Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
A sad day in the barbershop
For Burton’s Barber Shop owner-proprietor Bob Burton, the death of baseball great Dallas Green on Wednesday amounted to the loss of a good friend.
Burton, who is also the president of the Kennett Square Baseball Old Timers Hall of Fame, knew Green ever since they were teenagers playing sports against each other in high school.
“He went to Conrad High School (in Wilmington). He was a senior when I was a sophomore at Kennett. They came up to play us (in baseball), and I was glad I was on the bench that day when I saw him throw,” Burton said.
Burton described Green as a man who had played or participated in every level of baseball.
“He played professional baseball; he was head of the Philadelphia farm system; he was a manager at Philadelphia; he was a general manager and president of Chicago (Cubs); He was also at New York and the Mets, but that didn’t last long,” he said.
Burton said the Phillies’ World Series win in 1980 was directly attributed to Green’s leadership as manager. “He made those guys stop loafing,” he said. He added that while many people attribute the victory to the talents of first baseman and slugger Pete Rose, it was really Green who made the difference.
“Pete Rose got along with Dallas because Pete did what Dallas told him to do,” Burton added.
Another talent that Burton attributed to Green was his ability to spot talent. “The old folks said he could ‘put a stamp’ on a baseball player. Dallas could tell right away just by watching a player if he was going to be good.”
Green lived nearby — “Down by Conowingo” according to Burton — and he attended many of the early banquets for the induction of new members of the Kennett Old Timers Hall of Fame. That club honors local players who excelled in the sport beyond high school. They induct between six and eight new members every year.
“He was a speaker at all our banquets until he went to Chicago,” Burton said. Later on as Green aged, Burton said he invited him to come to the banquet, but that Green and his wife were usually on vacation in “the island” at that time in January and couldn’t make it.
Burton’s Barber Shop on State Street in Kennett Square is a virtual shrine to baseball past and present. It contains pictures, autographed baseballs and memorabilia from the past and recent years including items from the Phillies, the local high school teams and a heavy nod to Hall of Famers Herb Pennock, who lived in Kennett and frequently brought Babe Ruth to the area as a guest.
Among the pictures on the barber shop wall are views of Green at the Old Timers banquet. One vintage shot shows Green presenting the Old Timers induction plaque to Joe Ted Pennock (Herb’s son) who also grew up locally and played baseball for the University of Delaware. Another picture shows Green presenting one of the plaques to the late founding hall of fame committee Donnie Davenport of Kennett Square, as Devenport was inducted into the hall.
“Oh, I liked him,” Burton said. “You got along with Dallas if you did what he said.”
The barbershop: Did Green stop there for haircuts?
“He didn’t get his hair cut here. I’m not sure he got his hair cut,” Burton concluded.