May 9, 1959

- Joe Butchko is proclaimed the “King of Swat” as the Jim Thorpe Little League Association opens its annual campaign on the North Avenue diamond in the Heights section of the community. The hard-hitting catcher, with Manager Bobby Pompa’s Red Sox, connects for a second-inning homer - with the ball carrying 185 feet. The Sox, however, drop a 12-2 contest to W. Righter Reabold’s Yankees. In the opening game, Tom Carrigan and Nick McGinley’s Dodgers defeat the Phillies, piloted by Billy Klotz and “Bub” Sibbach.