My dad on the hot corner: Two errors and 0-3 at the plate

One of my growing hobbies is researching our family history, and I found a gem tonight while poking around in Ancestry.com: my father’s name in a box score.

Dad never failed to mention that he loved playing “the hot corner,” something I never doubted. Now I have the box score to back it up, on Page 8 of the April, 30, 1938, Uniontown (Pa.) Morning Herald. (I don’t know if this link will work for those without Ancestry.com accounts, but I’m giving it a try.)

Dad batted sixth and played third base for Mapletown High, which lost 5-4 to South Union High in their April 29 home opener in Uniontown.

Dad went 0-for-3 at bat, with two putouts and an assist — and two errors. If only he were here to share a few laughs over that.

What’s also cool about the page is that the box score and game story are directly above an AP story about Dizzy Dean pulling out of a Cubs-Reds game with a sore arm. And in a story datelined not far away in Pittsburgh, the Pirates were rained out against the Cardinals.

I found a second box score from the same paper on May 7, 1938. Dad, still a third sacker, had moved up to fifth in the lineup. He again was 0-for-3 but had one putout and three assists with no errors. Mapletown fell at home, 12-4, to Georges high, which I believe was in Fairchance, Pa.

A year later, Dad next showed up in the paper after enlisting in the Army air corps at Langley Field, Va.