Ernie Webb.
Ernie Webb was a stalwart in adult basketball leagues.
You hear the name and think sports, stamina and skill. You think of a guy who played organized sports until he was well into his 50s, and how he played with determination.
John Francis, his son-in-law, told of the time he and Webb were teammates in an adult basketball league. During a game in Wellington one night, Webb suffered a severe arm injury. Francis said everyone in the gym could see it was broken.
?But he went to the foul line,? he said, ?and made two shots, shooting with his broken arm. That tells you who Ernie Webb is.?
He is the middle son among three who arguably rank in the top echelon of amateur athletes Elyria has ever produced.
Tom Webb, the eldest, starred in football and basketball at Elyria High. His younger brothers, Ernie and Earl, were just as talented. But they made their names not as much on high school teams as in sandlot and recreational sports in Lorain County and elsewhere.
Ernie Webb earned a JV basketball letter at Elyria, but left the program and became a dominant player in adult fastpitch softball and basketball leagues.
He has the photos, clippings and statistics to prove it.
The clippings have been meticulously saved, copied and preserved in binders. They tell how he hit two home runs in a game or how his single sparked a three-run rally that produced victory for the old Elyria Bowling Center team.
They tie his name to many of the memorable local sports stars of years past: Jack Traxler, Dave Dicken, Hank and Shannon Mowery, Bill Archer, John Vanco, Zen Chawansky, Joe Serfozo and many more. Players on a basketball team he formed in the late 1980s included Francis, Phil Whintworth, Kenny Cole, Todd Brubaker, Art Daniels, John Srnis, his brother Earl, Mario Villa, Robert and Cedric Lynch and Dave Bosley.
He started playing Little League baseball in 1950, the year it was organized in Elyria. When he became too old for Little League, he joined Castle?s Wallpaper & Paint of the city?s old Class D Hot Stove League. There?s a photo of that team, and Webb is in the front row.
There?s a picture of his basketball team from the ?60s that includes all three Webb brothers, and another of Ernie driving on a defender. Among the mementos from his playing days are the JV basketball letter, a certificate for his freshman football letter and patches commemorating his participation in a variety of softball tournaments.
One of his certificates stands out. He received it for winning a foul shooting contest in Cleveland in the mid-?50s sponsored by the old Cleveland Press. He made an astonishing 99 of 100 shots.
Perhaps not many know that Ernie?s most notable achievement came not in sports, but in his personal life. At a time when he had become dependent on alcohol, he made the decision to stop drinking. He did so successfully more than 30 years ago and he?s proud of it.
A decade later, he told a newspaper columnist: ?I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.?
Today, Webb, 74, faces his most difficult challenge. For several months, he has been treated for cancer and the prognosis is not encouraging. Kathy Francis, his daughter, said he continues to receive medication, but is no longer receiving chemotherapy. Also, he has been placed in hospice care at his home.
His decision to stop drinking not only turned his personal life around, it also helped him continue to play softball and basketball into the ?90s. Even then, he ran teammates and opponents ragged on the basketball court and averaged 12-15 points and 10-15 assists per game, Francis recalled.
Along the way, he earned a reputation for generosity and a willingness to help others that rivaled his status as a good and seemingly ageless athlete.
?There have been many times when Ernie would help people, and he might not even know the person he was helping,? John Francis said. ?He got to be known as an older gentleman who would help other people and that?s the way he conducted his business both on and off the field. A man who can do that has something awful special.?
He also maintained his competitive drive.
?There was a game at Subway Park (Lorain) where I hit a home run and was thrilled to death,? Francis said. ?Ernie was batting right behind me and he hit a home run probably twice as far as I did and took all my glory away. But we were both happy we hit back-to-back home runs and that was probably the greatest time I ever had in fastpitch softball with my father-in-law.?
Bob Renney of Lorain, a well-known former fastpitch player and manager, recalled Webb fondly.
?I remember from my early teens up to my late teens riding my bike over to the Oakwood Park fastpitch field when Ernie played Class B softball,? said Renney, retired former director of the Lorain Parks and Recreation Department.
?What I remember most about Ernie is it seemed like a couple of times every at-bat he would hit sizzling line drives foul toward third base. If they moved the foul line another 25 or 30 feet to the left, he probably would have increased his batting average by 50 or more points.
?The thing I?ll always remember, too, is he was a gentleman,? Renney added. ?Whether you played with him or against him, it always seemed like he was smiling.?
Webb?s baseball hero was Yankees slugger and Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, who wore No. 7.
Francis recently contacted the Yankees, told them about Webb and his admiration for Mantle. Through its Legends Hospitality concessionaire, the ballclub sent Francis a pinstripe uniform shirt with the familiar NY logo on the chest.
With the help of Bosley of Kohlmeyer Sports he had No. 7 and Webb?s and Mantle?s names stitched on the back.
?Ernie would sometimes come over early in the morning to work in our yard before my wife and I ever woke up, and he was gone before we woke up,? Francis said. ?Ernie also taught me how to dress pro style ? not the way the pros dress today, sloppy looking.
?LeBron thinks he knows a lot about playing, but he could learn a lot from my father-in-law about life and sports. James has only three MVPs. I tell you, (Webb) has been an MVP at least 40 times in sports and a great man in life.
?It was an honor and privilege to play basketball and fastpitch with old No. 7,? Francis said. ?He was the best and my all-time sports hero. I love the guy.?
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or softball@bobdaniels.info.
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