Born: October 28, 1917, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: July 16, 2012, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather
I recently remembered seeing an article featuring my grandfather, Bruce Cheney, and his baseball playing days. I found the old story - from April 3, 2000 in the Daily Record with the headline "Back in the Heyday of Morris Baseball". The author of the article has a blog with the full article.
It is worth reading in full for a long description of baseball in the early- and mid-1900s. The article also talks about Bruce's father, William Cheney, (and in the future I hope to have a long series of posts on his baseball career). But I will highlight the parts that feature Bruce.
“I worshiped baseball,” Bruce Cheney of Randolph said. “I played so much that one night my mother came into my room and said, ‘I’m taking this glove out of here.” A game between Victory Athletic Club and the East Dover Field Club at the old field on South Salem Street could draw a couple hundred fans, Cheney said, recalling the 1930s and 40s.
[Edit]
“I was a good glove man,” he said about a career that included stints with the Picatinny team, St. Mary’s, Alan Wood, Victory Gardens and a tryout with the Hilltop Athletic Club of Dover.
In 1946 or 1947, he said, a friend told him the Hilltop club needed a good infielder, so he tried out.
“He told the manager I was a good glove, and wouldn’t you know, at the plate I hit the ball all over the place, but in the field, I couldn’t catch a ball,” he said.What is interesting is realizing that Bruce and the others in the article were playing in well-attended, competitive, town baseball leagues for grownups. We don't have anything like that anymore. Now, high school and college sports attract widespread fans and interest, as do the professional leagues and to a much lesser extent, their minor league affiliates.
But try to imagine a baseball league that is not affiliated with any professional teams, features local athletes, and where the local residents follow the results and go to the games. Sounds like fun!
