Baseball stats are the stuff of legends. No one knew that better than history teacher and coach Allen Beebe. He maintained volumes of statistics documenting Loomis and Loomis Chaffee baseball teams and players. It’s possible that his coaches in the Delmarva Semi-Pro leagues of the late 1940s and early 1950s did the same; in 2000 Al was inducted into the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame as “a hard throwing right-handed pitcher.” With a wry smile and a quiet chuckle, Al delighted in recounting the day he struck out a future U.S. president while working the mound for the Princeton Tigers. Yale’s George H.W. Bush was no match for Al’s pitching during that Ivy League matchup. 

Al joined the Loomis faculty in 1955 and began coaching varsity baseball as Ralph Erickson’s assistant in the mid-1960s. If Al had kept his own coaching stats, his career totals would be impressive: 16 years as head baseball coach at Loomis and Loomis Chaffee, 1969–1985; five New England Championships; five future major leaguers coached as high schoolers; one Loomis Chaffee team — 1977 — considered by some major league scouts to be the best in New England. Sam “Stevie” Stevenson, a colleague and Al’s best friend, described his coaching philosophy: “Al’s teams … didn’t necessarily think that they were better players, but they knew, because he taught them, that they could rise above themselves and win. Al’s other outstanding characteristic was that … he could provide the answer that you didn’t expect.” 

At Al’s retirement dinner in 1997, Stevie celebrated Al’s sometimes unorthodox coaching with a story about a legendary first inning. “I recall once when he was coaching varsity baseball, and we arrived rather late at Taft for a baseball game in 1982 … . The sun was already past the zenith and on its way down. After greeting [the opposing coach], Al said, ‘We won’t take batting practice; just give us a few minutes to loosen up.’ In less than 15 minutes the … first batter was about to step to the plate. Al called him over and said one word: ‘Bunt.’ He did, and the pitcher misplayed the ball, allowing the Loomis batter to reach first. Then Al called the second batter over and said, ‘Bunt.’ If something was working, Al saw no reason to change it. The second batter reached first base safely when the first baseman fumbled a low throw from the pitcher, who fielded the second bunt.

 

“After four straight batters had bunted successfully, or perhaps even before, everyone knew what the Loomis batters were going to do at the plate. … At the end of the inning, Loomis had scored seven runs without bunting a ball farther than 40 feet.” 

Despite a 10-0 lead at one point, Taft tied the score at 10-10 in the seventh inning before Loomis eventually pulled out a 14-10 win. Faculty members Scott MacClintic ’82, the pitcher who earned the win for Loomis Chaffee that day and later coached LC baseball; and Donnie McKillop, the current varsity baseball coach, recently sat down with the 1982 season scorebook, donated by Al to the Archives many years ago. Scott and Donnie offered commentary on what Scott referred to as “The Game.” Excerpts from their conversation can be read below the scorebook pages.

Top of First Inning

Loomis Chaffee scores seven runs. Not one scores on a ball hit out of the infield. The bunt sign is on for the first two batters, each reaching on an error. Even the third and fourth batters are asked to bunt. “If you execute the bunt well,” says Scott, “and even if the defense does a good job, the likelihood of advancing one or more runners is high. The bunt strategy was ... team baseball.” A lost art, too, says Scott. As Donnie McKillops says, having the third and fourth batters — in those spots because of their power-hitting capabilities — bunting probably had those at the game wondering, “Oh, my, how far will Beebe go with this?” 7-0 LC

Top of Third Inning

Loomis scores three more. The errors are piling up for Taft. Loomis steals a couple of bases. “Al coached from the bench,” remembers Scott, “and his signs were not sophisticated. For the steal, he’d yell to the base runner, ‘Get a good jump,’ after giving the steal sign.” 10-0 LC

Bottom of Fourth Inning

Taft gets on the board with three runs. MacClintic has now moved from first base to the mound. “Not a lot of subs, but we had a lot of players switching positions,” remembers Scott. “Some games, the catcher and I would switch positions, handing over catcher’s gear right there on the mound. ... There was a sense of community. We shared bats and used each other’s equipment.” 10-3 LC

Bottom of the Seventh Inning

Taft comes all the way back, tying the score with seven runs on only three hits, aided by six walks. “The seventh inning must have been harrowing for Al and the Pelicans,” Donnie says. “Taft must have been thinking, ‘These boys must have thought the game was over.’” Harrowing, too, for MacClintic: “I clocked seven walks that game! When you are pitching and get in this rut, you believe you can’t throw a strike. As a coach, you’re thinking, ‘How do you help a pitcher get out of this?’” Game tied 10-10 

Top of the Eighth Inning

The Pelicans do not let the bottom of the seventh deflate them, scoring twice to regain the lead. “The momentum is crazy, swinging back and forth,” says Donnie. “How was Al standing on two feet at the end of the game?” 12-10 LC.

Top of the Ninth Inning

The Pelicans build more of a cushion, adding two more runs, and then shut down Taft in the bottom of the ninth.

Final Score: 14-10 LC.