Second Position More Valuable Than First to Joongang High School

Joongang High School (JHS) demonstrated what students’ baseball means. Even though JHS was defeated by the strong opponent Chunahn Bookil High School in the final of Bonghwang Championship. it has demonstrated the ever-lasting zeal for victory. JHS has never given up on each game of the tournament and pulled out a victory in many cases. In the end, JHS advanced to the final, and its second position is worthier than the champion title itself.

JHS’s march of pulling out victories started in the second round of the tournament. It turned around and beat Daegoo Vocational High School 3-2, a team considered most powerful in Southern Kyungsang Province. Again, in the round of 16 against Boochun High School, JHS’s 4th hitter Kim Tae-woo punched a dramatic grand slam in the top 9th, ending the game for JHS 13-11. In the top 9th, the score was 8-10 for Boochun.

It was more dramatic in the quarterfinal against Boondang Yatop High School. JHS lost many points early in the game. By the 4th, the score was for Boondang 1-8. But JHS began to wage an attack from 5th and got close to Boondang gradually. Then Kim Jae-woo’s hit in the bottom 9th finished the game for JHS with ending score 9-8. Upon winning over Soonchun Hyo-chun High School, JHS got the ticket to the final. Nonetheless, Cho Yoon-sik, KHS’s manager, attributed all the accomplishments to luck and said, “We were just lucky.” But it is clear that without JHS players’ burning zeal, it could not have climbed up to the second position.

JHS is one of the high schools renowned for its baseball history. Its team was first established in 1910 and commands 92 years of history. Its performance was at the pinnacle in 1960s. In 1961 and 1962, it recorded the second top position in Golden Lion Championship. In 1965, it finally grabbed the championship. In the same year, it also ranked 2nd in the Blue Dragon Championship. Those who led the golden ear in 1960s are pitcher Lee Won-kook, who played in the Japanese pro league as a Giant and in Korean pro league (MBC Blue Dragons), Lee Won-ho (catcher) and Park Noh-kook (out-fielder).

In early 1970s, due to the excellent performance of the best hitter and pitcher Yoon Mong-ryong (died of leukemia), JHS commanded the status of a strong team by winning the Blue Dragon Championship and ranking 2nd in the Bonghwang Championship in 1972. After that, however, it has not won any major championship and, thus, recorded poor performance.

Explaining this, Huh Goo-yon of MBC pointed out the unique atmosphere of JHS. JHS has stressed that its players should be a player of excellent academic and athletic achievements.

Huh (graduated from Kyungnam High School in 1970), who came to Dongdaemoon Stadium on August 25, said, “I was surprised to hear that JHS has advanced to the final. Considering JHS’s stress on academic achievement, it is a team which could not win over others. Advancing to the final over teams almost like pro teams itself is a big achievement.” Now, it is understandable why JHS players felt happy even when they lost the championship.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com