David Reamer’s recent article about great pitchers with an Alaska connection brought back a fond memory.
In a 1965 exhibition baseball game, Satchel Paige pitched for the lawyers’ city league team against all-stars from the other teams in the league.
We had several bar and judicial luminaries on our team. Roger Cremo and Judges Jim Fitzgerald and Ralph Moody were regulars, and Judge C.J. Occhipinti was our often-frustrated coach. Younger members included John Brubaker, Joe Josephson and Bob Libby. I played second base.
Late in the game, we were leading by one run.
The All-Stars had runners on first and third with one out when a one-hop line drive was hit to me. I managed to field it cleanly, tag the oncoming base runner and throw to first base for a double play. When I returned to the dugout bench, breathing multiple sighs of relief, I felt a hand on the top of my head. I looked up, it was Satch. “Nice play, son,” he said. It was the high point of my baseball career.
— Warren Matthews
Anchorage
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