Remembering two sports legends in Montgomery County

Sometimes learning new things opens a nostalgic link with your past. If you're lucky, it brings memories to savor. When the subject is sports, you can almost count on it.

I wasn’t aware of a Summer Collegiate baseball league until my trip to Charles County, where the Cal Ripken Sr. All-Star Game was taking place later that week. Later, I learned about one of the teams, the Maryland Redbirds, because they play on the newest facility in the Ripken complex, a regulation size field modeled after the old Yankee Stadium. Three "I didn't know thats" from one trip to a soccer match. But it gets better.

I cyberstalked the Redbirds to the league championship, where they lost to the powerhouse Big Train from Montgomery County. Big Train? Could that moniker be homage to Walter Johnson, the Washington Senators pitcher whose fastball blazed past batters like a southbound freight?

Johnson, the Babe Ruth contemporary whose Hall of Fame career made Washington a respectable team in those days, has a Montgomery County High School named for him. But did his nickname inspire a college team?

I was tracking the Big Train when derailed yet again. Yes, the team is named for the legendary pitcher. But what’s really neat is where they play. Shirley Povich Field. I was stunned. A ballfield named for Shirley Povich! How cool is that?

I grew up reading the Washington Post, and even as a kid loved the lyrical prose and keen observations of Shirley Povich. He (that’s right – he) was the Post sports editor and his regular column, This Morning, was my first read for many years. (As long as I’m waxing nostalgic, have to mention Bob Addie, another award winning Post columnist known for his rollicking humor and devotion to the Senators. To me, Addie was as entertaining as Povich evocative.)

Shirley Povich covered sports for the Post for as long as many could remember. His career spanned at least 75 years. Although he retired sometime in the 70's, he still contributed to the Post until his death at 92. (As I recall, a column ran the day after he died.)

He was a modest man who seemed to downplay the accolades he received during his amazing career. How appropriate to have a team named for a Washington sports giant play on a field named for a gifted writer who covered him in the hometown paper.

Shirley Povich Field is more than a tribute -- it’s a superb Maryland facility made possible by a private foundation working with Montgomery County Parks and Recreation and the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The beautiful 1,500 seat park, completed in 1998, is a part of the Cabin John sports complex in Rockville.

In addition to Big Train, another team calls Povich Field home. Since 2000, Georgetown University has played there. It seems Shirley attended law school at Georgetown before realizing his true calling. So a lot of bases (forgive the pun) are covered in this living memorial to a remarkable Marylander.

Team Terry is visiting Cabin John for a look at the complex tomorrow. I know they’ll be impressed with Povich as a top rate facility. But I think they’d appreciate it more if they’d ever read anything by the man it honors. I'll always remember Shirley Povich for making me realize, very early in life, the power of the written word.