CORNING GLASS BALL TEAM - Historical Albion Michigan

By way of information, the American Legion is now handling the purchase of bricks for the new Veteran’s Memorial Stage at Riverside Cemetery. Contact them for further information if you would like the name of your family’s veteran(s) included. It was a wonderful ceremony on Memorial Day this year which included the Albion High School band playing the service hymns as each flag was raised. I hope this is a tradition that can be continued in years to come.

Summer is here, and the Albion Recreation Department under the direction of Rod Ferguson is sponsoring numerous activities for all ages at our city parks and other facilities. Take advantage of the special millage tax dollars we are paying to provide for this service here in Albion, and participate.

One historically popular sport in Albion, especially in the 1950s was softball. Various leagues and teams once filled Albion parks during the summer months. Area factories and merchants sponsored numerous ball teams which played not only locally, but across Southern Michigan. Ketchum Field especially was the site of much competition. One year even the State softball championship was held there.

One prominent fast pitch softball team that won several city championships during its heyday was the Corning Glass team of the 1950s. Corning of course operated on a swing shift. But if you were on the softball team you worked a regular consistent day shift so you could represent the company in the evenings playing softball. It was one of the “perks” as a result of being on the team. One place the team played at when they traveled was at Jackson Prison against the prisoner team.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the 1954-55 Corning Glass softball team, which that year won the city championship. The photo was taken at Ketchum Field. From left to right, front row: Joe Romanchuk (LF), Guy English, Doran Quigg, Dominic Paniccia (Catcher), Mike Cvitkovic; Bat boy in front Bill Sharrar. He is wearing a button that says “Albion City Champs Corning Glass 1954-55.” Back row: Mike Basha, Dale McDonald (FB), Morrie Lockland, Junior Morgan (Pitcher), Roy Hoaglin, Jerry Cvitkovic (Pitcher). How many of our readers remember this team?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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