Share: 

White heat runners and black heat hurlers

December 24, 2020

White heat - On a sun-drenched day in the summer of 2007, two blond white guys ran a barefoot marathon from Fenwick Island to Lewes. The waves of heat and bright whiteness made Andrew Rogan and Robert Campbell look like floating ghosts moving slowly searching for a hydration station. Ann Rogan was their support person. Andrew was entering his junior year at JMU, while Rob was to be a senior at Virginia Tech. I absolutely understood the sense of satisfaction and euphoria both young men felt pushing themselves to the physical brink. Rob is now a veterinarian in New Jersey – not sure which exit – while Andrew is working toward his master’s and teaching certification. 

Black heat - Five aces – Afro American pitchers who toed the mound for Cape – all could flat-out bring the heat: Benny Wiltbank, Jimmy Allen, Hertford Gibbs, Tony Boyer and Danny Hudson. And those guys had live stuff. Benny made it to the Pirates and got a World Series ring. Obbie Maull, catcher for the Orioles, and Brian Mifflin, an outfielder for the Mets, made it into minor league systems. Jimmy Allen, basketball superstar point guard, also high jumped 6-feet-6-inches. Gibbs threw a no-hitter and jumped 6-feet-6, and Mifflin ran a 10.8-second 100 meters. I also remember when Vincent Glover left baseball for track and became a state record holder triple jumper at 48-feet-6-inches. Someone asked me, “How did you get Glover to give up baseball?” “He couldn’t hit the curve ball,” I said. 

Stupid lineman tricks - I was a lineman standing in the end zone alone at Temple Stadium working on stance and starts in 1965 prior to a game versus a Delaware team coached by Dave Nelson. I am pre-Tubby old, like an early primate on the Time Life continuum. Speaking of which, line coach Dave Defilippo yelled, “Frederick, why aren’t you in the monkey roll drill with the other linemen?” Answering his own question, he said,  “Never mind! I know why, and you’re right, it is dumb. Just do what makes you feel good to get ready.”  

Convection centers - The day after Christmas I was always a rotisserie turkey inside a stale-air gym watching six hours of basketball games or eight hours of high school wrestling. I only popped out into the sunlight to cover a 5K/10K race or to jump in the ocean. This year I’ll watch NFL football and think about cleaning out my gutters in defiance of the old-guys-should-stay-off-ladders television commercials and the advice from the CDC, LCB and AARP.

Too pretty - If I’m a Jets fan, I’m glad my team beat the Rams and won a game, and I don’t want to draft a long-faced surfer dude with hair like the Breck Girl. There is so much quality in the top 10 picks, just hard to go wrong.

Friendly High - Back in 1993, Susan and I drove to Friendly High in southern Maryland so I could scout the Bennett Clippers, Cape’s opening opponent the next week. I sat in the stands and Susan went off to scout the band, I assumed. But no, she went to the end zone to get a straight-on look at the alignment of the Bennett defense and how they adjusted to shifts in formation. The next day, coach George Glenn only talked to her, occasionally looking at me and laughing. He didn’t win all those games by not knowing who to trust. 

Snippets - Baseballnews.com has named Zack Gelof of the University of Virginia as first-team preseason All-American. Zack plays third base and batted .349 in a shortened season last spring. Ryan Bettins of Cape made the third-team all-state as offensive tackle, not bad for a 6-foot-3, 305-pound 15-year-old. I was asked if a 15-year-old sophomore Cape lineman ever made all-state before, so I’ll say no. That way if someone did, it will motivate them to text me from the comfort zone of their reclining years. Cami Smith (West Chester) and Darby Klopp (Franklin & Marshall) were volunteer assistants with Cape hockey this fall, and it was a comfort to have them on the staff while their college careers were on pause. Sussex Central 2001 graduate Matt Lawrence, who is 6-foot-5, 295 pounds and from Millsboro, started at guard for the University of Wisconsin under coach Barry Alvarez and graduated in 2005 with a double major in history and political science. Local muppet Mike Bettins aka “Lumpy” – everybody loves Lumpy – called me Tuesday because he was so jazzed his son Ryan made the all-state football team. Embedded deep inside the conversation when I asked, “And how are you doing, Mike?” he said, “Well that infection in the bone of my ankle, they finally had to amputate my foot. But I’m doing OK, still hurts though. Now I’m waiting for a prosthetic.” I just stared at the phone. Mike really didn’t want to talk about his missing foot. The power of his personality was focused on his son. Sesame Street by the Sea, like the oceans and bays, the stories just keep rolling up and down. Go on now, git!

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter