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caption, left:
The Putnam Little League All Stars, 1978.
caption, right:
2012 Junior League Champs
Front row: Josh Allard, Christian Burke, Brevon Harmon, Jacob Guertin, Nick Foucault, Shawn Audet, and Kyle Loomis. Back: Manager Steve Dakai, Coach Dex Cutler, Zach Cutler, Steven Dakai, Kyle Ciquera, Jon-Luc Cournoyer, Coach Joe Loomis, and coach John Foucault. Courtesy photos.
By Ron P. Coderre
Putnam experienced a revival in the spirit of baseball this summer when the Putnam Junior Little League team captured the District 11 championship and moved on to State competition. The team was composed of 12 youngsters, ages 13 through 15, who were described as a “group of 12 best buddies who care about each other.”
It doesn’t seem like 34 years ago, but in 1978 a group of 14 young men, 13 through 15, battled their way to the Senior Little League Connecticut District 10-11 championship. The memories of 1978 and the route to the championship are distant in the minds of the players who now range in age from 47 through 49. When this team won the title, every game was ‘do or die’ as the tournament then was a single-elimination affair as opposed to the pool play and double elimination play of today.
The Deserving Dozen 2012
The 2012 team won the District crown by beating archrival Killingly two-out-of-three in the championship contest series. As with any championship team new heroes emerge with every game, but the ultimate victories are gained through a team effort and a staff of dedicated coaches.
Manager Steve Dakai and his staff of coaches, John Foucault, Joe Loomis and Dexter Cutler deserve credit for molding this deserving dozen into a team that hopefully will have a positive influence on the future of baseball in the Antique City. Contributing on the path to the top were Nicholas Foucault, Jon-Luc Cournoyer, Josh Allard, Kyle Cinquera, Brevon Harmon, Kristian Burke, Shawn Audet, Steven Dakai, Zachary Cutler, Kyle Loomis, Jay Hassett and Jacob Guertin. Despite being injured late in the season, Guertin remained an integral part of the team as he accompanied the team at every practice and game, a factor that the staff attributed to its success.
Foggy Memory of 1978
Cleaning out cobwebs that are 34 years old, some games, plays and names of the past remain vivid and other details are rather foggy. In the summer of ‘78 the all star players were selected from the five Putnam teams competing in the Senior League. The players were coached by two individuals John Farrington, the coach and I, Ron Coderre was fortunate to have managed this fine group of young men.
The pitching staff was composed of primarily four individuals, lefthanders Mickey Fall and David Bennett and right-handers Donald Furtardo and Mark Gerardi. This quartet of hurlers carried the squad to the title. The receivers were Mark Tetreault and Derek Benoit.
In addition to the pitching, the ’78 team’s biggest strength was its solid infield. Around the horn from third to first, each player possessed all the tools necessary for success, good glove and good arm.
The ‘hot corner’ was handled by sure-handed Jon Trudeau. Up the middle, the double play combination was Craig Perkins at shortstop and Chris Scraba at second base, two extremely quick and baseball savvy individuals. First base was handled by the competitive, rugged Bart Ramos. A young man, whose first name I can’t recall, Diaz was the backup infielder and also saw action in the outfield.
Furtardo, Gerardi, Fall and Bennett all did double duty in the outfield when they weren’t on the mound. The foursome was joined by Chris “Beaver” Almquist, and a young man named Converse, whose first name I also can’t remember.
Like the ‘deserving dozen’ the ‘fabulous 14’ had key moments on the way to the championship.
They opened play at home with a 3-2 win over a Brooklyn team that was probably the toughest opponent they faced on the road to the crown. Along the way they enjoyed a hard fought victory over a tough opponent in the Thompson Seniors, in a game played away from home.
A game that stands out is a 4-3 victory over Norwich in the Rose City. The game was played over two evenings. Tied at three apiece, the contest was stopped after seven innings due to darkness. As the teams left the field, the Norwich players had a few choice remarks for the departing Putnam bus. Inside the bus, a composed group of players sat quietly and listened as first baseman Ramos simply said, “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
And back they were. With Mark Gerardi on in relief, Putnam left Norwich with a 4-3 win as they scored a run in the eighth and Gerardi held off Norwich. The memories are so vague that I can’t remember the team they beat for the title. The dream came to an end with a first round, one run State Tournament loss, where Putnam was beaten on a ground ball past a drawn-in infield.
Since the memorable season of ’78 the players have gone their separate ways, as this current team will do someday. One player, Chris Scraba has risen to become one of the highest ranking officers in the U.S. Coast Guard. Currently his rank is Captain Scraba, but he’s soon in line to become Admiral Scraba. Another, Bart Ramos carved himself an illustrious career as a police officer in Plainfield. Mickey Fall went on to earn a PhD in physical therapy and owns a successful practice. Craig Perkins went on to UConn, where he was a member of the Huskies football team, returning kickoffs and punts.
It’s a certainty that others also went on to successful careers as well, based on the way they played as a team and supported each other in the 1978 run to the title. Though some of the memories are dusty, the spirit of ’78 lives on for each player. Personally, each time I look at the Championship banner that has a special place in my sports memorabilia collection, the pride those players brought to Putnam are as vivid as if it were 1978 all over again.