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Hitting against the pros: Mathews ALLSTARS remembered

Larry Chowning Southside Sentinel on June 17, 2020
The Mathews ALLSTARS 1952 baseball team was managed by baseball legend Syd Thrift from Locust Hill in Middlesex County. Thrift became general manager of the National League Pittsburgh Pirates. The team members included, front from left, Ed Caiseak, shortstop; Thrift, first base and manager; Elton Hudgins, utility player; Dale Forrest, second base; Everett Diggs, catcher; Ellis Hudgins, business manager. Back row, from left, Joe Lonnett, catcher; Horace Haywood, right field; Ed Jackson, center and left field; Warren Trusch, third base; Dick Hudgins, pitcher, and Chuck Churn, pitcher and outfield.

The November 15, 1990 “Do You Remember?” column in the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal featured a photo of the Mathews ALLSTARS semi-pro baseball team with Syd Thrift, first baseman and manager, on the front row

Thrift would go on to become general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and hold front office positions for several major league teams. In the photo, Thrift and Elton Hudgins are holding the Tidewater League 1952 championship trophy.

E. Hudgins and his wife Jane were organizers of the team. Hudgins was a utility player and helped manage the championship team. The ALLSTARS home field was at Mathews High School.

During the Korean conflict, Thrift was stationed at Fort Eustis in Newport News from 1950 to 1953 and was manager/player of the Ft. Eustis Wheels. In the championship photo, Thrift, front row second from left, shows off his Ft. Eustis (E) on his hat.

The war had increased the need for recruitment of American boys into the service. Major league baseball play...

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