VALENCIA MAN A LIVING LINK TO BASEBALL'S PAST.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News

Harry Louis lives for the game of baseball and has for most of his 96 years.

Now a Valencia resident, Louis grew up in the small Wisconsin town of Fort Atkinson, where he spent many hours listening to the WGN radio broadcasts of Chicago games. The rival White Sox weren't on radio in those days.

Located about 30 miles outside of Madison, Fort Atkinson was - and still is - small-town America, a place where young men like Harry Louis played pickup baseball games on the weekends and talked about the mighty George Herman Ruth of the New York Yankees.

But Louis wasn't just a casual fan knowledgeable about the Babe Ruths and Lou Gehrigs of baseball. He was a live-for-baseball fan who could recite the starting lineups of his favorite Cubs teams.

``Mr. Cub'' Ernie Banks is one of Louis' all-time favorite players. Likewise, the less known 1930s Cubs first baseman Charlie Grimm.

``I've been through thick and thin with the Cubs,'' Louis said.

Eleven years ago, Louis moved to Valencia to live with his son, Dick, who was the athletic director at Hart High School.

They have been to all of the Indians' league games, home and on the road. It's been a way for them to share time and their appreciation for the game.

``We like to stay involved,'' said Dick Louis, who also announces the Indians' football games. ``It's fun to watch the development of the players and to be outdoors in the springtime.''

Harry Louis has seen the game go through many changes during his life.

For one, the Chicago White Sox now broadcast their games on the radio and television.

There are also artificial turf, lights, retractable-roof stadiums, expansion teams, international players, the designated hitter and - perhaps the best proof of the changing times - lights at Wrigley Field.

And while he remains ambivalent about some of the changes, he feels strongly that the expansion teams are weakening the pitching.

Father and son certainly don't agree about everything in baseball. Dick, who moved to Southern California in 1963, is a Dodgers fan, while Harry wouldn't exactly invite Manager Tommy Lasorda over for a pasta dinner.

``I think he recognizes the Dodgers are a good team, but he doesn't like Lasorda,'' said Dick Louis, who looks forward to this weekend's Dodgers-Cubs series.

While the pair has seen history on the major-league level, they've also witnessed high school baseball history. Over the years, they've watched a number of players who went on to professional careers, including Roger Salkeld and Andrew Lorraine.

But for Harry, the fun now comes not from knowing all the players' names, but from enjoying the game's finer moments.

``He likes the excitement of something happening,'' Dick Louis said. ``Extra-base hits, home runs, those things.''

And, of course, a Cubs victory over the Dodgers.

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Photo

Photo: (color) Harry ``Grandpa'' Louis, left, and his son,Dick, watch the Hart baseball team play.

Evan Yee/Daily News