Before he joined AWA, Joe pitched for a team called the Icemen, who actually faced AWA in a tournament game in 1977. AWA won the game 11-8, and the key blow was a late-inning home run by Wesley Yamaguchi. Just prior to pitching to Wes, Joe turned and motioned for his outfielders not to play so deep, which everyone now believes was the last time Joe ever told an outfielder to "move in".

26 runs, 5th inning, EA Sports (2000)
18 runs, 2nd inning, Big Sticks (1999)
16 runs, 4th inning, The Other Bleacher Bums (1999)
15 runs, 2nd inning, Bay Area Jaguars (1975)
15 runs, 2nd inning, Abel and Logan (1992)
15 runs, 5th inning, Nortel (1997)
14 runs, 5th inning, Bit of England (1983)
14 runs, 3rd inning, Sierra Semiconductor (1992)
14 runs, 2nd inning, Second Wind (1997)
13 runs, 6th inning, Property Professionals (1983)
13 runs, 3rd inning, Second Wind (1994)

And in Neil's only at bat against AWA, he hit a home run!

We are not sympathetic.

Tom Sukup holds the ball that was hit #10,000 in AWA history.

After being called out on strikes, the mercurial Dave Jackson..........well, he didn't slug the umpire with his bat, although this picture indicates his true intentions were otherwise.

Dave's fiery temperment didn't mix well with umpires, and although he was never ejected from a game, he easily led the team in umpire warnings. There wasn't a close call against the team that Dave couldn't rail about, and AWA's embattled first sacker wouldn't let up until the offensive umpire had heard enough. Not that all umpires were horrible, according to Dave. Just most of them. The rest were idiots.

The final tally for all those trips to Paradise was 15 victories, 31 defeats, and no hardware, but tons of fun. The Tahoe weekend was not one to be missed and the guys always looked forward to the next trip.

It was bad enough that the team had to play this tournament without its best players. But with a lineup that did not include stars Brian Christie, Greg Brown, Bruce Christie, Al Brown, Tom Sukup, or Steve Barrett, the team actually made it to a third game of the day, although not without casualties. Outfielder Chuck Ashton had thrown out his arm, Fellow outfielder Joe Phillips pulled both quadriceps severely enough that he had to be replaced in the outfield by extra hitter Sam Zender, who played extra hitter for good reason. He didn't even own a glove! Mike Applegate, Joe Sammut, and Earl Yagi had pulled hamstrings earlier in the day. Ken Morse's ailing achilles tendon was bothering him. And the team had no reserves.

As a team AWA could barely run the bases, let alone cover any ground defensively, but the team trailed its opponent, Sullen Beauty Supply, by only 11-8 entering the seventh inning. That's when Neil Christie opened the inning with a double to left. On his slide into second, however, Neil tore his hamstring quite severely. He was in tremendous pain and could barely stand, but with no one in reserve and the team facing a forfeit, Neil refused to come out. The game played on.

Mark Christie singled to left and Neil broke from second, fell down in pain, and crawled back to the base. Dave Jackson followed with another hit and Neil hopped as best he could into third, barely beating the throw. Sam's drive to left was deep enough for neil to hobble home safely.

Eventually AWA tied the game 11-11 in the inning, and heading into the bottom of the frame, guys were playing out of position all over the place. Neil flopped like an invalid behind home plate. Sam, borrowed glove in tow, took up his position in right field. Chuck, bad arm be damned, continued to play left center. Joe moved to third to make room for Neil behind the plate, forcing Mike and his bum leg over to second. Ken's sore heel got him at first, driving Dave and his good wheels out to right center. Only Mark in left, Gary Matsushita at shortstop, and Earl on the mound was in his proper position. Incredibly, Sullen Beauty Supply failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, and the game moved into extra innings.

Neil came up again in the eighth, and although he could barely walk, the wounded player insisted on batting rather than take the automatic out. Neil ripped a hit to center, dragging his leg behind him as he struggled to reach base safely. He made it. Fortunately, the inning ended with the next hitter. And again the defense kept Sullen from scoring in the bottom of the inning. On to the ninth.

Putting together a string of hits, AWA broke the tie with a single run, and took the one-run lead into the bottom of the inning. But Sullen put runners at first and third with only one out. The next hitter drilled a shot to into left center field. The runner from third trotted home while the runner from first, knowing that Chuck's arm was dead, also tried to score. Gary raced out to take Chuck's weak throw, wheeled, and fired a perfect strike to Neil, who was practically lying prone next to home plate. The runner made a furious slide, and Neil slapped on the tag, but it was an eyelash too late. The game was over. The Sullen players celebrated their dramatic victory while the players from AWA found relief that their day was finally over.

The tournament director praised AWA's effort, letting us know that he thought we played well, despite a little adversity.