CHAMPS TO REUNITE FIVE DECADES LATER.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

NEWHALL - More than 50 years have passed since Hart High's baseball team managed a come-from-behind playoff win that one local newspaper called ``one of the most stirring rallies ever staged in these parts.''

And many of the surviving players can still recite the innings from memory.

Three of the 13 players have passed away, but the surviving players will gather later this month at the same Hart High baseball field on which they celebrated the greatest victory of their young lives.

``Home plate is exactly where it used to be,'' said Walton Cook, 71, who played second base for the Indians. ``It used to be alfalfa fields, carrot fields (in the area). Now, it's like a time warp. I have to look at the mountains to figure out where I am.''

Cook, retired from the insurance business, lived in Idaho for 30 years before settling in Santa Barbara about five years ago. Now a grandfather, he was instrumental in organizing the reunion game Feb. 19 at Hart High.

On that day in May 1950, the Indians, a team of mostly juniors and seniors, were taking a beating from the Santa Paula Cardinals, who had held Hart scoreless while crossing home plate seven times.

After five innings of the seven-inning game, the Indians appeared to be beyond help. But in the bottom of the sixth, Hart center fielder John Entriken connected for what sportswriter Bob Holt of the Ventura Star Free Press described as a ``fat, juicy home run.''

Entriken's home run sparked a Hart rally that scored eight runs in that half inning.

``I still have the ball that I caught for the last out of the game,'' said Lee Vinyard, who played first base for the Indians that day. ``I'm bringing it with me (to the reunion). All the players signed it, but most of the signatures have faded. I want to have them re-sign it.''

Vinyard, 72, was drafted by baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates after high school but was later drafted again - this time to serve in the Korean War. When he returned from combat, he earned a degree at California State University, Northridge, and spent more than 34 years teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Vinyard and his wife moved to Arizona more than 10 years ago.

When the players from that winning team return to play another game on Hart's field this month, they will be greeted by lush, green grass and a well-manicured infield. The field, however, was not always that way.

``We were the first team to play on the field after the grass was put in,'' Cook said. ``Before 1950, it was all dirt and rocks. We used to have to pick up rocks before infield practice.''

The reunion game, hosted by the Hart High Dugout club, will begin at 10 a.m. Feb. 19 at the school's baseball field. The all-day event will include a barbecue lunch.

All Hart High baseball alumni are invited. For more information, call alumni director Chris Cieszko at [phone] or Art Lucas at [phone].

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com