Got Game?

By Barbara Groark

This Sunday afternoon I’m listening to the soothing sound of baseball on the radio: Phillies versus Chicago Cubs. Phillies are “looking for a streak” according to the announcer.

Hearing baseball on the radio always reminds me of my grandfather, who listened to games every day the Phillies were playing, and of our grade school days when, during World Series time in October, some boys and also a few girls had their transistor radios in school to keep up with the games during such important times. I don’t remember any great confiscations of radios taking place, so either the kids were reasonable at picking listening times or asked permission before doing so, or the teachers were tolerant, or I’m not remembering correctly. The boys were definitely baseball players – every boy knew how to throw and hit, or at least that was the story put out – but my grade school also had a girls’ intermural softball league in the spring. We’d traipse beside the river over to a field near Regina Criqui’s house. Regina’s mother was our coach, the one who taught us all how to swing a bat. But we never were taught how to throw the ball effectively, either because she did not know how or, more likely, it wasn’t considered something girls should know how to do. Remember those days? There was a similar tone when I got to high school about the girls field hockey team actually doing something called running. Regina was one of those who spoke out strongly for a girl’s right to run.

But back to the softball team from grade school: girls on the team who later went to Holy Cross were Rolande Richards, Barbara Pickard, Christine Hill, Patty Reath, Millie Maguire, Marie Griffin, and Kathy Cannon. Who am I forgetting? Nancy Obert and Nancy Mahony! Janet Sanford and Carole Seltzer! Coming to the reunion, ladies? I know Kathy Williams will be there. Eileen and Anne. Did Mervil play softball?

By the way, our team names were the names of religious orders; instead of the Cardinals or the Robins or the Blue Jays, or the Lightning, the Devils, or the Rage, we were the Dominicans, the Franciscans and the Carmelites. You have to hand it to the Catholic school systems: they know how to market their brand. However, these reminders of the religious life did not have much effect on religious vocations in our class. I don’t think there were any.

At some point in the past 20 years I played in a women’s evening softball league in Cinnaminson - slow-pitch for the slowed-down. One night after a game, I was walking to my car and passed another field where some girls were playing what looked like a serious championship game, and I stopped to watch. The girls were boisterous, the pitcher swung her arm in a cartwheel beside her head for a solid underhand throw into the catcher’s mitt, and there was sliding into bases and a lot of chatter from the bench to the people playing.

Overhearing some conversation, I thought I heard the words “Holy Cross.” I saw the gray uniforms on the fielded team’s side and realized: This team was the HOLY CROSS High School – Delran, New Jersey - girls softball team!!! They had a male coach! They were throwing balls like boys – or rather the most effective way after coaching and practice. I was astounded and stayed till the end of the game, which Holy Cross won in a very close ending. I forget where the opposing team was from, but it was a local public high school. It might have been Delran.

So Holy Cross now has a girls softball team. Jealousy is beside the point at this juncture. According to its website ( http://sp.holycrosshighschool.org/default.aspx ), HC also has boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, swimming, golf, and rowing teams (plus those snappy business-casual sweaters and sweater vests rather than our old blazers). They have a dance studio.

All’s I can say is, they must have some rich alumni.

Of course, the last few years have seen financial strain and a threat to close Holy Cross by the Diocese of Trenton. It’s also seen the principal sent to jail for financial fraud. Yikes! ( http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/5176477.html )

Not everything new is better. But it looks like things are calmed down now for the school, and the various sports teams are being reported regularly in our local papers, rather than criminal activities. For some reason, our school sports never used to be reported in the newspapers, even for the boys teams. Well, maybe our scores were reported in a place you had to search for in print almost as small as on the stock market pages. Now even the girls teams are reported with action photos. The boys teams are still the Lancers, but the girls are now the Lady Lancers, a better name I think than Lancerettes.

Today’s HCers still have the more traditional sports that we remember: football, cheerleading, basketball, track. And speaking of Mervil, she was captain of the cheerleaders by her junior or senior year, and I always enjoyed watching that squad perform at basketball games; very athletic, very daring, and very cheery. Are we going to see Peggy Wood, Jane Fynan, Donna Fitzgerald, Kathie Mayts, or Beth Conrad in Ocean City in October? I hope so.

I’ll have to get to the girls basketball and field hockey teams in a later blog.

OK, guys, we need some sports writers to cover the boys’ side of things. Where is Lew Greist? Jim Gillis? Harry Lukis? The Greco brothers? Weren’t Jim Murphy and Jay Aslaksen in my journalism class? Michael Devlin? How about an article? (Rolande? Betty Baird?) Or somebody I can’t think of?

And some of you may think I am being Cinnaminson/Riverton-centric. How about an article from your home town’s perspective, or your social/cultural commentary? Please write, or at least post a comment to appear publicly on the website.

Well, the Phillies lost 6-5 to the Cubs in the 10th inning. No streak today.

If you try the Holy Cross website, go to the ‘About Holy Cross’ page and click the link to view the video for something old and something new: http://sp.holycrosshighschool.org/about/about.htm .

Blog topics coming up: Got Botox? Joined the gym? Who needs Viagra? Not us.