Bantam League club made historic run in 1973

A team photo of the 1973 Marietta Bronco League club that advance to the World Series in Mexico City, Mexico.
(Photo Provided)

Spring has sprung and as is the case each and every spring, the Marietta Ball Fields are the place to be as many area youngsters are getting their first taste of our national pastime as they participate in the Marietta Bantam League.

What started on these same ball fields more than a half century ago captivated a whole community and what began as a typical Bantam League season in Marietta, Ohio, concluded in Mexico City, Mexico.

In 1973, the Marietta Bronco League All-Star team made it all the way to the World Series which was held for the first and only time in Mexico City.

At the completion of each Bronco League season, the coaches in the league select an All-Star team and what the 15 kids on the ’73 team accomplished will likely never be repeated.

With a perfect record as a little league coach, 24-year-old Jerry Smith was selected as head coach of the Marietta squad, assisted by Dave Zoller. They went to battle with a group of 15 talented 12-year-old-kids as they embarked on their journey.

Things got off to a good start for Marietta as they swept a best-of-three series over Wood County in Parkersburg by scores of 4-0 and 7-2 to advance in tournament play to Bellaire.

Doug Peery and Danny Dutton combined on a three-hitter in the opener with Dutton also belting a home run and Tim Zoller collecting a couple of base hits.

The next day it would be the duo of Zoller and Dutton on the bump as they allowed just two hits and two runs as the Marietta Broncos took advantage of eight Wood County errors to punch their ticket to Bellaire.

Bernie Brown gave the Broncos the early lead with a home run to center field in the second inning and Marietta added five more in the bottom of the third for all the offense they would need.

Next up for Marietta was sectional tournament play in Bellaire and they opened things up against the home team.

Peery got the start once again and allowed a run in the top of the first before tossing a complete-game four-hitter while striking out nine.

The Marietta squad got back-to-back home runs from Zoller and Brown in the third inning en route to a 5-2 win.

Next up was a battle with Shadyside, who proved to be no match at all for Marietta. The Bronco scored 10 runs in the third inning and mercy-ruled Shadyside 17-3. Marietta pounded out 16 hits in the five innings including four by Zoller and three by Dutton. Zoller fanned 10 to pick up the win.

While the offense took care of things against Shadyside, it would be the pitching of Dutton that got the job done in their next matchup with Martins Ferry to put them one win away from a sectional championship and a trip to the regionals in Washington, Pa.

Dutton fired a no-hitter and fanned 13 and Brown homered once again as Marietta downed Martins Ferry 4-0.

Second baseman Scott Burkhart entered the game as a defensive substitution and made a great play between first and second base in the seventh inning to keep the no-hitter intact.

It would be a new name on the hill in the sectional title tilt as Smith handed the ball to Tom Modie and all he did was fan 12 in five innings of work while helping himself with a two-run homer as Marietta downed Warren Township 5-0 to send them to the regionals.

The Marietta pitching staff never allowed more than three runs in any of their first six games. That trend continued in Washington as they opened regional play with an 8-2 win over Washington and followed that up with a 6-1 win over Petersburg Township.

Dutton picked up the win in both games while the Marietta offense belted six home runs in the two games to set them up for a rematch with Washington for the regional crown.

Brown connected for two more long balls while Dutton, Modie, Zoller and Joey Zide also homered.

In the title game, Marietta scored three times in the second and third innings, respectively, and went on to rout Washington 11-2 to claim the regional crown. Brown gave the Marietta pitching staff a much needed breather by firing a complete game five-hitter, fanning 10 while surviving seven walks. Modie and Zide led the Marietta hitting attack with a couple of knocks apiece while Brown smacked his sixth home run of tournament play to allow the Marietta squad to pack their bags and head to Springfield, Mass., for the East Division tournament with a trip to Mexico City now well within their sights.

For the first time in the tournament the Marietta squad had to rally in the opener as they downed Hamlet (N.C.) 8-5 thanks to a two-run homer by Brown and a three-run bomb by Zoller.

Peery pitched five innings of two-hit relief to gain the win.

Looking to make it a perfect 11-0, Marietta would next battle another unbeaten squad in New Bedford.

Zoller was brilliant on the mound once again as he fanned 12 in a complete-game shutout while Brown and John Williams provided two-run singles early and Dutton a three-run homer late as they rolled to a 9-0 win.

That win would set up a rematch with New Bedford with the Marietta team needing to win just one of two to claim the Eastern District title.

Smith felt the second time around against New Bedford would provide a much bigger challenge for his youngsters.

“We are expecting a much tougher battle from New Bedford today,” said Smith prior to the start of the championship game. “We want to end it today. We don’t want to get in a one-game win-or-else situation. We don’t want to lose our momentum.”

Smith had no shortage of options to start the game with Dutton, Zoller and Peery all sporting perfect 3-0 records in tournament play but in the end he decided to give the ball to Zoller.

Zoller was splendid on the mound once again as he allowed just one-hit in six innings of work, but it was an explosion by the Marietta offense that made the headlines as they cracked no less than seven long balls as they shelled New Bedford 12-4 to earn the right to go to Mexico City.

Modie and Williams each belted three-run homers, Brown smacked a two-run bomb and Zoller, Charlie Spindler, Zide and Ash Eddy got in on the act with solo blasts.

“I was just glad to get to this tournament,” said Smith, whose Bronco league coaching record improved to an unbelievable 42-0 with the win. “Winning it is just tremendous. We’ve got enough hitting and pitching to have a chance in Mexico City. The kids have done a fantastic job. They really deserve the trip.”

Attired in brand new red, white and blue uniforms courtesy of Holloway Sportswear of Jackson Center, Ohio, and Zides Sport Shop in Marietta, the team prepared for their trip to Mexico City.

WMOA radio had provided coverage throughout the entire tournament but were unable to continue in Mexico. However, Creative Communications was able to offer a live broadcast on Channel 2 through WCMO radio.

Before they left for Mexico the boys received proclamations from Marietta Mayor James Schweikert, Congressman Clarence Miller and Governor John Gilligan.

In addition to the Marietta squad, the eight-team double elimination tournament consisted of teams from Mexico, Hawaii, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Rockford, Ill., Oklahoma City, Okla., and Santa Susana, Calif.

The Marietta squad opened against Mexico and grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Dutton homered over the left-center field fence.

Mexico rallied, however, with three runs in the third and three more in the fifth as they handed the Marietta team their very first loss in tournament play 6-2.

Next up was an elimination game as they faced Rockford and left hander Jake Hillyer fanned 15 Marietta hitters en route to a 3-1 win that brought an end to an incredible season for the Marietta squad.

Several players from that team went on to play sports at the collegiate level including Jim Angert, Danny Dutton, Brown and Modie, plus Zoller and Steve Riley, who both played baseball at Marietta College.

What this group of 12-year-olds were able to accomplish is still one of the greatest sports stories to come out of our great sports town over the past half century.

1973 Marietta Bronco League All Stars

Head Coach: Jerry Smith

Assistant Coach: Dave Zoller

ROSTER

Jim Angert, Les Bowes, Bernie Brown, Scott Burkhart, Danny Dutton, Ash Eddy, Joey Eichorn, Jan Hall, Tom Modie, Doug Peery, Steve Riley, Charlie Spindler, John Williams, Joey Zide, Tim Zoller.

FACTS

¯ Danny Dutton fanned 50 batters in 28 innings pitched

¯ Tim Zoller fanned 46 batters in 30 innings .

¯ Marietta pitchers combined to fan 149 batters in 95 innings of work

¯ The Broncos run differential in their tournament run was +69 (99-30)

¯ Marietta homered 25 times in the 14 games led by Brown with 8, Zoller with 5, Dutton with 4 and Modie with 3.

¯ Marietta had a team batting average of .288 and had six batters bat .300 or better: Zoller (.400), John Williams (.341), Charlie Spindler (.333), Brown (.326), Joey Zide (.324) and Modie (.324).