Oklahoma, California Together Again in Unusual Baseball Match

Some of the best high school baseball players from California and Oklahoma will begin a five-game all-star series tonight at San Diego State’s Smith Field.

As far as traditional rivalries go, Oklahomans still get a bit more fired up for the OU-Texas football game. And most Californians would rather battle it out with a few waves down at the beach.

But those who haven’t heard of the series--it’s being played here for the first time, so chances are that not many have--might be surprised to know that this will be its 12th consecutive year.

The list of those who have played in the series probably would raise some eyebrows as well. It includes Kevin Bass of the Houston Astros, Alvin Davis and Mike Moore of the Seattle Mariners, Ron Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds and Jack McDowell of the Chicago White Sox.

And why is California playing Oklahoma, of all states, in an all-star series? California, it turns out, can thank Texas for the opportunity.

Gordon Morgan, a former coach at Will Rodgers High in Tulsa and the man who got this series off the ground in 1977, said: “Oklahoma and Texas play each other in all-star high school football games and all-star basketball games, so we thought one year, we’d try an organize an all-star baseball game.

“We always picked an all-state team, and then the kids didn’t have anybody to play. So we asked Texas. But they were too caught up in spring football, and they didn’t want to do it.”

Morgan was the president of the National High School Coaches Assn. in 1977. That year, he presented the organization’s coach of the year award to Al Endriss, baseball coach at Larksberg High, just outside of San Francisco.

“I told Al that we wanted to have an all-star game, and he said that California did, too,” Morgan said. “We worked out some details, and we got started with it.”

The series seemed blessed from the start. The first time the states met was in Tulsa at the new Oral Roberts University baseball facility. And Oral Roberts threw out the first ball.

The first three years, the series was played in Oklahoma; it moved west to Fresno for the first time in 1980. This is the first time it has been played in Southern California. California’s all-stars have won 10 of the 11 previous series--losing only in 1986--and have won 27 of the 36 games played.

“The thing is, this series is about a lot more than that,” said Merv Carter, the coach at McLane High in Fresno, who is most responsible for keeping the series alive in California. “The kids meet a lot of people from their own state and the other state who will be life-long friends.”

The interstate travel has provided the players with a chance to experience different life styles. For the Oklahoma kids, for instance, a trip west provides many a chance to see the beach for the first time. This year’s Oklahoma team arrived Wednesday and attended the Padre-Giant game. For many, it was the first time they had been in a major league ballpark.

Californians, on the other hand, have been treated to some major league barbecues.

“I remember one year, we went out to some millionaire’s ranch, and it was the biggest thing any of us had even seen,” Carter said. “This fellow had batting cages, soccer fields, game rooms in his barns and three oil wells. Not to mention, the guy served all the food any of us could handle. It was fun, and it’s always been fun to be a part of this thing.”

Because it’s hard to raise money to pay for travel, the series seems to be in jeopardy of ending almost every season. But something works out each year to keep it alive.

“Actually, in Oklahoma, we can get the money a little easier because we’re smaller, and the group of the coaches in the state is tighter,” Morgan said. “In California, everything’s so spread out.”

If Morgan has his way, whatever is needed to keep the series going will have to happen.

“Oh, it’s got to keep going,” he said, thinking about the Californians’ big edge in the series. “We owe those guys a few.”

Notes

The series begins tonight with a single game at 7:30, with doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 at Smith Field and Sunday at noon at the University of San Diego’s Cunningham Stadium. . . . The California all-stars were chosen by coaches after the North-South California all-star series last weekend. The South won two of the three games. Two players from San Diego, Mission Bay pitcher Sean Rees and Mt. Carmel outfielder Ron Kelly, made the team.