What has been the longest high school baseball game ever played?

A couple of former Ponca City High School baseball players believe that they might very well have played in it. The game they remember took place March 26, 1970, in Bartlesville. It lasted 22 innings with Bartlesville College eventually winning 2-1.

Ron Davis, who now is the assistant baseball coach and football defensive coordinator at Berryhill, has done a lot of research on records for longest games. His findings aren’t 100 per cent conclusive but he hasn’t found anything to disprove the notion that the game between Po-Hi and Bartlesville College might very well be a record holder.

“The OSSAA (Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association) keeps records, but I didn’t see anything about longest games,” Davis said. Davis did find a book by Philip J. Lowry entitled “Baseball’s Longest Games: A Comprehensive Worldwide Record Book.”

“Lowry didn’t get our game in his book,” Davis said. “ In my research, I did find that there was an American Legion baseball game between Choctaw and Midwest City that went 24 innings. But I didn’t find anything about a longer high school game than ours.”

Davis and former teammate Jim Dufek began reminiscing about the game with Bartlesville College in January. Their discussions sparked Davis’ research. Dufek, who still lives in Ponca City, kept newspaper clippings of his high school career and came across a clipping from The Ponca City News that told the game story.

“He sent it to me on March 26, the 50th anniversary of the game,” Davis said.

The clipping tells that the game began at 4 p.m. and ended approximately 9:30. The unidentified sport writer’s lead paragraph reads: “Ponca City’s Wildcat baseballers set a school record by battling with Bartlesville College for 22 innings--five and one-half hours--before dropping at (sic) 2-1 decision in an Oklahoma Seven Conference contest Thursday.

The story indicated that the game was played in wet and cold weather conditions.

“Ponca City had 14 hits off of three Bartlesville hurlers while Wildcat pitchers David Clark and Rick Waters gave up nine hits to College,” the story states.

“Clark lasted 13 innings, giving up four hits after holding the Bartians hitless for six innings. He struck out eight and walked six. Waters threw nine frames with five hits, five walks and five strikeouts. Both of the Bartlesville runs--in t he fourth and 22nd--were unearned. Ponca City’s lone run came in the fifth.

“Despite the deficit in hitting, Bartlesville stayed in the game on its fielding ability, cutting off Wildcat threats with four double plays in a five-inning span early in the game.

Davis remembered that he scored Ponca City’s only run. The News story confirms this.

“In the fifth, Ron Davis led off with a double down the right field line. (Bill) Sharpe followed with with another double in the hole in left center to score the Cats’ only run.”

Davis remembers watching the last 15 innings from the dugout.

“ I doubled in the sixth and Coach (Bill) Leming put in a pinch runner for me. I got a hit in the seventh, and again I was taken out for a pinch runner. I watched the last 15.” he said.

Davis remembered that the two pitchers went on to play college baseball, Clark at Phillips University and Waters at Tulsa University, where he also played basketball.

“Tim Sadowski ran for me,” Davis went on. “His son Clint played Major League Baseball. Interesting enough, Leland Welker was a year older, but he played baseball. His son, Wes, was the great football player.”

Remembering some of the other players in the game, Davis said, “Chuck Bell went on and had a good career at UCO (University of Central Oklahoma playing baseball. Bill McCormick and J.D. Hall have passed.”

About the Wildcat coach, Davis had this comment--”Coach Bill Leming is a great person.” Leming eventually left coaching to sell insurance.

Dufek went on to play baseball at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa. He was received “All-Conference” honors while at NOC. He remembers the high school game as being just as the newspaper article describes, “cold and wet.”

“I was the No. 3 stick,” Dufek said. “ I just got one hit. I was one for six. We had a good rivalry with Bartlesville College. It was quite a game.

Dufek has remained in the Ponca City area much of the time working for his father’s aerial application, feed and seed company. His daughter, Taylor, was a standout soccer player at Po-Hi and at NOC.

According to the News story, Sharpe, who was the Wildcats’ catcher, had four hits in nine official trips to lead the team.

Whether or not the claim to have played in the longest high school game is eventually proven wrong, Davis and Dufek have a good case for believing they have had a part in history.