My Grandfather was Lewis Comer. He was born in Bascom, Ohio, just five miles west of here, in the 1880s.



He grew up in that little village (where I also grew up) and played the Great American Past-time every day that the sun shined.



In his teens and early twenties he played semi-pro ball for the Tiffin team. They were very good and he was their catcher.



My Grandmother, Rosa Shiley, thought that Lewis was the light of her life. They were courting when he played ball.



They got married, baseball became a spectator sport, and they had eight children. My mother is one of them. They also had two children who died at birth or very young.

Lewis passed away in 1948. Grandma died in 1978.

When I played the game I always got reminded of how good Grandpa was. One of the Tiffin pitchers got a tryout with the Boston Red Sox in the early 1900's. When he came back to the area he told everyone that of all those big league catchers who caught his pitches, not one was as good as Lewis Comer.

The photos were found glued to the inside lid of his old trunk. My sister photographed them digitally and I have made framing copies for my three uncles and my Mom. The photos were from 1906 or 1907.