Drury Weighs In Big Time as Hockey Star : Olympic Festival: Former pitcher for U.S. Little League champions finds niche on the ice.

You probably remember Chris Drury, even if his name doesn’t ring a bell.

You might not recognize him at first look. But you remember him.

He was the plump pitcher who led the U.S. team to an upset victory over Taiwan in the 1989 Little League World Series, after Taiwan had won six consecutive titles.

“Yeah that was me,” Drury said. “I was overweight as a kid. It didn’t really affect me much in baseball. I was just 12 years old, and you just go out and play, have fun.”

Now Drury is having more success--not as a baseball player--but as a member of a U.S. Olympic Festival hockey team.

Among kids, Bo’s and Deion’s are not uncommon. Drury wanted to be a baseball star in baseball season and a hockey star in hockey season.

He was on the right track too.

Shortly after delivering the winning pitch in the Series, he led his pee-wee level hockey team to the national championship.

At 5 feet 2 and 135 pounds, the big kid had the Midas touch.

Baseball continued to go along swimmingly until he broke his right (pitching) wrist during his junior year of high school. It didn’t exactly ruin his baseball career, but by then his hockey career had taken off like a slap shot.

As a 5-10 and solid-but-slim 170-pound freshman at Boston University last season, Drury played on the team that won the NCAA hockey championship.

Before that, he was selected by the Colorado Avalanche, formerly the Quebec Nordiques, in the third round of the 1994 NHL draft.

“I’ve been fortunate,” said Drury, named the most valuable player of the U.S. Select team that toured Japan in 1993.

“This [festival] is a great experience for me. It’s more physical than in college, and even though it’s not anywhere as intense as playing for the national championship, it’s still intense.

“The thing is, the fourth-liner here is a first-line guy on his college team, so you may not try as many things because you just can’t.”

Despite his success in hockey, Drury is still asked about the Little League World Series more than anything else.

And he doesn’t mind talking about it, saying that playing for the Little League team was one of the best experiences of his life.

“You’re there with 15 of your best friends and you get treated like it’s the major leagues--staying in hotels, traveling,” Drury said. “I mean Little Leaguers were coming up to me asking for my autograph and they were about my age. It was amazing.

“I still remember it real well. No one gave us a chance because Taiwan always won. But we thought we would win because our coach had us convinced. We weren’t nervous at all. We were more psyched up for it.”

But now Drury seems to be on his way to gold in hockey. Certainly, he has someone to show the way: His older brother, Ted, played on the 1992 and ’94 U.S. Olympic hockey teams and is a member of the Hartford Whalers.

As for his own future, Drury is flexible.

“I don’t really have a timetable,” he said. “If they call and want me to [play minor league hockey], then I’ll go. Otherwise, I’ll finish school and hopefully I can play on the national team.”

It seems a good bet. Even slimmed down, Drury appears to be worth his weight in . . . well, you know.

Olympic Festival Notes

Chris Drury’s coach here is John Harrington, coach of St. Cloud in Minnesota, who was a member of the “Miracle on Ice” U.S. hockey team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1980. . . . Drury, who starts for the North team, has two assists in two games and will play tonight.

Butch Reynolds, the world-record holder in the 400-meter dash, will not compete here, as was expected. “There was a miscommunication between Reynolds and our staff,” said Phil Henson, U.S. track and field commissioner. “He had never originally planned to be here.” Reynolds is preparing for the world championships at Goteborg, Sweden.

Mike Conley, gold medalist in the triple jump at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, will compete today, although not for team points. Conley, ranked No. 1 in the world for three consecutive years, wanted to jump at high altitude. Al Joyner, who won an Olympic gold medal in the triple jump in 1984--when Conley took a silver--will also compete today.