THE YEARS 1936-1937
The years 1936-1937
1936
May 6, 1936
Yaphank firemen beat the Bears From Center Moriches.
On Sunday afternoon the Center Moriches Bears traveling to Yaphank for their second exhibition game baseball game against the powerful Yaphank Fire department team and lost out 4-3 under miserable weather conditions. Joe Scesny twirled for Yaphank the entire game and turned the Bears down with five hits. Johnny Glover with two doubles starred for Yaphank.
May 13th
The 1936 season began in a big way as the Yaphank team defeated Medford to open the season. Yaphank pounded out a lusty 14 to 5 victory over Medford Sunday afternoon in a Fireman's league game at Medford. The Yaphank team was in a heavy hitting frame of mind and slammed out 19 safe hits …all which indicated that Yaphank has plenty of power this season.
Mervin Tillinghast was on the mound for the victors and struck out 12 of the Medford batsman…
The game presented Yaphank with an opportunity of trying out all of its first team and some of its subs, 13 of the visitors being used in the lineup. Both teams were a bit ragged in the field, as may be expected in an early season game. Medford was credited with a half dozen slips and Yaphank with four
May 20th
Yaphank rolled to its second victory. Continuing its heavy hitting tactics, Yaphank shut out Hagerman, 4 to 0, Sunday afternoon at the Hagerman field. It was the second straight victory for the Yaphank nine, which appears as one of the strongest teams in the league at this early date.
J. Scesny, pitching for Yaphank, held the Hagerman batters to one lone hit while Yaphank collected eight well-placed safeties off Kulick. Three of the Yaphank swats went for doubles, Scesny, E. Glover and Dobrie pounding out the extra ply hits.
May 27th
Yaphank Spurt fails to save it from Bayporters. Despite a spectacular ninth inning rally that netted four runs, Yaphank lost to Bayport 8-7, in a Fireman's League game on the Yaphank diamond Sunday afternoon. It was Yaphank's first defeat and the game ended with plenty of exciting moments for both teams.
Bayport was the first to score, putting over two runs in the third, but Yaphank tied things up the next inning…
Leading 6-3 as the ninth came up Bayport went to bat and scored two more runs and then the home team came up with a determined air. Combining timely hits with heads up ball playing the Yaphank team scored four runs but there they stopped.
June 3rd
Yaphank played two games, one on Saturday against Southampton, who they defeated 10 to 9. Coming through with a powerful scoring punch in the final inning that netted six runs, Yaphank squeezed out a narrow 10 to 9 victory over the Southampton Pirates Saturday in a special game at Southampton.
The home town team put it over on the visitors until the last two innings and appeared to have the game pretty tightly sewed up until Yaphank went to work in the eight inning and continued its rally through the ninth.
With the count 6 to 0 against them the Yaphankers went out in the eight and brought in four runs and Southampton added one. In the ninth Yaphank showed more dash and added six runs, only to have Southampton come back with two and for a time threatened to tie up the score.
On Sunday The Yaphank Firemen beat Brookhaven. The Yaphank F.D. playing at home won a victory over the Brookhaven Tigers Sunday 8 to 5 as the latter team went up in the air for one fatal inning, the fourth. A hit, a base on balls, a man hit by the pitcher and four errors gave Yaphank four bunched runs.
Despite this defeat, the first of the season, the Brookhaven team is all prepared to slash Bayport out of first place when they meet next week.
July 29th
Yaphank defeats Hagerman by 6-1
Yaphank continued its string of victories in the Fireman's League Sunday afternoon when it beat Hagerman 6 to 1 at Hagerman.
The game was featured by a home run by Glover and also by the wholesale base stealing activities of the Yaphank men who set something of a league record for the season by the manner in which they sneaked along the lines under the noses of the Hagerman nine.
The home team was pretty much off form Sunday after having shown some winning class during the past few weeks. A total of five errors was credited to the losers, a few of which aided the Yaphank nine to a degree.
Tillinghast pitched for Yaphank striking out five and allowing but five hits.
August 5th
Yaphank beats Bayport to Gain First Place Tie
By defeating Bayport 8 to 2 Sunday afternoon, Yaphank gained a tie for first place with Brookhaven in the Fireman's league, the important contest being played on the Yaphank diamond where the home team was playing the same championship brand of ball that it has been during the past few weeks.
The Yaphankers were in a heavy hitting frame, collecting 13 good ones off Albrecht, three of them being doubles, and one triple, the latter hit by J. Glover. Tillinghast managed to keep the Bayporter's hits well scattered..
August 19th
Playing errorless ball Sunday afternoon, the Yaphank team defeated Holtsville 6 to 3 in a scrappy game played on the Holtsville diamond with Tillinghast and Meyer opposing each other on the mound and dividing the honors about evenly, each of them scoring nine strikeouts.
Yaphank was longer and heavier on the hits than the home team and it was this edge on the batting that gave them the victory.
August 26th
With Tillinghast allowing but three hits, Yaphank scored a 6 to 1 victory over Medford Sunday afternoon in a Fireman's league tilt on the Yaphank diamond. The game was one of the fastest of the season, being played in one hour and forty minutes.
Yaphank hit its winning stride in the second inning and played a snappy brand of baseball all the way through with J. Glover starring at the plate with three hits, one of them a triple.
September 2nd
Hagerman Beats Yaphank 7 to 6 As Team Lets Its Pitcher Down.
Tillinghast's brilliant performance on the mound for Yaphank Sunday was all in vain, for his teammates gave him miserable support in the field and did some boners along the baselines, so Hagerman won 7 to 6. The game was largely attended because both Tillinghast and Palermo, the Hagerman hurler, had each pitched a three hit - hit game the previous Sunday.
Palermo proved himself no match for Tillinghast Sunday for the latter struck out 11 Hagerman men while Palermo was able to send but four back to the dugout and Tillinghast allowed one less hit than his teammates collected off Hagerman's pitcher.
The Yaphank team, after playing heady baseball for several weeks, went into a decline Sunday and made eight errors, Several of the home team also took long and unnecessary chances on bases with the result that three of them were nipped at the plate.
October 21, 1936
Hagerman Downs Yaphank by 4-3 To Take Twilight League Title.
The young Hagerman Fire department team, which had been surprising people since their former manager took them over at mid season, startled the baseball fans again Sunday by coming out of three weeks retirement to clip the Yaphank Fire department for the Twilight championship by the tune of 4 to 3 in one of the best games of the year.
Yaphank threatened several times but to no avail.
Star hitting for Hagerman was by R. Stephani; for Yaphank by Dobrie and Neuss.
1937
May 5th
Elementary Baseball league of 20 schools was issued today. Yaphank and Middle Island were placed in Section (League) 5.
May 5th
Fireman's League
Errors sprinkled through an otherwise tight game brought defeat to the Holtsville nine when it met Yaphank on Holtsville's diamond Sunday afternoon, the score being 3 to 1. The winners got only three hits.
May 12th
Yaphank Trounces Brookhaven Nine
Aided by 11 strikeouts by Tillinghast, the Yaphank nine got off to a good start in the Brookhaven Fireman's Baseball league on Sunday, when they walloped Brookhaven, 13-4 at Brookhaven
Yaphank's 13 runs were the result of 12 hits, while Brookhaven was unable to get any better than four runs on eight hits.
Two baggers and longest hits of the game were made by J. Scesny Cornell, Gelfer, and J. Glover who produced a pair of them. Manck umpired the game.
May 19th 1937
Yaphank Winner At Holtsville 3-1 In Sunday Game
Errors sprinkled through an otherwise tight game brought defeat to the Holtsville nine when it met Yaphank on Holtsville's diamond Sunday afternoon, the score being 3 to 1
July 7, 1937
Bayport Climbs in League Score By Beating Yaphank Leaders 7-4
Bayport outhit league leading Yaphank when the latter went visiting the South Shore team Sunday- result a 7-4 victory. Albrecht and Newham shared the pitching honors for Bayport, and the hitting of Suda, Perry, Manton and Beebe showed up well in the result.
Bayport claims the pennant is in the bag after trouncing the strong Yaphank team twice, but there are no admissions from the latter. They are still going strong.
July 14, 1937
Yaphank Outhits Hagerman Nine 4-2
Reopening its relentless rampage over opposition, the Yaphank nine took a tighter grip on first place in the Fireman's league on Sunday by clubbing Hagerman into submission on the Yaphank diamond. The score, 4-2.
Besides keeping the Hagerman bats under control throughout the game, Mervin Tillinghast, Yaphank twirler, helped himself to three bingles out of four times at bat and scored one of his teams four runs.
Scesny who covers the hot corner for Yaphank took the batting honors for the day by belting out two triples. John Glover, Yaphank's right fielder, the only other long distance hitter, clouted a beautiful triple.
July 21, 1937
Yaphank Starts off Second Half With Victory Over Brookhaven
Having won top honors for the first half season in the firemen's league, the galloping Yaphank nine resumed their roughshod ride over opposition to start the second half on Sunday, when they triumphed over Brookhaven on the Yaphank diamond. The score 5-2 Mervin Tillinghast, Yaphank twirler, held the visitors under control, limiting them to six hits.
Fireman's League Arranges Schedule Post - season Series
Splitting up the current schedule of the Fireman's league, the winner of each half-season to battle for league championship and plans for a series between the winners of the Fireman's and Huntington-Smithtown leagues, were decided at a meeting of officials of the two circuits on July 12th.
The results of the meeting, in which Mr. McDonald, president of the Huntington-Smithtown league took part, were announced on Monday by Justice of the Peace Gustave Neuss, of Yaphank, Fireman's League President.
Under the plan for dividing the Fireman's league schedule, Yaphank is declared the winner of the first half-season and will engage in a championship game at the end of the season with the winner of the second half. The winner of this game will be pitted against the champions of the North Shore circuit in a three game series.
August 4th
Unbatted Hit Gives Yaphank Two-run Victory Over Medford
Scoring two runs on a freak play, the first of its kind to occur in the history of the Fireman's league, Yaphank defeated Medford 6 - 4, at Medford Sunday and retained its position alongside Hagerman in a tie for first place.
The odd play came in the ninth, with Brown at bat. Tillinghast, Yaphank's catcher and Scesny were on second and third, respectively.
In an effort to escape being hit by a pitched ball, Brown fell. The ball hit his bat and bounded off past the first baseman in fair territory.
As several of the players stood by dumbfounded, the umpire called it a fair ball. Tillinghast and Scesny were homeward bound, As Brown scampered down to first Hudak, Medford's Keystone sacker got the ball and threw it toward the plate to help nab one of the runners.
The ball however went over the catcher's head both runners scoring and Brown reaching second on the miscue
Honors for the game's outstanding play went to C. Glover, Yaphank's centerfielder for his diving catch of a fly in Medford's half of the ninth. Glover landed in a heap, but came up with the ball in his mitt.
W. Tillinghast scored four of his teams six runs. Scesny accounting for the remaining two. Mervin Tillinghast, Yaphank's twirler struck out seven Medford men.
Yaphank went on to win the Fireman's league in 1937 and faced St. James in a three game inter-league series.