One Shot at Forever (36 page)

The description of the team's equipment is based on the impressive recollection of Sam Trusner. Shartzer, Sweet, Heneberry, and Dale Otta were also helpful.

most precious commodity
: this was in the age before aluminum bats, so everything was wood and manufactured by Louisville Slugger. The first aluminum bat was introduced in the spring of 1970, made by Worth. It was years before they were widely adopted.

The description of the Pana game is from interviews with Sweet, Trusner, and the other Ironmen, as well as accounts by Larry Kehias in the Pana paper.

a parent walked into
: The parent in question is deceased and could not answer to the charge of calling Sweet a communist. Since using his name didn't add to the narrative, I chose to refer to him only as “a parent.”

The descriptions of the school board meetings, and the school board in general, are based on the school board minutes from 1965–72 as well as interviews with former board president Merv Jacobs and a number of teachers, including Poelker, Chaney, and Sweet.

The description of the Maroa field is based on interviews with Maroa alum Wes Weikle, Maroa athletic director Dana Dale, and Maroa alum Bill Weikle, as well as a visit to the school.

“He ain't got shit”
: I loved this nickname so much that for a while I thought about trying to use it as the name of the book.

covered roughly one hundred schools
: all Joe Cook background comes from Joe Cook. The background on the
Herald & Review
is from Cook, Fallstrom, and the current
Herald & Review
librarian and staff.

“They found that ball yet?”
: This story is oft-told and beloved by the Macon players and exists in a number of variations, though most are quite similar. The version I used comes from Mike Atteberry, who went on to room with Mike Ferrill in college.

That the Mt. Zion players left the field cursing
: The Mt. Zion perspective here and elsewhere in the book comes from 2011 interviews with Mt. Zion players Craig Brueggemann and Jeff Brueggemann, as well as Mt. Zion coach Ed Neighbors.

headed to the regionals
: Around this time, the Ironmen were fond of invoking a Sweet-concocted character called “King Siege,” who served as a mythical mascot of sorts for the team. Mark Miller, a talented artist, drew posters of the King, muscle-bound and glory-bestrewn, that adorned Sweet's walls. After the disqualification, Sweet even wrote a poem about the death of King Siege, and how he never lost on the field but was “drug down by his detractors, and treachery.”

Background on the Illinois high school baseball playoffs, including the number of schools involved and the history of the tournament, comes courtesy of Matt Troha, assistant executive director of the IHSA, who was kind enough to send me some imposing Excel spreadsheets in addition to archival information.

bereft of divisions and classifications
: At the time there was already talk of the need to add them. That spring, in an editorial in the Decatur
Herald & Review
titled “It's Time for a Classy Meet,” Bob Fallstrom argued that the “class system is desperately needed in the state track and field meet,” citing the long dominance of Chicago schools that are “simply too powerful.” Wrote Fallstrom: “As in basketball, the small school athletes can't begin to compete on an equal basis.”

Lane Tech background: Based on information provided by Lane Tech and its Web site, as well as interviews with former Lane Tech players and visits to the campus.

finishing the season with a 5–0 record and a staggering fifty-one strikeouts
: this and other Macon stats courtesy of Lynn Sweet's records.

“Steve, I want you to pitch against Stew-Stras”
: based on an interview with Steve Shartzer in 2011.

The history and description of Fans Field is based on the recollections of players on both teams, in particular Sam Trusner and John Heneberry of the Ironmen and John Geisler and Brad Friese of Stew-Stras. Archival information from the Decatur Public Library, including photos of the park at the time, also proved useful.

brimming with confidence
: this and other representations of the Stew-Stras players' perspective are based on interviews with John Geisler and Brad Friese

nearly 150 fans
: The number of fans present is based on talking to multiple players and fans, whose estimates varied between 100 and 250.

“renowned for his resolve”
: Sweet tells stories of watching Roush get passed by more talented runners late in races only to struggle back and win.

another high heater
: Geisler gave Roush another fastball because he and Friese believed that until a new hitter—especially a pinch hitter—proved he could hit the fastball there was no need to slow it up.

The description of the final inning is based on interviews with Sweet, Shartzer, Geisler, Friese, Heneberry, Trusner, Shartzer, Atteberry, Glan, Tomlinson, and Dale Otta, as well as photos in the 1970 Macon yearbook and articles in a number of newspapers.

The background on Mike Atteberry and his father is from interviews with Mike Atteberry and the obituary of Charles Atteberry in the Macon
News
.

customary postgame sheet
: courtesy of the archives of Lynn Sweet.

All background on Jeanne Sweet and her relationship with Lynn is based on interviews with the couple and their friends, as well as photos, letters, and the Macon High yearbooks. One quote that didn't make the book comes from their daughter Leslie. She told me that when she was a young girl, she once asked her mom who her best friend was. Says Leslie: “We were in the kitchen and I remember my mom stopping what she was doing and really thinking about it. Then she said, ‘Your father.' I know it sounds trite or corny now, but at the time people didn't say things like that.”

“report to the library”
: The re-creation of this scene is based on interviews with nearly a dozen people, including players, parents, and teachers. Some had only vague memories of the meeting while others remembered a detail here and there. Dale Otta remembers the meeting being in the junior high gymnasium, which doubled as the theater. Others remember it being in the school library. In this case, I've gone in large part with the recollection of John Heneberry, who had the clearest memory of the proceedings and dialogue. I then added in details taken from other interviews, especially Sweet.

“This,” he said, “is absolute horseshit”
: This and rest of the reaction is from Lynn and Jeanne Sweet, Tomlinson, Shartzer, Dale Otta, and Heneberry.

For the special board meeting on September 3, 1970, the details and context come from the school board minutes for that year and years prior. Additional dialogue, details, and information comes from interviews with Lynn Sweet, Merv Jacobs, John Heneberry, Vi McClard, Dennis Schley, and others.

wasn't fond of Ernie Miller
: This is based on the recollections of a number of people, primarily Lynn Sweet.

the seventy-foot trailer
: The trailer park had only recently opened, to some fanfare, after a lengthy approval process by the city council.

Wedding announcement: from
The lronmen Scene
, courtesy of Jane Nelson's files.

Homecoming details are from the files and recollections of Jane Nelson and John Heneberry. 91—Reaction to Sweet's firing: Recollections of this varied. Strangely, some

people don't remember it at all, even though it was recorded in the school minutes. Others remember elements of it. Shartzer's reaction is based on what he remembers thinking he would have done.

Since Dick Snitker is deceased, the descriptions of him are based on interviews with Brian Snitker and Angela Snitker, as well as Sweet, Heneberry, and many others.

A number of the boys provided their recollections of Vietnam. The stories about Whittington are from the Macon
News
in 1968 as well as Heneberry, Otta, and Jane Nelson (who heard the sniper story).

The story of Miller's grain elevator ascent is pieced together from interviews with John Heneberry, Lou Ann Warnick (Mark's wife), Dale Otta, Sweet, and others. There was some dispute as to exactly when it took place—whether it was during Mark's junior or senior year—and here I've gone with Heneberry's recollection of the timing, though it doesn't impact the narrative much either way. The description of the grain elevator is from interviews, old newspaper photos, and present-day examination (it's still going strong).

a long history of foolish endeavors
: In choosing which anecdotes about the boys to put in the book, I had plenty of options. Shartzer in particular has a keen memory for such exploits. Many of them involved hunting, though there was also the time Shartzer knocked back a bottle of homemade wine before winning the 100-meter dash (a feat he backed up by showing me the news clipping documenting his victory).

knew the team wasn't as talented
: To this day, many of the players on the team believe this, including Dale Otta, leading them to wonder just how far that 1970 team would have advanced

relics from three different eras
: This can be seen in the photos included in the book (as well as in the cover shot), where the variety of uniforms and caps is evident.

“going to be in the pros someday”
: This conviction is something Shartzer's friends and family members recall vividly. Glan says there was never a time when Steve didn't believe he'd be a star.

In a 13–1 win
: Alas, the scorebook from the 1971 season has been lost to time. All box scores from the regular season that I reference are from newspaper clips, primarily those in the Decatur
Herald & Review
. Those stats in turn came from Sammy Trusner, who in turn got them from Barb Jesse, who it's worth keeping in mind was a freshman at the time (and known to be generous when it came to determining hits versus errors).

“Glan has to be the quarterback”
: Glan ended up being a successful quarterback, even though he rarely threw the ball. Burns entrusted him to call all the plays, and the boys had full faith in him. One downside was that Otta, who'd been an elite wide receiver early in his career at Macon High, rarely saw the ball as a senior because the team ran the ball so much (and when Glan did throw it, it was usually a short pass).

monopolized the attention
: The actual quote from Heneberry was, “Stu and Steve basically passed around all the girls.”

saw no shame in discussing one's feelings
: Linda Shonkwiler Allen remembers riding the bus to school with Stu from Elwin every day and spending the whole time talking about love, life, and relationships.

“those damn buzzsaws”
: This Burns anecdote comes, as so many in this book do, from Shartzer, who grew to be very close with his coach. When Burns was on his deathbed many years later, he called Steve at his home. Steve was accustomed to his coach being gruff. On this occasion, all Burns said was, “You was the best I ever saw,” then hung up the phone. Steve still tears up talking about it.

the Teacher
: This is one of a handful of teaching mementos Sweet kept.

D
EFICIENCY
R
EPORT
: This and the anecdote about the Steak ‘n Shake come from Jane Nelson.

Mt. Zion dress code: Description of the school, dress code, and impressions of the Ironmen come from interviews with coach Ed Neighbors, Craig and Jeff Brueggemann, and others.

CAT DIESEL
hats
: Dick Jostes was the father of one of the reserves in 1970 and a big supporter of the team. No one remembers exactly when the hats were banned. Otta thinks it was during the 1971 run when the team hit the playoffs, but others think it was earlier.

$1.26 a month to buy supplies
: This is according to the school board minutes, which kept track of all official school expenditures. Any other bats and balls purchased were donated by parents or Sweet himself.

everyone had his own nickname
: The boys often went exclusively by these nicknames when with each other. Some, like “Ott” and “Dean-O” for the Otta brothers, were easy to understand. Others, like “Chip” for Stu Arnold, were more involved. (It derived from the lead character in the Chip Hilton books, who was good at most everything.)

“with a little air under it”
: To this day, Snitker blanches a bit at Shartzer's descriptions of his foot speed, while Heneberry revels in it. As John says with a laugh, “If it hadn't been for Snitker, I'd be the one they were all calling slow.”

relied primarily on two pitchers
: David Wells also pitched in three games during the 1971 season.