BOLEN EYES 1,000 WIN

Jess Bolen couldn't think of a better team to get his 1,000th victory against than arch-rival St. Louis O.B. Clark.

Bolen, the Kohlfeld Capahas' veteran manager, will get that opportunity today when O.B. Clark visits Capaha Field for a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader.

Entering the 1997 season -- his 31st at the helm of the Capahas -- Bolen's teams had compiled a glossy 986-337 record, which includes numerous National Baseball Congress state championships and several high finishes in the NBC World Series.

It has taken Bolen only 13 games of the '97 campaign to reach 999 victories as the red-hot Capahas are off to a 13-0 start after beating Evansville (Ind.) twice Saturday.

"Somebody asked me before the season how many games I thought it would take to get to 1,000 and I told them 14," said Bolen with a laugh. "That's just the way I like to look at things."

Bolen knows it won't be easy notching career victory 1,000 today because O.B. Clark -- swept by the Capahas in a doubleheader earlier this season -- is the two-time defending NBC state champion.

"It's a tough opponent to get it against," he said. "But we've got two shots to do it. And that would definitely be the team I'd like to get it against."

The 55-year-old Bolen, a former player for the Capahas and a plumber by trade, said all the time and effort he puts into the team every year -- without getting paid -- is a labor of love.

"I think you should do things you enjoy and I enjoy this," he said. "I enjoy the game and I enjoy their (his players) company. I think I relate well to all the players no matter what age they are."

Bolen had heart bypass surgery two years ago but he said he's feeling better than ever these days.

"I feel good," he said. "As long as I feel good, I want to keep doing this."

Bolen often deflects credit for the record he's built, instead praising all the talented players he's had over the years. But there is no doubt that he has been the single driving force behind not only keeping Cape Girardeau's highest level baseball team going but also keeping it going at such an elite level.

"It's basically due to the good talent in this area and I've been able to not screw it up," said a grinning Bolen. "What I'm most proud of is the consistency year in and year out.

"To win 1,000 games with all those different players, and to average about 33 wins a season, that's a lot of consistency and that's what I'm really happy about."

Added Bolen with a chuckle, "Somebody asked me the other day if it (1,000 wins) seems like a lot and if I feel old. I told him both, that it is a lot of wins and I do feel old. But I love what I'm doing."

And you can bet that area baseball fans appreciate what Bolen has done.