Time Travel: Big-league players need more ‘fight’
APRIL 15, 1952 – ” ‘There’s not enough fight, spirit or determination to win among ballplayers today,’ commented a former Nashua professional diamond star of some four decades ago.
“He is Wilfred H. ‘Billy’ Page, 69, of 16 Dinsmore St., who played second base and caught in the New England, Southern, and Pacific Coast leagues, as well as in other circuits for some 15 years.
“Now employed at the International Paper Box Machine Co., he likes to recall the days when the spit and emery balls were allowed and the dashing play of Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Dazzy Vance and other greats.”
APRIL 16, 1977 – “The Bishop Guertin track team finished second in a tri-meet yesterday as Salem won the event with 89 points, BG amassed 48 and Timberlane trailed with 47.
“Phil Janoski and Tony Johnson led the cards, taking two first places. Janoski won the shot with a 50-foot, 8-1/2-inch toss, and the discus with a throw of 140 feet. Johnson swept the 100- and 200-yard dashes with times of 11 seconds and 24.3 seconds.”
APRIL 17, 1982 – “Sports enthusiasts may pay higher admission fees to watch Nashua Senior High School athletic teams next year. Athletic Director Albert Harrington has proposed the increase, which would hike adult ticket prices from the present $1.50 to $2.”
Harrington said the increase would bring Nashua in line with other Division I schools in New Hampshire. He also said it would alleviate the problem of making change. ‘When you have to carry around $50 worth of quarters, that’s a pain,’ Harrington said.”
APRIL 18, 1987 – “A seven-run third inning rally and strong pitching from Chip Wagner carried the Wilton-Lyndeborough High School baseball team to a 12-4 victory over Henniker on Friday afternoon, raising the Warriors’ record to 4-1.
“… Josh Cleland (2-for-4), Dale McGettigan (2-for-3) and Dave Mallows all had key hits in the third.”
APRIL 19, 1992 – “Holman Stadium is showing its age, and the city plans to do something about it.
“The effects of weather and time are most evident at the grandstand wall near the third-base line. Bricks have begun falling out of the wall, which has ‘bowed out’ due to structural pressures.”
APRIL 20, 2017 – “The Nashua South baseball team grabbed its first win of the season, routing Winnacunnet, 11-1.
“Pitcher Devin Gates who got the win, striking out four. Owen Amigo (2 for 4, two RBIs) and Tyler Arnesan (3 for 4, one RBI) led the offense.”
APRIL 21, 1972 – “Greg Landry of Nashua, star quarterback of the Detroit Lions professional football team, signed a three-year contract totaling about $400,000. That figure represents a record amount to be paid to a Nashua athlete, and may be highest in the state.
“The signing took place in the Detroit Lions business offices in the motor city. Landry was accompanined by attorney Joseph P. Whelton of Nashua, his counsel.”
Contact Alan Greenwood at agreenwood@nashuatelegraph.com or 594-1245