Morrow's Musings
- By Jeff Morrow
509-582-1507
Posted Feb. 29, 2000
Kennewick's Hart earns swimming award
Kennewick's Don Hart was actually able to sneak in a normal family vacation last year, going to Disney World.
But that's usually not the norm.
Hart is a well-known high school football official around the state and a member of the Tri-City Sports Council.
But he's even more well-known around the country as a respected swimming official.
Hart is featured in the February issue of Swimming World and Junior Swimmer magazine, where it was announced he will receive the first Maxwell Excellence Award "for his masterful organization and skilled leadership at the U.S. Open in Texas last December," stated the magazine.
Hart said the award was something just started by the national officials committee to help recognize those officials who contribute to swimming. The committee recognized him.
He became involved in swimming 23 years ago, when his son Jason started swimming. As the years went by, Hart became more and more involved. He's worked two U.S. Olympic Trials, seven junior national championships, the 1991 Seattle Goodwill Games and the 1998 New York Goodwill Games.
He also just returned from Sydney, Australia, after representing the United States at the IV FINA World Officials Seminar.
While there, Hart got a chance to check out some of the venues for the 2000 Summer Olympics, which run in September.
"The pool is very fast," he said. "The swimming complex has been ex-panded to seat 17,000 people."
Hart won't be working the Olympics this fall. "The U.S. only sends one official to the Olympics because we're no different from any country," said Hart. "If I get to go any place, it'll be in 2001 in the World Championships."
What Hart will get to do is work his third U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis this August. His job is being an administrative referee.
"I take care of all the paperwork, all the entries," he said. "I take care of the seedings every day. It's a lot faster meet. The U.S. Olympic Trials is the fastest meet in the world."
Hart sees the power struggle in the Olympics swimming to be between the United State and the Australians, who will be led by young upstart Ian Thorpe.
"He is absolutely incredible," Hart said. "One of his feet is bigger than both of yours together."
* * *
It was wonderful to see Negro Leagues great Buck O'Neil in the Tri-Cities last week.
He had a lot of wonderful stories to tell, and his audience was hungry to hear them.
Today, O'Neil was supposed to be with Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and the rest of the 14-man Veterans Committee as it met to vote on who, if anyone, should be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame.
However, The Associated Press reported Monday that he's not able to attend this year's meeting because of a minor health problem that prevents him from traveling.
O'Neil said last week that the committee has a lot of information it goes over well before they meet. When they get together, the discussions begin. "We have a lot of good players to look at," he said.
The committee selects players who were overlooked by the Baseball Writers Association of America as well as managers, umpires and other baseball officials.
Former Tigers and Reds manager Sparky Anderson seems to be the frontrunner this year.
* * *
O'Neil leftovers:
- Overall, players in the Negro Leagues were better educated than players in the major leagues back in the 1940s.
"Forty percent of Negro League players were college men," O'Neil said. "We'd play at black colleges during spring training, and we'd recruit those college players. The majority of major league players were out of high school."
- The key to breaking baseball's color line with Jackie Robinson, was Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey.
"When the Yankees were on the road, we had 14 doubleheaders in Yankee Stadium and would draw 45,000 people," O'Neil continued. "Meanwhile, across the river they had 15,000 fans at Ebbetts Field. Branch knew that blacks were a brand new clientele. He was an astute businessman."
- The best major league baseball player O'Neil ever saw? Willie Mays. "But the best baseball player I ever saw was Oscar Charleston," O'Neil said. "He could hit 50 to 60 home runs, and he'd steal 100 bases."
* * *
Speaking of George W. Bush being in the Tri-Cities on Monday, I got a kick of something he said earlier this year when someone asked him what was the worst decision he ever made.
"Signing off on the Sammy Sosa trade," Bush replied.
At one time, Bush was the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers. And it was he who approved of the Rangers trading Sosa to the Chicago Cubs.
That alone might earn him some votes from Mariners fans.
- Sports editor Jeff Morrow can be reached at 582-1507 or via e-mail at jmorrow@tri-cityherald.com
Sports home | Americans | Posse | Area sports | Riley | Outdoors | Area golf