Post 73 Crush of Sunnyside beat Tucson Firebirds Post 7 of Tucson High 12-4 Wednesday night to even up the best-of-three series between the two programs at the American Legion state semifinals held at Vista Grande High School. The deciding game will take place tonight at 5 p.m.
The Cactus Cats of Desert View evened up their series with the Lofton Panthers of Surprise with an 8-4 victory in the other semifinal. The final game of that series will follow the first game.
The two winners will advance to the state championship round for a shot at the American Legion West Regional to be held in Fairfield, California from August 3-7 and the American Legion World Series is scheduled for Shelby, North Carolina from August 11-16.
AMERICAN LEGION HISTORY: 1921
The Tucson Baseball Association constructed a field at Blenman Park (Elysian Grove) with a grandstand and bleachers but the City did not offer water for the grass initially. The Tucson Citizen created the City League with Manny Drachman (President), J. Cress Myers (VP) and Walter Young (Secretary-Treasurer) serving as the first officers.
Eight teams were formed but only four took part in double-headers on Sundays including the American Legion, Pastime Park, Tucson Cubs and Arizona Eastern. The American Legion took third place that first year. The league disbanded and that’s when independent leagues in Tucson took off. The Morgan McDermott Post was the American Legion standard and it still stands at 330 W. Franklin St.
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Named one of “Arizona’s Heart & Sol” by KOLD and Casino del Sol, Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and a 2019 AZ Education News recognition. He was a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling and his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is a Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. He earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater and he was recognized by City Councilman Richard Fimbres. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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