GUEST COMMENTARY: BY GODFREY ENEAS
NASSAU, Bahamas — In the 1950s when Andre Rodgers signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Giants, this changed the sporting landscape for many youngsters in Nassau at the time. Every youngster who played softball switched to baseball because they wanted to be the next Andre Rodgers. Colin “Church” Thompson and I were no exceptions.
The ‘50s were a time when sporting facilities were lacking and sporting organizations made do with what was available. For baseball, Clifford Park — or for us, what some would call the Western Fort — was our Yankee Stadium, Ebbets Field or even the Polo Grounds.
Sunday was baseball as the games started at 10:00 am and three games were played.
Because “Church” and I lived out East, our practice field was the Eastern Parade. It was on the Parade that we developed our skills, under the watchful eyes of his uncle Phillip “Box” Fountain and older players like Willis Ferguson, Freddie Higgs, Robbie Elliott and others.
“Church” came from a very religious family, so he had to engage in some shenanigans to play on Sundays.
“Church” was a pretty good softball and baseball player as a catcher/first baseman. He was in the lineup not because of his glove but for his bat.
In the Schlitz lineup, he hit cleanup or fourth behind Lorenzo “Donie” Lockhart, probably one of the best hitters in the history of Bahamian baseball.
In softball, “Church” had the distinction of facing the US softball traveling legend, the King and his Court, which was a four-man team: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, and shortstop.
The King, Eddie Feigner, was probably the best softball pitcher in the world. They were the Harlem Globetrotters of softball. However, that Sunday on Garfunkle Field, “Church” put him over the left field fence. It was a sensational moment just to watch him trot around the bases with a big smile.
“Church” had another big baseball moment when he homered to clinch the Championship for Schlitz, 50-plus years ago. Winning the Championship enabled our sponsor, the late Audley Kemp, to arrange with Schlitz in Milwaukee an all-expense paid visit to that city.
SCHLITZ treated us royally as we played a number of teams around the city as well as were given VIP treatment with the Milwaukee Brewers, the major league team.
I just highlighted two unforgettable softball and baseball events in the sporting life of a guy who I knew as a playmate, schoolmate and teammate.
May you rest in peace, Church. We will miss you.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The late Colin “Church” Thompson, who died on Friday, May 6, at the age of 78, was an excellent baseball player. His exceptional talent attracted the attention of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him to a professional baseball contract in the early 1970s when I was President of the Bahamas Baseball Association (BBA). I had previously been President of the BBA from 1964 to 1968, but I did not seek re-election because I left for London in October of 1968 for a year’s advanced training in journalism at the London Evening Standard. During my tenure as President of the BBA in the 1960s, I took all-star teams to compete in the prestigious National Baseball Congress (NBC) tournament in Wichita, Kansas, on two occasions. I also took a team to the NBC tournament in 1972 with the late Andre Rodgers as our manager.
