Published: August 10, 2009 08:15 am      

Talking baseball: Ex-big leaguers entertain AAABA crowd

Two of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top relievers of the 1970s teamed again on Saturday night during the 16th annual AAABA Hall of Fame banquet.

Instead of tossing fastballs or side-armed curves to major league hitters, Kent Tekulve and Grant Jackson asked a banquet-record crowd of 628 at the Pasquerilla Conference Center to throw questions their way. Borrowing from Tekulve’s Fox Sports Pittsburgh’s “Ask Tek” Pirates postgame segment, the two ex-Bucs held an “Ask Tek and Grant” session.

Jackson, the winning pitcher in relief in Game 7 of the 1979 World Series, and Tekulve, who recorded the final out against the Baltimore Orioles in that decisive game, provided insight and humor after four inductees entered the Hall.

They also recounted some of the glory days of a franchise that now is on its way to a record 17th consecutive losing season.

“In 1979 this guy was my set-up man, so they say,” Tekulve said, gesturing to Jackson. “I didn’t look at it that way. He was my co-closer. Set-up guys don’t save 14 games. Set-up guys don’t win nine games. When you’re playing a major league baseball season, the whole idea when you go to spring training is you want to play in the last game of the season and you want to win that last game of the season because that means you are going to be the world champions. This guy won the last game of the season and made us World Series champions.”

Jackson pitched in World Series with the Pirates, Orioles and Yankees. He recalled a special season when Pittsburgh didn’t make it to the Series.

“In 1977 the Pittsburgh Pirates had the best bullpen in all of baseball,” Jackson said.

“Remember Goose Gossage? Terry Forster? Tek and myself. All of baseball was saying if you got past the fifth inning and we were winning, you lost.”

The AAABA Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009 included:

• The late Robert “Bob” Linkner, a longtime manager and leader of the Buffalo AAABA franchise was inducted posthumously. His 1964 team finished as tournament runner-up to Detroit Adray.

“He was very much a leader of young men,” said his son, Bob Linkner, who accepted the award. “He might not have always been right on his baseball decisions but he was never in doubt.”

Seven members of manager Linkner’s 1956 Amherst Elks team attended as did 1964 MVP Jim Monin, who also is in the AAABA Hall. The AAABA Tournament had such an influence on the elder Linkner that the letters “AAABA” are engraved on his headstone.

“AAABA is true, pure baseball,” his son said. “Johnstown and the AAABA are the essence of baseball and Americana rolled into one.”

• John P. James, a former Tribune-Democrat sports writer from 1966 to 1991. For decades, James documented some of the tournament’s most memorable plays, games, titles and milestones.

James remembered watching Johnstown Monte Carlo pitcher Gene Pentz beating New Orleans in front of a hugh crowd at Price Field in 1970. He talked about interviews with major leaguers who played in the AAABA and how the tournament helped mold them. Among those were Joe Torre, Steve Garvey and Frank Torre.

He listed one of his career highlights as an interview with former Johnstown Oldtimers President George Arcurio Jr. in the early 1990s when he learned the tournament’s future in Johnstown was secure.

“It was a time when the tournament was having some problems and a lot of people were talking about how the tournament might move and go here or go there,” James recalled.

“I called (George Arcurio) Jr. At the end of the conversation I felt very good that this tournament that I had grown to love would never leave Johnstown. I remember writing in that story is that the smart money would never bet against Jr. Arcurio and the Oldtimers and AAABA officials.”

• Dean Albany, manager of the Maryland Orioles of Baltimore team that won six consecutive crowns from 2003 through 2008.

Albany, now the Baltimore general manager, viewed the tournament from an out-of-towner’s perspective.

“We really feel in Baltimore that this is the greatest tournament we could go to,” Albany said. “We’ve had four sponsors in 65 years of the team. This tournament is why we have the team. Johnstown supports its team so well. The fan support they get and the way the kids feed off the crowd is special. Johnstown plays by a different set of rules. Johnstown has a lot of local kids and the community stands by them.”

• Tommy Yewcic, Johnstown catcher for the 1951 Westmont AC team. Yewcic was one of the best athletes the area has produced. The East Conemaugh graduate was an All-American quarterback on Michigan State’s 1952 national championship team and he was the MVP of the 1954 College World Series. He played in the Detroit Tigers system and advanced to the majors for a game in 1957. He was a quarterback-punter for the AFL’s Boston Patriots.

“I always considered the AAABA as one of the best amateur baseball tournaments in the country,” Yewcic said. “In 1957 when I was in Detroit, we had a fella who played in the AAABA. His name was Al Kaline. Not too bad. A Hall of Famer.”