Burlesque star was distraction, but Akron pitcher kept cool in title game | Mark J. Price
Nothing could break Stan Sipka’s concentration when he pitched a game. Not even the Akron burlesque star cheering on the sideline.
The 89-year-old Cuyahoga Falls resident had to smile when he read our feature story about local striptease legend Kiki Arnold. It reminded him of his first (and only) encounter with the nightclub entertainer in 1948.
Sipka, then 13, played baseball for a youth team sponsored by Cline Drain Service, a Triplett Boulevard company founded in 1945 by former Akron councilman George W. Cline.
As Sipka pitched in the league championship on a Saturday morning at Reservoir Park in East Akron, one of Cline’s sons brought Arnold to the game. The tall redhead stood out in the crowd, Sipka recalled, because she was all dressed up while everyone else was in casual attire.
A lot of male spectators noticed her, but Sipka kept his focus on the game.
“I pitched a no-hitter, and we won,” Sipka recalled. “Teammates, family and friends mobbed me. I am standing there, and Kiki comes over and grabs me, and pulls me forward for a serious hug. I was stuck. As she hugged me, she commented how thrilling it was to watch me pitch a no-hitter. It lasted about 15 to 20 seconds. I know my dad and other men would have liked a hug like that.”
‘Mad Daddy’ remembered
The article about Akron disc jockey “Mad Daddy” Pete Myers brought back 1950s memories for Green resident Wayne Popiel, 78.
“I remember listening to Mad Daddy when I was 11 or 12 years old with my brother [David] who was five years older than I was,” Popiel recalled. “Since he was older, he was allowed to listen. … I was not!
“But he snuck me into his room and we listened together with the volume very low. I remember some of the crazy sayings that he had … ‘Wheelin’ and a dealin’ hangin’ from the ceiling where the mello Jell-O flows.’ ‘Hang loose, Mother Goose.’
“I asked around to some of the people I know and no one seems to remember Mad Daddy. I guess I must be getting old.”
Let’s get pickled
Great gherkins! Better mark your calendar.
The Akron Pickle Fest will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11, at Cascade Plaza in downtown Akron.
Co-sponsored by Stray Dog and Oddmall, the event will include “delicious, delicious pickles,” vendors, food trucks, and The Picklelympics featuring bobbing for pickles, fishing for pickles, a pickle-eating contest, a greased pickle toss, the Best Pickle There Is Competition and a Dangling Pickle on a String No-Handed Pickle Eating Contest.
The promoters promise: “Way more stuff than that!”
It will be tough to top the Best Pickle There Is Competition.
Dream jobs in Ohio
What are the most sought-after jobs in Ohio? Class Central, an aggregator of online courses, has crunched the numbers.
According to an analysis of Google searches, the most wanted job in Ohio is … drum roll, please … a phlebotomist.
The blood-drawing profession averaged 8,192 searches a month over a one-year span.
Researchers analyzed the average number of Google searches for more than 100 careers, including terms such as “how to become a (job role),” “what qualifications do I need to become a (job role)” and “(job role) salary.”
Rounding out the top five desired jobs in the Buckeye State are flight attendant (7,492 searches), nurse (6,045 searches), welder (5,913 searches) and pharmacist (4,128 searches).
If only there was a way to combine the fields of welding and phlebotomy.
This and that
Cleveland TV website headline: “Why did intruder spend time in bathroom during burglary?” Um, isn’t it obvious?
Is that the Great Wall of China running alongside Interstate 77? Nope, it’s just another sound barrier. Thanks, Ohio.
Cleveland attorney Tim Misny’s billboards are unnerving. I’d rather settle out of court than face that arched eyebrow at trial.
What superhero lives in Ghent? Na-na-na-na. Na-na-na-na. Bath man!
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Young pitcher kept focus while burlesque star cheered for him
