Firebirds vs. Smashers

 

Firebirds vs. Smashers

     This was an odd  hobby we had in the late 1960's that showed great creativity. It involved just  one on one whiffle ball games in the front yard of McNerney. The bat was a whiffle bat flattened from use and scores were astronomical since outs were only recorded by strikeout or the odd pop up or grounder caught by the opposite pitcher. Most hits were homers flying over the hedge between the Sheehy's and William's property. I was 20 years old so this was not kids playing together. However, what made the games so much fun was the fantasy we put into the rosters of the teams. Greg was the Smashers and I was the Firebirds who were comprised at first of names taken from old Dodger yearbooks under "stars of the future." The players almost never became stars and were just hopefuls who never made the big leagues or were up for a cup of coffee. We knew nothing about them except their photos so we made up stories about each guy and then it got wilder. The stars of the Smashers were Dick Krotz who was a shortstop, Mike Brumley, tobacco chaw in cheek second baseman, diminutive Bart Shirley,  Skip Hancock, ace pitcher and outfielder Solly Drake, a speedster in center field. The Firebirds main man was John Krim who was from a badly-dubbed B movie we saw on channel 13 called "Serenade for Two Spies" that was so lame as to be cult material since Krim was a 007 character dubbed from the original German. There was also Bourbon Wheeler who lost an eye and pitched on, Haystack Calhoun slugging first baseman, Mormon Mel Corbo ,Joe Gomez, the mayor of Tijuana, Babe Ruth Jr. who ofter vomited from over-indulgence, Bobby Gialombardo, hot-headed pitcher and Pete Gray who played with just one arm. We would announce the games inventing scenarios and delighting eachother as we spun fantasies. Each player and pitcher had a unique batting stance or throwing motion. Some would be angry, some drunk, some recovering from injuries, some coming out of retirement.  While it sounds ridiculous we had a blast passing Summer days playing Firebirds vs. Smashers ball. That Summer was the basis for a friendship that sailed on for 59 more years.