Bill Lachemann, a long-time coach with the Angels, died Saturday. He was 89.

He was the catcher on a team I like to write about: the American Legion team, Crenshaw Post 715, that won the national title in 1951 at Tiger Stadium.

Sparky Anderson was the shortstop. Billy Consolo, a pro baseball player from 1953-62, was the third baseman.

Rene Lachemann, the pro baseball player/manager, was the bat boy. He later went to USC. The other brother, Marcel, was the Angels’ manager from 1994-96 and played at USC. Their dad was the chef at the Biltmore Hotel.

Leonard Landy, a member of the Little Rascals’ “Our Gang,” movies, played first base and also played at USC. Dean Stockwell, a child star at the time, became a team mascot because he never missed a game. Carl Maggio, who played right field, also played at USC.

The coach was Benny Lefebvre, the father of pro baseball player Jim Lefebvre. Benny was the director of Rancho Cienega Sports Complex in Los Angeles. The team’s business manager, Charley Wilson, was a U.S. Congress representative from 1963-81.

The pitchers were Frank Layana and Paul Schulte. Both played at Loyola and had minor-league careers. The team was comprised of Dorsey and Loyola players.

Another player, Don Kenway, was the son of the secretary for USC athletic director Jess Hill.

Maggio wrote a book about the team, “Swinging for the Fences: How American Legion Baseball Transformed a Group of Boys Into a Team of Men.”

If you want some entertaining stories regarding the Lefevres and Stockwell, click here.