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Hey Mr. Williams, about a month ago in a thread about the new Willie Mays biography you brought up a part of the book where they discussed the barnstorming "Willie Mays All Star Team of 1955 and 1956 that some would argue might have been the greatest team ever. I countered with a major league team that Connie Mack took to Japan in 1934 as being possibly the greatest team ever formed. You then mentioned the concidence that in 1983 you had met team member Lefty Gomez as well as a Japanese gentleman who played against that great team. So now I finally got started reading the Willie Mays biography and I get to part about his traveling All Stars on pages 303 and 304. My part of the concidence is that the great allstar team that you mentioned finally lost after 49 consecutive wins in two years in where else but Victoria, TX, which is my home town!

It's strange how you could have ties to an obscure team in the 1930's that I brought up and I could have ties to another from the 1950's that you brought up out of the blue.

The strange thing is, I know quite a bit about the local baseball history but have never heard of this team passing through. The book even comments that Willie hit a homer in Victoria in 1955 but was injured and sat out the game in 1956 leading to the loss. Going to try to research these games at our local library. Victoria was a town of about 25000 people at that time so it just shows how much the barnstorming teams traveled.
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Three Bagger;

Thank you. It only indicates that both Willie
and I are "old". In the book the Willie Mays barnstorming team traveled by car from Victoria to El Paso. This was a report in the El Paso, newspaper

Publication: El Paso Times Date: 11/04/1955
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Major Loop All-Stars Beat Service Nine
"Big hits by the batters and some fine hurling by Connie Johnson of the Chicago White Sox gained the touring major league all-stars at 6-2 victory
over the El Paso Service all-stars before some 2,500 fans at Dudley Field Thursday afternoon. Homerun clouts by Hank Thompson of the Giants, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves and Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs featured the hitting for the visiting stars, who touched four El Paso hurlers for 11 hits. Johnson went the distance and scattered eight hits – three in the seventh inning when the locals got their first run – and struck out 12 batters – in a fine demonstration of control.
Bob Williams, Ft. Bliss first-baseman, provided the big clout for the local team with a solo homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mightiest clout of the game was Banks’ solo belt in the fifth inning. The ball sailed high over the second-deck advertising sign in left filed for one of the longest balls ever hit out of the park.
_________________________

As a footnote, In our 1996 Goodwill Series with Japan. The Angels asked, if I would "throw out"
the 1st ball at the Yankees/Angles game at Anaheim Stadium. I refuse and mentioned that I would prefer that Mr. H. Makino the President of Japan HS Baseball Federation have this great opportunity.

He was the first Japanese person to have this honor
and it was filmed to 40 million Japanese people.

"Baseball teaches life"and history.

Bob

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