FanWatch: A Baseball Odyssey For JerseyCityWahoo

Rob Hilliard had not yet seen Field of Dreams, the 1989 baseball opus, when his own journey started in the fall of 1990. The parallels of that film to his own story don’t escape him now though.

Hilliard, JerseyCityWahoo on TheSabre.com and a 1974 graduate of the University of Virginia, has been piecing together that story in retirement. He’s busily working on a book in his southeast Michigan home, which paints an image of Henry David Thoreau on Walden Pond or Colin Firth eagerly typing away in the film Love Actually. “I don’t sit by a pond or lake, but have a comfortable upstairs office to write my book,” Hilliard said in email correspondence.

That book – The Circus Is In Town: A Baseball Odyssey – tells the tale of a man that brought a Minor League baseball team to Sussex County in New Jersey. Hilliard, frustrated with George Steinbrenner and his free agent moves before the arrival of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, and the like, began to attend Minor League games instead. He watched games for the Double-A Reading Phillies, Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, and Short-Season A Oneonta Yankees among many others.

Those games, and a serendipitous birthday gift, stood at the beginning of what eventually became a six-year project. Hilliard brought baseball back to New Jersey in the form of the New Jersey Cardinals.

“My wife made the ‘mistake’ of presenting me with a rather unique birthday present – a spot in Jim Paul’s annual MiLB Marketing Seminar in El Paso, Texas. … I’d been mulling over the signage when crossing the border from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, which says: ‘Welcome to Pennsylvania. America Starts Here!’ New Jersey hadn’t been home to a Minor League Baseball team since the Jersey City Indians in the 1970s, and the atmosphere in Reading and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre was truly amazing,” Hilliard said by email.

But what truly was tugging at Hilliard? That’s where the Field of Dreams parallels reach what he calls “amazing” levels.

“My dad had signed a pro contract with the Philadelphia A’s on the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He enlisted, was a tail gunner stationed in North Africa, was the sole survivor when his plane was shot down, and contracted spinal meningitis before coming home on a war ship – he didn’t set foot in a plane until 35 years later when the family went to Ireland. Needless to say, he never had the opportunity to realize his dream,” Hilliard said by email. “I went to El Paso, learned of a team up for sale and negotiated to purchase the team while looking for partners to help pay for the acquisition. The ball park, itself, was developed amidst the Tanner Farm on Ross’ Corner in the center of Sussex County. We turned 28 acres of cornfield into a complex that was designed to look very much like a dairy farm. The parallels between my real-life story and Field of Dreams are amazing. But my efforts were well underway before I ever saw the movie.”

The rest of that story is the focus of the book The Circus Is In Town: A Baseball Odyssey, which Hilliard hopes to have completed by opening day next year. Of course, another passion – the Wahoos – gives Hilliard breaks from those writing duties and he hopes the upcoming year provides as many distractions as this past year. He co-chaired Reunions Weekend for the 1974 class. Plus, the Hoos rattled off a long list of success in many sports this season and he followed the soccer, basketball, baseball, and tennis seasons closely. Each of those teams made deep postseason runs.

All in all, it was a big University of Virginia year. Hilliard will be back in his season ticket seats at the John Paul Jones Arena this coming season and at some road games too after self-imposing a postseason ban during the entertaining run for Tony Bennett’s squad this March.

“I didn’t attend any postseason basketball games. As you know from your duties at TheSabre.com, sports fans can be a pretty superstitious bunch. I wasn’t going to go near the team once we’d completed our ACC Tournament run – I had a family conflict, so couldn’t head down to Greensboro – fearing my presence would be detrimental although I hadn’t seen UVa lose in person all year,” Hilliard said by email. “Just renewed my season tickets at JPJ and was able to secure two tickets at Barclay Center for the Thanksgiving weekend games.”

With that in mind, let’s dive into the latest featured FanWatch fan.

Name: Robert Ainsley Hilliard
Sabre Username: JerseyCityWahoo
Age: 61
Residence: Clarkston, MI
Occupation: Writer
UVa Ties (degrees, family members attended, season tickets, anything like that): I received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University in 1974. I am a Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association, hold membership in the University of Virginia Club of Michigan, and have been a member of the VAF since 2012. My son, now 34, and I have season’s tickets for the men’s basketball team at JPJ and will be purchasing tix for the third consecutive year this upcoming season. When we can’t make it to Charlottesville for a home game, we donate our tickets to Madison House for use by Big Sibs of Charlottesville-Albemarle. I am co-chair for the Class of 1974’s Reunions Weekend.

The FanWatch Fifteen

1. Why did you choose your user name?

I was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ, and acquired “Jersey” as a nickname from my first-year dorm mates because of my accent.

2. What is your favorite thing about TheSabre.com? Or what is your best Sabre memory?

Discussions on TheSabre.com are often informative, sometimes enlightening, periodically outlandish, certainly lively … but invariably entertaining! To be sure, my UVa sports experience has been enriched by this added dimension to Cavalier-dom. For the first time this season, I experienced conversing – and then rendezvousing – with fellow TheSabre.com posters for an away sporting event. The weekend baseball series at Pittsburgh was quite memorable – particularly the 18 strikeout, no-hit performance by Nathan Kirby.

3. What is your favorite Cavalier sport and why?

Men’s basketball has been my favorite Cavalier sport since coming to the University in the fall of 1970. During my four years as a student in Charlottesville, I was privileged to witness what I deem to be the emergence of men’s basketball as a significant sports program at UVa. The combination of fan passion, community support and team tradition born of generations of highly dedicated student-athletes make the Hoos what they are today.

4. Who is your favorite Cavalier athlete (past and/or present) and why?

Morgan Brian is my favorite current student-athlete because of her flawless midfield play (I can’t remember her making an errant pass or being guilty of a defensive lapse during the entire 2013-14 season). Ms. Brian’s level of play and her obvious joy in playing “the beautiful game” took me to an unprecedented level of passion in rooting for our women’s soccer team.

My favorite Cavalier athlete of the past is Barry Parkhill, whose three-year varsity basketball career I had the pleasure of following very closely. My involvement with the late Barney Cooke and the Sports Information Office’s Mr. B.P. campaign in support of Barry’s All-America candidacy laid the groundwork for my future involvement in marketing communications and professional sports ownership. From his 51-point explosion against Baldwin-Wallace … to his last-second baseline jumper to beat South Carolina 50-49 … to his amazing block of 7’4″ Tommy (the “Pinball Wizard”) Burleson’s shot at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, Mr. Parkhill displayed a “presence” and panache rarely seen around Charlottesville in those days. It was my privilege to have watched it all in person. An age-old question historians often ask is: “Does the moment define the person, or does the person define the moment?” For Mr. B.P., clearly it was the latter!

5. Who is your favorite Cavalier coach (past and/or present) and why?

The University community is fortunate to have so many current coaches who’ve experienced success in their respective sports. How many Div. 1 programs can boast of the success our men’s and women’s teams have had in so many sports at once … from baseball, basketball, field hockey and lacrosse to rowing, soccer, tennis and wrestling?

When it comes to Div. 1 intercollegiate athletic programs, those coaches who put up more numbers on the left side of the won-lost ledger than the right generally are going to have lengthier tenures at their institutions of choice. However, it has always been my contention that the best coaches at the college level are those who prepare student-athletes for successful lives, whether it has everything or nothing to do with sports at the professional level.

Two coaches at UVa sound eerily similar in their approach to attracting student-athletes with “the right stuff” and then developing their talent and further building on their character. Baseball coach Brian O’Connor and men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett are unwavering in imparting their life philosophy and overall process in leading their rosters. Upon completion of his collegiate career, UVa forward Mike Scott was asked on WINA’s “Coach’s Corner” about his finest moment at UVa. He quickly answered, “Earning my degree.” When UVa’s baseball team attracts 4,000+ fans to its ACC contests, now fills up JPJ’s spacious floor for its “Step Up to the Plate” preseason fundraiser, and has in place the same coaching staff over the past decade, it speaks volumes of the man in charge of our University’s diamond fortunes.

In terms of past coaches at the University, one individual stands out – Bruce Arena. In 18 seasons at the helm of our men’s soccer program, he guided UVa to a 295-58-32 record between 1978 and 1995. His teams won five NCAA National Championships (including four in succession from 1991-94) and he developed no fewer than four players who would go on to play significant roles in the U.S. Men’s National Team – Claudio Reyna, Jeff Agoos, John Harkes, and Tony Meola. Just as important, Arena brought along his successor, UVa first-team All-American George Gelnovatch, who has continued the program’s high standards of excellence. (In an era of ever-increasing talent that is more widely dispersed throughout America’s colleges and universities, Gelnovatch’s clubs have captured a National Championship and four ACC Tournament titles while appearing in 18 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and compiling an overall record of 260-106-38. He and his staff have developed no fewer than 44 student-athletes who have gone on to play professional soccer.)

6. What has been your most memorable Cavalier sports moment so far?

I’ve been a Cavalier sports fan since 1970. So it’s quite difficult to choose the single, most memorable Cavalier sports moment. But there are four contests – not surprisingly from our men’s basketball team – that have stuck in my mind. I’ll rank them for you:

Fourth was the 1980 NIT Championship game in which Ralph Sampson’s Cavaliers defeated Kevin McHale’s Minnesota Golden Gophers 58-55. I had seats in the loge section behind the basket UVa was defending in the second half, and I remember Jeff Lamp’s postgame response to a question from a reporter about the disappointment of not making the NCAA Tournament: “There are only two teams that can say they won their last game, and we’re one of them.”

Third was the UVa-South Carolina confrontation at U Hall on Jan. 11, 1971, pitting Hoot Gibson’s “Amazin’ Cavaliers” against Frank McGuire’s “thugs” from New York. It wasn’t simply the last-second shot from Barry Parkhill (there were actually five or six seconds left on the clock); it was Barry, close to center court and straddling the five-second hash mark near the side line for the last three to four minutes of the game, dribbling in front of SC guard Kevin Joyce while the seconds agonizingly ticked down more slowly than one could imagine. Ask anyone who was at U Hall that night whether they needed a shot clock to take the boredom out of the game!

Second was the 1976 ACC Tournament run made by Virginia as Terry Holland’s “Cardiac Cavs” took down the Kenny Carr-led NC State Wolfpack (75-63), the John Lucas/Mo Howard-led Maryland Terrapins (73-65) and the star-studded North Carolina Tar Heels featuring Phil Ford, Walter Davis, Mitch Kupchak and Dudley Bradley (67-62) to win the University’s first (I no longer have to say “only”) ACC Tournament Championship.

First (perhaps because it had been such a long time between drinks from the champagne bottle) was this season’s ACC Regular Season Championship win over Syracuse at JPJ. From opening tip to cutting down the nets, it was an experience for the ages, ’nuff said!

7. You’re the coach in this scenario: the Hoos are down one run in the College World Series with runners on first and second. Two outs. You can pinch hit with any Cavalier in program history. Who do you send to the plate?

With the game on the line, I would bring Mike Cubbage to the plate … without hesitation! The switch-hitting, two-time All-ACC shortstop from Charlottesville played three years for Virginia (1969-71) and was a second-round draft choice of the Washington Senators. (He was drafted by the Senators in the 6th round out of high school, but chose to attend UVa rather than turn pro.)

Well before aluminum bats became the norm in college baseball, Mike Cubbage was swinging the lumber with authority, leading the Cavaliers in homers in 1970 (he slammed six in 33 games), hits in 1971 and RBI in ’69 and ’70. Cubbage spent eight years in the Majors, compiling a .258 batting average for the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and New York Mets. After his playing career, he was the third base coach for the Mets and served brief stints as interim manager with the Mets and Boston Red Sox.

8. You’re the coach Part 2: the Hoos are in a tie game in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament with less than 10 seconds to go and you have the ball coming out of a timeout. Who, again picking from any Hoo in program history, are you going to go for the last shot? Why?

Another easy one! … With the game on the line, I want the ball in the hands of Barry Parkhill, who could use his patented spin move to create his own jump shot. I’d have power forward Marc Iavaroni set an off-ball screen along the baseline for small forward Wally Walker (both key members of the ’76 ACC Tournament Championship club), who’d be able to get off a jumper with his patented quick release should Mr. B.P. be double teamed or be otherwise unable to get an open look at the basket.

9. You’ve just been named the General Manager of an NFL expansion franchise in Charlottesville and you have the No. 1 draft pick. The owner won’t let you select a quarterback, so which Hoo from program history do you take with the first pick?

I am trading the No. 1 overall pick to the other NFL expansion franchise (the Blacksburg Bumblers) in exchange for their No. 2 two overall pick in the draft and their pick in the second round (No. 35 overall, since they have the first selection in the second round). The Bumblers are looking for a big fan attraction, so they’re hell bent on selecting local favorite Michael Vick as their QB. Defense wins championships, so I’m taking Chris Long with my first-round selection. We also want to establish a running game, so Tiki Barber is my second-round selection.

10. The Mount Rushmore question: Which four Hoos have to make UVa’s Mount Rushmore in your opinion? You can include Thomas Jefferson as an honorary fifth member too so he can keep his mountain slot!

My Mount Rushmore candidates to join TJ would include Ralph Sampson, Dawn Staley, George Allen and Katie Couric (who’d interview the first three).

11. What’s your favorite kind of food and is there a Charlottesville restaurant that serves it?

Having spent a good portion of my life in northern New Jersey and having logged more than a dozen years working in the Big Apple, I have a natural affinity for bagels, lox and cream cheese from Murray’s Bagels in the Village and Ray’s Pizza. While I was frustrated as an undergraduate back in the early ’70s, I am now reveling in my good fortune as Bodo’s Bagels (either the Emmet Street or Corner locations) and Slice at Barracks Road Shopping Center have become an integral part of my culinary experience each and every time I return to my alma mater.

12. If you could build your dream house anywhere in the world, what kind of house would you build (mansion, castle, cabin, bungalow, beach house, etc.) and why? Where would you choose?

If I could build my dream house, I’d actually construct a two-story building reminiscent of 19th century commercial architecture. External features would include a flat roof with ornamental detailing, a recessed front entrance flanked by large display windows, and smaller second-floor windows surrounded by decorative molding. Located on a mid-sized town’s main drag, I would set up residence on the second floor while running a dry-goods retail establishment on the main floor. Wait a minute … Charlottesville is a mid-sized town, and it has a Main Street lined with similar mixed-use structures. Let me get a hold of a local realtor!

13. What was your first car and what do you remember about it?

My parents purchased a 1974 Mercury Montego as a graduation present. It was red with a black vinyl top and was sufficiently “sturdy” to withstand a head-on collision with anything short of a Mack truck. (An only child, I was used to “overprotection” as a recurring parental trait.) A couple of years later, however, I returned to Charlottesville to take a break from graduate studies. I did some substitute teaching at Lane and Albemarle High Schools and played the piano at the Ah-so Lounge of the Japanese Steak House, which was located within the then-recently-constructed Four Seasons residential community. In any event, I was driving in the Pantops Mountain area, passed a Buick dealership and noticed a firecracker orange Buick Skyhawk hatchback with a moon roof and white leather interior. Dad, who had always secretly craved the Montego, agreed to buy “the tank” so I could purchase the Skyhawk. All I can say is … “What a Hoo Car!”

14. If someone offered to give you a complete box set for any TV series in history, which show would you choose?

Wonder Years still is my favorite prime-time evening sitcom of all time. I could relate to Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage) growing up in the late ’60s, had a huge crush on Winnie Cooper (Kevin’s love interest played by Danica McKellar), and really liked Daniel Stern’s reminiscent narratives throughout the series as the grown-up Kevin Arnold.

15. And a related pair of questions with an Inside the Actors Studio vibe to wrap up: what are your favorite word and your least favorite word? Why?

With a Master’s degree in Journalism & Mass Communication, I am continually appalled at how supposedly educated people (especially those in radio and television news) abuse our English language. In that spirit, my least favorite word is any derivative of “impact.” As examples: How have poor weather conditions impacted the performance of our hitters? Or … Taking Devonte Graham to the Foxfield Races might have been impactful in the Raleigh native’s decision to drop UVa from consideration. Whatever happened to the word, “affect” (my current favorite word) … as in: How have poor weather conditions affected the performance of our hitters? Or … Taking Devonte Graham to the Foxfield Races might have affected the Raleigh native’s decision to drop UVa from recruiting contention.

Oh, I know … as a culture, we’ve become too lazy to figure out the grammatical intricacies of our language. It’s like a hitter not squaring around to lay down a sacrifice bunt … or a defender in basketball not putting his foot out of bounds to prevent a dribbler from going baseline … or a running back not wrapping up the football late in the fourth quarter when the other team is desperate to get their hands on the pigskin. Well, I’m hoping the effect of this answer upon TheSabre.com posters will be to affect their approach to our language. If our student-athletes get wind of my ramblings, we may even improve some baseball, basketball, and football fundamentals. All said tongue in cheek, of course!