Page 3 - Mr Goheen and Me

involved in that too. I remember memorizing a lot of Bible verses and playing ringette. Later he sponsored my brother Gord and I to a Christian summer camp, in North Bay I believe. Both of us said we made “commitments to Christ” but I don’t think mine was genuine.
One time, Mr. Goheen invited me to come to Sunday dinner at their home in Applewood Acres. In those days the Goheens were quite strict about leisure and sports activities on Sundays. Still, when Mike and I got bored and I suggested we play catch, Mr. Goheen gave us permission to toss the ball around in the field behind their place. Mike and I played a pitching game. One time he would be pitcher and I the catcher and then we’d switch. Mike was impressed with my arm and accuracy. He called his dad over to watch. The next thing I knew, I was joining Mike’s house league baseball team in Applewood, which, for some obscure reason, was named Buffalo. That was my introduction to playing organized ball.
When the Goheens moved to Streetsville, Mr. Goheen got the minor baseball team going for the 13-14 year old division. He asked me to be part of it. Streetsville was five miles from my place but that didn’t matter. He would often pick me up and drive me home after the games. I was one of the pitchers, but more importantly found my home at shortstop. Ross entered our ragtag team from Streetsville in tournaments around the province with teams representing major cities and towns. It was good experience to play higher level
competition even though we were often
overmatched and thoroughly thumped. Baseball
became my passion.
In the Bantam division of the Mississauga Baseball League where we competed, we won the championship that year. At a wrap up party for the team Mr. Goheen presented each player with a book titled “Reach Out” which was a copy of the New Testament in the Living Bible translation. In the