| 1955 | I played baseball since I was 9. Started off playing catch with Gary Olson. We used a blue wire display unit from the family store as a backstop. I made a home plate out of wood and we wood pitch games to each other. |
| 1957-59 | The little league fields had score boards. Gary and I would go there before games hoping to be able to do one of them. After the game our payment would be a popsicle. |
| 1957 | Gary taught me to use Neatfoot's Oil on my glove and tie a baseball into the pocket, to give it flexibility and hold a shape. |
| Little League Tryout 1957 |
When I was old enough for Little League (10 years) I tried out. I didn't own a glove, so Gary, who was trying out for catcher, lent me his other glove which happened to be a first baseman's and that is how I became a first baseman.
The morning of the trials I was eating peaches from a can and it slipped with the top slicing through my left hand between thumb and index finger.
So I slapped bandaid on it and went to Christian Park. I couldn't hold a bat properly and I was wearing a strange glove for the first time. Each time I caught a ball a great pain went through my arm.
I thought I wouldn't be selected, but I was. I am pretty sure that every boy who comes is put onto team. But Steve N assures me that he wasn't chosen. I almost believe him as he was a very thin gangly uncoordinated dweeb at the time. |
| LL 1957 |
Wausau. Won 1 Lost 9. Played 1st base. 1 Home Run - 2 Triples - 6 Doubles - 16 Singles - Avg: .500 |
| LL Worst game ever |
The one where I sat on the bench until the last inning. Me, who had never missed an inning, since I could play so many positions. But for some reason that I never understood, I didn't start.
What made it unbearable was that I was the only one in the dugout when my team took to the field. No one to talk to, joke around with. I almost cried. And obviously it upset me cause I still feel the pain. |
| LL 1958 |
AAA League - Louisville sponsored by the Hub. Won 4 Lost 15. Played 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SS, pitch. 0 Home Run - 1 Triple - 4 Doubles - 21 Singles - Avg: .500 |
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| LL - 1958 |
We beat Omaha 15 - 2. I pitched - struck out 12 (out of 18 outs) and walked 4. I was throwing the ball very low and the umpire was calling them strikes. Went 3 for 4 with a double and two singles. A man siting next to mom
said "Boy, that kid can pitch" and made her feel even better. My coach told her to soak my arm when we got home, which she did. [ed. - this is one my baseball highlights - my first complete game and win]. |
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| LL 1958 |
July 15. We beat Denver 5 - 3. I was on 3rd and went 2 for 4. |
| LL 1958 |
July 19. We beat St. Paul 12-11. 3 innings at short and 3 at 2nd. Went 2 for 4. |
| LL 1958 |
July 22. We tied Omaha at 2 each. I played short and 2nd for three innings each, and pitched the last two innings. I struck out one and went 1 for 5. |
| LL 1958 |
July 25. We lost to Minneapolis 19-8. I played short and 2nd for 3 innings each. Went 0 for 3. I pitched for part of last inning and struck out one. |
| LL 1958 |
Aug 4. We lost 5 - 2 to Denver. Played left field for one inning and went 1 for 1. Only time that I played in outfield. |
| LL 1958 |
Aug 7. I pitched in our 8 - 1 loss to St. Paul. I struck out 6 and walked 2 and went 0 for 4. |
| LL 1958 |
Aug 11. Final game of the year and we lost to Omaha 8 - 2. I played short and 1st for three innings each. Went 1 for 2 single-ing on my final at bat. |
| LL 1959 |
Majors. Phelps Offset. Coach: Mr Bock. Won 7 Lost 13. Played 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SS. 1 Home Run - 1 (way beyond the center field fence - coach gave me 99¢, saying $1 would make me a professional) Triple - 2 Doubles - 7 Singles - Avg: .318 |
| LL 1959 |
Aug 4. We lost to TomTom 3 - 2. I drove our runs in the 2nd with my only over-the-fence homerun (Richie on base). I also smashed a line drive to left and then they gave me an intentional walk. I played first and Lyle pitched.
Unfortunately, Tom Tom tied the game in the 5th and then won it in the sixth. |
| LL 1959 |
Aug 8. We lost to St. Bank 3 - 2. I played short for 4 innings and 3rd for 2. Olson had witnessed my home run in the previous game and as catcher in this one he had me intentionally walked 3 times - a rare honor at that level, but I really wanted to have a swing. |
LL 1959
Dog bite |
There was another time that I didn't play at all, but the coach had a good excuse. I had been bitten on my stomache by Grandpa's dog the previous day. I was sent home on the bus and they really weren't expecting me to be at the game.
It was just a nip, no stitches. I'm sure I would have been able to play, but accepted the coach's decision. |
| LL '57-'59 Scoreboard |
Richfield East had a beautiful setup with at least 3 fenced fields with scoreboards. Gary Olson and I would get there early in hopes of volunteering to keep the score board.
Volunteers would get a popcicle or a soft drink after the game. I can remember being in the upstairs of the major league field where the announcer called the game. |
| LL 1959 Owatonna |
Team went to Owatonna to play a team. Bob pitched and Carlson relieved. We won 10 - 2. I played first (4) and second (2). Went 3 for 4 including a homer that cleared the fence and went deep into woods - never found the ball.
Last at bat I hit a hard line drive that crippled the pitcher (coach's son) and bounced to the shortstop who threw me out. We had a picnic at the O's coach's place.
We got up a scratch game and I caught for the only time in my life. |
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| 1960 |
Home Run Derby was on TV and we got up many games over the years in our backyard, usually using a whiffleball. |
| Jr High 1960 |
I made the school's All-Star Team. We beat the school's team 7 - 6. I had 2 singles. |
| Babe Ruth |
We played most of our games at Christian Park (just a block away). It was owned by the City, which meant they mowed the field. The infield was not very good. Instead of asking parents to do something, Gary Olson and I brought garden tools from my garage and we set about removing stones, leveling and smoothing it out. |
| BR 1960 |
I bought a bat. It was a 32" Hank Aaron model very skinny near the handle. It eventually cracked and was unusable. One time used Lyle's bat and I broke it. I paid everything I had, $1.08, but he wouldn't take it. |
| BR 1960 |
Richfield Rotary. Ernie Olson: Coach. Won 12 Tied 2 Lost 4. Played 3rd, SS, pitch. 3 Home Runs - 4 Triples - 4 Doubles - 15 Singles - Avg:.500 Team Stats. |
| BR - Pitcher |
In Little League a pitcher was not allowed to throw curves or sliders. But in Babe Ruth (ages 13-15) I could. And I was a great junk ball pitcher. I didn't have much of a fastball but I could put the ball exactly where I wanted it.
I remember striking out Bob Anderson with a wicked slider that broke about two feet and the catcher had to dive out to get it. He looked like a fool and as he walked back to the bench he indicated to his teammates how much the ball had moved.
Of course, that only helped my cause. |
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| BR 1960 |
We beat VFW 10 - 3. I played short and Quinn pitched. I went 1 for 4, a triple to left. I had 2 rbi's. |
| BR 1960 |
July 21. We beat Pharmacy 18 - 1. I pitched striking out 6. I went 1 for 3, with 3 RBI's. |
| BR 1960 |
July 25. We lost to Y's Men 7 - 5. I played short and went 2 for 4 with a double and triple. Pat pitched with Chuck relieving. |
| BR 1960 |
July 28. We beat Korner Plaza 8 - 5. I played 3rd and went 3 for 3 with a homer and a triple getting 2 RBI's. |
| BR 1960 |
July 29. We lost to Legion 5 - 1. I pitched and struck out 6. I walked 3 times. |
| BR 1960 |
Aug 2. We beat McClay 19 - 0. Pat pitched a no hitter. I played third and went 3 for 3 with 2 walks, had a homer and 3 RBIs. |
| BR 1960 |
Aug 10. We tied Korner Plaza 6 - 6 and the game was called. I played 3rd and short for 2 innings each. Went 2 for 3 and had 3 RBIs. |
| BR 1960 |
Aug 12. I started at short but had to relieve Quinn before a single out was made and we lost big time 18 - 8 to Legion. I struck out 5 and walked 5. I went 1 for 1 with a couple walks. Drove in a couple runs. |
| BR 1960 |
Aug 23. Championship game. We beat Legion 7 - 4. I played short and went 1 for 3. We autographed baseballs to keep as a souvenir. |
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| BR 1961 |
Richfield Rotary. I was told that I could make the majors as a relief pitcher. But that meant playing fewer games and hardly any at bats. I declined so I could play full time in every game.
Team Stats - Team Stats |
| BR Stealing |
In Little League we weren't allowed to steal, but the brakes came off in Babe Ruth and I was fast. I either batted at lead off or 3rd. When I led off and got on, Lenny Mattson batted second and his job was to just stand there. I would steal second on the first pitch, then steal third on the second pitch.
Then it was up to someone to drive me in. Four times I just did it myself, by stealing home. Those were very exciting moments. Pitchers generally didn't go into a stretch and I could get a humungous lead and get to the plate about the same time as the ball.
Nobody's perfect. One time when I was on third the opposing team had a huddle on the mound. I took my customary lead only to have the third baseman tag me out with the old hidden ball trick. Talk about embarrassment. Mind you as a pitcher I had done the same thing to others.
In our case, we would give the ball to the second baseman who would flip it to the first baseman to get the tag out. Meanwhile, I was on the mound trying to look like I was ready to pitch but careful to have neither foot touching the rubber.
It seemed like eternity for me to stall and stall. |
| BR - Pickoff |
Since stealing was allowed, it also meant pitchers could try pick offs. I almost killed someone. One time I wheeled threw a strike to the second base bag trying to pick off a runner (I remember the guy, Rogers, I think his first name was Steve).
Anyway I hit him right in the head. I also came up with what I thought was a brilliant pickoff device. I wouldn't peak across my shoulder to try to hold him on. I would stare at the third baseman who who give me a signal
when a runner got too far off the bag. Then I would fire a bullet to the firstbase man. It was too clever because one time the first baseman, Lyle Peterson, wasn't aware that I had thrown the ball. Luckily it missed him and the runner was given third base, as the ball went out of the park. |
| BR - 61 |
We beat McClay 19-4 in what could be my best game ever and what a coincidence that Signe and Terri were watching. I struck out 14 of the 21 outs. I had an immaculate inning - struck out the side on 9 pitches. Pitched a 2-hitter. And to cap it off I hit my only Grand Slam scoring Petersen, Olstad and Gunther. |
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| BR 1961 |
July 17 game at a west side field that was very wet. I played first and pitched last inning. Had a single and triple. We beat Optimists 7 - 5. |
| BR 1961 |
July 19 I pitched a 4 hitter while striking out 12. We won 4 - 2 which was amazing because we didn't get a hit and we struck out 16 times. |
| BR 1961 |
July 21. We beat Korner Plaza 5-4 on White's home run. I played short and went 0 for 3. |
| BR 1961 |
July 27. We beat Pharmacy 9 - 1. I pitched striking out 10 and went 1 for 3. |
| BR 1961 |
Aug 1. We lost to Legion 4-2. I pitched striking out 7 and giving up 4 hits. |
| BR 1961 |
Aug 17. I went to Award Dinner with Brudelis and sat with Gunther. We were East Side champions. |
| BR 1962 |
Teamsters. Won 19 Lost 4. Richfield Champions. Played 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SS, pitch. 1 Home Run - 4 Triple - 2 Doubles - 11 Singles - Avg: .408 - Team Stats
- Team Stats 2 - Team Stats for the 3 years - Offence by years played. |
| BR 1962 |
July 15. We beat McClay 7 - 0. I pitched, striking out 9 and only giving up 1 hit. I went 0 for 1 with two walks and 4 stolen bases. |
| BR 1962 |
July 21. We beat Legion 29 - 8. I played short for 4 innings and went 1 for 3.
Stole a base and drove in one. Peterson pitched striking out 4. We sent 20 men to the plate in the 4th and the game was called because of darkness. We had 24 walks including 6 in a row. |
| BR 1962 |
July 23. We beat Woodlake 11 - 1. I pitched striking out 6 and giving up 4 hits. I went 0 for 2, walked twice and stole home. |
| BR 1962 - Champs |
We played the Championship series at the Babe Ruth Major league field (with a fence). I pitched the first game and at the end of 7 innings we were tied. I came across my toughest opponent. A short fellow, I threw strike after strike and he kept fouling them off.
I threw the best change up of my life and he swung early but managed to get his bat back and foul that off, too. We conintued the game the next night I continued pitching. We lost when Tom Olson didn't catch a fly to center.
Comes the second game and Chacha was warmed up to pitch only to be told that 15 year olds can only pitch in the same game. So we had to put in Taylor who had only pitched 2 games during the season, but he did the job (even though he walked 13!!) and we won 14 - 12. Scored 7 in the first where we had 5 straight walks, so I guess Woodlake Sanitary had the same pitching problem. I went 2 for 4 with a triple and drove in 2. For the third game we had everyone try pitching and we selected the one who seemed to be the best. We turned to our first baseman, McCullough, who had never pitched. I gave him a few lessons on pitching from a set and during the game would go to the mound from 1st to calm him down, tell what to pitch etc...
He was actually quite good and struck out 8 and only walked 2 and we won 10-1. I went 1 for 3 and stole one base. Newspaper article. |
| BR 1962 - Awards |
Sept 19. Went to Babe Ruth Awards Banquet. Lenny Green was the guest speaker. I went up to accept the Championship trophy. |
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| BR - No Hitter |
My third year we had a new coach and for some reason he never let me pitch for most of the season. Until one day when we were playing in a rainstorm. Lyle started and gave up 10 runs with only one out in the first.
The coach put me in. Well, I threw a no hitter for the remainder and we actually won 14 - 10. After that I guess he felt that I could pitch and I was put back in the rotation. I only gave up one hit for the year. |
| BR - No Hitter II |
Me. John Mortensen threw a wicked curved ball and I couldn't hit. Out of respect I never tried to bunt it. I just swung and missed or ducked away from it. One time I actually told the catcher, John Bostrom, to signal Morty to throw nothing but curves. |
| BR - Throw Out |
I was playing shortstop. I had to go deep into left to field a grounder. Turned and threw it to first. I was so far out that the ball bounced twice getting there.
Amazingly, it was a very fat batter with no speed to speak of and the throw beat him to the bag. |
| BR - Lesson for Life |
We lost to Babcock VFW 5 - 4 at Richfield West Jr High.
I played short for 5 and then pitched the last inning striking out 2. Chacha pitched the first 5 striking out 11 and only gave up 3 hits. I went 1 for 2 getting a triple to center driving in a run. Dave Mc was pitching for the opposition and he only gave up two hits.
I noted that he threw a fast ball as soon as the batter stepped into the box, not giving them time to settle and the umpire didn't stop him. Then he would throw a wicked fast slider that had the batter bailing out. So I got myself ready outside the box never taking my eye of of him and
I jumped into the box and hit the ball the furthest ever. If there had been a fence it would have been an automatic home run. But with the worst possible luck it hit the only obstacle in the whole damn field - brick pump house - sending it back toward the center fielder.
I was on my way to third when the shortstop had the ball. I was in full flight and ran through Mr. Brudeli's stop signal and I was out at home. The catcher had missed most of the bullets being pitched, so I had figured he would probably not catch the shortstop's relay.
I was chewed out for not stopping at third, especially since I probably would have scored the next time the catcher missed a pitched.
[ed - I recall that one play many times, because it represents a high and a low encapsuled in one moment. I had used my analytical skill to figure out how to beat the pitcher, and I was rewarded with the best hit of my life;
only to have the glory shot down by poor analysis of the catcher's ability and also by assuming I knew more than the coach]. Next time I was up I was ready but fouled the ball back and struck out. |
| 1958-1962 |
Pitching - Batting |
| 1967 |
Got up a softball team at Honeywell. We played other scratched together teams on an informal basis. (Team) Usually we played at Nokomis and would go to a bar (Club 58 or Lou's) on 58th and Cedar afterwards. While the others chugged their beers, I sipped my Coke. July 22: I had 4 homers, 3 triples and 2 doubles. Sliding into third I tore up my leg. Then once when I was rounding second I fell and rolled a couple times getting very dirty. On July 29 we lost 10 - 5 to Minnehaha Methodist. I went 1 for 4 and scored. August 13 we played Canteen and we won 22 - 18. Steve N played rover and Kincy played for Canteen. Afterward Darrell, Bob, Jerry and I went to a bar and joked around. |
| 1967 |
Aug 30. We had a game at the Honeywell Country Club and it was a kegger, where you had to drink when you got a hit etc... Well, everyone but me. We Honeywell Records beat Engineering Chem Lab 52 - 6. After the game they sat around trying to finish off a 16 gallon keg of beer. Les got so wasted that we had to carry him to his car (don't worry; Judy drove him home).
Another thing was that Darryl wanted to impress a girl, so I lent him my convertible for the evening. |
| 1968 |
August 27 we lost 11 - 4 to Lou's team. |
| 1969 |
Honeywell Records. We joined a corporate softball league. I was the coach and only played part-time (2nd base). I had 4 hits.
I had two singles batting right-handed and two homers batting left. We won 4 and lost 6. Stats |
| Hawaii 1969 |
Softball game between Peace Corps Volunteers and Ookala. Some how or another we ended up with Ernie on our team. An exceptional ball park that I didn't even knew existed.
I pitched (but it was fast pitch and I got a sore arm out of it). I think they put me there cause they didn't expect much from me elsewhere. Virgil umped and I think he was slightly biased. But it was fun even if we lost 8 - 11. |
| Men's Softball 1975 |
Modulite. Won 3 Lost 4. Played 2nd. 2 Doubles - 8 Singles - Avg:
Dawson, Minnesota. This was a slow pitch team formed by Don Kylberg. He was the only player I knew and I was the wimp (no power). Played under the lights for the first time. First game: lost by about 20 to SWAT. Played 2nd and had three errors but had a lot of put outs. I got a single in 3 at bats and scored. |
| Men's Softball 1975 |
Aug 7. We beat the first place team 36-32. I played 4 innings at 2nd. Got a single and double in three trips. Got 2 rbi's and scored once. Big wind and many homeruns. |
| Men's Softball 1975 |
Aug 13. 9PM start. I played second and went 1 for 4, scoring a run in our 14 - 10 loss. |
| Men's Softball 1975 |
Aug 19-20. Tournament. We beat Breberg 13 - 7. I played 2nd the whole game. Struck out [ed. - just doesn't happen in slow pitch], sacrifice to center, two singles up the middle. Scored on Bernie's homerun and I drove in 2. Next night we lost to K+W 11 - 5. I went 1 for 4 - little dribblers. Scored a run. |
| Men's Softball 1982 |
April 24. Was going to play on the StPaul Cos Bond team with Frank. Played catch then they let me bat first since I had to leave. Missed a couple, then foul tipped a few. Dan Makey, the captain, told me to relax. I then began to line them to all fields. Played 3rd and did better than the other infielders. |
| Biggest Regret |
I always switch hit playing at home or for fun at parks. When I played softball I would bat lefty and hit homeruns. I had more power from that side and always wonder what if I had batted lefty in my baseball career. |
| Biggest Bat |
We often played with a whiffleball (three types: baseball size of soft plastic, harder plastic with holes throughout and a softball size soft version). You could really throw some picked curves with them. But was really fun was the huge plasic bat (bought in 1963) which made it easier to hit the ball. I tired to get backspin when I hit the ball so that it would rise to a great height, trying to get it over the cottonwood in Lundgren's yard. |
| The Daughter |
At age 7 she made the All-Star team as a catcher. It was easy as the otehr girls in the league werejust that: "girls". The poor little girls had to use a large softball. Most would only hit it a few feet and Ne would run out get the ball and throw them out at first. |
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| 1955-1960 |
An American Association baseball team The Minneapolis Millers played at Metropolitan Stadium. My mom worked at the stadium as a cook and somehow got me a team photograph with autographs. At least five of the players made it to the majors. I went to a few games over the years. |
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| The Twins I |
In 1961 The Minnesota Twins joined the American League. Sept 6 my mom had a sports reporter bring me to the game a couple hours before the start and we were able to go onto the field and talk to players. I got a few coaches' autographs. Then we had seats right behind the dugout. The big ticket was the Yankee games. Mom worked at Perkins Pancakes and she managed to talk two young waitresses (Charlotte) to bring me to one of the games. We sat in the left field side bleachers, so not a good view, but still a great memory for a teenage boy. I had to leave my Babe Ruth game after three innings so I could go to the game. That first year I sketched some of the Twins and even had them autographed by players (see them). Unfortunately, most were lost in a house fire. |
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| The Twins II |
Eventually Twins games became availble on the Internet. I subscribed every year. I evn sent in questions. In 2003 my Answerman.com question (how many times was Dan Gladden ejected from a game?) was used (the Aug 13 game) and got a good reaction (listen). I was supposed to get a $50 gift certificate to Kincaid's, a restaurant in Bloomington. |
