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Championship season in 1955 is memorable

Al Underwood, at his home in Coeur d'Alene, holding the glove he used in 1955. (Kathy Plonka)
Al Underwood Coeur d’Alene
Al Underwood, at his home in Coeur d'Alene, holding the glove he used in 1955. (Kathy Plonka)

There are many favorite moments in my one-year Legion season, but the one that stands out above all was winning the city championship of a Major League Baseball city, that being Detroit.

The year was 1955 and the Detroit Tigers were in the midst of a so-so year in fifth place in the American League. That being the case, many of the die-hard baseball fans turned to the American Legion for some exciting and excellent baseball. Detroit in the ’50s was a hotbed for sandlot baseball with many excellent Legion teams scattered throughout the city.

The various American Legion posts were allowed to have exclusive rights to select players from high schools in its geographical area. The Beaudry post of East Detroit selected from two Catholic schools, St. Ambrose of Detroit and St. Paul of Grosse Pointe and my school, Grosse Pointe High School.

These selections turned out perfect for the post as all three schools either won its conference championship or were very close. Our Legion team was comprised of league all-stars from the three schools and swept through the summer regular season winning the Detroit eastside championship.

The overall city championship would pit our Beaudry Post against the west-side champion Edison Post, which won its title by a large margin and had several all-state players on its squad.

The championship game was attended by hundreds in one of the many fine intercity ball fields. I was the third baseman and no doubt played my best game of the year – making three plays that saved runs that I still can’t believe I made – and also driving in the tie-breaking run, allowing us to win by one run. Comments after the game by fans and the newspapers were special to all of us, stating that it was one of the best-played games seen in a long time.

Many of the players from both teams went on to enjoy playing college ball.

The championship trophies were awarded to us at a banquet by star Detroit pitcher Steve Gromek. A great year with lasting memories thanks to American Legion baseball.