Kitty League’s Hardest Workers: The Official Scorers

Originally written by Edd Kellow (The Paducah Sun-Democrat)

If there’s a strike among Kitty League scorers, you can blame it all-not on Mame-but on the play during the first week of the season.

There wasn’t a dull moment during any of the fifteen games played in the first four nights, but baseball fans just don’t like to spend three and four hours watching baseball players handle the horsehide as if it were a hot potato.

A check of the scorebook for the four days indicate that there have been 264 runs made to date-most of them unearned-325 hits recorded, and 121 errors checked. A lot of errors made by the players just didn’t show on the books, as one sports scribe avers [says] his team made 23 bobbles and was charged officially with but eight.

The night of Thursday, May 9 may go down in history as “Miracle Night” in Owensboro, for on this date the Oilers played errorless ball-the only game played by any one team yet without an error. The tragedy of it all was the Oilers still lost 9-6 to Madisonville, who committed two errors.

On the other side of things, Fulton made eight errors in one game with Union City and still won by a 10-7 count. This was the game that Holder registered 16 strikeouts for the Chicks, only to have to be relieved because of sloppy infielding. They didn’t relieve the infield, however.

Pitchers’ ineffectiveness was shown in the early games as most hurlers needed radar equipment to locate home plate. Bill Keller, one of Owensboro’s hurlers, walked the first six Madisonville batters and then the Oiler infield booted two consecutive ground balls to give the Miners their first win.

Joey Schultz, Fulton hurler, found the plate well enough to strike out 12 Union City batters, but he still walked 12 others in six innings, and finally had to be relieved.

Earl “Snitz” Browne, Owensboro manager, is literally tearing Kitty League pitching apart, and should be the leading slugger of the year. On opening night at Owensboro, he smashed a record-breaking home run out of the park and over a three-story apartment house, and then Friday night, he proceeded to wallop three more home runs.

The “Z’s” have it this season in the Kitty. Manager Joe Zubik, of Madisonville, is proving a fine receiver, while Paul Zubak, Mayfield outfielder, has been one of the loop’s hardest hitters, having three homeruns to his credit to date. And now Fulton has signed a catcher by the the name of Zuva.

Mayfield thought it had done a fine job in lambasting Cairo on the opening game 26-8, and then in the second contest, 11-0, but then Owensboro came along Friday night and powdered Madisonville 26-1. Who’s gonna make it 30? The Oiler’s scored 12 runs in one frame.

Clarksville, a newcomer to Kitty circles, gained a spot in the league’s record book pretty early. Friday night, the Tennesseans were charged with 13 errors against Hopkinsville, but the boys aren’t too discouraged. They had just made six in the three games preceding, while the Hoppers were booting 18 chances.

The caliber of the league is bound to improve, and talent scouts are busy trying to uncover new pitchers. The batters apparently can take care of themselves at the plate. There is some talk, however, of applying to the Surplus Commodities department for Army shock helmets for the outfielders to wear to protect them from the fly balls.

But at least eight cities in this section are trying to revive professional baseball in this section and the fans are eating it up. Figures from the box-office prove it.

Source: The Paducah Sun-Democrat