Book excerpt: The year Tuckahoe Little League became globally famous
Richmond author Timothy Thompson has published "Go! Go! Tuckahoe!, History of Tuckahoe Little League & the Magical 1968 Team that Transformed a Community".
Per Thompson: "The book is a singular American success story born amid turmoil, violence and change, and details the vision, characters and go-go attitude that built one of the most successful and winningest Little Leagues on the planet, and the phenomenal 1968 all-star team that ignited the league's future.
"In spite of all the war, unrest, bloodshed, riots and assassinations of the 1960s, America held on. Inspired by John F. Kennedy's moonshot speech, scientists and leaders were dreaming of a better future by thinking outside the box. Some Americans and their communities were also inspired to pursue their own mini-moonshot. On the fringes of burgeoning suburbs, Tuckahoe Little League took root on a scrappy ballfield. They built their own revolutionary Field of Dreams, ascended and changed history.
"One superstar player, Roger Miller, carried his all-star team, with his arm and his bat, all the way to the Little League World Series."
Book excerpt:
The final inning. Tuckahoe trails 1-0. Two outs. Two runners aboard.
Tuckahoe hitter Johnny Mizelle blasts a low line drive into right field.....
During the milliseconds the ball hung in the air, lifetimes would be decided on what happened next. Watching what seemed like a sure hit headed into right field, Tuckahoe's coaches, team and fans, as well as media members Frank Soden, Bill Millsaps and Jerry Coleman, rose out of their seats. They could envision the hot line drive skipping by the right fielder, Nobuhiko Funaoka.
The first baserunner would easily score to tie the game, and another could probably score to give them the lead. Then again, while the speeding ball hung in mid-flight, there was also a 50-50 chance that Funaoka could catch it.
If the hit helped the team win, it would be redemption for the misplays that allowed the run. With the play still in stop-action, might a Wakayama player be a hero or a goat? Baseball is unusually harsh in its way of unfairly singling out players to blame or praise. While all these questions hung in the air, the ball began to descend in slow motion.
When the line drive left Mizelle's bat, the right fielder Funaoka picked up the sinking, tailing-to-the-right ball. He took two short steps to his left and basically fell over where he thought he could make a play. In the millisecond before the ball seemed to hit the turf, his glove brushed the grass, opened, and the ball landed just inside the upper webbing. So dramatic was the play, part of the ball was seen in his mitt for a backbreaking snow cone catch. Sprawled prostrate on the bright green field, Funaoka barely held up his glove to show he'd caught it. A loud, extended GONG! sound was heard from somewhere in the distance over the hills. It was Tuckahoe's clock striking midnight. It was also the sound of the gong near Wakayama's dojo (ballfield) announcing triumph. What a heart-stopping moment.
The black-clad right field umpire, now assuming the role of Richmond's Grim Reaper, hustled in to inspect the play. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally and emphatically raised his right arm to signal a put out. ABC TV announcer Keith Jackson excitedly said: "Oh my! He caught it! The game is over!" Silence immediately descended over the Tuckahoe dugout and fans. Countless listeners and viewers in Richmond and throughout Virginia were dumbstruck. What happened? Did he catch it? Incredulity had finally hit Tuckahoe instead of the other team.
Soden dramatically described the stunning loss on the radio with complete professionalism and personal dismay for Tuckahoe. Listeners back home were genuinely heartbroken. So many times before, the team had grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat or dominated their opponents and seemed headed for destiny.
Like the sound of car tires screeching to a halt, abruptly, it was all over. The magic carpet ride had ended. The gravity of the situation hit hard. What a pity for our boys, folks mumbled to each other. What an ending! Millsaps and Coleman glumly made their game notes on notepads and finished their scorebooks. There would be no triumphant return to Richmond as world champions.
When the team thought Miller would, once again, carry them to the mountaintop, he showed he was only human. His pitching stats from the game reveal a decent performance. Though he only gave up three harmless hits and struck out five, he was ultimately undone by six walks – and multiple misplays in the field, including his own. In a nutshell, Japan was more relaxed and made no mistakes. The Tuckahoe team was nervous and uptight.
As the manager later said, anything can happen when 12-year-olds play for the title in front of a huge crowd. They were, after all, still only kids.
