Town Ball authors coming to FF
Published Saturday, December 2, 2006
Fergus Falls, MN — Baseball in December?
That's right. Relive the glory days of Minnesota's town team baseball as authors Armand Peterson and Tom Tomashek present, “Town Ball: The Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the Otter Tail County Historical Museum.
Fergus Falls stunned Minnesota baseball fans when they upset the powerful Austin Packers to win the 1950 State Class AA Championship in St. Cloud. In the days before television and the Minnesota Twins, town team baseball was the glue that held a community together and generated a great sense of pride and passion among its residents.
Almost 30,000 fans flocked to Fergus Falls games in the summer of 1950 when 800 teams battled on diamonds all across the state. The Red Sox roster included current Fergus Falls residents Harley Oyloe and Roland Harlow. George Sawyer, who lives in Wheaton, served as batboy for the 1950 Fergus town team.
Featuring individual stories of success and defeat, hundreds of photographs, and scores and statistics, Town Ball chronicles the unfolding of a fascinating period of Minnesota baseball history — a span of 16 years beginning in 1945 and the euphoric post-war days to 1960. During this time Minnesota experienced a magical era of amateur baseball, setting records in town participation and attendance that have not been matched since.
The authors will be signing copies of Town Ball after their presentation. For more information on this program call the museum at 218-736-6038.
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