News Bayard, Iowa
Mi,*.
Dwain Tracy Is leading Pitcher For Service Team At Fort Bragg
NOTE-the following article appeared in Fred Smith's Casey Vindicator last week and it concerns the popular Dwain Tracy who pitched a lot of good ball for the Bayard team in 1941. Since the article appeared in the Casey paper Dwain's team was defeated in the finals of the tournament so they will not play at the National meet in Wichita, Kansas.
Cpl. Dwain Tracy now stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is making baseball headlines in performances against servicemen's teams composed of former big league and minor league and ex-college players.
Not so (many years ago the then young Casey high school star, son of Mrs. Reed Millhollin of Guthrie thrilled local fans as he gained widespread recognition as a star performer from the mound.
Headlines in the Greensboro Daily News, Greensboro, North Carolina, run something like this: "Tracy, Luce and Lanier Lead in Beating Cherry Point, 4-1." And the Lanier is no other man than Max Lanier of the, champion St. Louis Cardinals. The paper continues -
"Lefty" Dwain Tracy fooled everybody exicept himself and his Ft. Bragg baseball coach.
He was the surprise choice against the powerful, rugged Cherry Point Marines in yesterday's state servicemen's tournament contest, and he beat these same Marines by the score of
4-1 to enter the finals versus OKI) Hawks.
Of course, he got help from Max Lanier, the chunky speed-bailer from the St. Louis Cardinal world championships, and the crowd of 4,365 baseball fans got what they came to see as the winners sent the big leaguer to the mound in the eighth to hold their three-run margin.
But Tracy was master of the hour with his four-hit seven innings that saw an unearned run chalked up against him ... At that Max was just as effective in the bull pen as on the mound. When Tracy walked Scott for the 1-0 score, Lanier headed for the bull pen. Tracy forced the third out. In the fourth after a hit and am error Max trotted to the bull pen. Tracy fanned Brown. In the seventh after Brown's single, Max almost ran to the bull pen. Tracy forced Scott into a double play.
Both left-handers the Bragg men pulled out were former members of the Cardinals-Tracy in the minors and Lanier in the majors.
On another occasion Dwain's pitching reached heights of near perfection when he was "robbed" as baseball fans put it, of a perfect afternoon. The writer explained:
A seventh inning scratch single by first baseman Patten of the FA Board Detachment cost "Lefty" Dwain Tracy a no hit, no
run aftme Tuesday afternoon at bowley Field. A passed ball and a l/w throw by j^ete Castonon allowed Patten to score with the , We tally for the Board men.
Ncjt all of Dwain's effective work was jam the mound. In the daily's write up on another occasion is shown his work from an offensive point of view:
"Lefty" Dwain Tracy hurled a great game for the winners eiven though he did not finish and receive credit for the victory. The young southpaw star belted his second homer im as many days to drive in three runs in the second inning . . . the Red Legs were obviously trying too hard as they were guilty of miscues. In fact twTo of the four runs scored against Tracy were unearned."
Dwain's team was not always on the long end. of the score but even in defeat he received recognition:
"In the fourth inning after Hie Marines had collected eight runs off of pitcher Charles Fisher he was replaced by "Lefty" Tracy who stopped the Leathernecks cold. The Marines were able to get a total of 2 hits and no runs off the Red Leg south paw in the remainder of the game."
Im the newspaper's selection of all-state players it was pitcher Tracy again along with the Cardinal ace, Max Lanier. A shorts bulletin, issued on June 28 in 43 innings pitched by Tracy he allowed 20 hits, 15 runs, gave up 18 hases on balls, struck out 56 for three wins asgainst one- defeat. -VICTORY-
