Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 17, 1993 TAG: 9306170412
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-18 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY WALKER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gwaltney shot marbles with anybody, anywhere - in the dirt field behind Broad Street School, under the pear tree in his backyard. Sometimes four or five kids would shoot for 200 or 300 marbles at a time. Invariably some would get lost in the dirt, and many remain there to this day.
But occasionally some turn up. A woman who lives in a house formerly occupied by Gwaltney's family has found enough marbles to fill up a couple of jars, Gwaltney said.
Gwaltney will relive his boyhood when he goes to the National Marbles Tournament, to be held Sunday through June24 in New Jersey.
It was there, 41 years ago, that Gwaltney, then known as Rusty, reached his life's peak of glory. For Gwaltney wasn't just a kid who liked shooting marbles - he was the National Marbles Champion of 1952.
It's a story that Gwaltney enjoys telling. Relaxing behind his desk at the Salem Police Department, where he is deputy chief, he described his early exploits in a deep voice.
Born in Roanoke in 1939, Gwaltney grew up in Salem. His father died before he was born; his mother, Florence G. Boggess, worked as a cashier.
Marbles were popular in Gwaltney's neighborhood. "Marbles, in the past, were found more in lower-income areas because of lack of other things to do," he said.
At age 4 or 5, Gwaltney learned to shoot from his older brother, Charlie. Rusty quickly developed a passion for the game, shooting until his fingers bled from putting his knuckles to the ground.
Marbles was played in a 10-foot ring, etched in the dirt with a 5-foot piece of twine and two nails. The players placed their marbles in the center.
Who went first was determined by who shot a marble closest to a line, a practice known as "lagging." A player kept shooting as long as he knocked marbles out of the ring and kept his shooter inside the ring. The player kept whatever marbles he knocked out.
At first, Gwaltney bought marbles at Tarpley's - 20 for a nickel. But, he became so proficient at winning other boys' marbles - eventually amassing perhaps 5,000 - that he became a dealer himself.
He used his marble earnings to buy tickets to the Salem Theatre (12 cents) or the Colonial Theatre (14 cents).
The Salem Recreation Department sponsored marble tournaments, and in 1948, 8-year-old Rusty won the Academy Street School championship, while his brother Charlie, 13, won at Broad Street School. Charlie beat Rusty in the semifinals at Municipal Field and went on to become town champ.
"When he beat me, he made me want to get better," Gwaltney said. The next year, Rusty Gwaltney took the town crown.
In 1952, the Salem Times-Register and the Recreation Department sponsored Gwaltney's trip to the National Championship in Asbury Park, N.J. Sixty kids were entered in the round-robin tournament. Gwaltney, then 12, advanced to the finals where he met a 14-year-old from Beckley, W.Va.
Tournament games are played one-on-one. Thirteen marbles are placed in the center, and the first player to knock out seven wins. The final consisted of a best-of-21 series.
Gwaltney, nervous under the pressure, lost the first four games, but recovered to win 11 games to the West Virginian's 6. He won a crown and a trophy.
"When I came back here, the citizens of Salem were absolutely ridiculous," he recalled. He was given a rapturous reception at Municipal Field. Salem merchants heaped prizes on him; the two-page list of awards included ice cream, an oil portrait, a trophy and two chickens.
After this apotheosis, Gwaltney went on to live the life of an ordinary mortal. He graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in 1959; served in the Navy; sang briefly in a rock 'n' roll band; and became a policeman in 1962.
He now lives in Dublin with his wife, Rita, and has a grown son, Rusty Gwaltney, and daughter, Renee Moore.
But his childhood passion still holds a special place in his heart. He's looking forward to the 70th national tournament, where he's supposed to do some refereeing, be introduced as a former champion, and have his name affixed to the wall at the new Marble Hall of Fame and Museum.
Marbles are enjoying a resurgence, according to tournament director Gene Mason. But in Salem, attempts to revive interest in marbling by Gwaltney, the city schools and the recreation department have had little success.
"In today's society, there's so much more for kids to do," Gwaltney said.
by CNB