On the evening of July 08, 1971, the baseball diamond at Memorial Field in Canton became the stage for a seesaw battle that defies simple explanation. In a game characterized by wild momentum swings and the fading light of a summer sunset, the Norwood American Legion team narrowly edged out Canton with a 10-9 victory. The contest, which was ultimately called after six innings due to darkness, served as the latest chapter in a high-stakes week for Norwood’s coaching duo, Don McPhee and Frank Wall.
The relationship between McPhee and Wall is a unique study in local sports versatility. While they serve as co-coaches for the Norwood Legion squad, they recently found themselves on opposite sides of the field as opposing managers in the Norwood Little League town championship. Wall explained the dynamic following last night’s win: “We coach the Phillies and the Braves in the Little League, and although we’re both from the National League, there was a playoff and we wound up facing one another for the town championship.” Their managerial duties became even more complex earlier in the week when both men were forced to leave their Little League playoff game early to travel to Walpole to lead the Legion team to a 4-2 victory—a win that kicked off a four-game winning streak.
Last night’s contest against Canton proved to be an offensive marathon. Norwood took an early lead in the first inning behind a walk to Mike O’Neil, a double by Joe Porcello, and a single by Joe Anello. Canton, led by starter Fran Cronin, retaliated immediately with a ground-rule double by Mike Callahan. The game quickly evolved into a high-scoring affair, with Canton surging ahead to establish a four-run lead, 9-5, by the end of the fourth inning.
However, the game shifted dramatically in the sixth. With two outs already on the board, Norwood’s offense suddenly ignited. Joe Porcello, Joe Anello, and Jim Sexton reached base, followed by a double from Joe Radzevitch, who had entered the game in right field. Reliever Ron Wysocki, a sophomore in high school making his first pitching appearance of the year, held the line for Norwood, and base hits from Wysocki and Ed Hickey capped off a five-run rally. Wall admitted his surprise at the comeback: “To tell you the truth, when we put in Wysocki… we thought the game was gone. We substituted Mulcahy for our second best hitter O’Neil just so that he could get in the game, but then, all of a sudden, bang!” The victory pushed Norwood’s winning streak to four games in four days, a performance that surprised even the coaches themselves.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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The John Balerna Show-June 3, 1978
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Norwood Legion Team Masters the Suicide Squeeze-July 3, 1974
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