Looking back on classic ’90 series

With the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League celebrating its 100th season this summer, we present some of the greatest moments in Perky League history, an occasional look back at some of the fabulous games, characters and events that have made the league so special.

First up is one that could only be titled, “One for George,” an incredible playoff run enjoyed by Nor-Gwyn and its long-time and long-suffering manager George Hoffman, who pulled off an unlikely championship over the heavily favored Norristown A’s in a memorable and classic fivegame series:

“I hope I don’t win any more championships. I don’t know if my heart can take it.” - Nor-Gwyn manager George Hoffman

The year was 1990, and after claiming first place in the regular-season standings there was little doubt Norristown would roll to the league’s playoff championship.

The A’s had pitching, power, veteran leadership and a stable of young, promising bucks.

They also had a young manager who was not shy about sticking up for his team and taking on umpires, fans and anyone else who stood in his and his team’s way. His name was Vince Elsier, and as the playoffs approached not many league followers were anxious to laud any other team’s chances of taking out the A’s.

Certainly, Nor-Gwyn’s Packers were not in the

championship conversation.

The Packers finished fifth in the league in 1990, and while the Packers were capable of winning a playoff series, they were not considered championship caliber.

While the A’s advanced to the championship with easy playoff conquests over Lower Gwynedd and Harleysville, Nor-Gwyn needed to upset higher-seeded Collegeville and Skippack to reach the title series.

Once there, the only realistic question was whether the Packers could win a game.

With both teams playing on fields with lights, the series became the first league championship series to be played completely in the evening hours.

When the A’s pounded Nor-Gwyn starter Al Warner for nine hits and eight runs en route to a seriesopening, 9-2 win, a sweep seemed a certainty. A five-

run f irst inning, highlighted by Paul Tornetta’s three-run homer, set the tone and Norristown was sitting where it was expected to be after one game.

And when Mike Migliarese hit a solo homer in the fifth inning of Game Two to propel the A’s to a 4-1 lead, the championship trophy was a foregone conclusion.

That is, until A’s pitcher Bob Coia yielded a grand slam to Jack Bradley in the sixth inning to give the Packers a 5-4 win and their first lead of the series.

Eric Minemier pitched out of a first-and-third, oneout jam in the seventh by striking out both Tony Carfagno and Roger Collins, and suddenly the Packers had life

ame Three, however, belonged to Norristown, as three errors by the Packers led to three unearned runs and Norristown starter Joe Morello was able to outlast

Packers ace Gil Howard.

Nor-Gwyn got homers from Steve Bradley, Andy Melillo and Chris McKnight, but lost the game, 6-4, and were a loss away from losing the series.

Game Four, however, took nearly a week to get played. Continuous rain saw the contest postponed for four straight days.

There were rumors the Packers and Hoffman were watering down their field, and more than one A’s fan made the drive to what is now known as Hostelley Field to check on NorGwyn’s supposed impropriety.

Unbeknownest to most Perky fans, supposed rivals Hoffman and Elsier were meeting each day during the week of the postponements for lunch, and fully enjoying each other’s com-

pany.

“It was great,” Elsier said years later. “We’d talk baseball, talk about our teams and even talk strategy. We had a wonderful time.”

Game Four finally got under way on a Friday night at Nor-Gwyn. And as the series got longer, it seemed to get more and more bizarre.

The Packers won Game Four, 7-6, on Steve Bradley’s successful suicide squeeze with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.

“George suggested it and asked me what I thought,” Bradley said. “I told him, ‘You’re the boss.’”

The decisive fifth game, back at Latshaw-McCarthy Field, turned into a classic game and a statistician’s nightmare.

The Packers saw leads of 10-1 and 16-7 disappear, and they hung on by the skin of

their teeth for a 16-15 victory and the franchise’s first Perky League championship in 18 seasons.

Appropriately, Hoffman was carried off the field by his team.

“I hope I don’t win any more championships,” he cracked. “I don’t know if my heart can take it.”

Hoffman’s words proved prophetic.

The beloved 78-year-old skipper died in December of that year.

It was almost as if he’d stayed alive long enough to enjoy what he’d always wanted.

As for Elsier, his words after the Packers had won the title said it all.

“If I was going to lose, I’d rather lose. to George,” Elsier Gsaid. “He’s a terrific guy and I know how much this meant to him.”