Terry Cannon’s All-Time Southland Baseball All-Stars

Terry Cannon is executive director of the Baseball Reliquary, which celebrates pioneers and trailblazers, and often emphasizes cultural contributions made by ballplayers over statistical accomplishments. Therefore, his list of All-Stars includes both well-known and obscure figures. He provided information on each of his picks.

Right-handed starter, Dock Ellis: Came out of the Los Angeles inner-city to become one of the most controversial and outspoken players of the 1960s and ‘70s. Part Richard Pryor, part Eldridge Cleaver, Ellis steadfastly refused to compromise his principles: his insistence on speaking his mind without regard to consequence, and his commitment to conscience over salary, made him one of that era’s most important advocates for change in our national pastime. Oh, and in 1970, he threw a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD, the 40th anniversary of which is being celebrated this summer by counterculture types all over the country.

Left-handed starter, Ila Borders: Although her dreams of becoming the first woman to play in the major leagues went unrealized, Southern California native Borders made great strides in breaking down one of baseball’s last and most formidable barriers. Playing in what much of the baseball world perceives as a “man’s game,” Ila was the first woman to be awarded a college baseball scholarship (1993), the first woman to pitch a complete-game victory in a college game (1994), the first woman to win a men’s regular-season professional game (1998), and the first woman to play three full seasons of men’s professional baseball (1997-99 in the independent Northern League). Her talent and courage left an impression on many.

Closer, Hank Aguirre: Born in Azusa, the fun-loving Aguirre tried out for the baseball team at Mark Keppel High in Alhambra; when he didn’t make it, he tried out for a cheerleader’s spot and won it hands-down. The left-hander’s baseball talents began to sprout while playing at East Los Angeles College. In 1951, at 20, he signed with the Cleveland Indians organization, making the parent club’s roster in 1955 and beginning a productive 16-year big league career, primarily as a relief pitcher. Aguirre later started Mexican Industries, a company that employed large numbers of Mexican Americans in Detroit and that produced parts for the auto industry, resulting in a humanitarian legacy that brought him far more honors and awards than he received as a ballplayer. When he died in 1994, Aguirre was buried in the mission cemetery in San Gabriel, Calif., holding a baseball in his left hand. Inscribed on his headstone are the words Tu Espiritu Vive! (Your Spirit Lives!)

Catcher, Greg Goossen: A multi-sport star at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, Goossen was signed by the Dodgers the night he graduated from high school. While Goossen had a fairly brief major league career (five years), he made a significant impact on his time in the bigs, far in excess of what the numbers may say. He was a teammate of Jim Bouton on the Seattle Pilots, and was written about in Bouton’s “Ball Four.” He also played for Casey Stengel and the New York Mets, which resulted in one of Stengel’s all-time great quotes when he was asked to compare Goossen and Ed Kranepool. Goossen caught Nolan Ryan’s first game in the big leagues. Proving that there is life after baseball, Goossen became a boxing trainer for several world champions and was Gene Hackman’s double for about 25 years, with speaking roles in at least 20 films.

First base, Chuck Stevens: Here’s a man who has given back to the game a great deal more than he may have received from it. Stevens spent the majority of his school years in Long Beach, where he took advantage of the area’s strong sports programs. A first baseman, he had as high school or American Legion teammates future major league players Vern Stephens and Bob Lemon, among others, and played against the likes of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Jackie Robinson. Stevens played for the St. Louis Browns of the American League and the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. In 1960, Stevens became secretary of the Assn. of Professional Ball Players of America (APBPA), a dues-paying organization of former baseball professionals that supports those of its members in need. Its services provide medical and financial aid not only for former major and minor league players, but also for former umpires, scouts, trainers and other support staff. During his 38-year tenure as secretary (1960-98), Stevens was responsible for acting as the organization’s primary point man and advocate, keeping current and former baseball professionals aware of the APBPA’s programs, communicating directly with those requiring its services, and organizing high-profile events for the organization’s benefit. It’s difficult to gauge precisely how many former baseball people Stevens personally helped during his long tenure with the APBPA, but there’s no questioning the depth and sincerity of gratitude and appreciation extended to him by those he has assisted.

Second base, Jimmie Reese: Like many Jewish ballplayers of his era, James Hymie Soloman played under an assumed name, Jimmie Reese, during his baseball career. And what a career it was, spanning about 77 years from his high school days in San Pedro until his death in 1994, at 92, when he was still coaching with the Angels. How could this personification of the “baseball lifer” be left off any Southland All-Star team? At 12, he was a batboy for the PCL’s Los Angeles Angels, starred for the Oakland Oaks, was a roommate of Babe Ruth in New York, managed and coached for decades, and was renowned for his fungo-hitting skills.

Shortstop, Jackie Robinson: From his humble beginnings in Pasadena (at 10 he served as the batboy for the Pasadena Buicks semi-pro team that played its home games in Brookside Park), to his breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947, to his post-baseball career as a visible and outspoken civil rights advocate, Robinson is widely regarded as the most important professional baseball player in postwar America.

Third base, Isidro “Chilo” Herrera: A graduate of Roosevelt High, Herrera was one of the greatest players to come out of the barrio leagues of East Los Angeles. At 19, Herrera was heavily recruited by the Carmelita Chorizeros, a powerhouse semi-pro team sponsored by Carmelita Provision, a company that provides chorizo (spicy Mexican sausage) to markets. Herrera was a power-hitting third baseman for Carmelita from 1961 to 1970, with a career batting average of nearly .380, and he continued his illustrious career in the Mike Brito Leagues in East L.A. and in the professional leagues in Mexico before retiring in 1984. Herrera, who supported his family as a truck driver while playing baseball, resides in Ontario.

Outfielder, Nate Moreland: Moreland was a pitcher and outfielder at Pasadena’s John Muir High, Pasadena College and Redlands University before embarking on his professional baseball career in the Negro Leagues in the early 1940s. Less than a month after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Moreland became the first African American in the Class C Sunset League when he signed with El Centro. Moreland was similar to Dock Ellis in that he never compromised his principles. He later became a teacher and may very well have been one of the only, if not the only, professional ballplayers to join the American Communist Party.

Outfielder, Forrest “Frosty” Kennedy: Born in Los Angeles and a graduate of El Monte High, Kennedy never played in the major leagues, but was considered by many to be the Babe Ruth of the minor leagues. He hit an astounding 60 home runs for Plainview, Texas, in the Southwestern League in 1956. No one in the majors has hit .400 since Ted Williams in 1941; Kennedy hit .410 at Riverside in the Sunset League in 1949 and .410 at Plainview in 1953. Kennedy had a few chances to go up to the bigs, but he opted to stay in the minors because he was making decent money and “in the little towns where I played, the people always wanted to buy me dinner, buy me drinks. I made out real well right where I was at.”

Outfielder, Melo Almada: Born in Mexico but raised and educated in Los Angeles, Melo Almada pitched Los Angeles High to City championships in 1930 and 1931, and signed a pro contract to play for the PCL’s Seattle Indians in 1932. His powerful hitting began to attract the attention of major league teams, with the Boston Red Sox acquiring him in 1933. Almada made history that year by becoming the first Mexican to play in the major leagues. His career included time with the Red Sox (1933-37), Washington Senators (1937-38), St. Louis Cardinals (1938-39) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1939). The outfielder had a lifetime batting average of .284. He retired in 1940 and was inducted into Mexico’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Almada, and his brother Louie, who also pitched for Los Angeles High, were baseball pioneers, opening the doors to the great wave of Latino ballplayers in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Designated hitter, Pete Mitsui: Pete Mitsui was a pitcher and catcher for San Fernando High in the 1930s, and is one of the most legendary of the Japanese American ballplayers to come out of Los Angeles. Mitsui was 16 when the San Fernando Nippon formed in 1930 and he played against white players from Reseda, Chatsworth, Van Nuys and Northridge. In 1934, the team changed its name to the San Fernando Aces and joined the Japanese Athletic Union. The Aces became the most famous Japanese American team in Los Angeles, along with the San Pedro Skippers. Mitsui was the star pitcher, catcher and hitter for the Aces for a number of years, and also played on the L.A. Nippon team that barnstormed throughout California, playing the best opponents it could find, often on other ethnic teams. In 1942, after the outbreak of World War II, more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. Mitsui was sent to the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the Owens Valley, where he continued playing baseball behind barbed wire on teams and in leagues that were formed in the camp and that played on makeshift diamonds.

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