Norwood’s Loss Means Title Tie‑This Day In Norwood History‑May 28, 1969

The Norwood Mustangs entered their final Bay State League game of the 1969 season with a simple assignment: defeat a Dedham team sitting below .500 and claim the league championship outright. But baseball has a way of humbling even the strongest clubs, and after 11 tense innings, Norwood found itself on the wrong end of a 4–3 loss, a defeat that dramatically reshaped the league standings and forced a tie for the title.

The Mustangs appeared to be in control early. Behind junior left‑hander Bill Travers, the league’s most dominant pitcher, Norwood built a 3–1 lead by the sixth inning. Travers, undefeated in his previous 10 outings, seemed poised to finish the job and deliver the championship. But Dedham refused to fold.

In the bottom of the sixth, Don Begin singled and stole second. That brought up Dedham’s top hitter, junior Ralph Garber, batting .320 on the season. Garber caught hold of one of Travers’ fastballs and launched it into right‑center for a two‑run home run, tying the game at 3–3 and stunning the Norwood bench.

From there, the game settled into a tense, grinding stalemate. Travers and Dedham’s Kevin Hampe matched each other pitch for pitch, each recording nine strikeouts and working out of multiple jams. Hampe, who entered the game with a 2–5 record but a sparkling 1.86 ERA, pitched the game of his life, keeping Norwood off the board through the final five innings.

The deadlock finally broke in the bottom of the 11th inning. Garber led off with a double, and Chuck Anthony reached on a bunt that erased Garber at third but allowed Anthony to take second when no one covered the bag. Norwood intentionally walked Joe Duffin, and Rick Johnstone followed with a single to shallow center to load the bases.

With two outs, John Feeney hit a routine grounder to second — but the ball was bobbled, and Anthony raced home with the winning run. Dedham, last year’s league champion, had turned spoiler once again.

The loss dropped Norwood to 15–3, tying them with Braintree for the league’s best record. But because the two coaches had flipped a coin two weeks earlier to determine state‑tournament seeding in the event of a tie — and Braintree’s Tom O’Connell had won — the Mustangs were relegated to the No. 2 seed. That meant Norwood would have to travel for its opening state‑tournament game, while Braintree would host.

Meanwhile, in Braintree, senior right‑hander Doug David delivered another brilliant performance, striking out 16 batters in 7⅓ innings to earn his seventh win of the season and lead the Wamps to a 7–1 victory over Milton. David also went 2‑for‑4 at the plate with a double and two RBI, further strengthening his case as one of the league’s top two‑way players.

The Mustangs’ loss, combined with Braintree’s win, reshaped the entire postseason picture. What had seemed like a clear Norwood championship only hours earlier had turned into a shared title — and a far more difficult road ahead in the state tournament.

Despite the disappointment, Norwood’s season remained one of the strongest in school history. Travers finished the regular season 10–1, and the Mustangs had spent nearly the entire spring atop the Bay State League standings. But on this day, Dedham’s resilience and one costly defensive miscue proved enough to alter the course of the 1969 baseball season.

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