TAXI OFF DUTY: Salute to Lou Spry, Clover Park High grad, of baseball fame

This story is belated “In Memoriam” recognition of 1953 Clover Park High School grad Louis Jennings Spry, who died at age 78 on March 10, 2015.

Prior to his death, he had been in declining health and in hospice care.

Although he died in Louisiana, Spry lived in the Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas area most of his life.

Nicknamed “Lou” and “Louie,” he was born in Nebraska in 1936. As a 4-year-old in 1940 he moved with his family to Pierce County, Wash., possibly Spanaway.

His father took 10-year-old Spry to his first baseball game, featuring semi-pro teams in Tacoma, Wash. He got his first scorecard there and learned how to score baseball. From that point, Spry said he became a “baseball nut.”

The Spry family didn’t live in Lakewood, Wash. However, he apparently could select which high school to attend. Although an older brother graduated from Tacoma’s Lincoln High School, Spry picked Lakewood’s Clover Park High School.

At the time Spry was a student in the Clover Park schools, the Clover Park School District had its high school and junior high at the same location. Before Hudtloff Junior High existed, there was Clover Park Junior High School. It’s assumed Spry started at CPJH as an eighth grader.

As a sophomore at Clover Park High School, Spry entered a contest. Winner would be official scorekeeper of the school baseball team. The contest -- sponsored by Clover Park’s baseball coach, apparently Wes Saxton -- was a 20-question test. Spry answered all the questions correctly. The next day, Saxton told Spry, “You’re it. Get your stuff, we’ve got a game.”

After graduating from Clover Park, Spry worked summers from 1953 through 1958 for Tacoma’s Metropolitan Park District as public address announcer and scorer for Tacoma City League baseball games.

While working for the district, Spry met Marv Harshman, who was the district’s summer groundskeeper. Harshman was Pacific Lutheran College (PLC) coach and athletic director at the time. “Harsh” helped Spry become the scorekeeper for the Pacific Lutheran baseball team. Best known for coaching basketball at PLC, WSU and UW, “Harsh” also coached baseball and football at PLC.

Spry studied at PLC (now called Pacific Lutheran University) 1953-1959 and also attended College of Puget Sound (now called the University of Puget Sound). He worked as assistant sports information director at both colleges.

Spry accomplished so much during his career, it’s impossible to detail it all. Here’s some of it. He:

--worked for the NAIA/National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics serving as statistician as well as official scorer for the NAIA Baseball World Series in 1963 and 1964. This followed his time in the Tacoma area and was immediately after serving a U.S. Army hitch.

--was scorer and announcer for the Kansas City Steers of the American Basketball League.

--served as sports Information Director of West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M) in Canyon, Texas.

--joined the NCAA/National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1966 and retired from the association in 1999. For the NCAA, he held jobs as publications editor, research director, publishing director and assistant to the executive director. He also was assistant executive director for championships. In addition, he was controller and associate executive director/CFO-chief financial officer. He managed 21 annual and special NCAA conventions from 1981-1999. Spry was official scorer for the NCAA baseball CWS/College World Series in Omaha, 1981-2012. He was CWC media coordinator, 1967-1971 and CWC tournament manager, 1971-1979. Also, he was director of NCAA Division I baseball regionals, 1991-2004.

--was official scorer for the Kansas City Royals of the Major League Baseball, the Amarillo baseball team in the Texas League and the Kansas City T-Bones baseball club of the Northern League

His honors included the:

--Lefty Gomez Award in 1977 from American Baseball Coaches Association "for outstanding contributions and distinguished service to college baseball,"

--U.S. Baseball Federation's W.P. “Dutch” Fehring Award of Merit in 1984 in recognition of “outstanding contributions to amateur baseball in the United States of America."

--Amateur Baseball Umpires Association Hall of Fame in 2001 in recognition of “outstanding service to amateur baseball.” He was a longtime baseball umpire on several levels including college

--Marc H. Blau Meritorious Service Award in 2005 from the Tacoma-Pierce County Old-Timers Baseball-Softball Association. It was presented to Spry and three other Spry family members for investing “themselves deeply into the game of baseball, both locally and across the country.”

--Wilbur Snypp Award in 2010 from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for outstanding contributions to college baseball.

Sources for this story include:

--Telephone conversations a long time ago with Lou Spry.

--Pacific Lutheran University and University of Puget Sound archives via online access.

--Legacy.com

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?pid=174412757

--Omaha World-Herald:

http://www.omaha.com/sports/cws/lou-spry-loved-college-world-series-was-a-great-friend/article_60cc47c1-28ce-5d06-928e-23d9e78ab348.html

http://www.omaha.com/sports/shatel-with-a-little-help-from-some-friends-lou-spry/article_c702cc0d-4f49-5bc9-a3f9-435e21059c5f.html

--Kansas City Star:

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/campus-corner/article13190198.html

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/campus-corner/article321664/Overland-Park%E2%80%99s-Lou-Spry-was-College-World-Series-scorekeeper-for-31-years.html