Though the years I've been asked countless times if I'm related to Wayne Terwilliger, the famous baseball player. I've always answered no, though technically, because we share a common Dutch ancestor who came over on a ship just after the Mayflower, all Terwilligers are related.

With that out of the way, I'm happy to report that Wayne can not only bunt, he can also tell an exciting story. In his new book, Twig (his nickname) describes his career. And with 57 seasons (and counting) in professional baseball, there's plenty to tell.

"Twig is that rarity in life—walking history," says Mike Veeck, Saint Paul Saints president. Wayne has played, coached, and managed in more than 7,200 baseball games since 1948, when he was first signed by the Chicago Cubs, and he is still coaching! In 2005, Wayne Terwilliger became just the second man ever (the venerable Connie Mack was first) to manage a professional baseball team at the age of 80.

Personally, the chapter I enjoyed most is the one about his service in the Marines: " San Diego to Suribachi—a Gung-Ho Marine." My late father (also a Terwilliger) was almost the same age as Wayne and he also served as a Marine in the Pacific in World War II. (His nickname was Terry.) He, too, was an avid baseball player as a teen, and wound up using his skill to lob hand grenades at the enemy. Wayne describes lobbing a grenade in battle: "They teach you to pull the pin, release the handle, hesitate a couple of seconds, and then lob the grenade overhand, kind of like a hook shot to get distance. I should have used a short-armed snap throw—like turning a double play—for accuracy, because my hook shot went wide, clipped a palm tree branch and fell well short of the target." He was there on Iwo Jima when the flag was famously raised. He ends this chapter saying, "I'm more proud of my Marine service than anything else I've done before or since."

Semper fi.

www.wayneterwilliger.com
www.carousel-press.com/dad_s_story.html

copyright 2008 Carole Terwilliger Meyers