Hank Edwards well loved around town

Talk about a hometown hero. Hank Edwards was just that. The problem was, with the exception of his own family and the many personal friends and relatives he had on State Street, one seldom knew he was making a quick in-and-out trip from his Cleveland Indians baseball family, that is unless you were a visitor to the Shamrock Tavern. Hank often met his friends there, to catch up on the news. This particular visit to his hometown in 1975 was well after his playing days. He was 56 years old and back in Ohio for a reunion with other members of the World Champion 1948 Indians contingent. On tap for later in the week is a late-afternoon game with old timers from around the league. Hank sat down with this writer that afternoon and talked about how it all came about, his being a hero to thousands of fans from Norwalk and the surrounding area. Edwards started by talking about his days at St. Mary's Grade School and then Norwalk High School. He explained there was no Norwalk Trucker baseball program. He played football, basketball and ran track. "The first organized baseball I played was for Danny Mack. He played for Keller News, a real good team, many of who later could have played in the minors. Mack instructed our junior Keller News team," Edwards said. Edwards was a member of that junior team until age 18. He then graduated to the senior team, one that included a great pitcher by the name of George Carter. It also had two fine players who would become priests, Fr. Arnold Schaffer and Fr. Carmen Nardecchia. That team was coached by a former major league player, Elmer Smith, from Milan. It was Smith who saw just how good Hank Edwards could be. He got in touch with a major league scout. Hank signed a contract at age 19. Well, he didn't really sign. His parents signed the contract for him as he was not yet of age to sign a binding contract. It was not instant success. In Logan, W.V., weather kept him on the bench and he was released. But as luck would have it, he bummed a ride home with a kid from Mansfield who had to stop there to see a minor-league manager. Edwards saw a chance of staying in the game and asked for an on-the-spot tryout. "I hit the cover off the ball and won a spot on the team," he said. He hit .396 that year, the second best in all of the minors. Only Hank Redmond in the Yankee organization did better, an even .400. Edwards' career was well off the ground. He would go on to sign with Cleveland. Just days after meeting up with the team for a Washington Senators series, the Indians moved on to Yankee Stadium. "The most people I had ever played in front of was probably 3,000," Edwards said. "I walked to the batter's box in the House That Ruth Built in front of 70,000." The Indians faced two top-notch Yankee hurlers that day, Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing in a doubleheader. Edwards played both games, collecting four hits. But injuries would plague Edwards early and often, finally shelving him for good after many years of treatment. Over his career, he was dealt to the Cubs, then to the Dodgers, Reds, White Sox and, finally, the Cardinals. He showed signs at times of playing through the injuries such as 1950 when he hit .346 for the first half of the season. But, this time a shoulder injury, made it impossible for him to be competitive. In the spring of 1954 he called it a career. Edwards has taken up residence in Anaheim, Calif., with his wife and three daughters. He is a driver and guard for Armored Transport, a firm that has a working relation with Brinks. Sports Center Team Reunited It will be an era in local sports relived on Saturday night at McGuan Park. The Sports Center team of 20 years ago will get back together for a fast-pitch softball exhibition game. They will face a team that played in the fast-pitch district tournament last month. Seven members of what is believed to be the best team that ever played the game in this city will be back in uniform including its star hurler, Jim Frey. Oddly enough, he will be playing against a team that has his two sons, Denny and Dave, on it. For 21 years, Frey was considered one of the premier pitchers in the state. He hurled against and beat such named hurlers as Rip Riley from Fremont Paint and later Faultless Rubber, Smokey Keller from Fostoria Dick's TV, Fritz Danicki from the Lorain Polish Club and Rip Fugate from Joe's All-Stars in Akron. Other members of the original team expected to take the field will be Jack Wilde (2b), Merle McConkey (ss), Don Sweet (c), and outfielders Red Moore, Bob Barnes and Harry Chandler. The manager of that club, John Malcolm, will be back in the dugout again and will also take a turn at first base. Wildle was still playing Fremont Paint and then Faultless up until two years ago. Others on the original team expected to be on hand included pitcher Wayne Leslie, infielders Jim Spettle, Bill Enderle and Bob Beveridge and outfielders Dave Hunter and Bob Berry along with several others who are expected to pull on spikes — Joe Andrews, Bill Ewell, Bill Fugel and Red Michaels along with long-time coach Bud Smith. Jokingly, Malcolm assured the news media that he has invoked a strict curfew the night before the game for all of the players who will be in uniform. Long Coffee Break Firelands Electric Cooperative manager Gary Wyckoff didn't care if word got out on his suspensions. Fourteen employees were suspended for three days without pay after the group violated the coffee break time rule. And from this point on, Wyckoff set new times for the initial break in the morning. No longer is it after many of the workers are already in the building for a time but rather it starts promptly at 8 a.m. and ends at 8:30 a.m. Shop steward Gary Byron is not happy with the new time and has filed a grievance against Wyckoff, who is in his second year at the helm of the company. And what does the board say about Wyckoff's actions? They said actions taken on personnel issues is up to the boss and Wyckoff is the boss. Nathan Edward In The House The sign out front St. Paul High School this morning announced the arrival of a new family member, Nathan Edward Holman. Nathan Edward was born to Flyer basketball coach Roger Holman and wife, Kathleen, at 6:15 p.m. July 9. He tipped the scales at 8-pounds, 3-ounces. Natives Not Happy Tractor Pulls at the Huron County Fair was well-attended back in the 1970s. It may have been too popular back in 1975. Some 1,200 fans attended the second night of pulling. To say they got their money's worth would be an understatement. The show started at 7:30 p.m. and the roaring of high-performance engines went on and on and on. It went on until 3:30 the next morning. Needless to say. Neighbors were not happy. Some had to get up in the morning and sleep was hard to come by. The police answered the phone many times. The problem, however, was in the county. Fair Board president Tom Secor tried to defend the late performance, commenting, "It only goes on for one night a year." Don Hohler is a longtime reporter and correspondent for the Norwalk Reflector.