The start of the high school baseball season and Memorial Day weekend seems the ideal time to remember one of the Metro area’s great contributors.

They held the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament last week and it was another year in which I asked myself, “How many of those players and fans really know anything about Bob Vrbicek?"

Vrbicek (pronounced VERB-uh-check) was a crown jewel of baseball in this area years ago. He coached in the junior high school and high school ranks and was a decorated umpire, calling numerous Big Ten Conference and other college games.

Verb, as he was known, was my baseball coach at Taft Junior High many moons ago. He was a guy with solid baseball knowledge and a sense of humor that would strike a chord with nearly every player.

Glen Zenor was our ace pitcher, a lefthander with very good velocity but sometimes spotty location. I caught most of Zenor’s starts and sometimes got a workout, either blocking balls in the dirt or chasing them to the backstop.

Verb would make a trip to the mound with a smile. “Z, throw to the glove. That’s all you need to do,’’ he said. Then as I went back to the plate, he’d say to me, “If his pitches are low, move your mitt up in the strike zone. If he’s high move it down.’’

Seems simple enough now, but it was sage advice back then.

In his youth, Vrbicek was part of one of the most successful teams in Metro baseball history. He was the starting centerfielder at then-Wilson High School, which won back-to-back state championships in 1947 and ’48. Those two teams had a combined record of 50-3. Wilson had only two pitchers – Frank Simanovsky, who later played in the minor leagues with Mickey Mantle, and Arnie Pavlicek.

The Ramblers had many outstanding players, many of whom later would become terrific local baseball people – Ken Charipar, Chuck Fulton, Lloyd Oliver, Bob Reid, Hal Cooper, Don Harmon. Xavier’s baseball field is named for Charipar.

They all came from the west side, from working families often of Czech descent. They hit the playgrounds together to play ball and competed on the local Legion team. By the time they got to high school, the Wilson boys knew each others’ skills pretty well.

Like many at that time, Vrbicek had his playing career interrupted by military service. He entered the U.S. Army and reached the rank of corporal during the Korean War. Upon returning from service, Vrbicek soon began a long career as coach, teacher and administrator in the Cedar Rapids school system.

His passion was umpiring. He and his regular crewmates, Lanny Peterson and Bill Quinby, became highly respected and excellent in their craft. All three are in the Iowa high school officials hall of fame.

Vrbicek also was behind the plate to call many games involving some of the Big Ten’s greatest players. Vrbicek died at age 70 in 1999. The year before, my son had an opportunity to play in the Metro Tournament for Jefferson. I talked to him about Vrbicek at the time, explaining how he was my former coach and a great baseball man in the area.

I don’t know whether the lesson sunk in with my son, but I’ve always felt good that I at least related to him the history of Bob Vrbicek. More people should know it.

(Mark Dukes is former sports editor of the Cedar Rapid Gazette. He is co-host of The Gym Class radio show weekdays from 3-4 p.m. on KGYM-AM 1600 and FM-106.3.)