Catherine L Wirsing andf Fred Prince: 2 Notable Euclid Deaths

My friend John Wirsing lost his mother this past week, Catherine L. Wirsing. I first met "Wheels" (John's loving nickname for his mother) around 1966. Mrs. Wirsing was a wonderful person, with a keen memory and sharp mind right to the end of her life (96 years). Her husband Arthur died almost 50 years ago, yet Mrs. Wirsing made a good life for herself and her 5 children despite this huge loss. They were wonderful parents, as can be discerned from the quality of their children--Tom, Mary, Jane, Donna, and John. Catherine Wirsing was the grandmother of 22 and great grandmother of 35. One of her granddaughters, Katie, babysat for my children on occasion. Catherine Wirsing will be missed by her friends and family. As they say in Ireland, "The like of her will not be seen again!"

In today's Plain Dealer is the obituary of another important person from Euclid, Ohio: Fred J. Prince. I didn't know Mr. Prince, but I was a classmate of his son Tom at St. Joseph High School and an admirer of his son Ken while at St. Joe's. It is my understanding that Tom Prince is a scientist at Cal Tech. While at St. Joe's from 1962 to 1966, he was one of the brightest academic and athletic stars. If I remember correctly, Tom was a straight A student for his high school career--and he absolutely aced the SAT's. As a runner, he was among the fastest 440 yard dashers of his high school era. The same was true for his older brother Ken. I once saw a 220 yard dash on St. Joe's cinder track where Ken Prince ran the race in 21.9 seconds--and lost! He lost by a nose to Clinton Jones, an outstanding athlete from Cathedral Latin. Mr Fred J. Prince and his wife Diana must have been excellent parents to raise the likes of Tom and Ken.

More on Tony Severino, Former Euclid Resident, Athlete, Football Coach

I was able to locate a photo of Tony Severino, and he looks much like he did when he played baseball 50 years ago at Willow Playground/Mudville. Tony grew up on Briardale Avenue, just off E. 266 Street in Euclid, Ohio. I think his family might have emigrated from Italy. He had an older sister, who seemed a very traditional Italian, and a father who came to all his baseball games. Tony, his sister, and his brother Tom attended St. William's Grade School. He was a great baseball player on the sandlots of Euclid. After St. William's, Tony played football for Cathedral Latin High School in Cleveland. Then he won a football scholarship to Kansas State University. Since 1983 he has been the football coach for Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit school in Kansas City, Missouri (similar, I would guess, to St. Ignatius in Cleveland or St. Xavier in Cincinnati). His high school teams have won more than 200 games and 7 state championships during his career. He must be one of the greatest high school football coaches in Missouri history.

Mudville/Willow Playground --Euclid, Ohio (2)

I'll never remember all the guys who played ball--for hours a day, almost every day of the summer-- at Mudville/Willow Playground. I remember running down there early in the morning. Running home for lunch, then back to Mudville to play more ball. A short supper break, then back to Mudville to play baseball until dark. As I think about it, it doesn't seem possible. But what is certainly true is that we spent an incredible number of hours playing ball at Willow Playground. We became very at ease around baseballs, gloves, bats. Very skilled, very adept, very natural players.

More Players.

One of the greatest hitters I remember was Tony Severino, from Briardale Avenue. He once hit a ball over the fence, across Willow Drive, and on to the roof of one of the F&S homes. Tony could hit like this from a very young age. I thought sure he would become a great major league player. He did make a career in sports. After Cathedral Latin High School, Tony played football for Kansas State University. I believe he became a great football coach for a Jesuit Catholic high school in the Kansas City area. [I've found out some things about Tony: he is a teacher and football coach at Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit prep school in Kansas City, Mo. Tony has held that position since 1983 and is the winningest coach in school history. His teams have won many state championships (7, I think). As of 2007, his winning percentage was around 80%. He is in the Missouri Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2000 Tony was named USA Today's coach of the year. Pretty good career for a Euclid boy!].

There was another group of guys from Briardale Avenue: John George, Fred George, Frank Calabro Jr. (and his Dad at times), the Lynch brothers (Danny, Pat, John, et al.), and so many more.

Of course my brother Denny ("Little Cogs") was always part of the scene, as was Buster Zylowski and Kenny Zylowski. There were the Andrulis boys, the Paul and Bernard Bednar, even Mike Sikora at times (Mike was a bit older than we were). This neighborhood was a paradise for kids!

Joy in Mudville (Willow Playground in Euclid, Ohio)

"There is no joy in Mudville, Might Casey has struck out." So goes the famous poem "Casey at the Bat." But I am here to tell you that there was plenty of joy in Mudville when I was a kid. "Mudville" is what we called our playground, a small undeveloped area, perhaps 15 acres, bounded on the west by E. 272nd Street, and on all other sides by the semi-circular Willow Drive. To the west was the ticky-tacky bungalow homes built by Marvin Helf (homes that cost $11,900 in 1951 when my family moved in); and to the east, north, and south, by brick ranches, the "F & S Homes." The only thing I can figure is that they couldn't decide out how to develop this little semi-circle of land, and thought they would be "magnanimous" and donate it to the city of Euclid. We never ever heard any official name for this piece of land, and so we (and everyone!) called it Mudville--for the astonishing quantities of mud that covered part of the area.

I would guess that from about 1955, when I was 7 years old, until my mid teens, I spent most of my life at Mudville playing baseball. Much of the time the baseball involved pick-up games, and for 3 years I played organized Midget League baseball. Later, I played softball with the Farringdon Avenue men's team--an incredible spirited kind of ball.

I played with some great players in Mudville and learned to play a very high quality, very competitive (and at times ferocious) brand of baseball. Some of the great athletes I remember include the following: Tony Severino (for 25 years the head football coach at Rockhurst High School, the Jesuit Prep School in Kansas City; Rockhurst was state champs in football last year). Tony was the best young hitter I had ever seen. As a 12 year old, he could hit the ball over the fence--sometimes hitting the roofs of homes on Willow Drive. Tony was a dark-skinned, tall Italian. I'm pretty sure that Italian was spoken at his home on Briardale Avenue. Tony went to Cathedral Latin High School from St. William's and starred in many sports. He eventually got a football scholarship to Kansas State University, and afterwards made a career as a high school teacher and coach. I remember Tony vividly, admired his athletic skill tremendously.
[more coming very soon]