Joe Grahe was an ace on two College World Series teams at the University of Miami and played seven seasons in the major leagues.
Ask him about his greatest experience as a baseball player, however, and he’ll go back to the summer of 1986, long before he achieved college or pro fame.
“To have a group of friends accomplish what we did,” Grahe said, “I’d probably put it right at the top.”
One year removed from Palm Beach Gardens High School, Grahe passed up a chance to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League and joined his local American Legion team, Jensen Beach Post 126. Three months later, at the end of an undefeated run through state, regional and World Series play, Grahe struck out 13 in an 8-2 victory over Las Vegas for the national championship.
On Aug. 8, Grahe and most of his teammates gathered at a Port Salerno restaurant to mark the 40th anniversary of their historic achievement. Now middle-aged men, they shared hugs and tears, watched a 40-minute documentary produced by Grahe and swapped stories about the glory days, many of them involving legendary coach Bob Shaw.
“This was a special, special group of guys,” said outfielder Brian Reimsnyder, who played at South Fork High and the University of Florida.
Most of the team went on to play in college, signing with Miami, Florida, Georgia Tech and Virginia, among other schools. Two pitchers, Grahe and Rusty Meacham, made it to the majors. Other players spent time in the minors.
The team’s success wasn’t limited to the playing field. Catcher Kevin O’Sullivan is now one of the nation’s top college baseball coaches, winning a national championship at Florida in 2017. Third baseman Joe Russo is among the state’s most successful high school coaches. Other players forged careers outside of baseball.
But four decades later, the players and coaches of Jensen Beach Post 126 are bound by memories of an unforgettable summer, and by their deep respect for Shaw, who led them on the journey.
Coming together for a championship run
In 1986, the summer baseball landscape was very different. There were no travel or showcase teams. The best players from high school (or, in a few cases, junior college) tried out for their local American Legion team.
“If you didn’t make the Legion team, that was it,” said Russo, who coached for 29 years at Palm Beach Gardens and just completed his fourth year at Cardinal Newman. “You weren’t doing anything for the summer.”
Russo was cut the summer before his junior year at Jupiter High — “I ended up working at Winn-Dixie,” he said — but made the team in 1986 as one of its youngest players.
American Legion teams were not permitted to recruit. They could draw players only from their geographic area — in the case of Jensen Beach Post 126, that was Martin County and northern Palm Beach County.
Shaw brought a remarkable resume to the head coaching job. He spent 11 years in the majors as a pitcher, going 108-98 with 32 saves and a 3.52 ERA. In Game 5 of the 1959 World Series, he outdueled Sandy Koufax in leading the White Sox to a 1-0 victory over the Dodgers.
Shaw later coached in the Dodgers organization and spent two seasons as a pitching coach with the Brewers. When he left to start a real-estate firm in South Florida, he began coaching American Legion baseball, leading Palm Beach Post 12 to a third-place finish in the 1977 World Series.
He was known for his rigorous workouts. During a typical week, Grahe said, the team practiced from 3 p.m. to sundown on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays (with a lunch break) and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
“He was tough and very critical,” Grahe said. “But he was also quick to compliment when you did it right. I pretty much owe the man everything for breaking me down into little pieces and putting me back together.”
“If he didn’t work us as hard as he did, he never would have gotten the most out of us,” said O’Sullivan, who was unable to attend the reunion, in a phone interview from Gainesville. “That’s the biggest accomplishment that any coach can have, that you can get the most out of every player that you have on that roster, regardless of their talent.”
The road to Rapid City, South Dakota
Jensen Beach didn’t have immediate success that summer. Grahe, the team’s ace, lost his first three decisions.
“We did not start out the season like national champions,” O’Sullivan said. “We had to go through some adversity.”
The team lost 11 games during the regular season, then survived a tough district tournament. After losing the opener to Lake Worth Post 47, Jensen Beach was nearly eliminated in a rematch but escaped thanks to an errant throw on a potential game-ending double play. Jensen beat Lake Worth again in the deciding game.
From that point on, Jensen Beach was unbeatable. After sweeping Pompano Beach for the area title, the team won four straight games in the state tournament and five straight in the Southeast Regional to earn a trip to the World Series in Rapid City, S.D.
“By the time we got to the World Series, we didn’t expect anyone to beat us,” said second baseman Jon Anderson, the MVP of the Southeast Regional.
They won five more games — against New London, Conn.; El Segundo, Calif.; Las Vegas; Maynard, Ohio; and Las Vegas again — to take home the trophy. That capped off a 19-game winning streak and a 52-12 season.
Grahe was 7-0 in the postseason, including 4-0 with one save during regional and World Series competition, when he also batted .436. He was named American Legion Player of the Year. Meacham was 5-0 in the postseason.
“It’s an unbelievable thing,” Shaw said after his team returned home. “You have to consider this team lost only one game in postseason play. … They got better and better. They outdid what I thought they could do.”
Four decades later, a special reunion
At the reunion, Post 126 players and coaches were able to relive the summer of 1986, thanks to Grahe’s painstaking work in putting together the documentary. Video clips and newspaper clippings highlighted the magical playoff run.
Jim Quinlan, who served as national director of American Legion baseball for 26 years, traveled from Texas for the occasion. He drew big applause when he said Jensen Beach was the best team to play in the World Series during his tenure.
The team shared a toast from a bottle of Chateau Latour — vintage 1986, of course.
“It brings back fantastic memories, just about the camaraderie we had as a team, the confidence we had as a team and the trust we put in each other,” Anderson said.
The evening had some bittersweet moments, particularly when the talk turned to the impact Shaw and his coaching staff had on the team. Shaw died in 2010 and one of his assistants, Hondo Wilkes, died in 2018.
“I credit my career to that man,” Meacham, who played eight MLB seasons, said of Shaw. “Without that guy, I don’t have the success I had.”
That was a common theme of the night. For every story about players getting into trouble on road trips, there was another about Shaw’s lingering influence.
“It’s been 40 years and we’re still talking about it like it just happened yesterday,” O’Sullivan said. “That just tells you everything about the effect he had on our lives.”
Post 126 reunion
Attendees
Jon Anderson
Pete Bazylewicz
Mike Brady
Joe Grahe
Chris Hirsch
Rusty Meacham
Mickey Mickley
Brad Reimsnyder (batboy)
Brian Reimsnyder
Kevin Roberts
Doug Rogalski
Joe Russo
Tim Vannatta
Al Adams (coach)
Bill Harvey (coach)
Unable to attend
Dan Furmanik
Tommy Glover
Dana Olivo
Kevin O’Sullivan
In memoriam
Bob Shaw (head coach)
Hondo Wilkes (coach)
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jensen Beach American Legion baseball celebrates title 40 years later
Reporting by Rick Robb, Special to The Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rick Robb, Special to The Post | USA TODAY Network
