There were games every weekend, packed with spectators, because nearly every town had a baseball team:

The Saranac Lake Chiefs, the Tupper Lake Tip Toppers, the Bloomingdale Firemen, the Lake Placid Majestics and the Ray Brook Ramblers were some of the local teams … and then down in the flatlands there was the Bangor Red Sox.

My pal Lionel “Bugs” Pratt organized and founded the Ramblers. He insisted that I join the team even though I told him I didn’t play baseball.

Somehow I must have looked OK in practice, and he started me at first base in the very first game. It did not take long in that game to convince him that I didn’t play baseball.

These clips below illustrate a different era in journalism.

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Headlines called the game a farce

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“The Brooklyn Royal Colored All Stars played the worst baseball game ever seen in this area in the history of the game in losing to the Brighton Blues by a 22-2 score, which in no way indicates how far away from baseball the colored team was last night at Gabriels.

“Business Manager Bob Gallagher of the Blues is the most disappointed man in these parts today. He began working on the arrangements to bring the Colored All Stars to Gabriels some six weeks ago. The advanced publicity indicated the team was a ‘top traveling’ colored aggregation, and the same claims were used in the Daily Enterprise sports page to advertise the game.

“Gallagher and the entire Blues organization are heartily sorry for the debacle of last night and sincerely hope the fans will not feel they were a party to the misrepresentation, which all know they were not.

“They accepted the Royals’ claims as truth and are thoroughly upset since the game did attract the biggest crowd of the season, most of whom left the park before the end of the fourth inning.

“Expecting a tough game on the basis of the fabulous claims of the Royals’ booking agency, the Blues imported Ray Tarbox to pitch last night. It was probably the easiest game Big Ray ever worked, and had he wanted to go for a no-hitter. It would have been simple since there were no hitters in the Royals’ lineup, and, for that matter, there were no ball players, with none of the infield being able to peg, stop a ball or even throw to the right base.”

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Brighton Blues trim Cornwall

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“The Brighton Blues kept pace with Tupper Lake and held on to their second place Northern League tie with the Tip Toppers by defeating Cornwall (Quebec) yesterday afternoon by a 5-2 score on the Gabriels diamond.

“Tupper Lake won over Brasher Falls by a 6-5 count to make the race a neck and neck affair down the stretch with both teams seeking undisputed possession of second place in the Northern League.

“Wayne Sweet singled in the third and scored when three Cornwall misplays permitted him to tally the Blues third run of the game.

“Singles Blues tallies were racked up in the fourth and fifth, with Root and Tormey being credited with hits in the fourth. Sullivan scored after getting on when Filion messed up his drive to first base.”

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A note on a Brooklyn Dodgers game (Remember them?)

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By Ralph Roden, Associated Press Sports Writer:

“Don Newcombe, big Negro right-hander of the Brooklyn Dodgers who has had his ups and downs, has something to smile about today. He’s turned the tables on his chief tormentors — the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Solidly cuffed in three previous encounters with the Red Birds, Newcombe clipped the league leaders, 4-2, yesterday to snap the Cards’ nine-game winning streak and put the Bums back in the National League race.”

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(MORE LOCAL BASEBALL NEXT WEEK)