Town Team Baseball


Town Team Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played in the United States. In Town Team baseball, sometimes also called townball, the teams represent either a given city or town, or a commercial enterprise which sponsors the team. Usually a statewide governing body sets uniform rules for two or more classes, including proximity and other eligibility rules, pay or stipends for players and coaches, boundaries, and rules to prevent players from switching teams without reason. Such governing bodies may also coordinate annual statewide playoffs, facilitate communication between teams and leagues, and help to arrange for training and placement of umpires.

History

The history of Town Team Baseball varies from state to state. In addition to the states included below, Townball is played in Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Minnesota

Townball has been played in Minnesota since the 1920s. Townball enjoyed its peak of popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, with as many as 799 teams participating in the 1950 season. The first town baseball team in Minnesota is believed to have been Nininger's, in 1857. Although many towns in Minnesota have fielded baseball teams continuously since the 1880s, townball as we know it really came into existence in 1924 with the organization of the State Tournament, masterminded by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Saint Paul Dispatch writers Roy Dunlap and Lou McKenna. One year later, the AM-ABL was formed as a governing body for Townball in Minnesota. This organization still exists as the Minnesota Baseball Association.
Numbers of teams and leagues operating in Minnesota peaked between the end of World War II and the arrival of Minnesota's new Major League Baseball team, the Minnesota Twins, in 1961. Since the minimum number of players required to field a team for a single game with no substitutions is nine, then at least 7191 individuals participated in Minnesota townball in the peak year, 1950.

Historic divisions

Historically, Townball teams in Minnesota were divided into three classes: AA, A, and B. In Class AA leagues, teams were permitted three players from outside the local area, and salaries were unlimited; essentially, whatever the team's owners or shareholders could afford, they could pay. Because the unrestrained competition and unlimited budgets bankrupted many teams and forced others to move to a lower class, this form of Townball disappeared in Minnesota by 1960, its leagues all victims of their own excesses. Legendary football coach Bud Grant played Class AA townball in Minnesota and Wisconsin and remarked, "I made more money playing baseball than I did playing for the Minneapolis Lakers...And we won an NBA title while I was playing for them." Another perspective came from a former official from Bird Island, Fabian Sheehan: "We priced ourselves out of the business, but we sure had a good time doing it."
Nonetheless, some teams were able to turn a profit at this level. Former Fergus Falls pitcher Harley Oyloe said, "As far as Fergus Falls, anyone who was around back then remembers those days and talks about them still. You tell the young kids that we used to have two or three thousand fans for a game and they think you're nuts."
At the Class A level, teams were permitted two players from outside the local area, and salaries were still unlimited. Class B teams were required to draw all their players from a 15-mile radius from city limits, and no salaries were permitted, although many players were enticed to relocate to towns with B-level teams by offers of employment in local schools or establishments. Because this was the most economical level of Townball, it was also the most prevalent. However, it was always the least prestigious level of amateur baseball in Minnesota. It was not unheard-of for a town to field a B-class team in addition to an A or AA level team. Some towns even fielded three teams, with lower-level teams developing talent and feeding it to higher-level teams.

Today

In some states, townball is all but extinct in its traditional form. In others, particularly in Minnesota and Wisconsin, it remains vibrant and popular.

Minnesota

Today there are more than 300 active Townball teams in Minnesota, playing in over 30 leagues throughout Minnesota, with major concentrations in the southern and central areas of the state.

Modern divisions

The classification system was revamped in 1986 to restore Minnesota amateur baseball to a 3-tiered format. Today the three classes are A, B, and C. Class A is reserved for teams from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area and Class B teams are typically composed of larger outstate towns and teams that have won the Class C Championship. As of 2000, there were 48 teams in this class. All remaining teams are in Class C. There are 230 teams in this class as of 2012. This division is equivalent to class B under the old classification system. The 2019 champions in Minnesota are:
The Class B / Class C state tournament is awarded to different towns throughout the state each season. Typically, 2 towns in close proximity host the tournament. The tournaments for both classes are held in conjunction with each other at the same venues.
Notable players from Minnesota Town Team Baseball include Herb Brooks, Carmen Cozza, Bobby Dill, Paul Giel, Bud Grant, Sam "Toothpick" Jones, Dana Kiecker, Jerry Kindall, Dick Lanahan, Tom Mee, Eugene McCarthy, Gread McKinnis, Les Munns, Frank O'Rourke, Jim Pollard, Jim Rantz, Frank "Pep" Saul, Howie Schultz, Herb Score, Dick Siebert, Whitey Skoog, Moose Skowron, Hilton Smith, Terry Steinbach, Dick Stigman, Hy Vandenberg, Rudy York, and Bert Blyleven, Jim Eisenreich, Eric Decker, Roy Larson

Nebraska

In 2007 in Nebraska, under the auspices of the Nebraska Baseball Association, there were nine leagues fielding over 50 teams. By 2009, the organization has grown to 75 teams and reaches beyond the borders of Nebraska to accommodate out of state teams that have no other league in which to belong. Just three years old, the Nebraska Baseball Association has begun to pick up momentum and increased exposure. More towns are now assembling teams.
The Nebraska Baseball Association structure was made possible with the research and assistance from the North Dakota Baseball Association, South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association, and the Minnesota Baseball Association. Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota are the only states in the country that have amateur state baseball organizations featuring legitimate qualifying district and state tournaments. Wyoming is seeking assistance from these states to establish another state baseball organization.
2007 Class A

State Champions: Lincoln Lawlor Polecats

State Runner Up: Lincoln Reds

State tournament site: Dunlap Field, Cairo, Ne.

District tournament sites: Hastings, Ne.; Crete, Ne.
2007 Class B

State Champions: Ogallala Moose Lodge #1624

State Runner Up: Hartington Bankers

State tournament site: Dunlap Field, Cairo, Ne.

District tournament sites: Schuyler, Ne.; Hartington, Ne.
2008 Class A

State Champions: Lincoln Dirtbags

State Runner Up: Kearney Kernels

Tournament MVP: Jeremy Fries, Lincoln Dirtbags
State tournament site: Kearney, Ne.
2008 Class B

State Champions: Wakefield Capitals

State Runner Up: Yutan Pilots

Tournament MVP: Max Greve, Wakefield
State tournament site: Wakefield, Ne. Eaton Field

District tournament sites: Sidney, Ne.; Tekamah, Ne.; Chadron, Ne.; O'Neill, Ne.; Wakefield, Ne.
2009 Class A

State Champions: Lincoln Diablos

State Runner Up: Kearney Kernels

Tournament MVP: Kevin Hanley, Lincoln Diablos

Class A state tournament site: Kearney, Ne.

District tournament sites: Omaha, Ne., Lincoln, Ne., Gibbon, Ne., Alliance, Ne.; Scottsbluff, Ne.
2009 Class B

State Champions: Hartington Bankers

State Runner Up: Haxtun, Colorado Bombers

Tournament MVP: Brett Bosn, Hartington Bankers

Class B state tournament site: Wakefield, Ne.

District tournament sites: Ashland, Ne.; Wakefield, Ne.; Cairo, Ne.; Imperial, Ne., Chadron, Ne.
2009 Roy & Ross Speece Umpire of the Year: Tim Higgins, Grand Island, Ne.
2010 Class A

State Champions: Kearney Kernels

State Runner Up: Lincoln Reds

Tournament MVP: Kyle Kraska, Kearney Kernels

Class A state tournament site: Kearney, Ne.

District tournament sites: Omaha, Ne., Lincoln, Ne., McCool Junction, Ne., Scottsbluff, Ne.
2010 Class B

State Champions: Haxtun, Colorado Bombers

State Runner Up: Chadron Titans

Tournament MVP: Jake McClain, Chadron Titans

State tournament site: Sidney, Ne.

District tournament sites: Pierce, Ne.; Yutan, Ne.; Scotia, Ne.; Haxtun, Co.; Chadron, Ne.
2010 Roy & Ross Speece Umpire of the Year: Mike Davis, Yutan, Ne.
2010 Max Greve Player of the Year: Travis Boyll-Kearney Kernels
2011 Class A

State Champions: Omaha Tigers

State Runner Up: Lincoln Reds

Tournament MVP: Caleb Zimmer, Omaha Tigers ***first legion player to earn MVP***Omaha Central

State Tournament sites: Brown Park at John Stella Field, Omaha Central at Boyd Park

Class A Max Greve Player of the Year: Kevin Hanley, Lincoln Diablos

Roy & Ross Speece Umpire of the Year: Ray Manske
2011 Class B

State Champions: Valley Roughriders

State Runner Up: Mead Steam Engines

Tournament MVP: Chris Riley, Valley Roughriders

State Tournament sites: Dunlap Field-Cairo, Grover Cleveland Alexander field-St. Paul

Class B Max Greve Player of the Year: Jake Stutzman, Cairo Camels

North Dakota

The North Dakota Amateur Baseball state tournament is played every year at Jack Brown Stadium in Jamestown.
The last weekend in July is the Masters tournament which is reserved for teams with players that are 35 or older. The Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA tournaments are usually held on the first, second, and third weekends in August respectively. For 2019, the Class A and AA tournaments began on the first Sunday in August and ended the next week with games being played during the week.
The format of the tournament usually depends on the number of teams participating. In 2019 the format of the tournament for each class was as follows:

South Dakota

Great Town Team Baseball teams and players from South Dakota are honored by the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in Lake Norden. The 2010 champions for South Dakota were:
~ Nick Bruning State MVP
~ Nick Bruning, Bryce Ahrendt, Nate Alfson, & Tyler Pierson members of the BV Merchants who made ALL-STATE Team
The Wisconsin Baseball Association is Wisconsin's largest amateur baseball association, composed of six separate leagues. The WBA has teams located throughout Central, Northern and Western Wisconsin along the St. Croix and Mississippi River valleys from Superior to La Crosse, and Hudson to Wausau. The Wisconsin Baseball Association Playoffs are held over two weekends in August. The WBA uses a 32-team, single elimination format. Eight teams advance to the final weekend at the state tournament, which rotates sites each year.
PAST WISCONSIN BASEBALL ASSOCIATION STATE CHAMPIONS:
2019- EAU CLAIRE CAVALIERS --
2018- OSSEO MERCHANTS --
2017- SPARTA MILLER --
2016- SPARTA MILLER --
2015- CHASEBURG-COON VALLEY BLUES --
2014- PRESCOTT PIRATES --
2013- BRILL MILLERS --
2012- MENOMONIE EAGLES --
2011- RIVER FALLS FIGHTING FISH --
2010- HAUGEN KNIGHTS --
2009- EAU CLAIRE BEARS --
2008- EAU CLAIRE BEARS --
2007- CHASEBURG-COON VALLEY BLUES --
2006- LA CRESCENT CARDINALS --
2005- EAU CLAIRE BEARS --
2004- TILDEN TIGERS --
2003- OSCEOLA BRAVES --
2002- HUDSON RIVER RATS --

New York and Pennsylvania

In Western New York, Town Team Baseball was revived in 2013 after a long hiatus, under the auspices of the Alle–Catt Baseball league. In 2014, Mike "Smitty" Smith called for a split in that league and organized that league's New York teams into the Southwestern New York Men's Baseball League. The league's first title was decided in August 2014, when the Fillmore Town Team defeated the Little Valley Thunder. The league returned for its second season in 2015, expanding into Pennsylvania; that year, the team from Bradford, Pennsylvania defeated Fillmore for the championship. Bradford again defeated Fillmore for the 2016 title. The league was abandoned after the 2016 season after Smith opted to pursue a political campaign.
The five remaining Pennsylvania teams in Alle–Catt continue to play as their own league.

In popular culture