Anthony :"Tone" Walsh, Last of the Minooka Blues, Remembers

Anthony Walsh Remembers “Quick Moves”

Last of the Blues Still Active

By Bill Mang, Scranton Sunday Times Sports Writer

Anthony “Tone” Walsh certainly hasn’t contemplated stealing any bases in a good many years. As a matter of fact, his quickest moves now come when he takes his leisurely walk to church every Saturday evening.

Walsh, an 86-year-old lifelong Minooka resident, is the last living member of the legendary Minooka Blues. The Blues played baseball some 70 years ago at old Burke’s Field in Minooka. They were a neighborhood group of 12-15 year-olds, who made a habit of beating the stuffings out of teams composed of players twice their age.

The team included four players who went on to play in the major leagues, including Steve O’Neill, who caught for and later managed the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers; Mike McNally, who was an infielder with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees; Jimmy O’Neill, who was a shortstop for the Washington Senators; and Charles Shorten, who became an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox.

Walsh, who was joined on the team by his brothers Mike and Pete, was the Blues’ second baseman.

And while the aging process has dulled the speed of the legs, his mind quickly recalls those enjoyable years from 1906-09 when he was helping the Blues win game after game.

“I was one of the youngest on the team,” Walsh recalled. “We would play Saturdays and Sundays. We’d have a lot of challenges. We played teams from up and down the valley, and there was always a large crowd to see us play.”

And much more often than not, the crowd would see the Blues win behind the pitching of either Festus Higgins or Dominick Moran and the scrappy play of the regulars.

“They got beat once in a while,” Walsh said. “It wouldn’t be possible to win them all, but I think we did go one or two seasons without losing a game.”

How could a group of youngsters win so many games against physically bigger and stronger adults?

“Well, we had a wonderful team. Several of them went to the big leagues. We were never real long- distance hitters. We were only kids playing against regular grown-up people. We were great on squeezes.”

Walsh described himself as a “fair” hitter. “I was only a tiny buck. I’d drop a bunt and beat it out to first base, and I was a good base stealer. More than half the time I’d get on, I’d score. I could steal second, third, or even home.” He admits that he wasn’t the fastest runner on the team. “I’d say some others were just as fast, if not faster, but I’d take chances.

“I had a pretty good hook slide, and sometimes they’d have the ball waiting for me but wouldn’t get me. And you could bet anytime I got on third, I’d score. If I didn’t steal home, the next player would score me with a bunt. That’s the way we played, and that’s why we had a wonderful amateur team. I don’t know if there were many more amateur teams better than us.”

“When asked what his fondest memory of playing with the Blues was, Walsh could not put his finger on a particular moment. “I just loved to play baseball.”

Walsh and his brothers did their playing and practicing after putting in a full day working in the mines. He continued to play baseball with various amateur teams around the city after the Blues broke up. He also became an outstanding swimmer, diver, and figure skater. He also was an avid hunter and fisherman.

His activities are now confined to little chores around his home at 2811 Pittston Avenue which he shares with his sister Catherine. He keeps up with the game by watching his favorite team—the New York Yankees—on television.