Cedar Rapids dominated prep baseball in the 1940s

Editor's note: This is a continuing series of Eastern Iowa sports history 'Time Machine” articles. Mark Dukes worked at The Gazette from 1973 to 1998, the last 14 years as sports editor.

By Mark Dukes, correspondent

Bats were wooden, gloves resembled small pillows and players didn't have cars, camps and cable television to compete for their attention. The late 1940s, unquestionably, were the glory days of high school baseball in town.

In fact, it was a time Cedar Rapids dominated the state of Iowa in high school baseball.

Wilson High School claimed the city's first state baseball title in 1947, beginning an unprecedented four-year run for local prep teams. Wilson won it again in 1948, Franklin took the 1949 crown, and Wilson got the title back in 1950. (Wilson and Franklin are now middle schools).

In the 65 years since the end of that run, Cedar Rapids has won just four state summer tournaments (by Washington in 1966 and 1994, Xavier in 2006 and Kennedy in 2010). Years ago, there were spring and fall seasons in baseball, and Roosevelt (1945) and Jefferson (1961) took state titles in the spring.

In the summer, now the traditional season in Iowa, no era for Metro schools can compare to that four-year stretch that was started by the 1947 team.

Iowa introduced the summer tournament in 1946 and Cedar Rapids teams entered the fray in '47. Wilson had a collection of players who grew up together on the sandlots of the southwest side, playing at the old Hayes Field. They learned the game, in large part, as members of American Legion teams coached by Carl 'Shrimp” Matter. Wilson's coach in 1947 was Don Durey.

Wilson had a junior-dominated team in 1947, the only senior starters were center fielder Bob Vrbicek and shortstop Don Harman. The infield also included first baseman Hal Cooper, second baseman Chuck Fulton, third baseman Ken Charipar and catcher Bob Reid. Lloyd Oliver played left field and Chuck Petefish was in right.

The star was lanky left-handed pitcher Frank Simanovsky, who had a decent fastball but an exceptional knuckle-curveball. Arnie Pavlicek was the second pitcher, and a very good one.

'We didn't need to score many runs with the pitching we had,” said Fulton, the Ramblers' leadoff hitter, in a 1997 Gazette interview. 'We'd get a couple runs and Frank and Arnie would take care of the rest.”

Wilson defeated Bancroft in the 1947 title game, 2-1, as Simanovsky and Pavlicek combined on a two-hitter. Fulton singled in one run and the game-winner was forced in on a balk.

'It was a big deal to us because it was the first one,” said Pavlicek in 1997. 'These guys wanted it. We would walk a mile to practice because we wanted to. That was the way we were brought up. We had a tight group. We'd go to the movies and go swimming together when we weren't playing baseball.”

In 1948, Wilson repeated with a 5-3 triumph over Kanawha. Simanovsky again was the winning pitcher with a six-hitter and Fulton slapped three hits. Franklin won the 1949 title behind leading hitter Bill Quinby, later an NFL official who was the side judge in the 19th Super Bowl. In the 1950 title game, Wilson's starting pitcher was Wally Krause, former president of the Cedar Rapids Baseball Club.

Wilson was 22-2 in '47 and 21-1 in '48. Two of the three losses were to city rival Roosevelt, the other to Waterloo West.

What made this collection of players so tough?

'Back in our day, baseball was THE thing to do ... no television, no cars,” said Charipar nearly 20 years ago. 'We just spent a lot of time at the park, and that was a big reason for the success. You don't see kids spending the time on the diamond like we used to. That's not necessarily the kids' fault. It's because of all the other things tugging at them.”

Five Wilson players signed professional contracts: Simanovsky and Harman with the Yankees, Reid and Charipar with the Cubs, and Pavlicek with the Cedar Rapids Rockets independent team.

Simanovsky spent the 1950 season as a teammate of Mickey Mantle at the Yankees' Class C farm club in Joplin, Mo. Mantle led the league with a .383 batting average, 26 homers and 136 runs batted in. Simanovsky was the league's top pitcher with a 21-3 record, 16 complete games and a 3.13 ERA for a team that went 90-46.

While Mantle zoomed quickly to the major leagues, Simanovsky enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent to Korea. He was injured in the war and while he attempted a brief comeback after his discharge, he wasn't the same.

Several members of the 1947 team made important and lasting contributions to local and area baseball.

Vrbicek umpired in 23 state tournaments and later called games in the Big Ten. The Metro tournament bears his name. The Xavier baseball field carries Charipar's name. He was a terrific coach with the Cedar Rapids Legion program and later coached at Iowa. Fulton was a longtime board member of the Cedar Rapids Baseball Club.

l Contact Dukes at markdukes0@gmail.com with your thoughts and ideas