On Aug. 28, 1965, Windsor Locks stood alone atop the youth baseball world after capturing the Little League World Series championship.
WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — With the buzz around Connecticut this week being the near-miss by Fairfield in the semifinals of the Little League World Series, those old enough to remember are recalling an historic day - 60 years ago today, in fact - when a team from one of the smallest towns in the state won that prestigious tournament in Williamsport, Pa.
On Aug. 28, 1965, the eyes of the youth baseball world were focused on the town of about 27,000 residents, located about halfway between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where Little League baseball had been founded in 1939. Unlike today, where the World Series utilizes a double-elimination format, it was win-and-you're-in, lose-and-you're-out for the eight teams who qualified.
At the time, four teams from the United States competed in the World Series, all champions of their regional brackets (North, East, South and West), while the other four spots were filled by winners of the Canada, Europe, Far East and Latin America regions. Windsor Locks won the East Regional with a 10-0 record, outscoring its opponents by an incredible 59-8 margin.
Locks opened the World Series with a 5-3 victory over Maracaibo, Venezuela, then nipped Waco, Texas 1-0 to qualify for the championship game. Their opponents in the finals were a team from Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, which had not allowed a run in its first two LLWS contests.
The day before the title game, some of the Locks players had their first of what turned out to be several encounters with baseball royalty. Team member Phil Devlin said team manager Bob O'Connor inspected his players' hair after practice and determined eight of them needed to get haircuts immediately.
"He said we are going to be on national television and were not going to have hair that was too long, so eight of us were brought ot a barber in Williamsport," Devlin told Patch. "All of a sudden, who walks in but Lefty Gomez, who was working for Rawlings at the time."
Gomez, who won five World Series rings as a member of the New York Yankees, was the starting and winning pitcher in the inaugural MLB All-Star Game in 1933, and was eventually elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. When he asked the boys where they were from, and they said Windsor Locks, he laughed and said whenever Rawlings sent him on an assignment, he would park at Bradley Field (he lived in Durham at the time).
"He said he used to go to Macaluso's Market on Turnpike Road, because they had the best meat around," Devlin said.
A then-record crowd of 21,000 spectators turned out to catch the finale, which was broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on ABC's Wide World of Sports. The legendary Jim McKay handled play-by-lay duties, while commentary was provided by another baseball legend whom the Locks players were fortunate to meet prior to the game: Jackie Robinson.
Onto the game itself. Mike Roche, who had won his previous six tournament outings, took the mound for Locks. Devlin described him as "a power pitcher who also had a devastating curveball. There are probably other Little League pitchers who could match or exceed the velocity of his fastball, but I have yet to see them."
Despite Roche's dominant record, the Canadian team managed to push a run across in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. That changed in the fourth, wen a two-run home run by big Dale Misiek highlighted a three-run inning which put the local boys in front, 3-1.
That score wound up being the final, with Roche striking out 13 Stoney Creek batters while permitting just three hits. He and Billy Boardman combined for a miniscule 0.53 earned-run average in the 13 victories, while Misiek slugged six round-trippers and Fran Aniello and Bob Creech smacked 13 hits apiece.
Windsor Locks became the third team from Connecticut to capture the title, joining Stamford (1951) and Norwalk (1952). In the past six decades, the lone champion from the Nutmeg State has been Trumbull in 1989.
Following the victory, the boys received recognition at several major league ballparks. They had the honor of meeting Willie Mays at Shea Stadium, and gathered with Mickey Mantle at Yankee Stadium.
13 team members are still around to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of the world championship: Bruce Ackerlind, Al Barrett, Tom Billick, Creech, Dennis Dakin, Devlin, Ted Holmes, Misiek, Mike O'Connor, Roche, Bob Rumbold, Steve Scheerer and Howie Tersavich. Departed, yet fondly remembered teammates were Aniello, Boardman and Wayne Arent, as well as manager O'Connor, coach Russ Mattesen and league president Francis Aniello Sr.