Baseball & Softball League and Teams
Batter Up!
by Chief Paul Smith (ret)
As the baseball season kicks off this Spring we thought it appropriate to revisit the fire department leagues on days gone by.
Back in the 1930’s Marin had it’s own baseball league. The “Majors” had not yet established a team in the Bay Area but the San Francisco Seals and the Oakland Oaks played very competitive baseball in the Pacific Coast League. Famed players Joe Di Maggio and Ted Williams were two outstanding PCL products.
Here in Marin the AA semi-pro teams were overseen by the San Francisco unit of the Northern California Baseball Managers Association. These teams were loaded with local talent and offered contracts to players.
Team sponsorships were arranged by community and fraternal organizations. The Elks, Eagles, Native Sons and DeMolays all supported teams. So did the Fairfax Merchants and various Fire Departments.
Buried in the archives of the Kentfield Fire District were recently rediscovered baseball scrapbooks of news clippings and photographs of this pre-War era. These glimpses into the past are remarkable. Local Marin teams traveled to San Francisco, Portola, Napa, Sonoma and as far north as Fort Bragg to compete.
Player rosters from that time include family names that are recognizable today. Taylor, Thornton, Mariani, Bacigalupi, Petri, Bettega, Ghilotti, Forni, Keaton, Milani, Forde, Ahrens were all players.
In this edition we’ve included some long forgotten team photos and box scores from the local newspapers.
Moving to the 1970’s most of the Marin fire agencies fielded softball teams. The games, besides from being very competitive, built bonds of friendship among all the department members. Fierce rivalries during the seven innings usually ended with a few beers after the game. These friendships forged strong working relationships among the firefighters and their departments.
Fire departments from Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, Fairfax , Mill Valley, Marinwood, Novato, Tam Valley, Sausalito and Marin County FD and the Marin Municipal Water District all fielded teams. Unfortunately by the mid 1980’s the league was disbanded. Concerns over potential worker’s compensation injuries and the gradual migration of firefighters deciding to reside outside of Marin resulted in the decline of the league.
We would like to thank and acknowledge Jim Mann (MCFD -ret, Bob Souza
(Sausalito and Tamalpais Valley -ret) and Tim Exline (Tam & Sonoma- ret) for their remembrances and photo contributions.
Click on images to enlarge
Kentfield's softball team circa 1980. (L-r) standing: Dave Shubin, John Lando, Vic Saulenas, Bob Bettencourt , Bob Mariani, CJ Curtin, Bob Suttles, Tiki Morris. (L-r) kneeling: Al Curtis, Bob Ahrens, Dean Thompson, Rob Crottogini, Ron Darrington.
The Larkspur FD Softball Team in 1982. (L-r) standing: Bob Cummesky, Larry McCullough, Coey Holiday, Chief Craig Shurtz, unknown, Matt Gustafson, Dale Eubanks. (L-r) kneeling: Tom Forster, Asst. Chief Bill Lellis, Jim Buscher, Dick Newberry, Bob Fox.
The Marin County Fire Department softball team started playing in the fire department softball league in 1975. Their team won four league championships prior to the league disbanding around 1982.
Back row L to R: Gary Alvey, Ken Massucco, Bud Leedy, Ken Carter, Ken Finn
Front L to R: Jim Mann, Steve Peavy, Rich Lopez, Rob Lopez, Ed Mestre
Missing: Jim Love, Rick Galassi
Back row L to R: Gary Alvey, Ken Massucco, Bud Leedy, Ken Carter, Ken Finn
Front L to R: Jim Mann, Steve Peavy, Rich Lopez, Rob Lopez, Ed Mestre
Missing: Jim Love, Rick Galassi