One Shot at Forever (35 page)
As always, my agent, John Ware, was steadfast throughout the process, the best advocate a writer could hope for as well as a good friend and loyal San Francisco Giants fan. Next round at the Dive Bar on 96th is on me, John.
Attentive readers are crucial with a book like this, and I'm fortunate to have a core group who are both talented writers and skilled editors. Longtime friends Dan Zehr and Owen Good provided valuable feedback on the entire manuscript, often within days of being asked and even when not being plied with pints of Pliny the Elder at Bobby G's, though of course those didn't hurt. Dan Greenstone, whose first novel,
A Theory of Great Men
, was published last year, helped me look at the book through a narrative lens and was a gracious host during my trips to Illinois. Duffy Ballard, Pat Cottrell, and Eric Kneedler provided their usual sound counsel and moral support, in addition to their keen editing eyes. They also assisted in the drinking of many IPAs during “creative brainstorming” sessions. I consider myself blessed to have such good friends.
It would take multiple pages to thank everyone who assisted in my reporting, but there are a few who require special mention. Jane Metzger Nelson had the best recall of anyone I encountered from that period at Macon High and was extremely helpful in re-creating the sense of time and place. The Lane Tech players welcomed me into their reunion, buying me endless rounds of drinks and answering my questions. I'd particularly like to thank Wronk (who even answered further questions via email during a Bears game, a true sacrifice indeed), Jim Iwanski, Greg Walsh, and Rick Wachholder. If you guys ever do play that rematch, count me in to cover it. Matt Troha at the IHSA provided research assistance. Kurt Wagner, a promising young journalist, helped track down obscure facts. Others who were gracious with their time included Jack Heneberry, Leslie Sweet Myrick (a talented writer herself), John Jaggi, Linda Shonkwiler Allen, Dana Dale, Wes Weikle, Bill Weikle, Regina Ward and Michelle Mathias (for providing the school board minutes), Ed Aukamp (for the city council minutes), Joe Cook, Bob Fallstrom, Cassie Mavis, Scott Taylor, Fred Schooley, Andrew Petersen, Dave Britton, Boomer Britton, Mitch Arnold, Joe Mirretti, Lou Ann Warnick, Tom Jennings, Craig and Jeff Brueggemann, Ed Neighbors, Carol Smith, Lavonne Chaney, Carl Poelker, Jack Stringer, Vi McClard, Merv Jacobs, Dennis Schley, John Rockwell, Sherrie Otta, Patty Shartzer, Diane Tomlinson, John Geisler, Ruth Hilvety, and Brad Friese.
Finally, I'd like to thank my support system, including my parents, who facilitated many a writer's retreat, and in particular my wise, thoughtful, and beautiful (did I mention beautiful?) wife, Alexandra, who offered both her editorial insight and, on those many days and nights I needed to hide away and write, her infinite patience. And, of course, I must thank Callie and Eliza, the best two research assistants a guy could ever hope to have.
Chris Ballard
is a senior writer at
Sports Illustrated
. In his eleven years at
SI
, he's covered a range of subjects, from the NBA and MLB to high-stakes pigeon racing and bass fishing. His work has twice been anthologized in the Best American Sports Writing series, and
SI
has nominated him three times for a National Magazine Award. He has also written a number of stories for the
New York Times Magazine
. Ballard is the author of three other books:
Hoops Nation, The Butterfly Hunter
, and
The Art of a Beautiful Game
. He lives in Berkeley, California.
A NOTE ON SOURCES
This is a work of nonfiction. It is based primarily on the accounts of those chronicled herein, particularly Lynn Sweet and the members of the Macon Ironmen baseball team. Where archival information was available, I relied on it to provide a foundation for the narrative. In particular, the coverage of the Decatur
Herald & Review
was instrumental, as well as the Macon
News
and the Peoria
Journal Star
. Other sources that proved invaluable included the school board minutes from Macon High; the Macon city council minutes; old copies of the
The Ironmen Scene
newspaper; Macon High yearbooks from the years 1965â72; and the collections of clippings, letters, and mementos provided by a number of people, in particular Jane (Metzger) Nelson, Chris Collins, Dale Otta, and Lynn and Jeanne Sweet.
One challenge of writing a book such as this one, which focuses on events four decades ago in a small town, is the necessary reliance upon oral history, especially when many of those who lived through the time period have passed away. As a result, the events and conversations in this book are detailed to the best recollection of those involved. In cases where recollections differed, I have noted such below.
While I relied upon hundreds of sources for this book, I spent the most time speaking with the main characters, in particular Sweet, Shartzer, Dale Otta, and Heneberry. In the end this is their story, and the narrative reflects that. Any mistakes herein are mine and mine alone.
In keeping with the spirit of the book, which intends to be both edifying and entertaining, the notes below combine traditional sourcing information with nuggets of information that didn't make the book, as well as reporting anecdotes I found interesting (such as Shartzer's text-message beer taunts from Part III). As a reporter, these are the tiny details I enjoy digging up, so please forgive this indulgence.
Prologue
The opening scene is described as witnessed on my first trip to Macon, in April of 2010. Any subsequent current-day descriptions of Macon are based on my trips to the town over a period of two years.
Prelude
Bob Fallstrom had to read the sheet twice: This anecdote is based on the recollections of Fallstrom and Joe Cook, as well as a column Fallstrom later wrote for the
Herald & Review
.
So as not to lard down the endnotes with attributions, readers can assume henceforth that scenes described in the book are based on the recollections of those involved, unless otherwise noted.
Chapter 1
a soul-deadening experience
: Though Sweet hated the Kraft job, it paled in comparison to the time he spent working as a union roofer in Illinois during college, an experience that clearly influenced his perspective. In the winter he shingled without gloves and in the summer he ran kettles of asphalt up and down ladders onto hot roofs in 100-degree weather. His fellow hot-tar roofers were in their thirties but looked much older. As Sweet remembers it, most were wrecks: divorced, drunk every night. They didn't read books and the daily conversation revolved around topics such as who screwed whom the night before. The highest level of discourse the men reached was when someone fell off the roof or into the kettle and diedâa scarily frequent occurrenceâand the workers all contributed to the widow.
There has got to be a better way for me to get through this life than this
, Sweet thought at the time.
seventh grade report card
: this and a number of later artifacts come courtesy of the files of Lynn Sweet.
The background on and descriptions of Roger Britton, who is no longer alive, come from interviews with Lynn Sweet; Jeanne Sweet; David Britton; Boomer Britton; LaVonne (Jones) Chaney; Carl Poelker (who provided the great phone negotiation anecdote); Jack Stringer; and others. Macon High yearbooks also proved useful, as did family photos and clippings from Roger's high school days that were provided by the Britton family.
past the barber shop
: The descriptions of Macon from 1965â72 in this and later chapters are based on Macon
News
archives,
Herald & Review
stories, and interviews with former and current residents. Jane Nelson was particularly helpful.
ran the grade school menus
: The
News
at the time really was a catch-all for Macon, combining everything from gossip to civic business to spirituality to agricultural advice. For example, a story on how to guard against bagwormsâan agricultural pest at the timeâshared the same page with a religious column.
A good portion of the Macon town history in this section comes from the book
When Macon Was Not: Early History of the City of Macon
Vol. 1,” Cecil Cook, Macon Community Association.
Chapter 2
This chapter about Shartzer's youth could have been much, much longer. The Shartzers are natural storytellers, with a great eye for detail and dialogue. I could print transcripts of my interviews with Steve and they'd probably be enjoyable to read. The majority of what's in this chapter comes from Steve and Pat Shartzer (who now goes by Patty), with contributions from Jeff Glan, Sweet, Heneberry, Scott Taylor, and others.
Chapter 3
The description of Sweet's classroom is based on yearbook photos and interviews with Sweet, Heneberry, Shartzer, and others.
“the most interesting part of the paper”
: Since no syllabus and few written records exist from Sweet's class during this time period, this and some of the other exercises described are based on the recollections of former students and a number of fellow teachers, as well as Sweet. The exact date of each exercise would be impossible to pinpoint. They are recreated here as faithfully as possible, with Sweet's best guess at the dialogue.
Carpmaster Magazine:
The details are from copies that Sweet kept.
The background and descriptions of Bill McClard (who has since passed away) are based on interviews with Lynn Sweet, Carl Poelker, LaVonne (Jones) Chaney, Jack Stringer, Linda Shonkwiler, Jane Metzger, and others. For much of the information, the primary source was Bill's wife, Vi McClard. Yearbooks, news stories, and archival photos also helped.
$450 monthly take-home check
: This and other dollar amounts in the book come from either Macon city council recordsâwhere all town expenditures were notedâor the school board minutes. In some cases I also referenced Sweet's old pay stubs, which Jeanne kept.
The itinerary for the St. Louis trip comes courtesy of Lynn Sweet.
Chapter 4
Claire's was the kind of small, smoky bar
: Of all the places in Macon, Claire's appears to have changed the least. Other than a new name (The Finish Line, a nod to the Macon Speedway nearby) and a sign bearing pictures of race cars, the bar looks the same now as it did then, according to those who would know. Descriptions of the characters who populated Claire's are based primarily on the memory of Lynn and Jeanne Sweet.
managed only one winâand that came on a forfeit
: from an interview with Doug Tomlinson in 2011.
The recruitment of Sweet was reconstructed based on accounts of Lynn Sweet, Steve Shartzer, Dale Otta, John Heneberry, Jack Heneberry, and Jeff Glan.
first conference title since 1962
: Since there are no sports records kept at the school, I had to rely on newspaper accounts for much of the Macon sports history. This comes from the Macon
News
, “Macon Wins Meridian Baseball Title,” May, 1969.
After two days of rain
: This and other weather descriptions in the book come from one of a number of sources. Where possible I relied on reports from Weather Source, which pulls meterological readings from weather stations, or the National Climatic Data Center. I also used published information from the Macon
News
, the
Herald & Review
, andâfor the postseason run described in
Part II
âthe papers in Peoria and other playoff sites.
fond of ordering the boys
: I ended up with a wealth of great Jack Burns anecdotes. My favorite that didn't make the book is that, when the going got tough during a game, Burns often turned to his players. “BOYS,” he would shout. “IT ALL COMES DOWN TO WHO'S GOING TO BE THE FUCKEE AND WHO'S GOING TO BE THE FUCKOR. WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO BE?”
The stories about Burns as a teacher were also amusing. Apparently, at least once a month in Burns' chemistry class, a strange smell wafted out into the hallway. The smell was followed in short order by a stream of evacuating students. This shouldn't have been a surprise, as Burns had no chemistry training.
“World War II rejects”
: This is from a retrospective Decatur
Herald & Review
article by Joe Cook, March 25, 1972. The majority of media coverage of Macon prior to the tournament was based on the reporting of Cook. Fallstrom began writing more about the team once they made the state tourney.