College Baseball and Other Shenanigans

Hardy has always been a guy on the move. He went from playing corkball in North St. Louis alleys, to being a shortstop at age 10, and running for senior class president in high school. But that wouldn’t hold a candle to the thrills that he’d have his first year of college, where, between classes, he played thrilling baseball, while revving up to hit the majors. On off nights, Hardy found himself in shenanigan after shenanigan: wrestling with the troublemakers, a drunken night in the woods, orchestrating a bra-throwing party, gulping fried chicken at mom and pop spots on the road, and chasing girls – one, a mysterious green-eyed Strawberry Queen, and the other, a high school beauty, who would become a keeper. Along the way, he’d play an ill-timed game of chicken with a train, build a close relationship with an unpredictable “Coach,” play a game of baseball with a convicted killer, wind up with a carful of musicians blasting out “When the Saints Go Marching In” on special “instruments”, go eye-to-eye with an alligator, and be brought to his knees by a giant ball of tobacco. The story gets tense during the tight, final Conference Game; and oh yes, you’ll meet Hardy’s hapless friends dubbed “The Animals,” and many best friends, including, Big Judy, Doc and the “Itch.” Yes, it was shenanigan, after shenanigan, but oh my, it was a very good year...