Submitted Photo

It’s nearly here, America’s Fall Classic — The World Series. Time to set more baseball records and create special memories.

One exceptional record unlikely to be broken wasn’t recorded during a World Series, but instead during May, 1952 by 19-year-old Ron Necciai, a Minor League pitcher for the Bristol Twins, an affiliate of the Pittsburg Pirates. Not only did Necciai throw a no-hitter, he struck out all 27 batters he faced. No other hurler at any age has ever achieved such a feat in professional baseball.

A different event special to me also involved a pitcher, but occurred in 1991. My son, David, and I traveled to Minneapolis for Game One of the World Series between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves. Arriving in the Twin Cities in early afternoon, we stopped at TGI Fridays for a bite to eat. David was age 7 and a baseball fanatic fueled by his time in Minot’s Pee Wee league. Seated at a table, I unfolded a page about the Twins torn from The Minot Daily’s sports section and engaged David about players, their positions and what we would be watching at the game that night.

“Do you have tickets for the game tonight?” our waitress asked, noticing the paper and our matching Twins ball caps.

“Sure do,” I replied.

“Well, you know who is sitting over there,” she stated, tilting her head toward a table across the restaurant. “Scott Erickson – with his girlfriend. He’s already turned down three requests for autographs.”

After placing our order, I told David to stay put in his seat. “I’ll be right back,” I told him. After a quick trip to the car I returned with a baseball and pen. “David, Scott Erickson is a Twins pitcher. Take this ball over there and ask him for an autograph.”

“But, Dad, he’s already told three people ‘no autographs.'”

“David, you’re a kid. He won’t say no to you.” It took a while to persuade him, but we left the restaurant with a memorable baseball, and the story to go with it.

A different family memory was created during the 1924 World Series between the Washington Senators and New York Giants. The best version of the story was written by my father, Dean Sommers, in 1996 and relates to the radio pictured here on which a Series game was heard in Wells, Kansas.

“My first recollection of this radio was when I was about three years old. We lived across from the church in Wells, Kansas. I remember my dad turning all the dials to tune in a station to listen to. When I was about four years old, I talked my mother into letting me go to the lumberyard that my dad managed at the time. It happened to be World Series Week and the lumberyard office was full of men. The air was blue with smoke. Since it was the only radio in town at the time, it was quite an attraction.

“Chas Goodfellow was the ace pitcher for the Wells baseball team [and] was therefore privileged to wear the earphones and record [game] statistics on a slate board for all to see. Needless to say, I did not get to stay long, and was sent home. In about 1934 I had the radio in operating condition for the last time. E. Dean Sommers” [b. 1920 – d. 1997]

Thanks Dad, for catch played in our backyard, and your special baseball memory.