Some heroes are born, some heroes are made. What makes a sports hero? To some, heroes are made by the accomplishments they achieve. Some are born leaders who earn hero status by the work they do for the community. My hero came to light for me in 1997. October 5th, 2010 will mark 19 years of retirement for my hero. Let's take a walk down history lane. The 1976 MLB Amateur draft was a windfall both directly and indirectly for the Detroit Tigers. Leon "Bull" Durham, Alan Trammell, Jack Morris, Gene Roof, and Dan Petry were all drafted within the first 12 rounds. As I'm sure most are aware, Alan Trammell, Jack Morris and Dan Petry all were key members of the 1984 World Champion Detroit Tigers team. After his playing career ended, Leon Durham joined Lakeland in 1996 and has been the hitting coach in Toledo since 2001. Gene Roof called his career after a 5 game stint with the Toledo Mudhens in 1987. After retiring from an active career, Gene Roof became the hitting coach at Toledo and held that position until a couple of minor league managing jobs propelled his career into the big club in 1992. Gene has been a pivotal piece of the Detroit Tigers since, with only a few minor exits.
To most Detroit Tiger fans and baseball fans around the world, Durham, Trammell, Morris and Roof were some real feel good stories of playing and/or managerial success. The one star left out of that conversation in almost every circle is Dan Petry. While Trammell and Morris got the most attention, Petry quietly made his career a success by being one of the top pitchers on the staff in 1984 alone. With a 3.24 ERA during the regular season, Petry had a rough going in the World Series going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. 1985 came all too quickly and Petry showed how well he could bounce back by making the American League all star team while winning 15 games with a 3.36 ERA. 1986 started the slow decline for Petry as he was slowly making his way out of the limelight. Petry ended his career in 1991 after pitching in 13 games for the Red Sox with no decisions. Dan Petry rode off into the sunset with 125 career wins, 104 career losses, and a 3.95 ERA. While others like Leon Durham, Gene Roof, and Alan Trammell continued their baseball careers by managing, Dan Petry did the same; only on a smaller scale.
Just as Bryan Adams is entrenched in the “Summer of '69”, I will always remember the summer of '97. The sun was shining bright and the temperature was scalding. It had to be at least 90 degrees. The next two hours would be spent in the heat, doing something I loved tremendously. I pulled into a parking spot at Bicentennial Park and stepped out of my car. Dressed in my grey pants over my shin pads and a blue shirt covering my chest protector, I began to sweat almost immediately. It was my night to umpire a game between 10 and 11 year olds. As I was getting ready to go over the ground rules with the coaches, I realized I was standing in the presence of an All Star. Dan Petry was coaching his son's team and I was the one in charge of umpiring a fair game. Never before did I feel any pressure or stress when it came to umpiring. This was the middle of my second season and I finally felt what others felt from the beginning. It came to a peak when I finished with the ground rules and Mr. Petry looked at me and said "Awful young to be an umpire, aren't you?" In the most adult, professional way, I retorted "There are many definitions of young, sir." Mr. Petry just looked at me, smiled and walked away. After the game ended, Mr. Petry approached me and congratulated me on a well called game. After my
comment to start the game, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never did. For the next thirty minutes or so, baseball was the only subject. We talked about me and where I played. Every time I mentioned something about him, he turned it right back to me. He challenged me to think and he challenged me to push myself to the limit. After our conversation ended, he confirmed where I played and what times. I never saw him again after that night. The ideals and competitiveness he instilled in me in just thirty minutes amaze me to this day. In the beginning of my senior year in high school, I finished my fall baseball league. Sitting in class, I received a letter sent to me from Findley University in Ohio offering a potential scholarship. In the letter, the recruiter asked to meet me and my family. We set up a day and when the day came, it was a very interesting process. I asked the recruiter how she found out about me and she replied, "We received word from a local coach. He let us know about your playing abilities but more so your baseball knowledge." She wouldn't reveal who the "local coach" was but logically; it could've been Dan Petry. I will never know if that was the case. The thirty small minutes he took out of his busy life for me allowed me to look deep and become a leader in my life. I will never forget about my conversation with my hero and a true icon in the baseball world. I didn't end up taking the scholarship from Findley as the money just didn't work out. Just to be a part of the process and knowing that I had even the slightest chance makes me think back to the day when a true icon took time to talk to a young kid with a little potential.- Timothy Beckett
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