Grayslake's Gale Peregrin Played Ball With Pete Rose And Tom Helms

Johnny Vander Meer was worried.

Vander Meer, the only major league pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters, had just witnessed a no-hitter thrown by right-hander Gale Peregrin of Grayslake for the Macon Peaches in the South Atlantic League (A league) in Georgia. Vander Meer was manager of that Macon team in 1962, 24 years after he no-hit the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers in consecutive games.

"He (Vander Meer) joked that he wouldn't sleep until someone got a hit off me in my next game," recalled Peregrin with a laugh during a recent interview in Grayslake where he was visiting relatives from his home in Pembrooke Pines, Fla.

He also has some stories to tell about his Macon Peaches teammates including the all-time major league hits leader Pete Rose and Rookie of the Year winner and All-Star second baseman Tommy Helms.

Leave Nothing on the Field

Peregrin's story of his baseball minor league adventures is being told, along with stories of other Grayslake athletes in the sports exhibit "Leave Nothing On the Field" at the .

Peregrin graduated in 1956 from Grayslake High School where he played all major sports and was a member of the band. Following a year at Illinois State University, where he played baseball, he pitched in an industrial summer league in Milwaukee where he faced Big Ten college-caliber players, he remembered.

In 1957, he was hired to pitch batting practice for the Milwaukee Braves who went on to win the World Series that year. He was paid $75 a week and received free tickets to all Braves games. He rubbed shoulders with, among others, home run hitter Joe Adcock and pitching stars Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain.

Those two pitchers played a major role creating the battle cry of the 1948 Boston Braves: "Spahn then Sain then pray for rain." The Boston Braves later moved to Milwaukee.

In 1958, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds for a $4,000 bonus. He was 19 years old. Peregrin said he was paid $500 per month, "which was really good money." He noted that his wife, Lois, was a teacher and earned only about $5,000 per year then.

His minor league travels took him to the Class D Florida State League Palatka Redlegs in 1958, the Class C California League Visalia Redlegs in 1959, the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (3 I League) Topeka Reds in 1960, the Class A South Atlantic League Columbia Reds in 1961 and the Class A South Atlantic League Macon Peaches in 1962. All were affiliates of the Cincinnati Reds.

At the age of 23, arm problems began to plague and slow down Peregrin. It turned out to be his final year and he ended his five-year stint in baseball's minor leagues. During his five years in the Cincinnati Reds organization, he earned a 33-33 win-loss record and compiled an ERA of 4.54 in the 119 games he pitched.

Road Trips With Pete Rose

Peregrin remembers that league championship season in 1962 with the Macon Peaches. He remembers Pete (Charlie Hustle) Rose at second base and Tommy Helms at shortstop. The three of them rode in Peregrin's Pontiac to all road games.

"I was the driver," Peregrin said. He recalls the three of them enjoyed poker games, the movies, fishing and golfing together.

"Rose was a complete ball player," he said. "He would sprint to first base always."

Rose, a switch hitter, is the major league leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award and made 17 All-Star appearances in five different positions: second base, left field, right field, third base and first base. He played from 1963 to 1986 with the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos and managed the Cincinnati Reds from 1984 to 1989.

Helms, the 1966 National League Rookie of the Year and an All-Star second baseman, played 14 years in the majors from 1964 to 1977 with the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. He managed the Cincinnati Reds in 1988 and 1989.

After his baseball career, Peregrin returned to Grayslake where he worked for his father-in-law Bud Behning in the auto parts business with stores in Grayslake and Antioch. He ran the Antioch store for 20 years. In 1981 he and his wife Lois moved to Florida where they purchased the Miami Magnet Co. He retired in 2007.

During his years in Florida, he became a big Florida Marlins fan. "But I still like the Cubs," Peregrin insisted. He was a Marlins season ticket holder and saw the Marlins win two National League pennants. He attended both Marlins World Series efforts when they defeated the Cleveland Indians in 1997 and the New York Yankees in 2003. He said he is no longer a season ticker holder.

"The team downsized and reorganized and I couldn't give them away," Peregrin said. He is concerned about the game today. "The monetary part of it is ridiculous," he said, noting that it has become very expensive for a family to afford going to a game when tickets, parking, food and drink prices continue to soar. Also, he said, pitchers are becoming specialists and are changing speeds. "And, there are more coaches. There are coaches for every position."

Family Ties to Grayslake Baseball

The Peregrins have four children — David, Greg and Karen Wessely, all of Grayslake, and Cathy Wachtel of Cooper City, Fla., and 11 grandchildren. Son Greg is owner of Peregrin Construction. David, a civil engineer, has been active for many years in coaching all sports for the . In 1997, he was one of the founding members of the Grayslake Youth Baseball Association and the first volunteer baseball coach for Grayslake Youth Baseball Association.

The association dedicated the baseball field at in Grayslake to honor David Peregrin, owner of in Grayslake. The Grayslake Youth Baseball Association, with the support of the , named the baseball field Falcon Field. It was named in honor of David Peregrin on behalf of the youth of Grayslake.

The sports display is open to the public in the , 164 Hawley St., from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and during downtown Grayslake community events including the Farmers' Market on Wednesday afternoons and evenings.

- Contributed by the Grayslake Historical Society.