Here is an addition to old friend and classmate Bill Herr's article on longest home runs at Harmon Field diamond. I witnessed two legitimate homers, including the Brad Komminsk blast over trees, Riley Creek and onto the Triplett parking lot.
Spike Berry and I played several years of Bluffton High School and American Legion summer baseball together, he as pitcher/second baseman and I was the first baseman. We witnessed a similar homer to the Triplett lot hit by Cleo Vaughn. Vaughn was an all-state athlete from Lima Central High School who later became the first African-American basketball player at Ohio State. He
lettered one year at OSU before transferring to Alabama A&M.
I saw the Komminsk homer because son Jon made his first start at first base for BHS that day, along with other freshmen. Shawnee's veteran team beat the Pirates 32-4 or something like that.
Berry also recalled Marlow Wehrly from Pandora, who played with our legion team one summer, hitting a batting practice homer that ended at the football stadium. His personal bat was so big that we called it a wagon tongue. Later Berry and I played summer ball against Bill Guice, a former Chicago Cubs player, who hit some long homers in Lima. It made us nervous at second and first base since he was a left handed pull hitter who hit scorching line drives. We're still alive so I don't recall any hit at us.
Ron Geiser
