Enjoying America’s pastime
with the Oldtimers

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

In October 2005, about a dozen men who played sports together years earlier gathered for a mini reunion.
The aging ex-athletes had a ball and decided to meet again.
“Somebody said, ‘Why don’t we invite this guy?’ And somebody said, ‘Why don’t we invite that guy?’ We grew,” said Jack Purdy, who was raised in Mayfair.
The larger group gathered at the former Champps restaurant on Roosevelt Boulevard, but soon outgrew the space. The men moved to Out of Wack Jack’s Bar & Grill on Willits Road but needed a bigger space.
The group, which calls itself the Oldtimers Bats and Balls Association, has found a permanent home in the large dining room of Randi’s Restaurant & Bar, at 1619 Grant Ave.
Four times a year, the Oldtimers meet for lunch. They come early and stay late.
“We say twelve o’clock, and they get here at eleven,” said Chuck Newns, a Morrell Park resident and board member.
The luncheons typically attract about 110 guys. When Newns needs to get everyone’s attention, he pulls out his old referee’s whistle.
Besides lunch, the men look at old memorabilia and listen to a guest speaker. Villanova men’s basketball coach Jay Wright spoke at a recent meeting.
The group also honors someone with the William “Pickles” Kennedy Memorial Award, named in memory of the former Abraham Lincoln and Temple basketball standout who played in the NBA. Past winners include legendary former Frankford High School football coach Al Angelo.
Purdy was honored at last week’s meeting.
The Frankford High graduate played minor league baseball in the Tigers and Braves organizations. He was a Phillies scout for 12 years, played and managed in the Pen-Del League and remains an American Legion Baseball administrator and coach at Chestnut Hill Academy.
He managed five pitchers — including Archbishop Ryan’s Tom Filer and Father Judge’s Joe Kerrigan — who went on to pitch in the major leagues.
The group tried to surprise Purdy, but he knew the honor was coming when he saw his family and friend Joe Barth, the 86-year-old manager of the Brooklawn (N.J.) American Legion team.
Purdy, who is seen in an old newspaper clip receiving an award from Philadelphia A’s president Connie Mack, looks forward to the quarterly meetings.
“It’s like old home week,” he said. “I see guys I played and managed with. We’ve built camaraderie over the years.”
The men who attend the meetings generally played, coached or officiated baseball, football and basketball on sandlots and at Police Athletic League centers.
But the group is open to others. Frank Menarde is a successful horse trainer who remembers spending time at the former Mayfair Bowling at Frankford and Hartel avenues.
“We hung in the pool room, all the young guys,” he recalled.
The group includes everyone from former stickball players in the Edwin Forrest School yard to ex-major leaguers Bobby Shantz, Mickey Vernon and Doug Clemens to current NFL official John Schleyer.
Shantz, 82, grew up in Pottstown before moving to Oakmont Street in Holmesburg. He played for the Holmesburg Ramblers in the Pen-Del League, then enjoyed a 16-year major league career that included stints with the A’s and Phillies. He made three all-star games and won eight Gold Gloves and a Most Valuable Player award.
Now an Ambler resident, he gladly signed pictures, balls, books and baseball cards at last week’s meeting.
“I see my old friends again, guys I played baseball with and against,” he said.
Vernon, 89, is a lifelong Delaware County resident who lives in Media. He played 20 years as a first baseman in the major leagues. He was a two-time batting champion, played in seven all-star games and finished with 2,495 hits, despite missing two years while serving in World War II. After his playing career, he was the manager for the expansion Washington Senators from 1961 to ‘63.
Like Shantz, Vernon enjoys attending the lunch meetings.
“I enjoy talking baseball,” he said. “It’s good to reminisce once in a while.” ••
For more information on the Oldtimers Bats and Balls Association, call Chuck Newns (215-637-9627), Ron Fritz (215-491-9380), Jack Purdy (215-968-0404) or Ron March (1-609-209-0849).
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com