A Baseball Labor of Love

By:  John Horgan (Columnist for San Mateo County Times)

This has been a labor of love. The building of a website devoted to a bygone baseball era that has consumed countless hours. But, over time, it has become John Ward's passion. His own personal story and how the site, devoted to hundreds of Northern California teams and their thousands of players, came to be as follows...
John M. Ward is a native of San Carlos who organized semi-pro baseball teams in this peninsula town during his high school and college years. Starting as a scorekeeper for the local San Carlos Greys team, he brought the town team back at age 15 after it had not played for one season. He paid a visit to then Mayor Edward "Pop" Burton, who was the first general manager of the Greys and informed Mr. Burton, after whom the community park was later named, that he wanted the opportunity to restart the Greys and needed the old uniforms stored in his garage. Mr. Burton responded by saying, "Johnny, you're too young." John replied, "Pop, just give me a chance". With that, Pop acquiesced and the uniforms were loaded in the back of the car. John was now on a mission, contacting all of the local merchants who had sponsored the team two years earlier, each having their business name on the back on one uniform. With a few changes needing to be made, the money was raised ($100 per sponsor for the season) and the Greys were back in business. The old wool uniforms had one year left in their life and the Greys played their last season that year.
But baseball was not dead in San Carlos as John revitalized the old Interstate Utilities team that had played on south peninsula for many years going back to the post-war era under Ralph Shaw, first parks and recreation director in San Carlos. John managed the team for two seasons and played a number of out of town games. "I will never forget going to Occidental with only nine players, one of whom we picked up for just that game. He had to wear his own blue denins since we did not have an extra pair of pants to fit him." I did not have a uniform myself and could have played in that game as I was an above average high school player. My weakness at the plate was not discovered until my senior year when a lefthander, who later signed professionally, struck me out three times in one game - just couldn't handle his wicked curve ball."
The trip to Occidental was memorable for many reasons. It had a skin diamond (no grass) and right field went up hill. "I remember telling the right fielder that if the ball got past him not to chase it up hill because he would likely be throwing off balance from too high an elevation." The game was called after seven innings due to the heat and lopsided score (12-1 with hometown on short end). We all went over to the old Union Hotel to change clothes in their downstairs guest room (only one shower head), had four-course dinner and drove home through the Russian River area that night. John later brought the town team back, this time as the San Carlos Merchants and with new white cotton uniforms. He also organized an invitational tournament for two weekends in July 1959 (see program in section on tournaments). "We got knocked out in the first round and had to play an out of town game on the second Sunday," adding, " needless to say, I was very disheartened as we were supposed to win the whole thing." After many years of his intense involvement, Ward moved to San Francisco to do graduate work. The Merchants team continued to play for a few seasons, with successor teams having only one sponsor. Semi-pro baseball in San Carlos lasted through the late sixties.
"It was a great chapter in my life" which was really put on the shelf until 2006," Ward said. In 2006, while rummaging through the attic, Ward found the old scorebooks for the town teams. "It all came back, this was about my roots in hometown San Carlos," he said. "It was a wonderful place to grow up, living across the street from Central School playground, a five-minute bike ride to the city recreation center and downtown."
He decided to explore the idea of putting together a reunion of former peninsula players. With the help of Steve McPherson, a professional private investigator friend in New York who coached Barry Bonds during his little league days in San Carlos, Ward was able to contact 500 individuals who had played on peninsula teams. Some 250 of them attended a reunion at the San Mateo Elks Lodge in May of that year. "It was a very emotional event as some of the players had not seen their former teammates for 30 or 40 years. We had two guest speakers and a slide show presentation during the formal program, preceded by a rolling video during the social hour highlighting individual players and teams.
With sports as a major interest in his youth, Ward started writing stories for the San Carlos Enquirer in the seventh grade and later became summer sports editor. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism, but did not pursue a career as a newspaper reporter. Instead, he chose high school teaching as his first career and spent 10 years as an educator and coordinator of school/community service programs, mostly in the San Mateo Union High School District. In 1973, he decided to act on the idea of running for public office. I really stored the idea which was planted by an older gentleman who pulled aside one day in Burton Park and suggested that I should run for Mayor. "I frankly did not realize that my political career was actually grounded in Burton Park with all the community involvement that came with organizing baseball teams. There was never a long term plan, like thinking one day I want to serve in elective office," Ward said. Ward acknowledged his interest in politics at an early age, walking his first precinct in grammar school and working in a number of political campaigns for state and national candidates while in high school and college.
In June 1974, Ward ran for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, upsetting two term incumbent and former 49er football star Bob St. Clair. "Timing is everything in politics and the 49ers were 2-12 the previous year." Ward served on the Board of Supervisors for 12 years, twice re-elected without opposition and left office in 1986 to start his own business. He has been a self-employed consultant in real estate development and government relations for more than 20 years. Outside interests over the years included being a competitive tennis and racquet ball player, having won several local tournaments. John is a horticultural hobbyist and hosts a garden show each year at his Burlingame home to raise money for local non-profit organizations. He also has an extensive collection of Christmas decorations, including antique lights and ornaments. "This baseball website has been more fun than working, which I have to do to support these intense hobbies."