The GOLFCOM GAZETTE

UPDATED AT 09/28/99 08:09 AM

Tuesday September 28, 1999

Our story begins in Missouri in the midst of the American depression where a chicken farmer and his wife scratch out a living. Imogene and her husband George, whom everyone called by his middle name Sidney, decided to try for a better life. They took the old adage " Go West young man, go west" to heart and so they left for California, where dreams can come true. Their first dream was a son, born September 27, 1937, whom they named Warren. Sidney got a job at Lockheed Aircraft and the dream got bigger with the birth of another boy "Buddy" in 1939. Late during WWII, Sidney was drafted and Imogene and the boys returned to Missouri to await Sidney's discharge from the Army. It wasn't long since a medical discharge in 1946 reunited the family in California. The family was complete in 1947 when the last son, Gary was born.

Life for Warren growing up was of the All-American Boy variety. The family settled in Ontario, California. This is a suburb of Los Angeles, straight east about 25 miles on Interstate #10. Warren's life growing up was sports, anything with a ball in it, was his to play. A naturally gifted athlete he excelled at Football, Basketball and Baseball all through High School. He graduated from Chaffey Union High School in June of 1955. It came time for Warren to decide what to do, and he chose to enter Air National Guard while entering Chaffey Junior College that fall. His intentions were clear, stay out of the regular military so he could further his ambitions in sports. Chaffey Junior College offered him an opportunity to pursue his love of Basketball and Baseball. That first year he got a chance to play with the basketball team but in January, 1956, Warren signed a baseball contract with the Kansas City Athletics and that forever ended his collegiate playing days.

This was a big deal to a fresh faced 18 year old id who had never been away from home on his own before. These were the days where Bonus Baby did not refer to signing dollars, but a bus ticket to some far away unheard of town. Minor League spring training was in Columbia, South Carolina and in April, 1956 Warren was off playing the outfield for the Seminole Athletics in Seminole, Oklahoma. The adjustment from High School star to dusty bus rides cockroach motels wasn't easy and Warren was released from the club in June, 1956. He quickly signed with the Boston Red Sox organization and went off to play with the Tucson Cowboys.

There he was starting to hit his stride and two events stick out in Warren's mind from those days. First, when Tucson's regular second baseman was hurt, Warren gave up his outfield position to replace him. Doing so, he got to handle the double play combo with their shortstop, Leo Cardenas. Leo, know back then as Chico, would go on to become an All-Star shortstop with the Cincinnati Reds. Second, when taking over second base one of the older players insisted that Warren start chewing tobacco, now that he was playing with the "Big Boys". It wasn't too many innings before a line drive hit right at Warren cause him to swallow the "stuff" and get sick, throwing up right there on the field and all over the dugout. Nonetheless, Warren was invited back to Spring Training with the Tucson Cowboys the following spring. But big league baseball was not to be as Warren was released in April of 1957 on the same day he hit 2 home runs and drove in 6 runs.

Warren returned to California where he decided in August, 1957 to marry his girlfriend and start working at Rohr Aircraft. Perhaps it was a rebound from his disappointment with his baseball career but the marriage was not destined to last and his wife left Warren in the spring of 1958. Summers continued to be a time for semi-pro baseball for Warren as he played on teams around the LA area, with games every Saturday and Sunday. But Warren wanted one last shot at professional baseball and he got it in the spring of 1960 when he was invited to spring training with the San Diego Padres. It was not to be, and Warren was released on the very last day of spring training. Oh, so close but...

What God takes away, He also gives. It was during the spring of 1960 that Warren met the real love of his life, Revel. He met her in March, proposed to her in April and by August, 1960 they were married. Warren and Revel's first child, a son, Warren Douglas, was born in July 1961, and soon thereafter had their first daughter, Darbi Lee, born in September 1962. On May 19th, 1964, their second daughhter, Debra Lynn was born. After rejoining the Air National Guard and some basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Warren left Rohr Aircraft in November, 1962 and became a Corrections Officer at a prison in Chino, California. The work and pay were steady and so Revel and Warren were able to buy their first house in Warren's boyhood hometown of Ontario. The commute to Chino was only a 15 minute drive. By 1970 Warren had worked himself up to being a Sargent but he had to transfer to a prison in Corona about a 30 minute commute. By 1971 Warren was named Assistant Superintendent of a corrections facility in Moreno, nearer to San Diego than LA. This was a long commute that Warren did every day on his Motorcycle and then a few months later he got transferred to a prison north of San Bernardino. Finally, after 4 years of long commutes, Warren got transferred back to Chino in April, 1974.

But prison life, spending your days with the dregs of society, and the transfers and commutes had taken their toll and Warren left the prison system in April, 1975 and took a job with a transmission shop owned by a friend. But work was just a means to an end. Warren by now two great interests in his life, sports, naturally, and a new found interest in music. After a couple of month gig singing in a club with Revel she got tired of the late nights and early mornings - real quick. But Warren had caught the bug and wanted to do more gigs and so joined a band. Warren played guitar and later bass with the Johnny Fortune Trio. From 1975 through 1981, Warren played as many as 5 nights a week while doing his day work, first with the transmission shop and later as manager of the sporting goods department of the local Montgomery Wards. All the while he was working during the day, playing clubs at night, he continued to play semi-pro baseball every weekend.

But both the music and the baseball are things for younger men and Warren is thinking of hanging up both activities. His last game of semi- pro baseball at age 42 was a passing of the torch as he played in the outfield along with his son Doug. A prouder father, he could not be. The music career ended soon after, as a reorganization at Wards left him without a job in January, 1982. Warren quickly found work managing a Gas Station in San Diego but that involved long commutes once again. Revel and Warren sold their beloved house in Ontario and moved permanently to San Diego. Warren left the Gas Station in 1983 to become a District Manager for Lanier Business Systems and in 1987 Lanier moved Warren to Anaheim. From this point on it's been a bumpy road for Warren's working career as from 1988 when Lanier laid him off. Warren can find jobs easily but none of them seem to last more than a year or two and currently Warren is driving an Airport shuttle van while he and Revel live in Anaheim. But Warren is a survivor and even his prostate cancer has not dimmed his outlook on life.

Warren's interest in Links goes far back to 1993 and earlier. He organized a league of recorded games with some recognizable names like Harvey Bunce, Tuffy Sams, Fast Eddy Kuhlman, Mike Rochman, Bob Martin, Frank Perry among others. His interest in LinksLS continues to this day as a solid player but one that everyone knows as one of the nicest guys to ever play the game. Warren loves games, be it a sport like baseball or pool, or a card game like cribbage - if it's a game, Warren plays it. He umpired every kind of Little League, college or semi-pro baseball game for over 25 years. He and Revel have been married for over 39 years and enjoy spending time with their 7 grandchildren.

In Life there are Givers and there are Takers. Warren is a Giver, there is always a smile on his face and a warm and thoughtful word from his mouth. When Warren was trying to build his baseball career, he was immature and this impediment immensely hurt his chances at success in the game - the chance to make it to the "Bigs". But it also taught him make the most at what life tosses your way, be it a fastball or curve - just get up there and take your "licks". Warren has done that and has hit his Life "homers" with his marriage to Revel and his children. I am proud to present, Warren Peters, a truly decent, warm and loving person and a great friend to the LinksLS and Golfcom family.

 

        

Warren and Revel Peters at the RIO 1995