It was an ordinary day. Had just received an email from our good friend who lives in Sint Maarten, Barbara Cannegieter. I found out years ago that Barbara had grown up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, about a two hour drive from my home in Lancaster. My wife, Carol, and I got to meet her for the first time when we made a visit about 10 years ago to the island of Sint Maarten for a vacation. We had sent emails back and forth for some time before we got to meet Barbara and her husband Diederick whom I had met a year earlier when I entered his liquor store in the Caribbean town of Philipsburg, Sint Maarten and enjoyed his life's story so much that I took his photo for a blog story and also got his email. In an earlier email to her after finding out she grew up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, I told of my love of baseball and having the chance to visit the home stadium of the Little League World Series while visiting with friends Jere and Just Sue who live in nearby State College, PA. During a visit to the stadium the previous winter, most gates were closed on the stadium, but we did find one gate open and I had the chance to see the stadium in person. I had played Little League baseball most of my youth, but was never good enough to be in the Little League World Series which is held in Williamsport at the end of every summer. While inside the stadium, I jumped over the waist-high fence so I could run the bases and run around the outfield. What a sight it must have been to see an old geezer in his late 60s running the 60 foot base paths and around the outfield. In my next email to Barbara I told her of our visit and the good time I had. In her following email letter she wrote: "I didn't realize you were so crazy about baseball. I love that you ran the bases at the LL stadium. I grew up within walking distance from that stadium. The highlight of our summers was the World Series. We spent every day there and saw every game...from grade school through college. It wasn't so modern in those days. We used to get autographs from the players. I remember especially the World Series where the Mexicans won the Championship. They were a team that played barefoot in Mexico and became the first foreign team to win the championship. The kid pitched a perfect game. They were such small kids and we thought they were so cute LOL." After a few visits with her and Dee during our twice-yearly trips to Sint Maarten, I wrote another email asking her about the small ball field I had found behind the town of Philipsburg. She sent me another email where she told me about the field as well as a bit more about her husband playing baseball when he was younger. "There is a ball field behind Cost-U-Less which is mainly used for cricket now. That's where Dee played ball. He played second base. His brother Manfred was a pitcher who went down in SXM history because he pitched a perfect game. We had his trophy here for some reason. Darn if I know where that is now. Baseball was very popular in the days on Sint Maarten. Dee says to tell you he loved baseball because all the girls used to watch him. LOL. So, get yourselves back down here soon so we can talk more about baseball. Love to Carol. I also found a link to another website where someone had posted about baseball in the Caribbean islands. One comment went like this: Elfleda Peterson: That post reminds me of my husband Voctr Annichiarico. He was one of Curacao's best baseball players. His team was Lucky Strike at that time in Curacao. He could steal a run faster than you could blink. When he came to St. Maarten to build the new airport he started helping the boys make a good team. He could run faster than you could blink. He won so many cups and medals he had a chest full. He died 20 years ago but he was such a great sportsman. A short time later I got another email from Barbara with a team photo and a note that read: One of St. Maarten's first baseball teams back in the day. Do you recognize anyone. Photo dates to maybe around 1960. The team ID read: Back row left to right: Diederick Cannegieter, Walter "Rat", Simon Carty, Front row left to right: Claudy Hailey, Mario Vrolijk, "Pardner", Charlie Myers. "The Tuborg Beer" team. Click to enlarge:
Another web site told me a bit more: Rose Marigot: It is a pity that SXM people don't know their history so well, specially in sport. Many extremely famous baseball players from the Dominican Republic had their origins from SXM, St. Kitts or Anguilla. Some of the biggest examples are George Bell from Cole Bay, Alfredo Griffin, Rico Carty. Baseball was a big event at one time. The field used to be packed on weekends. The park next to Cost U Less used to be the baseball park. Fun days. A few years ago I found a Little League ballpark to the north of Philipsburg. Made a stop to sit and watch a practice session and talk with the coaches. Had a great time and snapped a few photographs. I have loved baseball all my life and never miss a chance to talk about it or stop to watch a game, or even practice. My grandson has taken over for my two sons and with his tremendous batting and pitching at the high school level. He is carrying on our family's love and legacy in the sport of baseball.
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| Little League park near Philipsburg Barbara also sent me an email that contained a newsletter that featured baseball news and highlights. It was dated August 15, 1975. Interesting stories and photos. Once again...click on the image to enlarge it.   Interesting information telling about the sport of baseball on the island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. |
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