THE ET CETERA CHRONICLES - VOL. 67

RARE LOSS - Former Dublin Orioles pitcher, Steve Barber, who was one of the famed group of young Baltimore Orioles pitchers known as the “Baby Birds,” was a hard throwing strike out pitcher.  On September 30, 1967, Barber held the Detroit Tigers no hits until the top of the 9th inning. Fighting tendinitis, Barber walked two and allow a sacrifice bunt followed by the catcher allowing a pitch to get away from him, an error which tied the game at 1-1.   Usually dependable Stu Miller came in to relieve Barber and save the game.   Miller pitched well, but a bobble of a ground ball by Oriole shortstop Mark Belanger caused the lead run to score.  Detroit, who held the Orioles scoreless in the bottom of the ninth, won the game 2-1.  Barber whose runner scored the winning run was saddled with the loss although the gave up not a single hit in the game.  At the time, Barber and Miller’s efforts gave them the 159th no hitter in major league history. As of the end of the 2019 season, there have been 303 no hitters, 14 of them were by a combination of pitchers.    Barber and Miller made history in the game. Not counting a game which Babe Ruth started but did not finish the game and the reliever pitched 9 innings of no hit ball, this was the first true combined no hitter in major league history. Since 1967, there have been 12 combined no hitters.  Wikipedia, Baseball Reference.  

ANOTHER NO-NO - Jack Gilbert, a native of Dexter, Ga and a journeyman minor league pitcher, no hit the Leesburg Packers of the Florida State League on May 13, 1950.  Gilbert, a member of the St. Augustine Saints, did hit a batter, which ruined his perfect game. However, Gilbert’s pitching and fine defense allowed him to keep the Packer’s scoreless.   Gilbert returned home later that year to play for the Dublin Greensox before being traded to the Jessup Bees.   Dublin Courier Herald, May 17, 1950.

DOMINATING DOMINY - Clinton Dominy, one of the best local pitchers of the mid-20th Century, pitched in the local amateur league in Dublin during the 1957 season.  Dominy, playing for the Piggly Wiggly sponsored team, pitched four shut outs, three of which were no-hitters.  Dominy, easily the most valuable player in the league, won 9 of his league leading teams 14 victories.  Dublin Courier Herald, June 13, August 31, 1957

HE LIKED IKE - Walter Scott Gibson, a Korean veteran, was confined to his bed in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dublin.  One day he decided he wanted to call a former military leader to chat about things.  Gibson, a resident of Albany, Georgia, asked for the officer’s phone number and called him up.  The recipient of the call was no ordinary captain or colonel, but a former 5-star general, who had just been elected President of the United States the week before.  The president took the time out of hectic schedule for a Veteran’s Day talk to a ingle soldier about the country and life.  Gibson remarked of his talk with President Eisenhower, “We had a nice long talk.  A big man will always talk to a little man.”  Dunn Daily Record, November 11, 1952. 

THE KING OF CORN- Hugh H. Branch, Sr. Was born in the Bonnie Clabber “Baughnaughclaughbaugh” community of southern Laurens County on June 20, 1924.  Branch served in World War II in Europe.  In the late 1950s, Branch decide that he was chose a life long career in the mass production and distribution of vegetables in his home town of Pahokee, Florida.  Over the next five decades, Branch’s company, grew exponentially to become at the top of the largest marketers of sweet corn in the world. Branch retired in 2007 and passed away on January 23, 2020.   The Produce News, January 29, 2020  

A TRIPLE BALL PLAYER - While there is no evidence to the contrary, the first Laurens Countian to play college softball and volleyball, was Alice Averitt, a graduate of Dublin High School and star basketball player, played the two women’s sports for West Georgia College and Lenoir-Rhyne College.  In 1982, Averitt was named the softball coach for Lenoir-Rhyne as well as an assistant coach of the volleyball and basketball team. Charlotte Observer, August 20, 1982. 

ENVIRONMENTAL DANGERS - In the early days of automobile transportation, Dublin’s earliest service stations placed their gasoline tanks in front of the stores under the public streets.  Laurens County Herald, January 2, 1913.