| I.S.C. From The Ballpark |
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STARS OF THE I.S.C. - - - - - JUNE, 2004 - - - - - -ROY STOUT
(A Tribute to Past, Present, and Emerging Stars of the ISC)
ROY STOUT - - AN EIGHT DECADE SAGA OF AN AMERICAN HERO
Why quieter and more peaceful, you ask? Real simple - - on that birthday 60 years ago, Roy Stout was a part of the largest invasion force in the history of the world. He was "on the beach" at Normandy as a Signalman with the Seventh Beach Battalion. Pretty good chance he didn't do much birthday celebrating that day - - - and perhaps not even realizing that he was leaving his teen years behind.
Stout's platoon was originally scheduled to land one day earlier, on D-Day itself, as part of the third wave to hit Omaha Beach, but the bad weather and the confusion on the beach with all the fierce fighting caused his platoon to arrive on D-Day +1. And the beach was where he stayed -- - for the next 21 days - - - serving as a Signalman and carrying fallen comrades to the first cemetery established during the Normandy invasion.
That experience of 60 years ago would be enough to fill a lifetime with memories - - - but there is more - - - so much more - - - and it had its beginning almost two decades earlier.
Roy Stout was a typical child of the 1930's with Boy Scouts, a paper route, selling magazines, and growing up with the Golden State. But his horizons quickly expanded beyond beaches, blonds, and bicycles. With his step-father a Navy officer assigned to the Asiatic Fleet, young Roy had the opportunity of being in pre-W.W. II China in 1938 - - had the experience of witnessing the brutality of the Japanese occupation of China; even had a Japanese bayonet pressed against his young body.
Spending time in high schools in Manila in the Philippines, and later after being evacuated to Long Beach, California, Stout worked as an operator of "games of chance" in an amusement zone on Long Beach Pike; as a trucking company employee; and as a "fry cook" in a drive-in restaurant.
And then came Pearl Harbor! An eager patriot, he first served with the Seabees, then joined the regular Navy. Advancing to the role of drill master, he was sent to school to train as a Signalman ("probably because of my semaphore and signal light training in the Boy Scouts", according to Roy). And of course all of that background led to that amazing experience on the beaches of Normandy.
Following the end of the war in Europe and marriage to long-time sweetheart Betty Scott in March of 1945, Stout's group was sent to the Pacific and was in preparation for what was expected to be an invasion of Japan when the war ended.
But Roy Stout's career in the Navy was only beginning. He was to serve a total of 20 years (1942 - 1962) and his adventures indeed reflected the slogan "Join the Navy and see the world". Among the many highlights of those adventures were such things as:
** Volunteering for submarine duty - - - a move which led to duty and adventure and near-disaster in the icy waters off the north coast of Alaska;
** Submarine duty during the Korean War with adventures north of the 38th parallel;
** A three-year stint at Vanderbilt University as Assistant Instructor of Navigation;
** Back to the submarines and a 1957 cold war spy run off the coast of Russia near Vladivostok. Here the Roy Stout story nearly ended as his sub's periscope was spotted and the ship submerged for nearly 72 hours without fresh air and unable to charge the batteries which powered the ship. This led to an incident with the Russian ships which led to a narrowly-averted flash point in the Cold War which went un-reported in the media for nearly 35 years;
** An "Around the world in 80 days" experience on the U.S.S. Gudgeon where he served as Assistant Navigator on the first submarine to circumnavigate the world traveling through the Suez Canal; the Mediterranean Sea; the Arabian Sea; both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and 12 countries (Japan; Hong Kong; Philippines; Ceylon; Pakistan; Egypt; Greece; Italy; France; Spain; Portugal; Panama, and the Canal - - - arriving back in Pearl Harbor in 80 days!
So where, you ask, does the sports world enter the saga of Roy Stout? Where is the fastball experience?
Like so many young men, the service experience served as an introduction to sports. He began calling basketball, baseball, and softball games as an umpire and referee, and he became one of the Navy's top fastpitch pitchers.
Aspiring to become a major league umpire after his retirement from the Navy in 1962, Roy Stout attended umpire school and spent a season calling balls and strikes in the minor leagues. With a young and growing family, he moved back to southern California and was soon involved as a referee in the original American Basketball Association (ABA).
Roy's partner during his ABA experience was Doug Harvey who was later to become a National League umpire for more than 30 years; in his minor league umpiring career his partner was Marty Springstead who went on to a long career as an American League arbiter.
By 1965, Stout had become a Corrections Officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He was also fully involved with fastball, both as an umpire and as an administrator in southern California ISC programs. As part of his umpiring experiences, he traveled to both the Orient and to Europe as a lead instructor presenting umpiring clinics sponsored through the U.S. State Department.
Stories abound of Roy Stout, his unique personality, and his devotion to family and to the sport which he has loved for so long. His associates in the umpiring field are quick to share humorous (and some serious) stories. Long-time friend and partner John Voss recalls a trek he and Roy took as umpires in the mid-1980s when following an ISC Travel League weekend in Missouri, they packed to return home to California with Roy entrusted with their airline tickets - - - and constantly assuring Voss that he did, indeed, have the tickets. As they neared the airport the horrible truth dawned: the tickets had been left behind; the race to retrieve them and catch the flight was close - - - but was LOST - - and the missed flight resulted in an eight hour wait and a very silent flight home!
Fellow umpire Les Novak recalls fondly working with Roy in a women's exhibition game pitting a California all-star team against a touring Chinese national team. Says Novak, "Betty Stout had come to the game; she sat behind the backstop and started to heckle and criticize Roy's work behind the plate. About the third inning I went up to Roy and asked, 'Why did you bring your wife if she is going to give you a bad time during the game?' and Roy's answer was, 'She always disagrees with my umpiring, and besides the Chinese don't have any idea what she is saying!'"
Novak also tells a tale that assumes that "everybody knows how tight Roy is". According to Novak, Stout was driving across the country to come to Minnesota to work a couple of tournaments. He had developed a toothache a week before he left California but he know that he had to go through Nebraska on the way to Minnesota - - - so he stopped in Grand Island to see Doc Simmons and managed to get some free dental work from the good doctor.
And then there are the tales told by both Novak and Voss about the experiences which the three of them had while in Winnipeg for the Pan American games, but shut my mouth, you won't be allowed to hear them.
Reflecting on Roy Stout's service to the sport and to the ISC, Ken Hackmeister shakes his head with wonder as he says, "At the age of 80, Roy Stout still umpires men's fastball games, both behind the plate and on the bases. I don't know of, nor have ever heard of, anyone that age still effectively umpiring men's ball at the highest level."
And Hackmeister points out that Stout has served as an ISC Game Controller since the position was created in 2000. He continues, "Roy has built a tremendous rapport with team managers over the years and has effectively used that rapport, and that respect, as he has single handedly turned the Red Rock Tournament in St. George into a major event on the men's fastball tournament calendar.
To a chorus of "Amen's" Hackmeister observes that Roy Stout is one of the true 'characters' of the game and is genuinely liked and respected by virtually all who come in contact. "His trademark straw cap always identifies him from afar when teams are looking for their game ball, lineup card, or wanting to do a coin flip."
Stout's beloved wife of 49 years, Betty, died in 1994. They are the parents of four children: Jeanne Roi Ann; Donald Scott; Fred Duane; and Mary Suzanne, and an adopted son Sean McCarthy.
In 1997, Roy married Helen Keeton. They currently reside in Lake Hughes, California, where they are active in the Lancaster Presbyterian Church where Roy serves as an Elder.
The young man who hit the beaches of Normandy 60 years ago this week will hit the landmark age of 80 on June 7. He has filled the decades with excitement, achievement, and living memories which his legion of friends and admirers can only fondly recall as they join in a chorus of:
HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY, ROY STOUT - - - a "STAR OF THE ISC"
And if you would like to congratulation Roy Stout (and you catch him when he is not on a ball field) he can be found at:
Roy Stout
P.O. Box 812
Lake Hughes, CA 93532
E-Mail Address: umpire5@verizon.net
June 4, 2004
By: Gordon Wise - - - ISC Information Officer
(John Voss, Les Novak, and Ken Hackmeister contributed to this article)
sgwise@woh.rr.com
http://www.iscfastpitch.com