THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270519
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Eddie Myers, a 94-year-old retired physician who played a major role in Norfolk's baseball past, threw out the first pitch Wednesday prior to the Tides-Columbus Clippers game.
It was the second trip to Harbor Park for Myers, a lifelong Ghent resident who built old Myers Field in 1940 at the corner of Rugby and Church streets. That stadium served as home for two decades for the Norfolk Tars, a New York Yankees Class B farm club.
Myers watched future major league stars such as Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto play in his stadium before it burned down in the 1960s.
Myers was last at Harbor Park four years ago when the stadium opened, and said he's just as impressed with it today.
``It's a beautiful park with so many things we didn't have,'' he said. ``We had wooden planks for seats. This is like a big league park.''
A University of Virginia graduate, Myers served on the Virginia state boxing and wrestling commissions for 20 years. He says he's still 118 pounds, his wrestling weight at U.Va., and reads without the aid of glasses.
``Never had a pair in my life,'' he said.
Myers said he's still healthy - he rises each morning at 6 a.m. and walks without a cane. He said he hopes to throw out the first pitch on opening day at Harbor Park in 2001, when he turns 100.
``I'd love to do it,'' he said. ``If the Tides invite me, I'd love to.''
ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN': The Tides share center stage at Harbor Park with three bands Saturday, and more of the same can be expected in future years.
Hollow Bodies (3-4 p.m.), Jewel (4:30-5 p.m.) and Peter Murphy (5:30-7 p.m.) will precede the Norfolk-Toledo game on a temporary stage at second base. Expect one or more games to include concerts next season, too.
``We'd like to do a post-game concert at some point,'' Tides president Ken Young said. ``We almost had the Beach Boys (for a post-game concert). We had the date, May 26, but Cellar Door booked them for Labor Day in Virginia Beach.'' Young acknowledges ``we're a little nervous'' about how the three-band concert will go off. ``This is kind of a trial and error situation. We probably won't do everything perfectly.''
Tickets for the game and concerts cost $9, up from the usual $7 and $5.50. Game time has been moved to 8 p.m., 45 minutes later than usual.
QUOTABLE: The boos become more noticeable with each at-bat in Darryl Strawberry's three-day stay in Norfolk, which ended Wednesday. One visitor to the Columbus clubhouse was overhead telling Strawberry: ``It sounded like 60 percent were cheering and 40 percent booing.''
Strawberry nodded, and replied: ``Yep. Just like the fans in New York.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Eddie Myers, 94, built Myers Field in Norfolk in 1940.
by CNB