Elmer Gregory: More About the Valley High Star

 

                                 Elmer Gregory - Part 2 (A local pitching legend)

I want to thank Dale Taylor for allowing me to use excerpts from his book, Baseball Through Small-Town Eyes (1996), to do a second blog entry about Elmer Gregory. I played with Elmer in Senior League in Lucasville, Ohio, and on the Valley High School State Runner-up Team of 1966. At his young age, he was possibly the best pitcher from the area ever – a thought which Taylor affirms in his work. Taylor writes, “Newspaper clipping and casual conversations might lead one to believe that Gregory was the most likely local candidate of the time to leave his mark on the majors.”

For those of you unfamiliar with Elmer Gregory, he pitched for Lucasville Valley High School in the Ohio Class A Baseball Championship Game of 1966.

And, in 1965, Gregory pitched and hit in the tournament to help guide Valley to another state runner-up position. He struck out 12 and hit a three-run homer in the district win over Nelsonville. Against Unioto Ross, he struck out 10 and had three hits. Gregory pitched a three-hitter in Valley's win against Powhatan in the state semifinals. He didn't take the mound when Lucasville lost in the state championship game to Versailles in 65, but he had finished the year with a perfect record to become the “Ace” of the staff.

I look back at those days and marvel how one talent like Gregory could lift a team to such success. He seemed born to play the game. In fact, he lived next to the ball diamond that would be home to his early development. He exuded the confidence of a leader whose skills made him a natural on the diamond. Elmer played the game to win, and he achieved victory after victory through his dependable production, not by occasion flash. With him on field, you just knew that the baseball gods were smiling on your team. His playful yet devoted love of baseball surely pleased them.

Wasn't it Mark 10:15 that said: “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive this game as a little child will never enter it”? Baseball always brings out the child in you, and playing with Elmer was certainly joyful and fun.

So, once again, thanks to Dale Taylor, I will share another entry about my friend, Elmer Gregory. He is part of a wonderful Southern Ohio baseball tradition, and he is a genuine Lucasville Valley High legend. Today I bet he is dazzling the crowds up above, tossing his amazing array of pitches and hitting sizzling line drives over the pearly gates. After all, there just has to be baseball in heaven. You can bet Elmer is on the field.

So, at this time, Legion Post 23 was a powerhouse. Gregory was a member of a team that featured other local stars such as Larry Hisle, PHS grad and MLB outfielder for the Phillies, Twins, and Brewers – a two-time All-Star, Hisle was the 1977 American League (AL) RBI champion. Elmer fit right in. 

All good things eventually subside, and Elmer Gregory's baseball career did just that after being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played a couple of years and simply found the road too demanding. Knowing Elmer's jovial and friendly nature, that decision really didn't surprise me. He was the quintessential “Boy of Summer” who played the game out of love and respect. When the red tape associated with pro ball became overwhelming, it must have greatly distorted Gregory's simple boy-like passion for the game. 

 (Dale Taylor. Baseball Through Small-Town Eyes. Shawnee State University. 1996.)

 

Please remember Elmer has passed, so Taylor's comments about the age of 47 was from 1996. For my original entry (Part I), please click here: https://allthingswildlyconsidered.blogspot.com/2022/04/elmer-gregory-valley-pitcher.html

I believe Dale Taylor's baseball books are currently out-of-print. This book and Taylor's Simpler Times: Baseball Stories From a Small Town are wonderful reads about the national pastime that reveal so many great stories about local baseball players. I highly encourage you to find a copy at local libraries and discover so much about the heritage of baseball in the area.

In the case of Elmer Gregory, my "All Things ..." blog offers a space for comments on each entry. I encourage you to add to the narrative on this site. That way, future readers may share added details and continue the memory. Thank you.