Momma remembers,
"I did not want to move to Alabama. I loved my home in North Carolina, but Frank once again caught the restlessness bug, so off we went, like it or not. We found a large house on Farley Drive in Jones Valley in Huntsville, where most of our neighbors worked either for IBM or Redstone Arsenal. Barbara attended Grissom High School and Darryl went to Weatherly Heights Elementary.
There was a golf course behind our house, which Barbara and her friend, Catherine, walked across to school. In the winter a freezing wind blew through the valley, whipping across the course. When it was particularly cold, I would drive them to school so that Barbara's sensitive teeth didn't 'play up.'
Maureen went to college at the University of Alabama where she met her future husband, Marvin.
Darryl, a budding entrepreneur, collected golf balls that came over our fence. Frank took them to work to sell to co-workers. Darryl was rich!"
--Joan Shelton
Bit of history: Grissom High School, founded in 1969, was named after Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, an astronaut who along with Roger B. Chaffee and Ed White, were killed in the Apollo I launchpad fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida, on January 27, 1967.
For Darryl, the move to Huntsville was transformative; it was the place were he fell in love with baseball. As he tells it--
"There was a moment and a boy, Kenny Novak; they were to blame for all that followed. I can still see his face--dirty blonde hair, parted on the side, wearing the flared striped pants and screen printed baseball shirts we all wore in the early '70s. He was a bit older than me, and I thought he was cool--I looked up to him. His house was across the street from ours.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, sometimes called the 'Midsummer Classic' is usually played on the second or third Tuesday in July; that year, 1971, it was played on July 13th. Unfamiliar with baseball, I was not watching the game, did not even know it existed, but because of Kenny Novak, I knew something big was happening!
"I did not want to move to Alabama. I loved my home in North Carolina, but Frank once again caught the restlessness bug, so off we went, like it or not. We found a large house on Farley Drive in Jones Valley in Huntsville, where most of our neighbors worked either for IBM or Redstone Arsenal. Barbara attended Grissom High School and Darryl went to Weatherly Heights Elementary.
Maureen went to college at the University of Alabama where she met her future husband, Marvin.
Darryl, a budding entrepreneur, collected golf balls that came over our fence. Frank took them to work to sell to co-workers. Darryl was rich!"
--Joan Shelton
Bit of history: Grissom High School, founded in 1969, was named after Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, an astronaut who along with Roger B. Chaffee and Ed White, were killed in the Apollo I launchpad fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida, on January 27, 1967.
For Darryl, the move to Huntsville was transformative; it was the place were he fell in love with baseball. As he tells it--
"There was a moment and a boy, Kenny Novak; they were to blame for all that followed. I can still see his face--dirty blonde hair, parted on the side, wearing the flared striped pants and screen printed baseball shirts we all wore in the early '70s. He was a bit older than me, and I thought he was cool--I looked up to him. His house was across the street from ours.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, sometimes called the 'Midsummer Classic' is usually played on the second or third Tuesday in July; that year, 1971, it was played on July 13th. Unfamiliar with baseball, I was not watching the game, did not even know it existed, but because of Kenny Novak, I knew something big was happening!
Every few minutes, Kenny would rush out onto his porch, screaming that someone had scored, got a hit. The American League won that game, 6-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The winning pitcher was Vida Blue from Oakland, and the MVP was Frank Robinson from Baltimore. I believe in my heart that because of Kenny Novak, I have forever after 'worshipped at the church of baseball!' I have also, ever since, been an American League fan. Some people say they're Republican or Democratic, Baptist or Catholic, Jewish or Protestant. I say I'm an American Leaguer!
That day I met my future idols and heroes, the players I would watch on the field and the TV--the names Kenny screamed from his porch--Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Stargell, Robinson, McCovey, Bench, Jackson, Kaline, Jenkins--became part of my life. I don't know much, but I know that for me, that was the day it all began.
I couldn't just watch the pros play the game; I had to play, too, so Dad took me to a local little league tryout. The coaches put me on the field to catch grounders; I remember being terrified as a ball came to me, and thinking, 'What is this big piece of leather on my hand? What am I doing here?'
I must've been okay, because I got a spot on the Huntsville Eagles, and best of all, I got a uniform!
I have a photo of myself in a light blue, wool Eagles uniform. which I still have, along with a Mickey Mantle bat and a softball that is all tattered--all from 1971—the year it all began. Who still has their first little league bat and ball? Thanks Mom for not taking them to the Good Will.
I must've been okay, because I got a spot on the Huntsville Eagles, and best of all, I got a uniform!
I have a photo of myself in a light blue, wool Eagles uniform. which I still have, along with a Mickey Mantle bat and a softball that is all tattered--all from 1971—the year it all began. Who still has their first little league bat and ball? Thanks Mom for not taking them to the Good Will.
The next thing you know I'm a baseball card collector. Mam used to take me to a dime store on the main road in Huntsville and let me buy a few things like candy, a drink, and maybe a little toy.
One day I picked up 3 packs of baseball cards. I can still see the wrappers with the price, 5 cents, printed in the bottom corner. I still have every card from that day. In that year, each pack came with metal commemorative coins along with 10 or so cards.
My first big 'pull' from those ten cards was a 1970 Willie Mays Giant's card. I still have it! I remember getting that card like it was yesterday. There were other good cards in the packs, like Kaline and Jenkins. The coin was a Rick Reichardt Senators' coin. Still have it, too! The Boys of Summer came and went, but I never stopped loving them."
--Darryl Shelton
