Kalamazoo’s “Boys of Summer’

from Southwest Michigan Spark-June 2021

Tales from the Road: Harbor Springs, Michigan

By Steve Ellis

Over the years, the Kalamazoo area has produced its share of baseball players that went on to play in the major leagues. Derek Jeter is by far the most famous and much has already been written about him. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. Mike Hart went to Portage Central and played in two games for the Texas Rangers in 1980. Mike Squires went

to Kalamazoo Central and played in 779 games for Chicago White Sox from 1975-1985. Leon Roberts was

born in Vicksburg and went to Portage Northern. He played for six teams, including the Detroit Tigers, from 1974-1984. Roberts hit 78 homers and had a lifetime batting average of .267. In 1978, while playing for the Seattle Mariners, he hit 22 homers, knocked in 92 runs and batted .301. Ron Jackson stood, 6-foot-7, weighed 225 pounds, and left quite a sports legacy at Kalamazoo Central and WMU. While at Central (1949-1951), he lead the basketball team to three straight, state championships and his fi rst three baseball teams, won 46 straight games. At WMU, while playing basketball, he scored more than 1,000 career points. During the 1953-54 season, he scored 414 points and grabbed a WMU-record 721 rebounds. In baseball, Jackson was a third-team All-American and led the 1952 team to a third-place fi nish in the College World Series. In three seasons he had averages of .314, .435 and .337 and drove in 55 runs -- in only 58 games. Jackson went on to play 196 games for the Chicago White Sox from 1954-1959 and the Boston Red Sox in 1960. He hit 17 home runs in 474 at bats with a career batting average of .245. After retirement from baseball, Jackson opened a successful insurance business in Kalamazoo. He passed away in 2008. Phil Regan was born in Otsego, played baseball for Wayland High School and then WMU. Regan went on to pitch in 551 major league games from 19601972. He played for the Tigers, Dodgers, Cubs and White Sox. He began his career as a starter, and later pitched out of the bullpen, saving games for the likes of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Koufax nicknamed Regan, the “Vulture “ for his knack for earning wins, in late game situations. Regan pitched in the 1966 World Series for the Dodgers.

Neil Berry was born in 1922 and played baseball for Kalamazoo Central and WMU. He played second base and shortstop in 442 games in the majors from 1948-1954. Berry compiled a .244 average, while playing for the Tigers, Browns, White Sox and Orioles. Neil Berry passed away in Kalamazoo in 2016. At the time, he was one of the oldest living major league baseball players. The picture of Berry, included here, is one my dad gave me about 50 years ago. It was from a series of Detroit Tiger pictures given out at a gas station in Pontiac in 1952.

W Wayne Terwilliger was born in Charlotte in 1925. He played baseball there and joined the Marines in 1943. While overseas, Corporal Terwilliger participated in the invasions of Tinian and Iwo Jima, and had his tank knocked out at Saipan. After the war, Terwilliger came to WMU and quickly became a star shortstop. He played 666 games for 5 different teams in the majors from 1949-1960. During his career he hit 22 homers and compiled a .240 average. From 1969-1971, Terwilliger coached third base for the Washington Senators under manager Ted Williams. Charley Maxwell was born in 1927 and played baseball for Lawton High School and WMU. He went on to play 1,133 games in the majors for the Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers and White Sox. Maxwell was nicknamed “Paw Paw” by Tiger announcer Van Patrick.

In 1959, while playing for the Tigers, Maxwell hit 31 home runs, knocked in 95 runs and hit .251. He was a very good left fi elder and led the all American League outfi elders in fi elding in 1957 and 1960. Maxwell was one of the best power hitters in the American League from 1956-1960 and made the All-Star team in 1956 and 1957.

Maxwell had a penchant for hitting homers on Sunday. On May 3, 1959, he hit four consecutive round trippers in a doubleheader at Briggs Stadium against the Yankees. Twelve of the 31 homers hit that year, also came on a Sunday and he was forever known as “Sunday Charlie” and the “Sabbath Smasher.”