John "Johnny" Firth, Sr.
2002 Hall of Fame Inductee

John Firth, Sr. was born in Messick, VA on April 18, 1900. During the early 1900's the opportunity to go to school was limited for young males. They were required to start work at an early age to support the family. Johnny was no exception. He went to work on the water. When he had free time, he played baseball. He developed into such an outstanding pitcher for Poquoson Athletic Club he became a semi-pro legend during the 1920's to the mid 1930's. Poquoson always had a semi-pro ball team and they played every Saturday afternoon. In Poquoson, if there was a game on Saturday, it was just like having a holiday on Saturday.

Poquoson was almost always made up of local talent and most of the time had a winning season. At that time there were only a few clubs on the Peninsula and only a few good diamonds to play on. Most of the opposition came from Acme of Newport News, Amoco of Gloucester. and from the Norfolk area (Sewaenee, Norfolk Orioles, Cradock, Norfolk Police, Seaboard Railway).Poquoson held its own against these teams, mainly because of Johnny's pitching. Quite often Johnny's pitching performance was accomplished after working all week on an ocean trawler. This was hard work in all kinds of weather with no time for rest or practice. Johnny would return from a fishing trip, docking just before the game started, and was called on to pitch (and win) all eighteen innings of a double header.

The Eastern League was made up of team from the Virginia Eastern Shore and Maryland. It was once said that Johnny pitched for Parksley, competing against future superstars such as Jimmy Foxx. Maybe one of the most important tributes paid to Johnny was that he endured the difficulties and sacrifices it took to play because of his sheer love of the game". Johnny died on September 8, 1959. In his honor, the baseball park at Poquoson High School is named the Johnny Firth Baseball Park.