Bettsville grad Burd talks career, duel with Sudden Sam

Sixty years later, Harry Burd remembers the outs, the conversations, the feeling. He certainly remembers the outcome. That story is there, on the wall, along with so many others. Burd stands in a room off his house in Tiffin, a kind of "man cave." There are pictures. There are newspaper clippings. There's even part of the basketball floor from the old Bettsville high school. Memorabilia from a career – and a life – that for so many years was centered around athletics. Burd is one of the best athletes to ever come out of this area. He starred in baseball and basketball at Bettsville High School, graduating in 1959. He played basketball at Tiffin University; his room showcases a picture of him and his teammates. "Do you notice who's sweating?" Burd asks, pointing to a photograph. Sure enough, the top of Burd's jersey is soaked. It's the only one that is. It's telling of the type of athlete Burd was. In games, he worked as hard as possible. The trait must have been endearing. In that photograph from Tiffin University, a smiling woman stands a few feet away. It's Rita, who became Burd's wife. There's so much you can talk about with Burd. But one game from 1960 stands out. It was played Monday, Sept. 5 in Lakeland, Fla. It was a Class D game between the Tampa Tarpons (a minor league team for the Phillies) and the Lakeland Indians, part of Cleveland's organization. Burd started for the Tarpons, making what he knew was his last start of the season. His opponent? Top Tribe pitching prospect Sam McDowell. "We knew, we read about him," Burd said. "He came from Pittsburgh, we knew that. We hadn't faced him that year. I think (the Indians) signed him the middle of the season, because we had never faced him before." McDowell was 17 years old, only a little younger than Burd. In 1960 in Lakeland, McDowell pitched 104 innings, and struck out 100 batters. McDowell, of course, gained the nickname "Sudden Sam" and was in the big leagues before the end of the following season, beginning a 15-year MLB career that included 141 wins and six All-Star appearances. There's no way Burd could have known that on that September day in 1960. But he was excited to pitch. "I felt good about that, pitching against a guy that is supposed to be so great," Burd said. Burd had no reason to lack confidence. His baseball career started early. When he was a child, Burd went to Tiffin to see a cousin play in a little league game. "We didn't have a Little League (in Bettsville); we didn't have enough kids," Burd said. "So, I told my mom, 'I think I can play that game.'" He was right. And he went about honing the craft. "I threw baseballs, or hard balls – we had hard rubber balls back then – I threw to an outlined batter's box at Bettsville High School," Burd said. "And I threw hours and hours, pitched a game in my mind, balls and strikes." Pretty soon, Burd was pitching in real games. He was part of a Pony League team where players could not be older than 12. Burd wasn't older than 12. But you couldn't tell that to some of Bettsville's Pony League opponents. "We beat Gibsonburg, who had twice as many players, it was the championship," Burd said. "We won ... we started playing in the Pony League, and we won every championship every year against Gibsonburg and a lot of the bigger schools. "The Gibsonburg team appealed it because they swore I was 14 or 15," Burd said. "I was tall and skinny. I was 140 pounds." By the time Burd was 14 he was playing varsity high school sports as a freshman at Bettsville. "I was the center on varsity (of the basketball team) against these monsters, 18-19 years old," Burd said. So I played four years varsity, and of course I pitched four years. We just didn't have many players. We had nine seniors, seven juniors, six sophomores, total. We barely had enough for a baseball team." But the Bobcats did have a baseball team. And a good one. "We were a tiny little team with some great hitters," Burd said. "Outscored our opponents by 100 runs. The Bettsville squad of the late 1950s included John and Larry Lynch, Don Mowry, Bill Steele and Ned Smith. Tom Hartsel – whose nephew Dan went on to coach basketball at Bettsville and Heidelberg and is now Columbian's athletic director – also was on the squad, as were Oscar and Gaspar Franco. "Really good hitters," Burd said. Burd threw plenty for Bettsville then. But the Bobcats had a few other pitchers. Bill Wohlgamuth, a southpaw, pitched some big games, as did Bob Burd – Harry's nephew. He was a freshman when his uncle was a senior. By his final year, Burd was throwing better than 90 MPH, and Bettsville was undefeated until losing in the regional. How good was Burd as a high schooler? He went through a stretch in his junior and senior seasons where he won 26 consecutive games. "My ERA was less than 1," Burd said. "A lot of the kids we played against, they had plenty of players, but they bailed out. They were scared. I threw hard, 92 (MPH). That's hard for a high school kid." "We had three no-hitters in a row, and I threw a perfect game," he remembered. "The article says that I struck out all 21. I don't remember. I thought there was one guy, maybe, (made contact), I think he was thrown out by the infield." Soon after, Burd was at Cleveland Stadium, trying out for the Indians. "I threw for them, and my heart wasn't in it," he said. "I lost my first game (with Bettsville), and this was a day or two later. I was tired. My arm hurt all the time anyhow. I threw for them. I didn't have my heart in it. It was cool being there, because I was an Indians fan. (Jim) 'Mudcat' Grant, (Rocky) Colavito was there. I saw him throw a line drive to third base and never hit the ground." The Indians wanted to sign Burd, but wanted him to go to college first. Burd, meanwhile, wanted to play pro ball. He took an offer from the Phillies, with a $10,000 bonus (roughly $70,000 in today's money). He was signed by the legendary scout Tony Lucadello, a Fostoria native who signed Mike Schmidt, Grant Jackson (another Fostoria product) and others. But Burd came to regret signing with Philadelphia. "It'd have been fun with the Indians, I'd have loved it," he said. "I made a big mistake with the Phillies, I really did." Burd started his pro career that summer with Johnson City in the short-season D League. He pitched in 10 games and made two starts, but didn't have a decision. In 1960, Burd moved to Tampa and went 2-2 in five starts. Then came the game in Lakeland, and the duel with McDowell. The game was covered by the local sports writer Jack Slayton. Burd may have come into the contest confident, but he also was coming off a broken hand – and was about to be short on cash. The start was going to be Burd's first in about two months due to the injury. But it also was his first start since getting into a fight a few weeks earlier. The Tarpons' manager, Moose Johnson, fined Burd $50 for the scrap. For his part, McDowell was returning from a twisted ankle. And early on neither pitcher was sharp. By the end of the third inning the game was tied at 3. After six innings, the game was tied at 4. And that's how the game stayed. Burd kept pitching. McDowell kept pitching. Eventually, McDowell was pulled for a reliever, with the score still tied at 4. Burd kept pitching, even escaping bases loaded jams in the 11th and 13th. Eventually, Burd met on the mound with his manager, Johnson, and catcher Pat Corrales. Twenty-three years later, Corrales began a near-five year stint managing the big league Indians. But on this day, he was a minor league backstop, squatting extra innings. Johnson, meanwhile, had a question for his pitcher. "You always know his uniform, he had tobacco juice on it," Burd said. "And (Johnson) said, 'Do you want me to pull you?' and I said, 'It's the end of the year. I'm staying. I'm gonna finish.'" Burd escaped the jams and threw 14 innings before the Tarpons scored twice in the top of the 15th. The Bettsville native retired Lakeland in the bottom half. The Tarpons won, 6-4. Burd's final totals: Fifteen innings, four runs allowed, three of which were earned. He allowed 15 hits, walked four and struck out 11. Even Johnson was impressed. "He gave me the game ball and he whispered, 'This is gonna go in the record books,'" Burd said. "And (Johnson) said, 'forget about that $50 fine.' "He never gave a fine back in his life," Burd said. It was the highlight of Burd's pro career. He pitched for two more seasons, with stops in Des Moines, Dothan and Bakersfield. Released by the Phillies in 1962 while rehabbing a hamstring injury, he had an opportunity to catch on with a Dodger affiliate. But now 20, and with his arm hurting (it always hurt), he opted to call it a career. It was a decision that, for years, he wished he hadn't made. "I couldn't sleep for years after that," he said. "Every spring, I couldn't sleep. I knew I could still pitch. I knew it. I came home, finished college and played basketball, and I've always regretted not playing with them." Burd returned to Ohio, getting degrees at Tiffin and Findlay. He worked in personnel, then built condos. He and Rita had two boys, Barry and Brooks, and a daughter, Kelly. He lives on Rita Lane, which he named for his wife, who died in 2005. Burd threw in 53 minor league ballgames, winning eight. He hasn't pitched in nearly 60 years. But he'll always have that day in Lakeland against Sudden Sam. "I had lost eight pounds pitching that game," he said. "Two hundred sixty-two pitches. Four hours and nine minutes. And I just had to finish it. I felt good about it, finishing that game."