Nine Men Out by Michael Ceraolo

Nine Men Out

Since I was the player-manager

(though only 25),

I will take the responsibility to speak for the rest

Frederick "Marty" Martinez

Bob Kinnaman

George Risk

Bob Patterson

Bob James

George Lyden

Chris Hartje

Vic Pacetti

and me, Mel Cole,

were members of the Spokane Indians team

On June 24, 1946,

enroute to Bremerton for the next day's game,

our bus swerved to avoid an oncoming car,

falling three hundred feet down and bursting into flames

Marty, George Risk, the three Bobs, and I

were dead at the scene

Vic died on the way to the hospital,

George Lyden died the next day,

and Chris died two days later

Vic, not yet 19, was the best prospect among us;

the rest of us were older and had served during the war,

probably ending any major-league dreams for us

The driver of the oncoming car was never found

Bio: Michael Ceraolo is a 61-year-old retired firefighter/paramedic and active poet who has had two full-length books (Euclid Creek, from Deep Cleveland Press; 500 Cleveland Haiku, from Writing Knights Press) and several shorter-length books published, and has a third full-length book, Euclid Creek Book Two, forthcoming from unbound content press.