I contend that Don Dunker’s 1972 Noblesville American Legion baseball team was the best summer team ever to play the game in this area.

As I wrote Wednesday, I wish Dunk was still alive today so I could ask him that question. I went to another source, Terry Coomer, who played on that team.

“It may well have been the best,” said Coomer, who was a senior-to-be at Noblesville High that summer. Following his senior year Coomer was the state’s No. 1 draft pick in Indiana and signed with the Giants.

What made that team so good was pitching. Coomer was the ace right-hander. Gary Parks was the ace lefty. Parks was a graduated senior who in the summer of 1972 was drafted by the White Sox and turned down that offer to go on and pitch at Purdue University.

Not many summer teams, in those days, were blessed with two pitchers who had been or would be drafted.

Parks and Coomer were so good that often over-shadowed were other good pitchers, such as Ray Lyttle (No. 3 on the staff), Doug Latham, Carl Lowery, Jr. and Mike Beadle.

“Lyttle threw a lot, but the others didn’t get lots of opportunities to pitch,” Coomer recalled.

The team ended the season by winning both the Legion state tourney and the Advance Babe Ruth state tourney and then went on to be eliminated in the Babe Ruth Regional at Alpena, Michigan.

Noblesville blasted Plainfield 25-7 in the opening game of the Legion state and then knocked off Floyd County 4-0 for the championship. Randy Wilson (from Fortville) hit a home run with Lowery on second to clinch the victory. Coomer pitched and struck out 16.

“We didn’t finish the Legion tourney in time to start the Babe Ruth state,” Coomer said, “so we had to forfeit the first game.”

That meant Noblesville had to beat Calumet twice for the state championship. Coomer, who had pitched the final game of the Legion tourney, was called on to pitch the first game against Calumet.

“Lyttle was on vacation, so Dunk said I had to pitch. My arm was killing me,” he said.

Noblesville won 10-2 and then in the second game against Calumet, Parks fanned 15 batters and Dunker’s squad won 4-1.

In a classic, Noblesville lost to Appleton (Wisconsin), 1-0, in the Babe Ruth Regional opener. Parks threw a two-hitter in the losing effort.

Coomer pitched a five-hitter as Noblesville stayed alive with a 7-3 victory over Frankfort (Kentucky).

Noblesville was eliminated by Irving Lake (Illinois) in another 1-0 classic. Lyttle threw a strong game, but lost.

“We weren’t a bad hitting team,” Coomer said, “but Wisconsin and Illinois had great pitchers. We had the bases loaded a couple of times. We hit some hard line drives which were caught.”

Dunker’s teams always attracted scouts for games here in Noblesville, but nothing like what Noblesville saw at Alpena.

“There must have been 40 or 50 scouts,” Coomer said.

“Because of the teams Dunker scheduled, we were well scouted during the summer,” Coomer continued. “We beat the Storm Club from Cincinnati, 2-1. They came here with a 30-0 record. We also won at Kokomo in a game in which Dunker was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. It’s the only time Dunker was kicked out of a game.”

The local Legion post picked up the bill as the sponsor of the team.

“We never paid anything to play or travel,” Coomer said. “I remember we had a fund-raiser to finance our trip to Alpena.”

On that team, along with those already mentioned, were Mike Swaynie, Alan Dunlap, Mark Hood, Joe Sherrill, Jim Harger, Larry Morris and Dave Beatty. Dunker’s assistant coach was the late Carl Lowery, Sr.

I’m sticking to my guns. It was the best summer team, of many outstanding teams Dunker produced, ever put on the field in Noblesville.