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' §p0rtWa terloo Page " - Waterloo Chronicle, Wetland". Atit f, 1979 By Rick Campbell Chtoniclo Sports Editor It IS time for Waterloo baseball fans to stand up and be counted Judging from attendance at Tiger games this year. that shouldn't take but a few seconds Because fan support for this city's premier sports team can be summed up in one word Brutal But why" Where are those familiar faces that dotted Waterloo Park to watch the Expos every Saturday in the mid- 1970's praying that the City would get a senior team so they could witch the kids blossom Where are the people who gathered around in groups at the arenas in winter a couple of years back saying "Hey. trya hear senior baseball's back in town this summer Fantastic eh"" And where are the people. who refused to go watch Waterloo kids play for Kitchener Panthers a couple of years ago. because Panthers were a Kitchener team and not from "their" city" Where are they now" "I quite honestly don't have the answer for that." said Tiger general manager Merle iChampi Glass'. ford last Friday "I just can't figure it out .. Glassford. the instrumental force behind bringing senior ball back to Waterloo after a quarterrentury absence, cannot help but be disappointed at the tur- nouts which have averaged at best I25 per game at Bechtel Park, without a doubt one of the finest fatulr ties in the lnterCounty Major Baseball League “Attendance is down at every park in the league." sand the Tiger GM “Some people say our park is too far out of town. but the other teams arecentrally located and that doesn't help them Then people here said that the road construction (Bridge Street) kept people away. but that's all fixed now and where are the fans? Certainly not at the park Still others say Wednesday is a bad night for home games _ then we When the bases on loaded with only one out you have to be carelul on the basepaths. This Parkway Pinto player listens attentively to his third-base coach who instructs him on when to run home. Pinto: lost the junior T-bell B division final 30-27 to the Cardinals last week. Complete results on page 16. Wanted: Baseball fans,!!!!! . ON A GROUND BALL? "Other teams in the league are trying the same sort of deals. but if the minor gimmicks don't work, where have beautiful weather for a Sunday afternoon game against the first-place team tWindsor) and about 75 people turn out, "One thing's for sure, it can't be the ticket prices - at SI 50 for adults we've got the lowest prices in the league " f Tigers have gone the promotion mute a la Toronto Blue Jays in order to attract fans They have excellent lucky number. prizes every game, including Blue Jay tickets. have staged a Kid's Night. plan a Family night with prizes for the whole family and have even distributed flyers advertising the club do you go from there?" said Glasslord "You can't have Kid's night every night or the novelty wears off. And even when we did have Kid's night. after expen- ses for the umpires our gate was $271. which isn't a helluva lot of money .. "It's been cold almost every night game we've had." said Glassford. "But that's still no excuse for the Windsor (Sunday) game And the first time Kitchener was here this year we had a paid attendan- ce of 74. which is a pretty sad commentary on the sup- port the Twin Cities give their clubs .. Perhaps the biggest factor militating against fan support this year is the weather. which lnterfounty Major commissioner Reub Halpern and Glassford both agree is the worst in memory to watch ball games in Glassford indicated that it would take an average attendance of 300 at Tiger games to meet expenses such as umpires. equipment and mileage to players, But he said the financial suffering pales in com- parison to the effect empty stands have on club Comment Pleasing GM Dismissing some remarks by local critics that Tigers have gone unnecessarily searching for out-ol-town ta- lent at the expense of local products, Glassford refutes that claim by insisting that the foundation for the suc- cess of the franchise is based on the excellent minor system in this city. “We've been very fortuna- te to have such great coach- ing both years with Gary (Jeffries), Alf (Payne) and Leo tDeRocheri and no, you cannot overlook the valua- ble contribution made by the A much-improved club statistically this year, Tigers have a four-game win streak to their credit and are perched in second place behind Windsor Chiefs with a 9-8 record despite dropping their last two en- counters. By Rick Campbell older players such as the Chronicle Spetrtn Editor (Dave and Gary) Dixes. But While the off-field picture this club is a total team ef- is somewhat pessimistic for fort that starts right at the Waterloo Tigers, general midget level. We've got manager Merle (Champ) great coaching at the lower Glassford is bubbling with levels in Waterloo with guys enthusiasm about the club’s like (Paul) Puncher and on-field performance. Jerry Scharlach who have “It's going great, we've helped us develop many fine gone much farther than I ex- ballplayers locally. And we pected by this point," said work together with them Glasslord Friday when (other coaches) to help asked to summarize Tigers build a foundation for our year-and-a-half return to system." “It's going great, we've gone much farther than I ex- pected by this point," said Glassford Friday when asked to summarize Tigers year-and-a-half return to senior baseball. Tigers 1doking sharp _ after seasoh and half . return to Inter-County "I'rn exceptionally pleased with the pitching both this year and last. At the beginning last year I knew that Scott (Bailey) was good but could he pitch major? He's more than pro- ven that. And this year Rick (Williams) has been a great plus for us. Mickey (Colli- som is proving he is right at home in this league too, much the same way Larry (Crookel and Mark Gryba did late last year, A team's fortunes are often based on its pitching and our guys have removed any doubt in that area" Glassford indicated the emergence of Tigers pitch- ing staff as bona-fide senior calibre has been the most pleasant surprise for the club. Because Waterloo has ex- hibited awesome power in at least a handful of games this Chronicle Sports Line 886-2830 _ To use an earlier expression - it's a sad commentary that people often don't realize what a really good thing they have - until they don't have it anymore Glassford could be right With so many people Sit» ting in the laps of luxury. most have probably forgot- lei what it is like to enjoy the simple pleasure of fork- ing out a buce-and-ahaH to watch the entertaining boys of summer, “Back then baseball was THE entertainment In town during the summer You didn't have things like TV to watch or so many bars to go to And now people have more money for cottages and weekend excur- sions and things like that." "After we won four in a row back there the guys were saying that would bring the fans out But It didn't We're a much improved ball club over last year yet we can't even get as many fans as we had then. You tell me" Possibly the most realistic answer as to why the fans are not showing up was offered by Glassford when discussing the heydays of baseball in this town in the late 1940's and early 1950's This year, they have had a much better start, sport a classy pitching staff and display scintillating offen- ce nearly every outing, How are they supposed to feel when no one shows up? "The guys told me after the kiddies night game that whether it's kids or whatever in the stands it makes a helluva lot of difference - it really gives them an added spirit to perform," said Glassford. “Take last night m Stratford (Thursday) There was the usual group of Waterloo fans who hooped it up for us all night and kept us in the game The players really ap- preciate that. In their inaugural season last year. Tigers won seven of their last eight games to grab a share of the last playoff spot, which they lost to St. Thomas in a sudden-death contest, morale year, and has been winning as a result, the Tiger GM admitted he has changed some of his goals for the club this campaign. “I'd say it's safe to say we anticipate a solid second place finish. And last year I'd just shrug my shoulders after a loss but now I hate to lose any game, like the one last night (Thursday) in Stratford. This club can beat any club on any given ni and has. Of course we s have our sights set on ma - ing the playoffs but if we get some breaks and can stay healthy we should make a great challenge for the championship." Tigers are .500 against teams in the Western Divi- sion, but have lost two of three against Windsor and Stratford, their main com- petition. F "We have to beat our divi- sion foes, because it is ex- tremely tough to make up games against them if we dont" said Glassford. "But none of the teams can be counted out, this is a very competitive league this year, "Actually Windsor was my main worry at thedtart of the season but I'm not afraid of them now. We'll be there at the end, as long as our pitching holds up '.