A star in their eyes
Date published: 05 January 2011
CROWD-PLEASER.... Joe Mayers in action for Oldham Owls on Block Lane, Chadderton.
Club honours local baseball legend
A CHANCE encounter with the son of 1950s Oldham baseball player Joe Mayers led to the discovery of stacks of memorabilia.
Members of Oldham North Stars Baseball Club visited Joan Mayers, widow of Joe, after meeting their son earlier in the year.
And Joan got more than she bargained for when a full team of players arrived on her doorstep, eager for a chat and a look at pictures of Joe’s baseball days.
“Joan entertained us with stories of passionate crowds, which sometimes turned up in their thousands to cheer on their local heroes,” said Denzel Schrader, of Oldham North Stars.
“Joe played for both the Oldham Greyhounds at Watersheddings and the Oldham Owls at Block Lane, Chadderton.
“They had matches against other local and national teams — some even made up of American servicemen and Mormon missionaries — which eventually culminated in a 1955 National Championship for the Owls.”
The North Stars spent more than three hours talking baseball with the Mayers family as items including photographs, newspaper clippings and even original kit were shown to the visitors.
Schrader added: “Tony also spoke of how much his father loved the game, and after local baseball abruptly disappeared — with money being pumped into football instead — Joe would spend hours just sat in a chair, pounding his glove with a ball.”
The North Stars plan to digitally scan the memorabilia for historical documentation.
For more details, contact oldhambaseball@googlemail.com
A SMALL collection of baseball photographs taken at Watersheddings can also be found in the book ‘Watersheddings Memories’ by The Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust.
