Milt Stark remembers fateful August
By Bob Otto / Yucaipa, CA (7/3/03)
It's been almost 27 years since that fateful August, but for Milt Stark
time has stood still. His team was favored, undefeated, one win away from
a world championship.
Make that one fly ball away.
Back in 1976, Stark managed the Lakewood, Calif. Jets in the ISC World
Tournament held in Long Beach, California. His team had blitzed through
the 30-team tournament undefeated. About an hour-and-a-half, and seven
innings away from a championship.
All Lakewood needed was to spank an upstart ASA team from Minnesota,
playing in its first-ever ISC World Tournament. Minnesota's All American
Bar had fought its way through the losers bracket needing to defeat
Lakewood twice to win the championship. Al DeWall had already hurled six
games for All American. Surely he's tired, the Jets must have thought.
On the other hand, Lakewood was rested, fresh, confident, and the odds-on
favorite to win. Everything seemed in their favor.
Except for one ill-fated long ball off the bat of All American's Tim Egan.
Stark remembers the circumstance well.
First championship game, fifth inning, two out. Lakewood clinging to a 2-1
lead. Ed Bentley had kept All American in check since coming on in relief
of Jim Knott in the third inning. Bentley unleashes a high rise ball
inside
and up but not up enough and the left side swinging Egan sent it soaring
out toward Ted Domingues in right field.
"The ball that Egan hit out was a high fly ball," said Stark. "Teddy went
back in time to get to the fence. He got a glove on it, but it went over.
If he had caught it, or it fell inside (the fence), we win."
As it was, Egan's blast tied the score, ultimately sending the game into
extra innings. All American scored three times in the eighth to set up a
dramatic winner-take-all final.
Feeling a sense of destiny Minnesota scored six runs in the first four
innings for a runaway 6-0 win, dashing Stark's dreams and giving Lakewood
a
bitter pill to swallow. "We were 4-0 going in and had killed everybody,"
said Stark. "(But) they whipped us good. Coming in they had a reputation
as one of the strongest teams out of the Midwest and in the ASA. They had
great defense and those O'Connor boys." (Jerry, the tournament's MVP, and
his brother Dan, who made the All-World team.)
In a bit of irony, Stark had a big hand in bringing All American into the
tournament. Stark served as the ISC's secretary at that time and was given
the responsibility of expanding the organization. "Carrol Forbes
(Executive
Director) had given me a lot of responsibility to open up new territory.,"
said Stark. And that territory suddenly included Minnesota in late
summer
of 1976.
In another bit of irony, All American's pitcher, Darwin Tolzin, working
for
the national weather service, was transferred from California to
Minnesota.
Tolzin came under the ASA's residency radar and was ruled ineligible for
ASA national tournament play.
All American manager, Jim Rubbelke, along with Dutch Elbers, made a phone
call to Stark. An agreement was reached, and All American chucked the ASA
for the ISC and headed west with Tolzin in tow to Long Beach. In the
tournament, Tolzin played second-fiddle to DeWall. But he was thrust into
the spotlight when a tired DeWall gave up two second-inning runs in the
first championship game. Tolzin got the nod and went on to earn both
victories.
Now here's another twist in this tale. A year earlier before his job
transfer, Tolzin was pitching in California. Yup, Tolizn towed the rubber
for his Lakewood pals. "Without Darwin they wouldn't have beat us," said
Stark. "They had all their eggs in one basket (with DeWall). We thought
that was a mistake. We knew Darwin was good. We were wondering why they
were saving him. We found out why."
But there's a little more to this story. It involves two young Air Force
buddies in their early 20s. Stark and a right handed pitcher by the name
of
Dutch Elbers. Elbers and Stark teamed up as battery mates for the Johnson
Air Force base team in the 1952-'53 seasons. The became close friends.
After they parted service ways, Stark headed home for California, and
Elbers returned to Minnesota. But they stayed in close contact.
When All American made overtures to enter the '76 World Tournament, Elbers'
called upon his long time buddy. The two, along with Rubbelke, reached
an
agreement; All American threw their hat in the ISC ring and other teams
soon followed. "That got everything started for the ISC in Minnesota,
parts
of Iowa, Sioux City, and the upper Midwest," said Stark.
In 1977, Elbers took the reins as Minnesota's first ISC Commissioner. He
rose to the roll of president and chairman of the executive committee and
served the ISC for 20 years. "His personality and leadership allowed him
to
rise in our organization. Dutch served us well," said Stark, who also rose
in the organization to Executive Secretary.
And Elbers served All American Bar well in that eventful August showdown
with Lakewood. A showdown that his good buddy Stark remembers all too well
27 years later.
Robert Otto
Mailto:bobotto@gte.net
