Eads Alumni Reminisce Back to the 1960’s
Months ago, Ted Abrams, Wake County, NC (EHS 1967) asked Vaughn Marcum, Wakeeny, KS (EHS 1967) and Kirk Barlow, Eads, CO (EHS 1967) to share their recollections about the famous Colorado State Champion Babe Ruth baseball team from Eads that competed in the 1965 national championship tournament. Responses follow…
Vaughn Marcum offered this…
2023 Dec. 1 - recollections of Vaughn Marcum about 1965 Summer Baseball Colorado - Babe Ruth League Tournament
©
That year they picked a state tournament team for the state tourney. Johnny Holcomb, Dennis Singer, and myself from Eads. If there were other players from Eads, I've forgotten. Our coach was Mr. Green from Plainview.
I believe that Rick & Doug Huddleston from Plainview were also on the team. One of our best pitchers on the team was John Hohen from Burlington. He had quite the fastball. I don't remember anyone else from Burlington.
I don't remember all the teams & players in the tourney. These are the ones I remember: Eads (Vernon Koch, Donnie Aldrich), Haswell (Scott Briggs), Lamar, Las Animas, La Junta, Holly, Kit Carson, Burlington, Wiley, Cheyenne Wells, Arapahoe, maybe Hugo & Flagler. I don't remember any others.
The state championship tournament was double elimination. We advanced to the finals in the "losers" bracket. The one game we lost on our way to the finals was to Holly or La Junta. In the championship games we faced off against Lamar, they were undefeated in their bracket, so we had to beat them two times. Both games we won were close (2-1, 2-1). Johnny Holcomb was winning pitcher in game 1, John Homm was winning pitcher in game 2. After winning those championship games, we were COLORADO STATE CHAMPS in the summer of 1965!
Then our state championship team went on to Booneville, Missouri for Babe Ruth Regionals. As I recall, it was a single elimination regional tournament, and we won our first three games. We beat the state champs from Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota. Then in our fourth game against the host team, the Missouri state champs won, and we came home. We all had a lot of fun and were proud to have made it that far.
Kirk Barlow added this…
©
Johnny Homm lived 20 miles north of Burlington on the republican river. His big brother drove Johnny down to Eads for baseball practice. Don Lenning was the catcher for that Babe Ruth championship team, Don said that the fastball from John Homm was so fast that it hurt to catch. Mike Lenning was relief pitcher. Doug Huddleston and Rick Huddleston from Plainview were also on that championship team.
John had a scholarship to a college in AZ, then he played basketball and hurt his knee. AZ coach told him he couldn't continue scholarship then, but if he came back after getting healed up he could go back on scholarship. John never did go back to AZ, he went to CSU. At CSU, John Homm and Kirk Barlow became good friends. John Homm's brother was in vet school. After CSU, John Homm coached baseball at Burlington.
Marty Miller was in the support crew for that team, helped out with the equipment. Marty's dad, Bob Miller went with the team to Missouri. Bob is 97 now.
When Marty got older, he set the record in baseball in Eads that may still stand, Marty Miller had .750 batting average
Gary Shotton, Broken Arrow, OK (EHS 1969?) added this coincidence…
Gary’s grandkids go to school where (Kirk’s brother) Bill Barlow's boy Michael is head basketball coach.
And the Rest of the Story
Sometimes our memory doesn’t remember things correctly, like dates. In this case it was the year that was incorrect. The Kiowa-Cheyenne Babe Ruth All-Stars were state champs in 1964.
July 22, 1964, the Kiowa-Cheyenne league Babe Ruth All-Stars were among ten teams entered to play in the Babe Ruth Tournament held in Eads. The K-C All-Stars were comprised of players from Burlington, Eads, Kit Carson & Plainview. The roster: Coach Dean Green of Plainview, Players John Holcomb, Dennis Frazee, Dennis Singer, Robert Kelley, Bill Scull, Vaughn Marcum-Eads; Doug Huddleston, Rick Huddleston, Don Lening, Bob Weber, Steve Scott-Plainview; Mike Jones, Eugene Ward-Kit Carson; John Homm, Steve Reimer- Burlington.
©
The Kiowa-Cheyenne league Babe Ruth All-Stars represented Colorado in the Midwest Play-offs held in Boonville Missouri August 12 1964.
The host, Boonville, handed the K-C League their second defeat of the tournament. Boonville went on to win the tournament and the right to represent the Midwest in the Babe Ruth World Series.
In 1965 the Eads Babe Ruth team of the K-C League, perfect season ended at 9 when Plainview won 5-1.
The K-C All-Stars were announced with Vaughn Marcum, Eugene Ward, and Rick Huddleston returning from 1964 Babe Ruth State Champions.
The roster for 1965 were: Burlington- Keith McArthur, Richard Homm, Galen Haines, Gerold McArthur; Eads- Dale Green, Gary Shotton, Dennis Yost, Don Aldrich, Larry Forrest, Vernon Koch, Vaughn Marcum; Plainview- Mike Lening, Steve Scott, Rick Huddleston.
Milton Fischer-Eads team manager; Vern Williams-Eads K-C League manager; Coach Ron Monroe-Burlington.
©
Unfortunately, the K-C All-Stars were unable to repeat being the State Champions.
Thanks to the Lening Family for sharing the program from Boonville and the 1965 Colorado State Babe Ruth All-Stars playoff program
