A FINAL FOR THE AGES

Story by Jim Green

THE YEAR WAS 1970.

The state 1A baseball championship between the Farmer Falcons and the Robersonville Rams was to be contested in Robersonville with three games over four days.

The series – and the first game in particular – became the stuff of legend.

And, almost 50 years later, players, coaches and fans associated with the two communities are immortalized in the documentary “Just Plowboys.”

Michael Bronfenbrenner, known to many as Michael B, is the director and producer of the film, which documents the two communities and baseball teams success in the memorable 1970 season.

An Ithaca College (N.Y.) graduate, Bronfenbrenner has lived in California and now resides in Connecticut. He owns B-Line Images, which has produced video, film and photography media for broadcast, web and DVD distribution for the past nine years. 48

About four years ago while living in California, Bronfenbrenner became acquainted with neighbor Tom Clasby and his wife, Ginger Garner. Garner told him about Farmer, (a community south of Asheboro in Randolph County) where she grew up.

Eventually, she told him about the 1970 state baseball championship and the 17-inning game. When Michael B suggested it should be a film, she said (in an article in the Randolph County magazine Thrive), “That’s why I told you.”

Bronfenbrenner traveled to Randolph County and met several involved with the Falcons’ state championship team.

He then contacted Nolan Respess, head coach at Robersonville, and soon after they met in Robersonville to discuss a reunion and film about the 1970 state championship series.

“Michael B called me a couple of years ago,” Respess said. “I told him about both pitchers (Robersonville’s Glenn Forbes and Farmer’s Randolph Myers) throwing all 17 innings, and he was all to pieces over it. He said this was going to be unreal.”

Michael B brought crews to Lanier Ballfield in the New Hope Community in late August 2018 to shoot reenactments featuring grandsons of Farmer players. It was also a reunion as players and coaches from both teams met for the first time in nearly five decades.

Not everybody could be at the reunion, however. Robersonville players Bobby Gene Rawls and Lang Hardison, as well as Farmer

EITHER TEAM COULD HAVE WON. THEY WERE THAT CLOSE IN TALENT. AND THE FIRST GAME…THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER GAME LIKE THAT ONE – EVER.

- Michael Bronfen renner

players Randy Johnson, Terry Johnson, Ronald ‘Bear’ Lanier, Harrell Hoover and Louie Nance have all since passed on.

The premiere of “Just Plowboys” was held in September 2018 in Asheboro, and a large crowd from each community attended the event. A second screening was later held at the Turnage Theatre in Washington.

The film focuses on Farmer and its run to a state title, but it also includes many interviews with Robersonville people.

“We knew it would mainly be about them, but we had about as many interviews as they did as far as players were concerned,” Respess said.

Watching the film was emotional for Respess and Forbes.

“It brought tears to my eyes, even though the focus was on Farmer,” Respess said. “The key to it was they had been to the last two state finals and lost, and in 1970 they beat us.”

In fact, the Farmer players were playing for a school that, technically, no longer existed, and some of the players had already graduated.

The series was memorable for more than

A reunion of sorts was held in 2018 with members of the 1970 Robersonville High School baseball team and Randall Myers, a pitcher on the 1970 Farmer High School team. Pictured from left are RHS head coach Nolan Respess, Rams players Edward Warren and Benny Knox, Myers, and Robersonville players Glenn Forbes, Hal Knox and Loyall Corey Jr.

just the 17-inning game.

All three games were decided by a total of five runs, and Farmer only scored runs in the seventh inning of game two (a 2-1 win) and the first inning of game three (a 4-1 triumph) to take the title.

“Either team could have won. They were that close in talent,” Michael B said. “And the first game…there will never be another game like that one – ever.”

ROBERSONVILLE IN 1970

Nolan Respess had been in Robersonville almost five years when the fateful 1970 season arrived.

“Robersonville was one fantastic place to raise a family,” he said. “It had two theatres, it had a drug store, and main street was just bustling.”

Robersonville High School was a Class 1A school then and had around 200 students in grades 9-12.

The powers-that-be then felt the team had more than enough talent to compete for a state title.

“What they wanted was someone to put some fire under them because I was a hellraiser,” Respess recalled, laughing. “I wouldn’t lie about it.”

Forbes also recalled how the town was as close-knit as Farmer’s during that time.

“The railroad tracks separated one end of town from the other,” he said. “When it snowed, we would have snowball fights. It was a lot of fun.”

As far as baseball, Respess believed his

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team could win it all in 1970.

“We believed we had a state-caliber type team because we had Glenn Forbes and quite a few players back from the year before,” he said. “The town also had a tremendous Little League program and a great feeder program.”

With Forbes and fellow pitcher Benny Knox on the mound and a solid returning cast, Robersonville won its conference (which included its chief rival Jamesville, Oak City and Bear Grass) and made the state playoffs.

Respess believed in pitching and defense, and with guys like Edward Warren, Everett Jackson, Hardison, Rawls, Hal Knox, Phil James, Timmy James, Summy Mobley, Loyall Corey and others, they went all the way to the 1970 state finals.

THE 17 INNING GAME

Forbes, a left-hander, was primarily a breaking-ball pitcher, while his counterpart in game one – Myers – was right-handed and mainly a fastball pitcher.

“Glenn was in tremendously good physical shape and had such excellent control, he didn’t have to throw a lot of pitches,” Respess said.

Respess and his managerial counterpart, Woody Younts of Farmer, kept their eyes on the pitchers throughout the contest.

Forbes threw around 170 pitches, Respess said, while Myers threw about 220.

Myers had a no-hitter in the ninth inning, and Forbes was the one who broke it up.

During the marathon game, people listening on the radio came to the ballfield in Robersonville to watch, and auxiliary bleachers were brought in. The bleachers collapsed under the weight, but no one was hurt.

In the bottom of the 17th inning, Robersonville’s catcher, Hal Knox, was hit by a pitch and stole second. Phil James, who had struck out six times, came through with a single to bring in the winning run.

The next day (Saturday), Farmer had still not scored through five innings against Benny Knox, making it 22 scoreless frames, and Robersonville held a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning.

The Rams loaded the bases and Younts replaced starter Randy Johnson and brought in Junior Hunt. Hunt fell behind in the count

WHEN YOU GET OLDER, YOU GET SOFTHEARTED. LITTLE THINGS CAN BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES, AND SEEING SOME OF THESE GUYS… THEY DID A REAL GOOD JOB WITH THEIR INTERVIEWS – VERY IMPRESSIVE.

3-0 but came back with three straight

Nolan Respess

strikes to quell the uprising.

Hunt then became the hero in game two when his single with runners on second and third brought in the winning run.

The final game featured Myers versus Forbes again on the mound, and both hurlers went seven innings. Farmer took advantage of three uncharacteristic miscues by Robersonville to plate four unearned runs in the first inning. The Falcons held on for the 4-1 victory after Hunt threw to first for the final out to get Myers and the

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Falcons out of a bases-loaded jam.

When the series is retold 48 years later, the 17-inning game is what many remember around this region.

“A lot of people around here still don’t know whether we won the state championship or not,” Forbes said.

Respess chimed in: “What we want to remember is the 17-inning game. What Farmer wants to remember is winning the state championship in its final year as a school.

“It was just a very exciting, unbelievable series,” he added.

As time has passed, Respess admits he misses the players his team lost and describes the series, and the documentary, as something special.

“When you get older, you get softhearted,” Respess said. “Little things can bring tears to your eyes, and seeing some of these guys… they did a real good job with their interviews – very impressive.

“It hurts when you get old, because not many people around here now know about that 17-inning game – they could care less about it,” he added. “But it’s big to me and Glenn Forbes, our families, and all of the players and everyone else who is still around to remember it. We knew the focus would be on Farmer but we were thrilled to take part in (the documentary). Michael B did a great job.”