Even to greet the lunar new year, firecrackers are not commonplace at 5 o'clock in the morning. The Chinese enjoy celebrating but are accustomed to waiting until dawn.
Not so the morning of Sunday, August 29. From one tip of to the other, for a distance of more than 250 miles, strings of firecrackers sparkled and set up a din almost loud enough to be heard in , nearly 10,000 miles away.
The northeastern city is the site of the annual Little League World Series. It was there on a Saturday afternoon (but at 2 o'clock Sunday morning time) that the Tainan Giants met the U.S. North team from , in the final game for the boys' world baseball championship.
In , an estimated 10 million people - two thirds of the population - sat glued to their television sets for live coverage via the Pacific communications satellite and CTV. A couple of hours later the Giants had wrapped up the Republic of China's second title in three years and the celebrators crowded onto balconies and swept into the streets to set off strings of crackers prepared in advance. Only the score exceeded the expectations of loyal Giant fans. It was 12 to 3 against a courageous, hard-hitting team.
Taiwan's dominance of the worldwide Little League was made possible a long time ago-even before the competition was dreamed of and long, long before the Republic of China had learned that small boys were reaching hands across the seas for a game of baseball. The sport was borrowed from the Americans by the Japanese in the early 1900s. had teams, some of them pretty good, in the 1920s and 30s. Southwestern Taiwan became the heart of baseball country. Most of the best teams have come from , and Chiayi.
Baseball didn't die when the Japanese retroceded to the Republic of China in 1945. Some elementary schools revived teams which the Japanese had discouraged during the war with the . Competition was keen in the heartland of baseball. By the late 1960s some rural schools were learning that the game could be fun and was inexpensive. An aborigine school near Taitung on the East Coast developed excellent baseball material by letting small fry tryout with stones and sticks. These boys had a sharp eye by the time they got to the fifth and sixth grades and graduated to balls, bats and gloves.
In 1968, sent its best team to for a series of goodwill contests. The Japanese bumped into the aborigine Red Leaves and were drubbed twice. An all-star team also won over the visitors. Boys, schools and people sat up and took notice of baseball prowess at the 11 and 12-year-old level. They heard about the Little League from the Japanese, who won the world title in 1967 and 1968.
By 1969, the island had a bumper baseball crop. Teams sprang up everywhere. Educational authorities approved plans to enter the Asian and Pacific championship play-offs at , although no one thought of reaching the World Series at . The Golden Dragons from in central wrapped up the island title and went off to , hoping not to disgrace the homefolks. First the Dragons disposed of . Then they took on the Japanese champions and suddenly found themselves in possession of the bunting. , in fact, wasn't even winded. The Guam score was 16 to 0 and was vanquished by 9 to 0.
The Dragons' first game turned out to be the longest in Little League history - 12 innings. Chen Chih-yuan, 's starter, pitched a no-hitter for nine innings as he struck out 21 with a consecutive streak of 12. Nine innings is the pitching limit in Little League. Chang Jui-chin relieved in the 10th and allowed only a scratch hit in the 12th. The opposition, Canadian champions from , was easy to hit but hard to get a run against. collected 16 hits but not a run until the 12th, when a single, error, double, single and three-run homer combined for five big tallies.
() extended the Chinese boys in the semi-finals. got three runs in the fourth but pitcher Kuo Yuan-chih weakened in the top of the sixth. He gave up two singles and a home run that tied the score at 3-all, China got a single, walk and fielder's choice to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth. The pitcher walked in the winning run.
Chen Chih-yuan returned to the hill for the title game against . He struck out 11 and turned in a 3-hitter for a 5 to 0 victory. The welcome home wasn't equaled until this year's return of the Tainan Giants.
's Little League entry in 1970 was the Seven Tigers of Chiayi, who edged the Golden Dragons, 2 to 0, on a sixth-inning home run to win the trip to . The first game there was a 12-to-0 pushover of the , which got only two hits. was the next to fall, 21 to 8, with a 13-run outburst in the sixth inning. It looked like a close game with the Japanese champs of , but that wasn't to be. The Seven Tigers banged out 16 hits for another 12-to-0 triumph while playing errorless ball. Another world title appeared to be in sight.
Overconfidence can be dangerous in sports and the winningest teams are not always the hungriest for victory. Chiayi went up against , the Latin American champions, in the first game at and dropped a 3 to 2 decision. The Tigers then recovered their poise to win their consolation games by 6 to 0 and 5 to 0 and finish third.
Failure to win one championship didn't dampen 's Little League spirit or discourage new teams from taking up the sport. At in 1970, the Republic of China bid for and was awarded the 1971 Far Eastern play-offs. The municipal baseball stadium was rebuilt for the occasion and became the only ball park in the world with a handsome Chinese palace-style exterior.
With construction still under wayan the stadium, the all-island championships were played at and . The Giants and Dragons battled to a scoreless tie in their first game, defeated all the other entrants and collided again in a sudden death play-off. The contest went right down to the wire as the Giants won by 6 to 5.
Four teams were entered in the regional play-offs and the competition was organized on a round-robin basis. 's Chofu team was held to one hit by through the first five innings, then exploded for a 3 to 0 win in the sixth on a single, double, two errors and a sacrifice. Miki Matsuzaki pitched a 2-hitter for .
trailed the by a run going into the top of the fifth. Li Wen-jui slammed out a 2-run homer for a 3-to-1 victory. Yeh Chih-hsien had knotted the count previously when he got to first on an error, took third on a passed ball and scored on a ground out.
and followed up with second-round victories to enter the finals undefeated. The Japanese won a see-saw nine-inning thriller from the , 8 to 6. Each team had two home runs. Tainan sub merged Guam by 20 to 0 after scoring 11 runs in the first inning, including a three-run homer by Hsu Chin mu.
A capacity crowd of 15,000 cheered the Giants to a 5-0 win over in the title game. It was a pitchers' duel between Hsu Chin-mu and Uji Iguma, who had played third base in the first two games so as to be ready for the big one.
The Giants broke things open in the bottom of the third. Yeh Chih-hsien singled to center and went to second on a sacrifice by Wu Cheng-wen. Iguma was called on a balk and Yeh was waved to third. Li Wen-jui walked and Li Chuan-cheng beat out a bunt down the first-base line to load the bases. Hsu Chin-mu hit a grounder which second baseman Akio Inoue scooped up and fired home. The throw got away from catcher Yukihiro Kawada and two runs came across. Shen Ching-wen made it 3 to 0 with a sacrifice fly to center.
threatened in the fourth. The first two batters walked. Iguma singled to fill the bases. Hsu settled down magnificently. Kawada was out on three straight pitches and Miki Matsuzaki on four. Hagato Inoue had taken one strike when a pitch got away from catcher Tu Chung-nan. Yoshihisa Onoki attempted to score and was thrown out, Tu to pitcher Hsu, who came in to cover the plate.
The Giants sewed things up with two insurance runs in the fifth. Li Chuan-cheng singled and came home on Shen Ching-wen's homer to right center.
The beat 17 to 0 on 18 hits to take third place. The winners had two home runs and scored six runs in the fifth and eight in the sixth.
's 14 players had an intensivc 10 days of training at the campus of the in Hsinchu, then came to for the August 16 departure on a San Francisco-bound China Airlines Boeing 707 jetliner. This was the roster:
- Hsu Chin-mu, captain and pitcher, a student at in . He also plays shortstop and is the fastest man on the team. He was the losing pitcher for the Seven Tigers in last year's World Series game against . Teammates have nicknamed him "devil's hand" because of his fast ball, change-up and curve.
- Wei Ching-lin, third baseman and right fielder. He is a leading batter and big talker.
- Wu Chi-hsiung, pitcher and outfielder, a home run slugger.
- Li Chu-ming, second baseman. He comes from a farm family and shows promise in track and field.
- Lin Wen-chung, first baseman and outfielder, the son of Lin Chuan-hsing, the manager of the Giants. He formerly was a pitcher.
- Li Wen-jui, pitcher and first baseman, at and the tallest and heaviest of the Giants. He's a top batter and home run hitter.
- Hsu Shen-ming, pitcher and shortstop. He's not far behind Hsu Chin-mu as a strikeout specialist.
- Tu Chung-nan, catcher and at and the shortest and lightest of the Giants. Although a slow runner, he catches for fast-baller Hsu Chin-mu.
- Chen Ming-huang outfielder and leading home run hitter of the Giants. He is known as southern 's hardest slugger.
- Wu Cheng-wen, pitcher and outfielder. He is a top student and has won several elementary school awards.
- Shen Ching-wen, pitcher, outfielder, top batter and one of the hardest working Giants. He is also good in track and field.
- Chen Chin-chien, catcher. He is a stronger hitter than Tu Chung-nan, the first-string backstop.
Little League stadium at Williamsport, Pa., where the Tainan Giants won boys' baseball championship (File photo)
- Li Chuan-cheng, first baseman, outfielder, pitcher. and the team's only lefthanded hitter. He is a home run slugger.
- Yeh Chi-hsien, third baseman and a hitter who can catch up with a fast ball.
The team arrived in August 17 and got in three days of practice before August 21 departure for . The branch of the Bank of America played host.
In , the Giants found a newly expanded stadium seating 10,000 and with a grassy knoll for another 20,000 just beyond the outfield fence. The expansion was needed. Some 20,000 Chinese alone crowded into for the series. They were out in force for each game, waving the Chinese National flag.
's first opponent was Caguas of Puerto Rico, the Latin American champions. Hsu Chin-mu pitched a 14-strikout two-hitter for an easy 7-0 victory.
China's first run came in the second when Li Wen-jui walked, went to second on a wild pitch by Jorge Cruz, took third on a sacrifice and scored as second baseman Gerardo Curet threw wild to third.
Li homered over the right field wall in the third to drive in two runs ahead of him. Lin Wen-chung had walked and Shen Ching-wen singled before Li's shot. Li wound up with a perfect day at bat - walk, homer and single - and batted in three runs.
Three more runs came across in the fifth on a double, three singles and a hit batsman. Third baseman Yeh Chih-hsien was struck on the right arm by a fast ball and left the game. got eight hits and played errorless ball.
Pitcher Hsu was overpowering. Mixing his fast ball, curve and change-up,' he struck out the boys in order in the second, third and fifth. The two hits, both scratch singles, came in the first and fourth.
The first day's other game pitted Oahu of Hawaii, representing the U.S. West, against , , of . pulled out a 3-to-2 squeaker. Second-day games were won by Europe, which was represented by a U.S. Air Force team from , over , , representing the U.S. East, and the , , team of the U.S. North over , as U.S. South.
The Giants and 's all-Negro team won their semi-final games by shutouts.
A Chinese roof fell in on in the first inning. Eleven batters went to the plate as six runs scored on five hits and an error. Three walks and additional miscues brought in three runs in the third. Another run was added in the fourth and a final tally in the sixth on two hits, four wild pitches and two passed balls for a final count of 11 to 0.
got nine hits. Wu Chen-wen struck out 11 and gave up only three hits. received two walks in the third inning but couldn't do anything about it. In the fourth, shortstop Aaron Lorenzo doubled and Blane Ah Quin followed with a walk. Wu then struck out the next three batters.
showed power by blanking the European entry from in the other contest, 7 to 0. Larry Reynolds turned in a three-hit pitching performance, striking out 15, and Lloyd McClendon blasted two home runs, his third and fourth of the Little League World Series. McClendon, whose back-to-back homers set a series record, backstopped' the game following three-hit pitching against the U.S. South in 's opener.
Sports writers didn't even try to pick a favorite for the title game. For one thing, it was to be a mound duel between Hsu Chin-mu and Loyd McClendon. Manager Lin Chuan-hsing said McClendon's batting power would be neutralized by intentionally walking him whenever there were runners on the base paths. For the first two games, the Giants were hitting .313, led by Li Wen-jui with four hits in six at bats, five runs scored and six runs batted in. Giant pitchers had given up only five hits while striking out 25 and walking three in 12 innings. was acknowledged to have the defensive edge.
The big game was worth waiting for. At the outset, it looked as though McClendon might make the difference. "Devil's Hand" yielded a hit and then a walk. That brought up the slugger. Hsu was instructed to load the bases with a walk. "I meant to walk him," Hsu Chin-mu said. "The ball slipped when I threw it and went in too high. He hit it because he is so tall" (5 feet 8 inches and 145 pounds). The ball sailed over the wall in right center and was off to a 3 to 0 lead. After that, McCleandon got three intentional passes with the ball thrown so wide of the batter's box he couldn't have reached it with a 10-foot pole. His homer set a World Series record of five. He batted 1.000 for 's three games.
picked up a run in the third on two walks, a single and a passed ball. Two more runs came in the fourth on a hit, three errors, a passed ball and a wild pitch. That made it 3 to 3. The next four innings were scoreless. Except for a few walks, Hsu had the boys eating out of his hand. The only two Gary hits were the single and homer in the first. McClendon wasn't in trouble so much because of his pitching as because of the balls that starting catcher Ralph Basemore allowed to get past him.
In the ninth, 's defenses collapsed. Wu Chih-hsiung had been moved into left field for the title game because of his ability to hit fast balls. He led off the inning with a single. Li Chuan-cheng also had been warming the bench. He was moved in against McClendon's cannonball and drove Wu home with the go-ahead run.
By the time the first half of the ninth was closed out, the score was 12 to 3 as a result of six singles, four walks, three passed balls, a wild pitch and an error. A tearful McClendon was removed after he had yielded two runs but his reliefers were no more effective. Fourteen Giants came to bat in the inning.
Hsu Chin-mu then wrapped up the game. He struck out 22 to break the former record of 17.
"The longest I ever pitched before was six innings," he said. "I felt a little tired at the end, but in the last inning I was still throwing fast balls."
Manager Lin said won with teamwork, balanced strength and calmness in the face of pressure. Although behind by 3 to 0, the boys never lost their cool and poise, he said. Lin pointed out that whereas showed all-around strength, the U.S. North had only McClendon. Three of the batters struck out four times each in the championship game.
Lin also credited Hsu with a masterful performance for the two series games he pitched. In 15 innings, Hsu yielded just four hits and only three balls were lifted out of the infield. His strikeout total was 36.
President Richard Nixon was at the California White House in . That gave Vice President Spiro Agnew the chance to receive the eight Little League teams which competed in the World Series at on August 30. "You are all champions," he told them in the rose garden at the White House. "You are all winners because you excel in your sport. You have learned the value of competition. You have learned not only how to win but you also learned how it is when you're not winning."
After a look at , and , the Giants headed for and one of the biggest welcomes in Chinese history. Fifty thousand people jammed into and hundreds of thousands lined the streets for the victory parade. has a population of 1.8 million and it seemed as though at least half of them were out to tell the Giants "Well done."
A deafening cheer went up as the jetliner reached its apron, the ramp was rolled up and Shen Ching-wen, the designated flag carrier, emerged, followed by captain Hsu Chin-mu. On hand to extend congratulations were Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, Education Minister Lo Yun-pin, Mayor Henry Kao, Chinese Baseball Association President Hsieh Kuo-cheng and Kuomintang Central Secretary-General Chang Pao-shu.
Wearing red caps, blue shorts and white sports jackets, the Giants boarded armed forces jeeps for their parade through the city. Boys doffed their caps and shook the hands of as many fans as they could. Seas of humanity stopped the procession on several occasions and the parade route was switched from to an alternate. Alert welcoming crowds quickly jammed the substitute thoroughfare.
Reporters deluged the boys with questions at the med Forces Officers Club. Hosts at dinner were civic organizations of the nation. Each team member received a medal from Education Minister Lo Yun-pin. There was a TV show in the evening and a reception by the National Assembly the next morning. Defense Minister Huang Chieh was host for luncheon and the Lions Club for dinner. Other events included a call on Vice President and Premier C. K. Yen and the laying of a wreath at the Yuanshan Martyrs' Shrine.
The Giants went south to September 14 for another riotous welcome. They were luncheon guests of Governor Chen Ta-ching, then left for in the foothills of the Central Mountain Range to receive the congratulations of President and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Accompanying them were their parents.
President Chiang said, "Madame Chiang has constantly talked with me about your activities and games in the . She has taken profound care of you." He urged the players to seek the traditional Chinese virtues of filial piety, respect for teachers and love of friends. The Giants' victory is attributable to the Chinese spirit, he said, and close teamwork.
Madame Chiang gave a gold coin to each of the 14. The coins were minted by the Central Bank to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of China. A rose was the gift of Madame Chiang, who urged the boys not to forget the love of their parents. After a night at the lake resort, the boys traveled on south to and what was - in their hearts - the biggest welcome of all. They were home at last.