Yesterday was a milestone day for my family. My beloved grandfather, Robert Keller Hasty, was honored at a banquet for the Cherokee County Sports Hall of Fame up in Canton, Georgia. [above is a page from the program about my grandfather's career]
I owe a huge thanks to my cousin Warren Story and his wife Kim, for telling me last year about the existence of the Cherokee County Sports Hall of Fame. I had no idea about it.I live in DeKalb County.
I also owe a huge thanks to the Cherokee County Sports Hall of Fame for areeing to posthumously honor my grandfather. All of the other inductees last night were alive and well, and gave moving speeches about the importance of family and teamwork - and I was so glad Michael was there to hear that. [Mother wasn't feeling up to the trip. It's about an hour away, and took us a lot longer in the Friday afternoon traffic.]
My grandfather Bob Hasty grew up in Cherokee County, and his father and grandfather lived there, and there are still many Hasty cousins who live there today. There is even a road named Hasty Road. My great grandfather donated land to build a school there about a hundred years ago. The final resting places of many of my people are in Cherokee County.
Last night was a thrill for me, for several reasons. I got to see my cousin Robin Hasty Blankenship and her family, some of whom I hadn't seen in more than 10 years. I also was able to see my grandfather get recognition in his birthplace. I know he was smiling down on us from heaven.
Aside from getting lost going up there, and lost coming back [I rarely go outside my house without getting lost, and the GPS wasn't working], it was a stellar evening.
This was made when my grandfather played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1919-1924, for Connie Mack. He went on to play in the Pacific Coast League out in California, then came back east in the late 1920's and played for the Birmingham Barons and the Atlanta Crackers. [The Braves moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1965.]
Anyway, I had to give a speech last night on behalf of the family so I wasn't focused on taking photos, but here are a few:
[from left] Warren [whose mama is a Hasty], Kim, Michael, and me.
Mom's first cousin Frank Hasty and his son, also named Frank Hasty.
My cousin Robin's son Brent and his wife Jada. Their two little boys are already playing on baseball teams - the 5th generation to love the game. Yay!
My cousin Jan Rusin and her husband, who drove up from Albany Georgia, and Susan Hasty [in profile].
The little boys belong to Brent and Jada and Michael Hasty, and the two grownups here are Robin's daughter Lana and Robin's husband, Tim.
This is my cousin Raye's son Michael, and his child Dax. (In the background is Brent and Jada's son Bryce.) Michael Hasty is a talented graphic artist and designed the image above of Papa, which you can order from his company, Inkhaus. His post about the poster is here.
[For some reason, my photo loader is giving my issues, so I am going to save the rest of the photos for another post.Jan is also going to send me some of her photos, too.]
I told several stories about my grandfather during the banquet and they are below. I have to write things out before I can tell them, but I don't like to read when I am speaking.[I wrote in third person because I wasn't sure if I was going to tell these, or the person introducing me.]
On one occasion, Bob Hasty was pitching to Ty Cobb. Bob threw a pitch that went a little wild and Cobb had to sidestep a bit to avoid being hit. Bob Hasty never would’ve aimed for a batter’s head. Cobb was pugnacious, though, and marched out to the mound, accusing Hasty of trying to hit him with the ball. Bob Hasty just stood there and let Cobb rant for a moment, and Cobb threatened to punch him. Bob Hasty then said quietly, “These people paid money to see a baseball game, so we need to finish the game. After it’s over, you and I can just step into the alley and you can take a swing at me if you want.”
Hasty was 6’4, 220 lbs. Cobb immediately started sputtering, “Hey, now, I was just kidding Bob! Us Georgia boys got to stick together!”
There are others I didn't get to tell, because I didn't want to stand up there too long. Plus, I sort of thought that if I talked too long it would be boring, and/or I might cry.
Hasty was also a contemporary of Babe Ruth and he gave an interview to Jimmy Jones of the Atlanta Constitution in 1933 entitled Hasty Tells How to Pitch to Ruth. [I re-read it just now] Pitchers were always passing around tips on how to pitch to Ruth, hoping he wouldn’t get a home run. Another pitcher, Scott Perry, told Hasty to pitch it low and outside, and Ruth would only hit a grounder. Hasty threw it and: [in his own words] “… there was a crack of a bat and something that sounded like a bullet whistled past my head, burning the tip of my left ear like a red-hot iron. I didn’t have a chance to move, let alone duck. I turned and looked toward center field and there was the ball, scooting along like a streak of lightning. Ruth, after reaching first base, turned and yelled at me not to ever try that pitch again, or I was liable to get hurt. Needless to say, I never did. I decided that if that was the proper way to pitch to Ruth, it wasn’t worth a suicide.”
One time, Hasty was pitching and a fan in the stands started heckling him, yelling rude things, even profanity. This went on for a while. Hasty ignored him. Finally, during the 7th inning stretch, Hasty walked over and climbed up into the stands, where he could look the heckler in the eye. “Hello. I just want to let you know that nothing you do or say bothers me in the least. You paid your money to be here, so you go right ahead and say whatever you want. Enjoy the game.” Hasty went back down to the field and the heckler didn’t shout, or even say another word, the rest of the game.
The only negative thing about last night was when I got home I was totally exhausted. I slept 9 1/2 hours! Haven't done that in many years. It was a great night, though.
The rest of the weekend is going to be anticlimactic. LOL
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