The Inspirational Coach Eulis Hubbs

* Re “Coach Hangs Tough at Plate,” May 4:

The story of Victor Barrios, a paraplegic wheelchair-bound baseball coach winning his discrimination claim against the California Interscholastic Federation, is heartwarming though not unique.

In 1955, Eulis Hubbs, a victim of adult polio, coached the Colton Little League All Star team from his wheelchair to a berth in the finals of the Little League World Series.

For several years before and many years thereafter, Hubbs was well-known in the baseball coaching ranks of the Inland Empire.

I recall Hubbs hitting baseballs to his team, catching balls tossed from the outfield, all the while ignoring the limitations of his condition.

Son Ken Hubbs, the 1962 National League Rookie of the Year, was one of the first players to play major league baseball after participating in the Little League World Series.

Ken learned to play baseball from a father confined to a wheelchair. It was never a problem and never an issue. A lesson for all of us: The boundaries of a physical handicap are often imposed by the ignorant and rightfully ignored by the well-informed.

ROBERT S. PREECE

Dallas, Texas