to swing it again.

Mrs. Goulet asked where my " Slugger" was when she took me to the next away game I told her it broke.

She still took me to the away games but I never got another bat.

One year the Portland Beavers held a try out for kids who had dreams of someday playing professional baseball and hundreds of Portland boys showed up and I was placed at shortstop and so was Donald Kirsch. We were both freshmen at Jefferson High but he was on the frosh team.

They hit me a hot bouncer and the ball took a crazy hop and hit me on the forehead and took a goofy leap and flew into left field.

Donny Kirsch was next and handled his jumping rabbit like Johnny Pesky, another famous Portland shortstop and I slunk into the seats and he ended up later as the most famous Oregon baseball coach in history.

I sure thought Mrs. Goulet was a great lady, though.