When Wayne Ruled The World, 1970 Little League Anniversary ...

Sports PAGESATURDAYJuly 15, 2010381970 Little League World Series CommemorativeWORLD CHAMPIONS - In the summer of 1970, the Wayne American Little League team won the Little LeagueWorld Series in Williamsport, PA. The Wayne Little League will honor the 1970 champions tonight at DotterwichField in Wayne, when the league hosts the 2010 District finals. Team members in the photo included: Kneeling,Left - Right - Mike Fantau, Glen Otte, Brian Hertt, Craig Kornfeld, Dave Shaver, Buddy Parrelli and Tom Olsen.Standing - Ron Webb, Bill Lees, Jim Kinney, Mark Epstein, Len Fruci, Steve O'Neill and Rob Houghton. ThirdRow - Manager Gene Cancellieri and coach Tom DeAngelis.THE SCORESDISTRICT TOURNAMENTWayne American 12, Clifton Delawana 0Wayne American 2, Clifton Central 1, (8)Wayne American 9, Pequannock American 6Wayne American 8, Wayne National 3STATE TOURNAMENTWayne American 4, Morristown 0Wayne American 6, Ridgewood National 4Wayne American 6, Franklin 0Wayne American 6, Garfield American 1NATIONAL REGIONALWayne American 8, Boston Park, Mass. 4Wayne American 3, New Haven, Conn. 1Wayne American 5, Auburn Maine, 2Wayne American 3, DuBois, Pa. 2WORLD SERIES –WILLIAMSPORT, PA.Wayne American 10, Valleyfield, Canada 0Wayne American 4, Highland, Indiana 0Wayne American 2, Campbell, California 0WHENWAYNERULLEDTHEWORLDRULEDTHEWORLDVivid memories flourish 40 years laterBY DOUG SCANCARELLACorrespondentWAYNE — The 1960s is considered oneof the most tumultuous periods of the20th Century. The decade was marked bythe assassination of President John F.Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the CivilRights Movement and massive anti-warprotests. Against the backdrop, areasports teams, by the end the 60s and startof the 70s, united many.In January of 1969, the New York Jetsof the supposedly weaker AFL beat theheavily favored Baltimore Colts of themighty NFL in the Super Bowl. In Octoberof 1969, the Miracle Mets, a laughingstockthroughout the 1960s, won theWorld Series over the heavily favoredBaltimore Orioles. In May of 1970, aninjured Willis Reed hobbled onto theMadison Square Garden court andhelped the Knicks stun the Los AngelesLakes in game seven of the NBA Finals.The unexpected was becoming expectedand we didn’t need sports to tell usthat. One of the most defining momentsof human history came when Neil Armstrongbecame the first human to set footon the moon in July 1969For Wayne residents, though, the singlemost impossible, unbelievable, andwonderful sports story occurred 40 yearsago this summer in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.That’s when 14 12-year old boysand two not-yet 21-year old coaches fromWayne, tore through their summertimeall-star schedule to win the 1970 LittleLeague World Series at legendaryHoward J. Lamade Stadium inWilliamsport, PA.Since then, there have been six moreU.S. manned lunar landings, a presidenthas been shot again (not fatally) and theU.S. has been to war again twice.The Mets won the World Series againand won two additional National Leaguepennants. But the mere suggestion thatWayne could win Little League’s ultimateprize again is extremely far-fetched. Toput the accomplishment in perspective,consider:nLittle League Baseball chartersmore than 7,000 leagues annually —nearly 6,000 of them are in the UnitedStates.nWithin these leagues, there aremore than 2.4 million Little League baseballplayers in the United States andanother 200,000 international players.nOnly 12 teams from the United Stateshave won the Little League World Seriessince 1970.nOnly four teams from New Jerseyhave ever won: Hammonton (1949),Wayne (1970), Lakewood (1975), TomsRiver (1998). A Garden State team finishedin the runner-up spot three times:Merchantville (1955 & 1956) and WestNew York (1966).The 1970 champs, the Wayne Americans,will be honored tonight at DotterwichField at 6:30 p.m., when the WayneSEE LITTLE LEAGUE, PAGE 39BACK THENMedian Household Income $8,734Unemployment Rate 3.5%Cost of a 1st Class Stamp $0.06President of the U.S. Richard M. NixonAcademy Award Best Picture Midnight CowboyNumber One Song Close to You – CarpentersFirst Top 40 #1 The Love You Save – Jackson FiveGallon of Gasoline $0.36Gallon of Milk $1.15Cost of a New Home $26,600

WAYNE TODAY JULY 15, 20101970 Little League World Series Commemorative39BY THE NUMBERS4 Only four teams from NewJersey have ever won the LittleLeague World Series: Hammonton(1949), Wayne (1970), Lakewood(1975) and Toms River (1998).6 Total number of shutoutsWayne American posted in their 16game run in the summer of 1970.12 Only twelve teams fromthe United States have won theLittle League World Series since1970.14 Fourteen New Jerseyteams have participated in theWorld Series, including eight since1957.16 Number of games WayneAmerican won en route to the 1970Little League World Series title.17 Total number of runsWayne American scored in thethree games played in thechampionship round inWilliamsport, PA. Wayne outscoredtheir three opponents, 17-0 toclaim Little League’s ultimateprize.40 Number of years thathave passed since WayneAmerican won the Little LeagueWorld Series. Only two other NewJersey based teams have won thetitle since.Howard J. Lamade Stadiumduring the 2007 LittleLeague World Seriesin South Williamsport,Lycoming County,Pennsylvania. Two venueshost World Series games:Howard J. Lamade Stadiumand Little League VolunteerStadium. Lamade Stadiumhas hosted games since1959, while Little LeagueVolunteer Stadium opened in2001 when the fieldexpanded to 16 teams.Prior to 1959 the LittleLeague World Series washeld at Original LittleLeague on West FourthStreet in Williamsport.Lamade Stadium fenceshave a distanceof 68.6 m (225 feet) fromhome plate to each of theoutfield positions. Thatdistance had been 62.5 m(205 feet) before 2006.The Wayne AmericanLittle League team’srun through theDistrict, State andRegionalTournaments in thesummer of 1970 waschronicled in detailin the WayneTODAY Newspaperthe entire month ofAugust. On Sunday,August 30, thefront page of theWayne TODAY(left) featured theWayne LittleLeague afterwinning the Worldtitle. Other WayneTODAY headlinesare featured onpages 40 and 41.LITTLE LEAGUEFROM PAGE 38Little League hosts the 2010 Little LeagueDistrict finals.The team was coached by 20-year oldGene Cancellieri, who had played WayneLittle League baseball in the early 1960sand for Wayne Valley, where he had graduatedin 1967. In 1962, Cancellieri was akey member of the Wayne Americans thatlost in the final of the Section I Tournament.While in high school, Cancellieri volunteeredto coach his brother Perry's team.Perry was eight years younger than Geneand akey player on the 1969 team thatwon the District 2 Championship beforelosing to Morristown in the Section I Statefinals.By 1970, Perry was too old for LittleLeague and had moved on to Babe Ruthbaseball. That didn't prevent Gene fromcontinuing to coach, however."We lost a few goodplayers from the 1969team, but I still knew thatwe were going to be good in1970," said Cancellieri, whose 1970 teamwas the first Wayne Little League team toever advance to the State Tournament.Cancellieri was assisted by 19-year oldTom DeAngelis, whose brother Patrick wasalso on the 1969 team. DeAngelis had alsoplayed in Wayne Little League in the early1960s and went on to play for DePaul,where he graduated in 1968.Both coaches were confident thatWayne could make it to Williamsport in1970. At the time, the only area District 2champion to ever go to the State finals wasPompton Lakes in 1960 in Glassboro, NJ.That team lost the first game of the Statefinal in a close contest. Many of the boyswho played on that 1960 Pompton LakesLittle League team were members of thePompton Lakes Senior Division team thatplayed in the final of the 1963 SeniorLeague World Series in Bethlehem, PA.But Wayne’s quest to advance toWilliamsport was almost short circuited inthe team’s second round District tournamentgame. They avoided an eliminationloss by edging Clifton Central, 2-1. CraigKornfeld, who would go on to play Double-A ball in the Chicago Cubs organizationand now serves as a scout for the WashingtonNationals, smashed what turned out tobe the winning home run in the top of the8th inning."Craig was 95 pounds - tops," recallsCancellieri. "He gets up with a wood batand hits it 250 feet. The Clifton coacheschecked his bat. They never saw a kid thatsize hit the ball like that."“They thought that I corked my bat,”Kornfeld said with laugh. “If it happenedtoday, they would have accused me ofbeing on steroids.”Wayne then marched through the District,State and National Regional tournaments.Another memorable game was an 8-3 win over Wayne Nationals in the District2 final."Wayne was loaded that year with baseballtalent," Cancellieri said.Today, the Wayne Little League’s Americanleague is considered the Hills side oftown and the National League is the Valleyside. In 1970, the Little League boundarieswere different. Kids from both the Americanand National team would go on to playfor Valley and Hills.After beating the Wayne Nationals, theWayne Americans beat Morristown, 4-0, toavenge the 1969 State final loss.“I thought our 1969 team was better,”said shortstop Len Fruci, who played onboth teams. “I was 11 in 1969, so maybethat was just because when you’re 11 youthink the 12 year olds are studs. Whenev-SEE LITTLE LEAGUE, PAGE 40

40 JULY 15, 2010 WAYNE TODAY1970 Little League World Series CommemorativeTidbitsn Most of the parentsworethe same clothes and sat in thesame order for all late roundsgame, believing that it wouldhelp the team’s good fortunesgoing, according to Jim Kinney.n The team was nicknamedthe “Mop Tops” because theydidn’t cut their hair for goodluck during the District,Sectional and Statetournaments. Little Leagueofficials forced them to cut theirhair prior to taking the field inWilliamsport. “We were allannoyed,” Shaver said. “But ofcourse we did it. Kornfeld wasreal mad.” Added Kornfeld, “I’mpretty sure forcing us to get ourhair cut was illegal.”n Mike Fantau suggestedthat the Wayne Today talk tocoach Cancellieri about whodid what in Williamsport. “Ifyou ask the players,” he said,“you’ll get a lot of modesty.” TheWayne Today later found thatFantau made a diving catch latein the championship game. Itsaved at least two runs. Henever mentioned it.n Fantau called centerfielderShaver “the captain of theoutfield” and did mentiongetting called off by him on a flyball to right-center. “I thinkpeople in Wayne heard him.”n Kinney says that early on inthe tournament the Wayneplayers thought they wouldhave to win 1,700 games – therough number of teamsqualifying for the tournamentworldwide. “That was 12-year oldlogic,” he said. “We did really getthe concept of brackets.”n Practically the same teamwent to the seniors league (14year olds) State finals in 1973.They lost to Margate.n Wayne Valley and WayneHills turned in non-descriptperformances when this groupwas in high school. “Most of uswent to Valley, but two of ourbest players, Kornfeld and O’Neillwent to Wayne Hills. We wouldhave had some team if we stucktogether,” Shaver said.n Prior to theundefeated All Starsummer season, theWayne Americans lost apreseason game to noneother that the WaynePAL All Stars. “We beatthe Wayne National Little Leagueteam in the close District gameand the PAL beat us in anexhibition,” Shaver said. “Someof the guys that played for thoseteams still remind us about that.We won when it counted. I guessthat shows you how good Waynebaseball was that year.”n The “home” team in allRegional and Williamsportgames was decided by a coinflip. According to DeAngelis,whenever Wayne won the toss,Cancellieri would choose to bethe “away” team. Some mightequate that with choosing to“kick” in football’s Sudden DeathOvertime. “Shaver was atremendous leadoff man,”DeAngelis said. “He alwayseither walked or singled. Andthen our big hitters – Kornfeld,Fruci, Epstein, O’Neill – usuallygot him home. Gene’s goal wasto put the other team behind andit worked.”n The 1970 CampbellCalifornia team won five extrainning games en route toWilliamsport, prompting then-California Governor RonaldReagan to call the team “theCardiac Kids.”n Chuck Hildebrand, anannouncer/groundskeeper/scorekeeper for the CampbellLittle League, penned a bookabout the Campbell LittleLeague called “The LastBaseball Town.” It chroniclesthe team’s 1970 march toWilliamsport, as well as theleague’s 1976 and 1979Williamsport appearances. From1970 to 1987, the league sent 14teams to Regional tournaments.The Wayne Today reachedHildebrand through the CampbellLittle League. He providedcontact information for fourCampbell players from the 1970team, including Tom Davis, now acounselor for Boeing in Seattle.None of the Campbell playersresponded to the Wayne Today’sinterview requests.— Doug ScancarellaLITTLE LEAGUEFROM PAGE 39er I say that to Gene he says thatwe had more chemistry (in1970).”Wayne wound up beatingGarfield in the State final andthen went on to topple BostonPark, Massachusetts; NewHaven Connecticut; Auburn,Maine and DuBois, Pennsylvaniain the National Regional.Wayne then shutout its threeWilliamsport opponents — Valleyfield,Canada; Highland, Indiana;and Campbell, California.Steve O’Neill got the teamrolling by no-hitting Valleyfield,Canada as Wayne rolled to a 10-0 triumph.“That set the tone,” Cancellierisaid. “Steve was un-hittable.That’s when it hit us that wecould play with anybody else inWilliamsport.”Kornfeld got the nod againstIndiana and fanned 12 batters.Fruci homered to contribute.In the championship gamewin over Campbell, California,Wayne appeared to have itshands full with a fireballernamed Tom Davis.“I’d love to know how hisbaseball career went after that,”Cancellieri said. “I was involvedwith Little League baseball forabout 10 years and that (1970)was about the mid point. I neversaw a 12 year old throw likethat.”Wayne would not be intimidated,however, cracking fivehits off Davis. Wayne’s two runexplosion in the second inningwould be all they would need.Ron Webb started the uprisingwith an infield single. An out later,Bob Houghton cracked achopper over the second basemen’shead. Dave Shaverknocked both of them home witha line drive double to the wall inleft center field. O’Neill earnedanother shutout, striking out sixand giving up just six hits.“The teams were evenlymatched,” said outfielder MikeFantau. “If it wasn’t for Dave’stimely hit, it really could haveswung the other way.”Fruci had been the staff ace allyear long and, in fact, threw a onehitter with 17 strikeouts in thedistrict opening win over Clifton-Delawana. Toward the end ofthat game, he strained his armThe above cartoon appeared in the August 31, 1970 issue ofthe New York Daily News. The illustration depicts a Wayne LittleLeague baseball player just days after winning the LittleLeague World Series and a frustrated New York Mets athletesuffering through a dismal 1970 season just a year after winningthe World Series title.and wouldn’t pitch again for therest of the tournament. He shiftedto shortstop.“I’m not sure if the resultwould have been the same if Iwas able to pitch,” he says. “I wasone of the older ones on the teamand, at the time, a little biggerthan the other guys, so I threwpretty hard. But I was a thrower.”Another thing that jumps outat today’s fan is that Wayne beatCalifornia in the championship,not an international team. Today,team’s qualifying for trips toWilliamsport are divided into twobrackets, the United StatesBracket and the InternationalBracket. The champion of eachbracket meets in the World SeriesFinal. As of 2009, the UnitedStates holds a slight advantageover its International counterpartswith a 32-31 edge in WorldSeries titles.In 1970, U.S. and Internationalqualifiers were lumped intoone bracket, with the best twoteams advancing. BecauseWayne beat a team from Californiain the final and not an internationalopponent, a misconceptionhas developed that internationalteams were not part of thetournament then.“That’s simply not true,”SEE LITTLE LEAGUE, PAGE 41

WAYNE TODAY JULY 15, 20101970 Little League World Series Commemorative41Where are they now?Name Key Contribution in 1970 Where are they Now?John “Chick” Choka Served as president of the Wayne Little League Serves as president of the Wayne Little LeagueGene Cancellieri Head coach Vice President of Finance For Oticon, Inc., with operations located in Somerset, NJTom DeAngelis Assistant coach Resides in FloridaMark Epstein Slammed two key hits in the District final win over Wayne National. Physician/child neurologist in Ft. Lauderdale, FLA. Many of his patients are Little Leaguers.He usually shows them the 1970 team photo, which is displayed in his office.Mike Fantau Made a diving catch with runners in scoring position in championship game Owns a medical supply distributorship on Long Island.Len Fruci Homered in semifinal win over Highland, Ind. Resides in Woodlands, TexasRob Houghton Singled and scored in title game. Still resides in Wayne, NJBrian Hurtt Had two key hits in win over Clifton-Delawana in District opener Resides in nearby Butler, NJJim Kinney Homered twice in State Tournament win over Ridgewood Works for Belyeapower. Coaches in the Morristown, Little League.Craig Kornfeld Smashed the game-winning homer In the 8th inning of the team’s 2-1 District win Serves as a scout for the Washington Nationals. Helped sign phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg.over Clifton-Central. Earned the win in national semifinal win over, Highland, Ind.Bill Lees His sacrifice fly in the championship, set the stage for Shaver’s game-winning hit. Chief Financial Officer for North America for APCO Worldwide, Inc. based out of Washington, D.C.Steve O’Neill Fired a no-hitter in the National quarterfinal win over Valleyfield, Canada. Still resides in Wayne, NJTom Olsen Started the championship game in left field. A versatile outfielder Resides in FloridaGlenn Otte A steady, all-purpose performer Resides in Denville, NJBuddy Perrelli Made several key put-outs in Williamsport from his left-fielder position Pharmaceutical sales. Resides in Wayne, NJDave Shaver His second-inning, two-run double proved to be the only runs scored in An attorney for a small firm in Manasquan, NJthe championship win over CampbellBill Lees Singled and scored in championship game Pastor at Hickory Springs Primitive Baptist Church in Tifton, GA.LITTLE LEAGUEFROM PAGE 40DeAngelis said. “Those teams(from overseas) were there thatyear and they were very good.They just didn’t advance farenough to play us.”“International had a strangleholdon the Little League WorldSeries,” Kornfeld said. “It startedin 1966.”Taiwan won its first of 17championships in 1969. Japanwon it all in 1967 and 1968. In1970, Taiwan was eliminated inthe first round by Venezuela. TheCalifornia team defeatedVenezuela, after beating Nashville,Tennessee in the first round.“I watched Taiwan win it in1969 on television,” Fruci said. “Ithought they were Supermen.Then we were jumping up anddown on that field the next year.We had a lot of fun with the kidsfrom Taiwan. We played wiffleballwith them – I guess we weren’tgetting enough baseball. Wecouldn’t understand them andthey couldn’t understand us. Butwe realized they were nice kids.”“The magnitude of what weaccomplished didn’t hit me untillater,” added Fantau. “We werejust kids having fun.”According to outfielder BuddyParrelli, it started to sink in at theend of the trip home, somewhereon either Riverview Drive or ValleyRoad.“We’re in the bus coming homeon Route 80 and we’re all thinkingthat our parents are the only oneswaiting for us at the Municipalparking lot (parents drove toWilliamsport separately),” Parrellisaid. “On Riverview Drive wenoticed that people were honkingand waving. Then, on Valley Roadwe start noticing that people arelining the street. And in the parkinglot there are hundreds andhundreds of people.”Added Fantau; “Bus loads ofpeople came to the game. Andpeople came out in droves to welcomeus home.”In the weeks that followed, theteam was honored with a Paradedown Valley Road and was alsoinvited to a Yankees and Metsgame, where they were called outonto the field one-by-one. Theyalso visited the White House.“There are very few things inlife that are impossible,” Frucisaid. “We learned that lessonwhen we were 12 years old and itsticks with us today.”Kornfeld credits the two youngcoaches with the team’s success.“It’s well known that Little Leaguersare 12 years old,” Kornfeldsaid. “What seems to get overlookedis that our coaches thatyear were practically kids too. Itwas their dedication to preparationand to teaching baseball fundamentalsthat led to a championship.They were also disciplinariansand that was a good thing.Trust me – we needed it.”“Gene and Tom were collegekids, but they seemed old to us,”added first baseman MarkEpstein. “In retrospect, we couldrelate to them very well becausewe had a big brother/little brothertype relationship with them.”Cancellieri, meanwhile, saysthat the coaches were “the maestros,”but says the ballplayers “carriedout the mission to perfection.”dscancarella@optonline.netUse aHome Equity Loan from Kearny Federal Savings to make improvements, financeeducation, purchase anew car or recreation vehicle...any worthwhile purpose.Act Now While Rates Remain LowInterest rates are expected to rise in the near future. 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