ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 21, 1993                   TAG: 9310200316
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON SPECIAL TO ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


ROANOKERS BID FAREWELL TO STADIUM

Bob Hope, a native of Cleveland, sang a special version of "Thanks for the Memories."

And 80-year-old Mel Harder pitched the last ball, just as he pitched the first ball 61 years ago. Afterward, they dug up the home plate to place it in the new stadium for the first game, and then to take it to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

It was the closing ceremony for the last game in Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and those who had attended the first game on July 31, 1931, were asked to stand.

Clyde Ware of Roanoke was there and stood proudly.

Waving to the crowd that applauded wildly for the few who stood, Ware remembered the excitement of attending that first game with his father. He remembered being overwhelmed by the crowd of 80,000. He remembered the thrill, at age 11, of seeing both of his boyhood heroes - Harder of the Indians and Bob "Lefty" Grove of the Athletics - pitch.

Ware and his wife stood again with all those who attended the 1948 World Series when the Indians played. And again, for the 1954 World Series.

"The Indians won 111 that season," he recalled. "Something no other team has ever done. Bob Feller and Bob Lemon are both in the Hall of Fame."

His brother bought the tickets for the last game - or rather last three games, since you had to attend the whole series to see the last one.

"They were sold out in Cleveland. He had to go to Dayton to find tickets," Ware said. "They set a new record, 216,000 for the three-game series."

Ware was especially pleased by the attitude of the crowd.

"It was like a big party. Everyone was friendly, helpful and pleasant. The last game, of course, was the most exciting. They gave us a cap with an emblem of the stadium as a souvenir. I have my program, and I bought all the newspapers during the time I was there. They summarize the entire history of the stadium."

Ware and his wife, Nila, also visited the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for the first time as part of their trip.

He regrets that "across the board, the children of today do not have the heroes we did. Maybe they are overwhelmed by TV. The players then weren't exposed by the media as they are today."

Ware said his father encouraged him to play baseball. He earned three letters in high school and played American Legion ball and for the Army during World War II. He played semipro baseball in the Cleveland area until he was 28.

"I've always remained a real Indian fan, even after I came to Roanoke 25 years ago, in 1967."

A native of Cleveland, Ware was transferred to Roanoke by the Norfolk and Western Railway, where he worked in the traffic and marketing department. After coming to Roanoke, he coached for the Cave Spring American Little League for 15 years.

"I wanted my boy to play, but they were short on coaches," he explained. "It isn't easy coaching the team your son is on, but they told me to do it till they could get a regular coach. It turned out being 15 years. Once my children had moved on, it was easier, and I really enjoyed it," said Ware, who still keeps score.

Now, Ware follows the baseball career of his 11-year-old grandson, Adam Mann.



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