By TERRY NAU

Sports editor

Al Jackson is a treasure chest of Blackstone Valley sports history, dating back to his days at Pawtucket East High School in the late 1940s, through a 22-year career with Eddie Feigner’s “King And His Court” four-man touring softball team, and on to the present day, where you will find the 75-year-old first baseman manning the bag for LaRoche Dentral every Friday morning in the Field Of Dreams softball league.
Jackson took some time late last week to talk about what he has seen over the years, beginning with his high school memories.
“I played against Chet Nichols when he pitched for Pawtucket West,” Jackson recalled. “Chet was a couple of years ahead of me in school. He was the classic lefthanded pitcher. He got to the big leagues real fast with the Boston Braves and finished second in the league in Rookie of the Year voting (in 1951) behind Willie Mays.”

While Nichols ranks as the best pitcher Jackson ever faced in high school ball, there are two names that come quickly to mind when he discusses the top position players from his generation.
“Best player I ever saw from the Valley?” he asked. “That would have to be a tie between Johnny Goryl and Ronnie Cooper, who were both from Cumberland. Johnny was a third baseman. He could do it all. When he walked on the field, he had an air about him. Everyone just knew he was the best player out there, just by the way he moved around.”
Goryl made it to the big leagues in the late 1950s with the Chicago Cubs, moved on to the Minnesota Twins, became a coach for the Twins and even succeeded Gene Mauch as manager in 1980.
Cooper ranks as the best hitter to come out of the Valley, in Al Jackson’s opinion.
“Ronnie played the outfield and was a tremendous hitter,” Jackson said. “He signed with the White Sox and led every (minor) league he played in for home runs. The White Sox were going to call him up but at the last minute they chose Jim Landis instead. It wasn’t long after that that Ronnie quit baseball.”
Back in those days, minor leaguers didn’t make more than a few hundred dollars per month, so the idea of coming home and making a decent salary outside of baseball isn’t as odd as it would sound today.
Jackson graduated from Pawtucket East in 1950 and then spent two years playing baseball and working.
“A Cincinnati Reds scout called me up one day and said his team wanted to sign me,” Jackson recalled, “but I had to tell him I already had my draft notice. I served in the army from 1952-54.”
After completing his military obligation, Jackson came home and continued working and playing baseball.
“In 1956, I got a chance to play against ‘The King And His Court,’” Jackson said, his mind going back 52 years to the prime of his life. “Like everyone else, it was ‘3 (pitches) and out’ for me at the plate. But then I got a second chance against Eddie either later that summer or in 1957 and I got a couple of hits off him. They ended up being home runs because all you needed to do was hit the ball over the infield and the ball would roll forever. They only had one outfielder.”
Feigner was also in his prime, throwing the ball at 96 miles per hour. He went on television one summer and struck out Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle with his famed “riser” pitch.
Fate intervened for Jackson in 1958 when The King’s first baseman, Jerry Jones, needed to take a break from the traveling schedule.
“Jerry had to go home for awhile,” Jackson revealed. “He asked George Patrick Duffy, who did some promoting for The King, about the first baseman from Pawtucket who got a couple of hits off Eddie. George called me up and asked if I wanted to fill in for Jerry and play with The King. I couldn’t leave soon enough.
“It was supposed to be for two weeks,” Jackson said, “and it ended up being 22 years.”
Jackson would hit 1,014 home runs over those 22 years, making the adjustment from a baseball player to a short-swinging fast-pitch slugger in record time.
“I had a long baseball swing with my bat held high,” Jackson recalled. “Most of the pitchers we faced could throw 90 miles per hour and that was from 46 feet. Well, I had to shorten up. I had to be ‘short and quick,’ as everyone told me. So I brought my bat down to just off my shoulder. And I would start my swing from my hips, with a quick turn, bringing the bat through the strike zone faster. All you had to do was hit the ball squarely because the pitcher was supplying all the power.”
Jackson replaced Jones, who never returned from his trip home, and began a tempestuous relationship with the often-ornery Feigner that lasted for the rest of their lives.
“We had our ups-and-downs,” Jackson admitted. “Just like in a marriage. But I really miss the guy (Feigner died in 2007).”
Jackson came home in the late 1970s and soon found himself playing in a senior softball league.
“There were only two teams in those days,” he said. “One from Pawtucket and another from East Providence. Now you have a lot of senior leagues.”
Jackson joined Charlie Baldelli’s “Field Of Dreams” league in the late 1990s and has been playing ever since.
“When I left The King and His Court,” he said, “I worked at Lincoln Park for 20 years. Then I retired. Now I’m 75, will be 76 in September. The league is great because it’s competitive and everyone has fun. I’m certainly not a star player. I can still ‘pick it’ around first base, but that’s about all.
“Our team, LaRoche Dental, has won the league title three years in a row. Fred LaFazia, our shortstop, is the best player in the league and we also have a great hitter in Mel Steppo. Jerry Turgeon joined the league. He’s from Pawtucket and I read a story where he said I was his idol growing up. I asked Jerry about that the next time I saw him. How old does he think I am? We had a good laugh. Jerry can still hit home runs, even though he’s got two new hips.
“My health is good,” Jackson continued. “I’ve had a pacemaker and defibrillator put in to keep my heart working well. I had a bad heart attack in 1988 and a couple of smaller ones later on. There’s no such thing as a small heart attack. But I’m keeping my weight down and trying to stay active.”
How long can this softball legend keep playing?
“This could be my last year,” he said, before quickly adding, “But who knows? I can’t do this forever. And I can’t stay home and not do anything. I’ve got to stay active. Maybe I’ll be out there again next year.”