YOUNGSTOWN – Jim Martz remembers when the area’s Connie Mack Baseball Tournament was the Holy Grail of his scouting season.

A native of Lima, Martz became a Major League scout after his playing days with the Chicago Cubs organization concluded, becoming a fixture at Roosevelt Park in Campbell, Pemberton Park and Oakland Field in Youngstown, and North Side Field in Struthers in the 1970’s and 1980’s, area fields that played host to teams that qualified for the nation’s top amateur baseball tournament and the scouts who ascended on the Mahoning Valley seeking the next phenom for their employer.

An only child, Martz befriended a local scout, Herb Mancini, himself a former Minor League Baseball star in the Yankees, Cardinals and Pirates organizations, a friendship that produced countless baseball stories and lasted nearly seven decades.

Mancini passed away Jan. 28 at age 96 – he also golfed until he was 94 years young, recording a hole-in-one at Lakeside during his career on the links – leaving behind a legacy as a family man who had his priorities – faith, family and baseball – in the right order and a scout who went the extra mile just to attend a game if a player deserved a look, or front office mandated cross check.

For Martz, it got to the point where he and other scouts would come in a day or two early, just to be with Mancini and his family as they were welcomed into his home for a homemade Italian meal and baseball conversation.

“I thought the world of Herb; he certainly was a very special individual to me,” Martz told daughters Chris, Cheryl and Carla, and their respective families when they informed him of their father’s passing. “He was the closest to having a brother that I ever had. I first met Herb at the Connie Mack Tournament when he worked alongside another St. Louis Cardinals scout, Mo Mozzali.

“When scouts merged and became members of the Major League Scouting Bureau, I recommended both Herb and another longtime friend, Joe Moreland, who was also like a brother, to the bureau and they were hired, no questions asked. We traveled together to many organizational meetings, roomed together and I was the fortunate one to be able to work alongside him at tryout camps. His patience and the time he took with those who were trying out was second to none.

“We worked together during the Golden Age of Baseball when it was the national pastime. He was a gentleman’s gentleman, and I was proud to call him my friend. He represented the game of baseball like it should be represented and had a class about him that was second to none. Once we went with the scouting bureau, our job was to find the talent and get them on the board and local players like Kenny Smith, Andy Timko, and Dan Stryffler, and even Ashtabula’s Urban Meyer, former Ohio State head football coach, caught the eye of teams because of Herb’s assessment.”

Mancini graduated from Chaney High School, a slick-handed shortstop who helped the Cowboys to the 1945 regional finals as a senior who also starred in the local Class AA league.

He played seven seasons in the Minors, hit .270 overall with a best .364 average in 1955, his last professional season.

His 68 stolen bases with Pulaski in 1950 remains an Appalachian League record today while he was dubbed the next Phil Rizzuto for his play at shortstop that same season.

Like so many athletes during wartime back then, he proudly served his country as a member of the U.S. Army during the Korean War, working 30-plus years with the United States Post Office after his baseball and military careers wound down.

Most players are clueless as to the name of the scout who has placed their name in the hopper for draft consideration but to those who have made a career out of baseball at the amateur level, scouts are the lifeblood of college and the sandlots and the main reason they give players hope for moving on in their baseball careers.

“I first met Herbie back in the mid-80’s when I was coaching Sam Camens Center with Jack Kaminsky,” former area sandlot coach and Class B president Tony Gorvet stated. “Herb was a mainstay every year at the state Connie Mack tournament back when there were over 40 teams. You could find him along with other scouts Floyd Baker, Bobby Gardner, Dick Corey, Mike Trbovich, Fred Schaeffer and Cliff Polking, among others, just to name a few.

“They would be seated behind home plate at Pemberton or Roosevelt Park with their pads, watching a game looking for that diamond in the rough. He was always willing to give a local player a second look and do whatever possible to help that kid get noticed or into a college so they could play the game they loved.”

Former YSU head coach, and Class B and AA manager John Zizzo, called Mancini a throwback to when scouts did every report on paper without computer access, like today.

“Herb was one of the many area scouts, joining Floyd Baker, Bobby Gardner, Sr., Mike Trbovich and Pete Mihalic at our many games,” Zizzo added. “It seemed like at least one of them was always present. As a player and scout, Herb was a big part of the fabric of baseball in Youngstown, a kind man who loved the game.”

Scott Ruark, current Class B league president, said scouts are important to the sandlot leagues because they give hope to those playing of advancing to the next level.

“The Youngstown Class B baseball league mourns the passing of Herb Mancini,” Ruark noted. “I have heard so many stories of how he was a fixture around the league, especially at Roosevelt Park during the Connie Mack tournament each year. He did an outstanding job of scouting the league and helping so many young players receive an opportunity after their Class B careers ended.”

Mancini has been inducted into the Chaney High, Youngstown Baseball Old Timers and Curbstone Coaches halls of fame.

“Herb Mancini is the epitome of the type of former athlete we aspire to have in our hall of fame,” current Curbstone Coaches president Bob Camardo said. “A superb athlete, he also made a career in scouting and helped young athletes reach their potential.”

Past Curbstone Coaches president, Frank Nolasco, said scouts like Herb Mancini are throwbacks who were passionate about their job.

“In the heyday of Youngstown baseball, Herb was one of the pillars of area baseball,” Nolasco added. “He spent hours working with our youth, coached, scouted, held clinics and try-out camps and because of that our Class B and AA leagues flourished.”

A devout Catholic who said the Rosary daily until his passing, Mancini has rounded third base and is headed home.

Our local diamond in the rough will probably slide in safe and under the tag for yet another stolen base that they will need to add to his stat line.

sports@vindy.com