Chocolate Milk

 

It was going to be a big day for those of us who played baseball for Rice Elementary School. We were going to play the Tyler City Little League Champions. The game had been arranged by my father who as a milkman delivered milk to many of the homes where the city champs lived. 

A milkman in those days was assigned to deliver bottled milk to the home and to pick up empty bottles. It was not uncommon for the milkman to even go into the houses and put new bottles of milk in the refrigerators. My father was a friendly man and began to form relationships with those families who were on his route. Some of the children in those homes played on the Andy Woods City Championship baseball team.

 My father told them about his son playing on the Rice Elementary baseball team. Rice was a school located in the rural part of Smith County and not eligible to participate in the city league. He suggested that a game be played between the two teams with the winner getting ice-cold chocolate milk that he would provide.

As the big day arrived, it was evident that our team did not look the part. The city champions had impressive uniforms with caps. They all had baseball shoes and appropriate equipment. In fact, their coaches had matching caps like those of the players. At first glance it was easy to be overwhelmed by their overall appearance.

Now imagine our team. We did not all have the same type of jersey. Many of us just wore simple white tee-shirts. If we wore caps, they did not all match. And many of us played barefooted! Would you believe that I never wore baseball cleats until I entered the 7^th grade? Our catcher, Gene Dean, also caught without cleats. This was not an uncommon thing for those of us who went to Rice Elementary School in the mid 1950’s. 

The school rule allowed students to come to school barefooted without question. But if a student wore shoes to school, he could not take them off without a note from home. That is  unfathomable today! Most everyone found shoes to wear in the winter months. But in warmer weather it was not unusual for us to play baseball without shoes. I don’t know which team was astonished more with what they saw! 

The game started and our team proceeded to win the game. The country team at Rice Elementary defeated the Tyler City Champions and won the chocolate milk. This story is one that I always remembered as I was called upon to "play the city champs" in many arenas of my life.

A special thanks to my father.  He had an 8th grade education and was working in a service industry of delivering milk to many in the upper class. His job did not demand much respect. But he believed in his son’s country baseball team and challenged the city champs to play them. He even put an incentive on the game.

 Having a goal is important: I believe we wanted the chocolate milk more than they did. An everyday drink for the city champs was a rare refreshment drink for our team.  Desire and ambition play strongly into the achievement of our goals.  

So what are the lessons from that game that have gone with me throughout my 70-plus years of life?

·              1.  Don’t under or overestimate your opponent.

·             2.   Keep your focus; don't let "fancy uniforms" distract you.

·              3.  It is the players who win the games--not how they look or what they wear.

·             4.   Never be haughty to the humble nor humble to the haughty.

·      This lesson has stuck with me all my life. Never underestimate or overestimate your opponents or the people you serve. Treat everyone like they are city champs. And never look down on anyone just because they don’t look the part. Great leaders practice this in their daily lives.