LJ baseball: Smith, Eveleth remember

By Ed Piper

Stan Smith, La Jolla High Class of 1960, played the National Anthem on trumpet for the umpteenth time Sat., Feb. 21, before the Alumni Game. As a senior in high school, the catcher--catchers are usually not fast runners--stole home six times. I asked him how he did that. He said, "I was a catcher. I watched players and knew when to go."

The fit, with-enough-breath octogenerian to play a wind instrument, rolled into memory time while his alumni colleagues played the 2026 varsity. He mentioned some names new to this reporter: Butch Van Artsdalen played catcher, then shortstop, an unusual combination.

Regarding the original baseball field, with home plate at the corner of Rushville and Fay and right field extending toward the tennis courts, Smith said Bob Barnhart, a centerfielder, broke his leg in 1961 or 1962. He was attempting to catch a flyball, and he fell backwards over the line of track hurdles set up next to the track to line the outfield perimeter.

"You had to watch your a-- in left field and centerfield," said Stan. In left field, the raised curb on the track presented a hazard. In right field, the fence limited how far back a fielder could go to try for a flyball.

Rick Eveleth, Coach-Athletic Director Emeritus and public address announcer for the Alumni Game, recounted the "Tudor house story". Bob Skinner, an LJHS graduate and LJHS Baseball Hall of Famer, played in the Major Leagues for the Pirates and Phillies. He was a lefthanded hitter. (I have his baseball card. I only found out he went to La Jolla High well after I collected his baseball card as a youth.)

Skinner is said to have hit a home run to right that went over outfield fence, over the tennis courts and onto the Tudor house beyond them. Quite a shot.

Eveleth, a Coaching Legend with his wife Vicki (no "e" at the end), mentioned Vikings from the early 50's: Bud Relyea, Art Lapino, and Charlie Wray; and later in the 50's, Bob Skinner and Eddie Olsen.

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"Andy (Strasberg) has been a mentor/coach for Gary Frank for over 40 years," Howard Frank, the Viking head coach's father, told me at the Alumni Game.

Strasberg, who threw out the first pitch, served as Padres VP from 1975-1996. He has written seven books, and his eighth one, his memoirs, comes out Nov. 1. Andy, who wrote a book 1961 about Roger Maris' breaking of Babe Ruth's 60 home runs the summer Strasberg turned 13, was married at home plate at Qualcomm Stadium. His bride, Patty (they're still married), came out of the dugout during the ceremony.

What connected for me was that the former Padres exec represented the following baseball personages--some from my era: Harmon Killebrew, the Twins slugger; Nolan Ryan; Jerry Coleman; Doug Harvey (an umpire from San Diego); Ozzie Smith, a Hall of Fame shortstop; and the San Diego Chicken, among others.

I asked Strasberg, who headed the Padres' marketing and promotions, to what level he played baseball. He said he reached the junior varsity at White Plains, New York, in 1965.