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Miller treasured baseball memories

With the Cardinals in spring training in Jupiter, Fla., it seems appropriate to tell a story about baseball.
I had the good fortune to meet Floyd “Pop” Miller and his wife, Vivian, from Mulberry Grove when I joined the Fayette County Genealogical Society in the late 1980s.
The mere mention of the word "baseball" in a conversation would start Floyd reminiscing about his early days with the Mulberry Grove team.
I sat down one day with Floyd and Vivian at their home north of Mulberry Grove to record his baseball memories. At the time, he was between chemotherapy treatments, but was still eager to talk about old-time baseball.
Growing up, Floyd had a natural athletic ability. He was an only child, and his father, Alvin, encouraged him, buying him a ball and glove. Floyd was a right-handed hitter, and his dad threw an “awful” fastball. Floyd recalled, “I learned to catch, too – (he) set me on my tail.”
 Floyd played baseball in high school, and one game he remembered was at Hookdale. The Hookdale team had hired some talent, but the Mulberry Grove school boys beat them anyway, 3-0.
This wasn’t exhibition baseball – it was competitive and rough. The young players soon learned how rough it was. It was a common tactic to spike a player to get him out of a game. Floyd was spiked in the leg during the Hookdale game, and still bore the scars to prove it.
He smiled as he remembered not taking a base he should have so that he could return the favor to the guy who spiked him.
Floyd proudly showed me an old photo of him in the Mulberry School uniform of blue shirt with yellow trim and gray pants.
Several local players went on to the big leagues. Red Schoendienst played for the Greenville CVC camp team, as did Eldon Aukins, a cross-arm pitcher who later played against Schoendienst in the 1944 World Series.
“Mark DeMoulin started the Mulberry Grove ball team, and was the manager when I started in 1939,” Floyd said. “In later years, I became the manager … and paid the expenses … mainly that was what it (the job of the manager) was.”
In those early games, in the 1930s and 40s, the home team always provided the ball, and each team brought their bats and catcher equipment. if they had any. Many didn’t, and would borrow from the other team.
“Pop” was the pitcher, and claimed that one game he played at Shobonier made “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” for being the shortest baseball game on record. The home team, Shobonier, was to supply the ball, and they brought one.
The first Mulberry Grove batter hit the ball so hard they were unable to find it. Because they did not have another ball, the game ended right there – 1-0; the shortest game on record.
Some of the ballplayers Floyd remembered from those early days were: Strawberry Boggs, a pitcher; Bill Willett, a catcher; Jack Meseke from Vernon; Martin “Hog-Jaw” Meyer; Vern Davidson, a left-handed hitter from Vernon; Sonny Connor; Carl DeMoulin; Joe DeMoulin; and Harder and Laws from Keyesport.
The Mulberry Grove team played most of the neighboring towns. In Vandalia, the ball diamond was located in the general area where the Aldi store stands. Many times, friends would come to the games in a farm truck.
Among the Vandalia men that Floyd remembered were Chick Wilson, Delmar Cook and manager Cliff Tedrick, as being involved on the local scene. Vandalia had three teams – Shoe Factory, Lions and Merchants.
Floyd recalled one day that he was in Vandalia to watch the game between the Vandalia Merchants team and the St. Louis Colored Giants. The Vandalia manager, Cliff Tedrick, asked him if he had his suit with him. “Pop” always traveled with his baseball gear, and suited up to play for a team he generally played against.
Baseball went on a kind of hiatus during World War II, with many of the players joining the service. Floyd had an eagle-eye, but his hearing was not up to Army regulations and he was turned down for service.
After the boys began to return to Mulberry Grove, “Pop” had a ball diamond built on his farm north of town. From 1946 to 1948, the team played there.
The 1947 roster included: Bunney Ward, third base; “Pop” Miller, first base; Raymond and Gabby Koontz, catchers; Melvin Henderson, second base; Dewitt Heather, shortstop; Junior Beasley, right field; Gene Dothager, center field; Jerry Popes, left field; and a fella by the name of Dean as pitcher.
Their record was 32 wins and 2 losses.
In addition to playing the game, Floyd had another connection to baseball. His father trained hunting dogs, and many of the big-league players owned dogs. One of these was Bill McKechnie, manager of the Boston Braves from 1935-1938.
May 30, 1935, was a day that Floyd would remember for the rest of his life. On that day, Floyd and his father, Alvin, were guests of McKechnie in his box, surrounded by Hall of Famers and other professionals. It turned out to be the day “Babe” Ruth played his final game.
Floyd and Vivian are both gone now, but I can still remember the light that came into his eyes at the mention of “baseball.” We are encouraged to record these stories for posterity, and Floyd’s memories of old-time baseball are priceless.

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