Friday morning, May 1 Ryan Eberly received a call from a former A's player in California telling him of the death of Danny Gans Ryan had been a batboy when Danny played here in 1976. It goes without saying that it was a shock - it was hard to believe that it was true. Throughout the day, the Eberlys heard from many of Danny's 1976 A's teammates and others who were familiar with the fact that he had played with the team. All expressed their disbelief and sorrow at the news.

Danny, 52, died in his sleep early May 1 at his home in Henderson, NV. At the present time, cause of death had not been determined. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made to the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, 6070 S. Eastern Ave #200, Las Vegas, NV 89119.

Spring is in the air and both college and professional baseball is underway, which means it won't be long before the "boys of summer" will be coming to Clarinda. A's management, board of directors and auxiliary have some new things on the agenda that will make an evening at the ball park even more fun.

Pictured with referees at All Sports Day last month, a new mascot for the team was introduced for the first time. At the present time, he has no name so we are asking for your help. Slips were filled out that day and one of the names suggested there will be chosen to go on a final list from which the selection will be made.

Plans are underway to have him appear at the grade school before the season begins and give the students an opportunity to have input, but the public is invited to join in the search also. Just mail your choice, with your name and phone number to Clarinda A's, 225 E. Lincoln, Clarinda, IA 51632 to get in on the fun of picking his name.

Auxiliary members are also working on housing for the summer and there is still a need for a few homes. Being a house parent is not difficult and has been a part of the total A's program since 1976. If you are interested and have questions or concerns, please contact Jill Sunderman, Karman Moses, Annette Nelson, Donna Scarlett, Pat Eberly or any other auxiliary member or current houseparent. They will be happy to fill you in on what is required and how enjoyable the experience can be.

More news about the upcoming season will be in the next issue of the Herald Journal and the spring A's Dugout News will be in the May 11th issue of the shopper.

Again, the 2009 season is almost here - help the A's kick it off by joining us as a houseparent, helping name the new mascot and/or being a fan this summer.

Clarinda A’s held their 34^th annual Baseball Hall of Fame Banquet Saturday, January 10, 2009 at the Clarinda Academy Activities center.

           

Headlining the event were four former A’s players Ozzie Smith, Von Hayes, Darrell Miller and Andrew Cashner. Smith is a National Hall of Fame player who was with the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals during his professional career. Hayes first signed with the Cleveland Indians and played most of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Miller was a catcher for the Angels and is currently director of Major Leagues Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Ca.  Cashner was the first round draft choice this past season for the Chicago Cubs. Other notables in attendance included Bill Clark (former professional scout) and his wife from Columbia, Mo; Jerry Taylor, NBC tournament director, Wichita, KS; and Bob Steinkamp, manager of the Beatrice Bruins, also a professional scout.

In conjunction with the banquet, ...

For those of you who are not familiar with the A's program and my involvement, let me introduce myself - for all of the 54 years the team has been in existence my husband Merl and I have been part of it - first he was a player, then coach and manager (from 1961-1997) and during that span we have housed players, run the concession stand, done the recruiting and been part of the fund raising and promotional events. Currently we still are involved in most of that list and he is serving as General Manager. He is called Ebby, Mr. E, Big E, Coach, ME and I'm sure some titles that we probably don't know (or want to know) about - for the most part, I'm Mama E or Mrs, E.

I don't usually do a column for the newsletter or website, but with the unusual events of this past year I thought warranted it, so please bear with me.

A year ago in October Merl had surgery for prostate cancer after doing hormone therapy during the 07 season. It went well, with no follow-up treatment necessary. In April of this year he was diagnosed with colo/rectal cancer and had surgery on June 6th, with chemo and combination chemo/radiation just finishing up this November. He is currently recovering from a 25 day hospitalization during and following a November 21st surgery to repair a colon obstruction caused by the radiation.

2008 season had started at home on Memorial weekend and coming home from a three-day road trip (see story elsewhere) the A's bus caught fire in the early morning hours of June 1. It was a total loss of the bus, the team equipment and uniforms, as well as all the player's personal belongings.

Between the 1st and 6th it would have been so easy to just pack it in and cancel the season - but that is where the true essence of the A's program became evident.

A's board of directors, auxiliary and houseparent stepped up, as did the local Chamber of Commerce and our alumni. Before Merl had gone to Omaha for his surgery, we were assured that there would be funds to replace the team's shoes, gloves, etc. and that the season would go on as planned - only had to reschedule one game the day after the fire.

Three "F's" became, and continue to be, a very important part of our lives during these past months.

Faith - in our Heavenly Father and His impact on events. When the bus caught fire it could have been a disaster in injuries and possibly loss of lives, but there must have been many guardian angels looking out for the team, manager and driver. As you can see from the photos, there wasn't much left of the bus. The way the help came forward had to have been guided by Divine Providence - one pitcher from 1979 emailed following the fire to ask what he could do. After explaining that his 13 year old boy had been going through some old clippings and found some from his days in Clarinda he had searched the internet for the A's to see what he could find and it was just days after the incident and subsequently the player made a substantial donation to the bus fund - only the hand of the Lord could have prompted that young man to follow up after reading about his father's playing days. Faith has also sustained us during Merl's illness and surgeries.

Family - our immediate family has been nothing short of terrific with support and caring, but we would be remiss if we didn't include our extended family - those of you who have been part of the A's family. We have always said that is what the program is all about - being part of a large family and it has certainly been so true as you have offered encouragement and shown us such acts of kindness and love.

Friends - we have heard from so many of you who have been part of our lives through the years, not only locally, but from across the country. Messages have come from every corner and we are humbled by your words.

There is no way that we can truly express our feelings for the support of the program and us personally, but one thing we encourage each of you to do is to have regular physical exams - guys, check your PSA, gals, have your Pap smears and mammograms and all of you a colonoscopy - do everything you can to catch cancer in its early stages.

Plans are currently underway for the 2009 season - our 55th - and ME is going to be ready to continue his duties as GM knowing that with your support it will be a successful one.

Again, there is no way we can thank you enough for the calls, visits, cards and especially prayers during these past weeks, but we can wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless each and every one of you.

Clarinda A's will be hosting their 34th annual Hall of Fame banquet Saturday, January 10 at the Clarinda Academy Activities center.

Former A's players Ozzie Smith, formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals and Von Hayes, formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies will headline the event this year. A silent auction of sports memorabilia will be held during the dinner. Darrell Murphy, the voice of the A's during the season, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

More information will be available soon regarding ticket prices and times.

A's manager Ryan Eberly and board member Jay Moses will be attending the Amercan Basball Coaches Association convention in San Diego January 2-5. They are looking forward to seeing many of you former players/coaches who are living in that area.

This has always been a good point of connection for the team to be exposed on a national level and the program has not been represented the past few years and are looking forward to renewing contacts again.

With the 55th season on the horizon the A's auxiliary and home moms want to put together an A's cookbook that will be available before the new season begins...