Meeting Hayden Fry and MLB players with local ties

In the late 1990s, while working at the North English Record, I heard about a new book, “A High Porch Picnic,” an autobiography of Hayden Fry, the legendary University of Iowa football coach.
         “A High Porch Picnic” is a Texas expression for an exceptionally good time. Based on Fry's glorious career as one of college football's most unique coaches, that's a good way to describe his life. Ranked 10th on the all-time collegiate list for Division 1 victories, Fry successfully combined his football coaching savvy with a down-home charm to make him one of the game's most colorful personalities.
           He was also known for painting the visitor’s locker room pink at Kinnick Stadium.
Hayden co-authored the book with long-time Iowa Hawkeye sports information director George Wine. The book details Fry’s 20-year career, 1979-1998, rebuilding the Hawkeyes, his coaching philosophy and personal life. I reached out to Wine and was able to secure an interview with him. Wine grew up in North English, where he graduated from high school. 
         It just happened that on the day of our interview, Fry was at the Coralville Mall near J.C. Penney signing autographs and Wine asked if would like to meet him. Of course, I said yes. There was no need to stand in the long lines that stretched outside the mall. Wine just took me up to the front of the line where he introduced me to Fry. I shook Fry’s hand and received a free signed copy of the book. The book covers Fry’s childhood days in Odessa, Texas, his time in the Southwest Conference and his 20-year tenure at the University of Iowa.
         Wine was inducted in the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. He died on June 5, 2012 at the age of 81.
         That reminds me of a few other sports personalities from our area. Mace Brown, the son of a custodian at North English schools, enjoyed a long major league baseball career. After graduating from North English, Brown attended the University of Iowa on a track scholarship, starting in 1927. He left college to pursue professional baseball, beginning his career in 1930. He was a prominent pitcher for the Pittsburg Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. He appeared in major league baseball largely as a relief pitcher over 10 seasons. Brown posted a 76-57 record with a 3.46 ERA and 44 saves in 387 appearances (55 as a starter).
          Brown became known as one of the first full-time relief specialists in the Major Leagues. In 1938, he led the Pirates with 15 wins (all in relief), led the National League with 51 games pitched, and became the first reliever to play the All-Star Game. In 1943, with the Red Sox, Brown also led the American League in games pitched with 49.
      Brown was born May 21, 1909 in North English and died on March 24, 2002 in Greensboro, N.C.
         Following his playing career, Brown served as a coach and North Carolina based scout for the Red Sox organization from 1947-1989. He was the major league pitching coach for the 1965 Red Sox team serving on the staff of manager Billy Herman. As a spring training coach for the Red Sox, Brown worked with both the pitchers and catchers. Among the later was Carlton Fisk who credited Mace with teaching him technical and leadership skills that stayed with him throughout his career. He was 92 when he died. 
      Another area major league baseball pitcher with Iowa and Poweshiek County ties was Jackie Collum, who was born in Victor, and graduated from Newburg High School. He played for eight different teams - St. Louis Cardinals (2 times), Cincinnati Red Legs, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians - between the 1951 and 1962 seasons.. Collum served in WW2 with the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Theater of Operations where he was stationed in the Philippians. Following the war, he returned home and married Betty Bells on Feb. 28, 1948. 
        He pursued his major league dreams after going 24-2 in 1948 for Class A St. Joseph Cardinals of the West League. Primarily a reliefer, Collum also served in starting roles. Collum’s most productive season came with Cincinnati in 1955 when he recorded numbers and wins, earned run average 3.63 and complete games, 5, while pitching 134 innings. His last major league season was 1962 with stints playing for the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. 
          Following his baseball career, Collum worked in the automotive business and was owner of Grinnell Pioneer Oil. The building is located on the Southwest side at 4th and West Streets and dates back to the 1920s when it was associated with a local farmers’ cooperative. One of the services they provided was selling gasoline. The building was expanded in 1931 in a more traditional filling station as selling fuel became a more prominent part of the operation. The building attained its present appearance in 1937 when the service bays and brick veneer were added. It attained its original name, Pioneer Oil Company, throughout its time as a service station even though it became affiliated with Mobil Gas in 1936. That affiliation ended in 1962. During WW2, it became an inspection center under the wartime tire rationing program. The service station ceased operation around 2004. Later, the building was repurposed into the mobile wash and watch, an automotive detailing business. It was also home to Candyland Café. It currently is home to Maria’s Fresh Mex. I’m not sure what is located in the old filling station garage bays.
         A more recent ball player with Montezuma ties was Jamie Arendt, a 1990 Montezuma graduate and five sport athlete, who played minor league baseball while attending Central College. His brother, Brad, a 1989 Montezuma graduate, who played football at Central College has two sons, Jayson and Bryan, both who play baseball.
       Jayson plays and performs on the Savanah Banana Texas Tailgaters entertainment baseball team based in Savanah, Ga. He recently tried out for America’s Got Talent, where he made it to the second round. His younger brother, Bryan, is currently attending training camp and will suit up and play major league baseball with the Oakland Athletics this year. The brothers were raised in North Carolina and attended and played for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks.
         And another minor league ball player with Montezuma ties is Rich Grife. As a player in the mid-1990s, Grife, a right-handed pitcher, was a minor league pitcher for the Burlington Indians and Watertown Indians, as well as the Columbus Red Stixx and Sioux City Explorers. He went on serve as the head baseball coach for the Marshalltown Community College.
         If you know of others who played professional sports from Poweshiek County and the surrounding area, send me a note and I will share their stories. 
        Editor’s note: Much of the information for this column came courtesy of Wikipedia and other baseball internet sources.