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The 1964 Superior Senior League Team included L-R (Front Row): Coach Chapo Campos, Pat Alcala, John O’Donnell, Roy Lopez, Manuel Silvas Jr., Joey Vindiola, Nolbert Casillas. (Back Row): Coach Joe Vindiola, Ray Ramirez Jr., George Redondo, Don Ketron, Joe Thomas, Frank Campos, Mike Santa Cruz, Billy Joe Walker, Steve Santa Cruz, Coach Manuel Sanchez. Manuel Silvas Jr. | Submitted
Some of the team rests in the dugout between innings.
Manuel Silvas Jr. | Submitted
Little League officials from, left, Nick Besich, Ross Jennings, Henry Ketrom and state chairman of Senior Little League Estill Osborn bid goodbye to the Superior Senior Little League team as they leave for the National Senior Little League tournament.
By Daryl F. Mallett
Copper Area News
They were teenagers and it was the summer that would last forever.
It was 1964 and a group of 14 boys from Superior, Arizona, defeated San Manuel in a home game, 21-7 for the area title in the Senior Little League area championship tournament. They would then defeat Casa Grande in a home game, 8-0 for the district title.
The 14 were: Pat Alcala, Frank Campos, Nolbert Casillas, Don Ketron, Roy Lopez, John O’Donnell, Ray Ramirez Jr., George Redondo, Mike Santa Cruz, Steve Santa Cruz, Manuel Silvas, Joe Thomas, Joey Vindiola and Billie Joe Walker. The coaches were Joe Vindiola (Manager), Chapo Campos (Coach) and Manuel Sanchez Jr. (Assistant Coach).
Traveling on to Phoenix, they defeated teams from Rose Lane, Arizona and Silver City, New Mexico, before traveling to Downey, California, where they defeated three other state champions to take the divisional title.
They then traveled to Roseville, California, to defeat the team from Hayward, California, 2-1, to take the western regional title. At the time, the western regional division encompassed nine states, as well as British Columbia, Canada.
They made Arizona history that day. It was the first time an Arizona team had advanced to play in the Senior Little League Baseball World Series.
“I don’t think we realized what it meant at the time,” said Joey Vindiola, one of the players, in a phone interview from his home in Mesa. “Later, when it is put into context, it is clear. But, at the time, it was the experience of a lifetime and it’s something that you never forget.”
The team flew home to Phoenix for a week off.
“I think the entire town of Superior was waiting for us at the airport in Phoenix,” said Manuel Silvas, who went on to a successful career as a lawyer in Phoenix.
The team from Superior then traveled to Louisville, Kentucky. The first week, they had a bye. The next week, the game was broadcast live by KIKO radio in Globe/Miami, Arizona, through sponsorship by local businesses. Wade Cavanaugh, writing in theArizona Republicthat year, reports that “the night of the Louisville game, 5,000 residents of Superior were listening to radios.”
The Superior boys looked doomed when the team from Brenham, Texas, scored five runs in the first inning. But they battled back, before losing 5-3.
Superior ended up tied for third place overall. A team from Massapequa, New York, won the World Series that year, with a 4-0 win over the team from Monterrey, Mexico, which won in 1963 and 1965.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Team Manager Joe Vindiola, in a phone interview from his home near Pinetop, Arizona. “I met a lot of coaches during those days, and we were the only ones who played on a dirt lot.”
In Cavanaugh’s article, Superior businessman Jim Karam said, “Fourteen kids from a community of 5,000 were part of 84 youngsters to advance to the World Series, and represent 1,500,000 other Little League players. How much prouder can we get?”
The late Coy de Arman, Pinal County Sheriff, hosted a celebratory dinner for the team “who brought national fame to Arizona.”
“It was the best experience of my life,” said player Don Ketron, in a phone interview from his home in Sanders, Kentucky. “I live about 50 miles from where we played that game, and I point it out to my grandkids every time we go by.”
Little League baseball was founded in 1939 by Williamsport, Pennsylvania resident Carl E. Stotz. Since the first year, which had one league, with three teams in Stotz’s town and thirty boys, the organization now boasts 7,170 leagues, with over 2.5 million participants worldwide.
Arizona has had other successes since then, including:
• 1973 – A team from Tucson, Arizona, was the runner-up in the Little League World Series, losing to a team from Tainan, Chinese Taipei, 12-0. Future Major League Baseball player Ed Vosberg played on this team and would go on to become the only person to participate in the Little League World Series (Tucson, Arizona, Runner-Up, 1973), College World Series (University of Arizona, Champions, 1980) and Major League World Series (Florida Marlins, Champions, 1997).
• 1986 – A team from Tucson, Arizona, duplicated the 1973 effort, ending up as the runner-up in the Little League World Series, losing to a team from Tainan, Chinese Taipei, 12-0 again.
• 1992 – The Sunnyside team from Tucson, Arizona, which won the Junior Little League World Series.
• 2000 – The Santa Cruz Valley team from Eloy, Arizona, which won the Senior Little League Softball World Series.
• 2008 – The Pusch Ridge Girls Softball Little League team from Oro Valley, Arizona, which won the Junior Little League Softball World Series, defeating the team from Maunabo, Puerto Rico (which won in 2007 and 2009), 10-4.
• 2009 – The Mountain View Little League team from Scottsdale, Arizona, which won the Junior Little League World Series, defeating a team from Oranjestad, Aruba, 9-1.
• 2013 – The Little League Softball World Series champion is from the West Region. After defeating McLean, Va., 9-0, the Sunnyside Little League team from Tucson, Ariz., became the state’s first-ever Little League Softball World Series champion.
• 2014 – Nogales (AZ) wins 2014 Little League World Series in Intermediates.
Even with all these successes, Arizona has never had a team win the Senior Little League World Series.
And, 50 years later, the boys from Superior have never forgotten their summer of triumph.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the Dec. 30, 2009 issue of the Superior Sun. We have tried to update it to reflect the new anniversary. Fifty years is amazing. We are still very proud of these boys from Superior.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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