Richard H. Spotts 
M, (11 January 1912 - 9 June 1969)
- Relationships
- 3rd great-grandson of Mathäus Mutschler
5th great-grandson of Casper Ulmer
Richard H. Spotts was born on 11 January 1912.1,2 He was the son of Daniel E. Spotts and Margaret Hunt. Richard H. Spotts married Dorothy F. Long, daughter of John W. Long and Mildred W. [—?—], circa 1935. Richard H. Spotts died on 9 June 1969 at Essex Hospital, Little Falls, Essex County, New Jersey, at age 57 years, 4 months and 29 days.1,2 He was buried on 12 June 1969 in the Wildwood Cemetery, located in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.1
He and Robert Daniel Spotts were twins. The following article about Richard H. was published circa 1950 in the local paper, printed in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. This article stated:
From a scrapbook of: newspaper clippings containing births, marriages and obituaries; Memorial Service Cards; and personal notes; owner: Donna Edler Sayah,1388 Carey Hill Rd., Montoursville, PA 17754; (570) 435-0890.
LOCAL MAN MAKES GOOD
What could you do with a boy like that? Every night he would stay out late. Ten, eleven o'clock he might come breezing home. His mother, Mrs. Daniel E. Spotts, of 409 Main Street, South Williamsport, didn't know what to do.
But she knew he was in good company, for the only thing that would keep Dick out late was sports - especially basketball.
At Williamsport High School, he became a forward, the shortest, shiftiest, lightest, trickiest forward in the school. He was five feet and weighed 135 pounds. (Now he's six feet one and 285 pounds.) But his smallness didn't bother his playing. Sports writers were constantly putting his name in big type. They figured he was the highest scoring member of the team.
Basketball, however, was not Dick's only love. He used to hang around the Grays at Bowman Field, chasing balls and giving a hand where he could. The players finally made him bat boy. That was in 1931.
The next year they took him with them on a barnstorming trip and made him their mascot (and the players played such good ball) that the Grays didn't lose a game. When they got home, the players took up a collection and gave Dick a watch, which he still has. They also signed him up as a utility catcher for the forthcoming season. Dick was second string catcher on the last Williamsport team to win a NYPen (now Eastern) League flag in 1934.
Graduated from Williamsport High School in 1934, Dick went to Dickerson Seminary - and immediately fell for the college president's daughter, Dorothy Long. She's now Mrs. Richard Spotts and mother of two boys.
He also paid a lot of attention to Paul Smith, whom some called 'the smartest basketball coach in the state.' It was Paul, Dick said, who showed him the fine points of the cage game. While sparking the seminary quintet, Dick ran up the greatest number of points of any player in Pennsylvania Junior Colleges.
Even when Dick left college, he kept up his sports. The Edward's Lakes-to-Sea Bus lines lured him away from the Grays, but Dick hopped into the city leagues, playing with Joe Lippoli's All-Stars, among several other teams.
Now Dick is in North Caldwell, N.J. The propeller division of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation employees him as an instructor in the hub department, and he used to be president of the Curtiss-Propeller Square Club.
Recently he was elected educational director of his union for the entire state of New Jersey. Dick is also secretary of his local union and union representive on the safety committee for the whole plant. He is also one of two delegates to the state council from his lodge.
But sports still have a part in Dick's days. He's a member of his shop's softball team, and goes for a swim whenever he finds the time.
His obituary was published sometime in June 1969 Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. His obituary stated:
SPOTTS - Graveside services were held at Wildwood Cemetery Thursday, following services in Little Falls, N.J., for Richard H. Spotts, 57, of Lincoln Park, N.J., a native of Williamsport, who died on Monday, June 9, 1969, in Little Falls.
An outstanding catcher for amateur and semi-professional baseball teams in Williamsport in the early 1930's, Mr. Spotts was a catcher for the Williamsport Grays in 1934 when they won the Nypen League pennant.
Prominent in Scouting, he was institutional representative for the Boy Scout troop and Cub pack of Whitehall United Methodist Church in Towaco, N.J., where he was a member. Mr. Spotts, who held the Scouter's Key, founded Explorer Post No. 70 at Lincoln Park.
He was a 25 year member of Clifton Lodge No. 203, F&AM, Clifton, N.J. He attended the former Dickinson Seminary while living in Williamsport. A machinist and toolmaker for Curtiss-Wright Corporation at Lincoln Park for 24 years, he recently worked as a machinist at Kevah Koner's in Pine Brook, N.J.
Surviving are his wife, the former Dorothy Long, daughter of the late Dr. John W. Long, former president of Dickinson Seminary, and Mrs. Long; three sons, Richard H., Jr., of Towaco, N.J. and William E. and David A., at home; a twin brother, Robert D., of Williamsport; a second brother, Walter M., also of this city, and three grandchildren.
From a scrapbook of: newspaper clippings containing births, marriages and obituaries; Memorial Service Cards; and personal notes; owner: Donna Edler Sayah, 1388 Carey Hill Rd., Montoursville, PA 17754; (570) 435-0890.
He and Robert Daniel Spotts were twins. The following article about Richard H. was published circa 1950 in the local paper, printed in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. This article stated:
From a scrapbook of: newspaper clippings containing births, marriages and obituaries; Memorial Service Cards; and personal notes; owner: Donna Edler Sayah,1388 Carey Hill Rd., Montoursville, PA 17754; (570) 435-0890.
LOCAL MAN MAKES GOOD
What could you do with a boy like that? Every night he would stay out late. Ten, eleven o'clock he might come breezing home. His mother, Mrs. Daniel E. Spotts, of 409 Main Street, South Williamsport, didn't know what to do.
But she knew he was in good company, for the only thing that would keep Dick out late was sports - especially basketball.
At Williamsport High School, he became a forward, the shortest, shiftiest, lightest, trickiest forward in the school. He was five feet and weighed 135 pounds. (Now he's six feet one and 285 pounds.) But his smallness didn't bother his playing. Sports writers were constantly putting his name in big type. They figured he was the highest scoring member of the team.
Basketball, however, was not Dick's only love. He used to hang around the Grays at Bowman Field, chasing balls and giving a hand where he could. The players finally made him bat boy. That was in 1931.
The next year they took him with them on a barnstorming trip and made him their mascot (and the players played such good ball) that the Grays didn't lose a game. When they got home, the players took up a collection and gave Dick a watch, which he still has. They also signed him up as a utility catcher for the forthcoming season. Dick was second string catcher on the last Williamsport team to win a NYPen (now Eastern) League flag in 1934.
Graduated from Williamsport High School in 1934, Dick went to Dickerson Seminary - and immediately fell for the college president's daughter, Dorothy Long. She's now Mrs. Richard Spotts and mother of two boys.
He also paid a lot of attention to Paul Smith, whom some called 'the smartest basketball coach in the state.' It was Paul, Dick said, who showed him the fine points of the cage game. While sparking the seminary quintet, Dick ran up the greatest number of points of any player in Pennsylvania Junior Colleges.
Even when Dick left college, he kept up his sports. The Edward's Lakes-to-Sea Bus lines lured him away from the Grays, but Dick hopped into the city leagues, playing with Joe Lippoli's All-Stars, among several other teams.
Now Dick is in North Caldwell, N.J. The propeller division of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation employees him as an instructor in the hub department, and he used to be president of the Curtiss-Propeller Square Club.
Recently he was elected educational director of his union for the entire state of New Jersey. Dick is also secretary of his local union and union representive on the safety committee for the whole plant. He is also one of two delegates to the state council from his lodge.
But sports still have a part in Dick's days. He's a member of his shop's softball team, and goes for a swim whenever he finds the time.
His obituary was published sometime in June 1969 Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. His obituary stated:
SPOTTS - Graveside services were held at Wildwood Cemetery Thursday, following services in Little Falls, N.J., for Richard H. Spotts, 57, of Lincoln Park, N.J., a native of Williamsport, who died on Monday, June 9, 1969, in Little Falls.
An outstanding catcher for amateur and semi-professional baseball teams in Williamsport in the early 1930's, Mr. Spotts was a catcher for the Williamsport Grays in 1934 when they won the Nypen League pennant.
Prominent in Scouting, he was institutional representative for the Boy Scout troop and Cub pack of Whitehall United Methodist Church in Towaco, N.J., where he was a member. Mr. Spotts, who held the Scouter's Key, founded Explorer Post No. 70 at Lincoln Park.
He was a 25 year member of Clifton Lodge No. 203, F&AM, Clifton, N.J. He attended the former Dickinson Seminary while living in Williamsport. A machinist and toolmaker for Curtiss-Wright Corporation at Lincoln Park for 24 years, he recently worked as a machinist at Kevah Koner's in Pine Brook, N.J.
Surviving are his wife, the former Dorothy Long, daughter of the late Dr. John W. Long, former president of Dickinson Seminary, and Mrs. Long; three sons, Richard H., Jr., of Towaco, N.J. and William E. and David A., at home; a twin brother, Robert D., of Williamsport; a second brother, Walter M., also of this city, and three grandchildren.
From a scrapbook of: newspaper clippings containing births, marriages and obituaries; Memorial Service Cards; and personal notes; owner: Donna Edler Sayah, 1388 Carey Hill Rd., Montoursville, PA 17754; (570) 435-0890.
Children of Richard H. Spotts and Dorothy F. Long
Last Edited=8 Jul 2011
Citations
- [S16] 1388 Carey Hill Rd., Montoursville, PA 17754 Donna Edler Sayah and (570) 435-0890, Scrapbook of: newspaper clippings containing births, marriages and obituaries; Memorial Service Cards; and personal note (n.p.: n.pub., unknown publish date), Obituary.
- [S151] Social Security Death Index, RootsWeb online, at http://ssdi.rootsweb.com (Baltimore, Maryland: U.S. Social Security Administration, January 2004 update). The SSDI component of RootsWeb online is drawn from the Social Security Death Benefits Index of the U.S. Social Security Administration. RICHARD SPOTTS, birth listed as 11 Jan 1912, died listed as Jun 1969, issued in the State of Pennsylvania. Last residence (not specified), last benefit (none specified). Accessed 3 Mar 2004.