My wife and I are cruising along the rolling hills of eastern Ohio, some 50 miles south of Canton and a hundred miles east of Columbus. This is Amish country, the farmhouses close to the winding roadway, laundry drying on clotheslines, yellow signs reminding drivers to share the road with horses and buggies.
Ohio Route 258 dips into a grove of trees, then rises again. As it bends to the right, the trees give way to a small brick church on a hilltop. “Peoli Cemetery / p.m.c. 1870-2018” is painted above the front door. A sign on the lawn next to the flagpole reads, “Peoli Church. Resting Place of Cy Young,” with a hand-painted baseball and glove.
They’re still quite proud of Denton True “Cy” Young out here, nearly 68 years after his death.
We slow down and park in a turnout at the bottom of the 1.8-acre cemetery next to a field of grazing cattle. It’s a warm, 70-degree day with a pleasant breeze as we walk beneath a wrought-iron archway reading “PEOLI CEMETERY” in white letters. Two gravel ruts bisect the church yard in a straight line and it’s not long before we spot the headstone on the right, up the hill:
YOUNG
Cy Young’s grave isn’t quite at the peak of the rise, but it’s not far off. The view to the south opens up to more rolling, green hills, the only other building in sight about half a mile away. It’s such a serene resting place.
The other side of the headstone features a winged baseball centered at the top – a fly ball? – the names of Cy and his wife, Roba, and their dates of birth and death below. The logo of the Order of the Eastern Star is etched next to Roba’s name, the Freemasons’ Scottish Rite emblem next to Cy’s; they were both members. An epitaph reads: “From 1890 to 1911, ‘Cy’ Young pitched 874 Major League base ball games. He won 511 games, three no-hit, and one perfect game in which no man reached first base.” Baseballs, caps and a bag of sunflower seeds have been left by other pilgrims who have ventured to this spot.
What brought baseball’s winningest pitcher to this tiny hamlet 10 miles east of his hometown, Newcomerstown? The answer is etched on the left side of the gravestone: Roba was born and raised in Peoli. Her family – parents Robert and Sue, brother Fred – are buried in the Miller family plot just a few steps away. All were members of this church, and their funerals were held here. About half a mile back up the road stands a battered red farmhouse, the last place Cy Young lived before his death on Nov. 4, 1955. He had moved there after Roba’s passing, staying with the Benedum family for the last 22 years of his life.
Casey and I made this trip the first week of June, just days before the Landmarks Committee added Hall of Famers’ gravesites to the map – not that this cemetery was hard to find; Cy Young’s grave is on Google. But before heading out to the country, we did use the map to find Cy Young Memorial Park in Newcomerstown.
Nestled between a neighborhood and U.S. 36, the park contains a state historical marker as well as an elaborate Cy Young memorial next to a baseball field. There are also basketball courts, a beach volleyball pit, picnic tables and a community pool.
The elaborate memorial is centered on the pitcher’s mound of a small infield replica. Images of Young are engraved into the center pillar, with slabs on either side highlighting his career achievements. “BASEBALL’S IMMORTAL PITCHER” is chiseled on the left half. “In his youth on a nearby farm, ‘Cy’ played baseball for love of the game, a quality that remained with him throughout his long life. He began his Major League career in 1890 with Cleveland and continued as an active pitcher in the big leagues until he retired at the end of the 1911 season.”
The right-side header reads, “MEMBER OF BASEBALL’S HALL OF FAME,” and the text below echoes the wording on plaques in Cooperstown: “Pitching for Cleveland, St. Louis, and Boston, his record of 511 victories in 912 games will never be surpassed. His total of 3508 strikeouts in 22 years and 751 complete games including three no-hitters, one of which was a perfect game in which no man reached first base, may also stand forever.”
To be sure, his plaque is a bit simpler. And the gravestone and memorial have different career totals from what Young was known to have accomplished: 815 games (not 874 or 912), 2,803 strikeouts (not 3,508) and 749 complete games (not 751). The discrepancies and inaccuracies are understandable, though – the memorial was installed in 1964, five years before The Baseball Encyclopedia debuted and nine years before Nolan Ryan threw his first no-hitter. As we drive out of the parking lot, I notice a lawn sign promoting the 2023 Cy Young Days Festival, a three-day celebration of baseball and the hometown hero held the fourth weekend in June. We’re about two weeks too early, but it gives us a reason to come back.