Baseball History in Jackson
1950's
A Diamond History
The first in a series of Jackson's prep baseball annals
Picture Caption: Long before Jackson fielded a high school baseball
team, the local Legion sponsored a summer team. Pictured here are four
members of the 1921 squad, from left to right: Harry Yarns, who played outfield;
Ray Beck, catcher; O.F. Seim, first base; and J. Frevital, catcher/outfielder.
Yarns' son, Keith, still lives in Jackson. Other team members included
third baseman Carl Johnson, second baseman H. Nelson, pitcher/left fielder V.V.
Bele, utility player Ed Tiessen, manager L.J. Dahl, shortstop George Peterson
and utility player B.E. Grottum. The team was champion of the Four Star
League. This photo was provided by the Jackson American Legion.
The Swearingen Years
In the spring of 1952, the Jackson school board voted to start high school
baseball beginning that year. Many of the area schools had been playing
baseball for several years. The idea of a baseball team at Jackson High
School had been discussed for years as the city had good baseball facilities at
Albertus Field.
Rumor had it that legendary Blue Jay football coach Lewis Swearigen renounced
the idea of a baseball team because it interfered with his spring football
practices. Swearingen was a standout football and baseball player at
Fairmont High School and Hamline University in the 1920s. In the spring of
1952, the school hired the local legend to lead the Blue Jay baseball team.
Only a few games were played in the first year of baseball. Games were
lined up in Springfield, Windom, Lakefield and Jackson. The Blue Jays lost
in the first round of district play at Lakefield.
One member of that first team who is still living in the area is Vern
Christopher. Christopher said: "Baseball took over very quickly.
The numbers in track went down rapidly. We were all pretty excited about
getting a baseball team started.
"I think Louie was skeptical at first because of spring football, but once he
found out we were excited about playing, he seemed to enjoy spring baseball."
From 1952 until 1962, the majority of the baseball games in Jackson were played
at Albertus Field. The field conditions in the spring were not very good
as the field was usually under water until mid-April. This hampered
practice and game time until May. Many of the early teams never played a
fame until the first part of May. In 1952 and 1953, only three games were
played each year. Also, there were scheduling problems because the Jackson
athletic department failed to schedule games until late in the spring.
In 1948, several of the local businesses invested in a
lighting system that gave Jackson one of the best lit fields in the area.
Nevertheless, because of the poor field conditions and partly because of the
mosquito problems in the summer, many of the local business people became upset
with the local ball field problems. Early in the 1950s, the Jackson school
district purchased some land in the northwest corner of the city.
In 1954, superintendent A.O. Myron allowed construction to begin on a new
athletic complex which included a track, football field and baseball field.
Not until 1962 would the high school play its games on what is now Swearingen
Field.
Coach Swearingen coached the baseball team for 10 years, compiling an 18 and 40
record. Although wins were very hard to come by in those early years, JHS
finished runner-up in the district in 1954 and 1957. Both times, the Blue
Jays were beaten by Stan King's Lakefield Panthers. King's Lakefield teams
dominated area baseball in the 1950s and '60s.
Some other key moments in the 1950s include:
*JHS beat Jeffers 28-2 in a 1954 district tournament game.
*Leading 13-6 in the top of the seventh inning of a 1956 district semifinal
contest, the Jays lost when Westbrook scored 10 runs in the frame.
*Jackson committed 13 errors, seven in one inning, in an 18-12 loss to Lakefield
in 1958.
*The Southwest Conference reorganized in 1958 with Fulda, Mountain Lake and
Tracy dropping out. Marshall and Redwood Falls were not admitted until
1964.
*In 1959, the SWC opted to have a conference tournament. The tourney
lasted for several years before a round robin schedule was used.
*Stretch Cunningham is considered to be one of the best baseball players of that
area. Cunningham was a hard-throwing right handed pitcher who excelled in
all sports.
This series on high school baseball i Jackson is compiled with the assistance
of Tyrone Wacker, Jackson County Central's baseball coach. Wacker has been
an integral part of baseball at all levels in the area for several years.
1960's
A Diamond History
The second in a series of Jackson's prep baseball annals
Picture Caption: Denny Hale - as pictured in his
high school days - had the first hit (a homerun) on Jackson's new baseball complex in 1962. That fall
Hale scored the first touchdown on Swearingen Field. Hale now teaches and coaches at Worthington.
The Sixties
On a cool, blustery mid-April day in 1962, a left-handed hitting freshman
infielder made history by lining a 2-0 pitch over the centerfielder's head for
the first recorded hit on the new outdoor facilities at Jackson High School.
Not only was it the first hit, but Denny Hale's drive went for an out
side-the-park home run.
Hale, who would go on to become one of the premier athletes in Jackson High
School history, was the young infielder in the opening line-up for that opening
game in 1962. "When we played the first game, the field did not look like
it does now," he said. "The light towers were not moved from Albertus
Field yet and there was only a field fence that outlined the entire complex.
In centerfield, the fence met at the corner of Dewey and Springfield Parkway
making about 500 feet from home plate. "That first ball I hit got over the
centerfielder's head and just kept rolling and rolling. I put my head down
and kept running."
Hale hit another inside-the-park homer and a double in that first game at Swearingen Field.
The Blue Jays won that historic game over Lakefield 5-2. Lakefield gained revenge by beating
JHS 2-0 in another regular season game. The Panthers then eliminated the Jays in the district
semifinal game 3-1.
Ironically, in the fall of 1962, Hale scored the first touchdown on Swearingen Field on a 50-yard
run in the northeast corner of the field in the second quarter of a 20-6 win over Lake Crystal.
Rookie teacher/coach Bruce Owens took over the baseball coaching duties in that inaugural year.
Owens coached the Blue Jays for four years, compiling a 25-29 record. With Hale doing the bulk
of the pitching in 1964, the Jays went to the district finals, where they lost to Windom 2-1.
Hale pitched three complete games in that tournament, striking out 36 hitters.
In 1965, JHS won its first district championship by beating Storden 12-0, Comfrey 3-1 and Westbrook
7-2 in the finals. Jackson did not have as good luck in the region at St. James, losing to
Luverne by the 10-run rule. After that season, coach Owens retired from teaching and coaching
and opened a restaurant on the main street in Jackson.
In the spring of 1966, assistant football coach Jim Zak was assigned the baseball position.
Zak, known as one of the better high school football line coaches in Minnesota, lasted for three
years. His best season came in 1968 when Jackson finished 7-6. Zak's total record was
19-20.
Bud Schneider took over the coaching reigns in the spring of 1969. In his five seasons, the
Blue Jays fell on hard times, ending the Schneider years with a 24-63 record.
"Those were very difficult times," said Schneider. "Our best baseball player either golfed,
went out for track or decided to work. It was very frustrating."
Other highlights from the era included:
*Redwood Falls and Marshall were added to the Southwest Conference in 1964. The conference
included Jackson, Luverne, Pipestone, Slayton, Worthington, Windom, Marshall and Redwood Falls.
*From 1960 to 1970, four area schools won State basketball titles in the one-class format, including
Edgerton (1960), Marshall (1964), Luverne (1965) and Sherburn (1970). St. James added a title
in 1972 when the state went to two classes.
*The 1960s are considered the golden years of Jackson High School athletics. Per capita,
Jackson probably had more Division athletes than anyone in Minnesota.
*In 1965, JHS won district titles in all spring sports, including golf, track and baseball.
The Jays also won the Southwest Conference football title that year and finished second in
basketball.
*Kent Borchard, Hale, Skip Wilhelm and Larry Armstrong are considered by many to be the best baseball
players of those years. All were great all-around athletes and hard-throwing pitchers.
This series on high school baseball in Jackson is complied with the assistance of Tyrone Wacker,
Jackson County Central's baseball coach. Wacker has been an integral part of baseball at all
levels in the area for several years.
1970's
Dave Froyum took over the baseball
duties in the spring of 1974. Froyum was another football coach that was
asked to help out in the spring by coaching baseball. Froyum coached the
Bluejays for two years. In 1974 JHS had a respectable 5 and 12 record, but
in 1975, they failed to win a game going 0-12. Froyum finished his two
years of coaching with a 5 and 21 record.
In the spring of 1976, Steve Weflen took over the baseball duties and coached the spring sport for 16 years
at JHS. In the 70's, Weflen's teams finished over .500 every year, except
for his first year. Finishing .500 was quite an accomplishment for any JHS
athletic as most Bluejay teams finished near the bottom of the Southwest
Conference in the 1970's.
Jackson's best team of the 70's
came in the spring of 1979 when the Bluejays finished the regular season with a
12 and 1 record. Their only loss came in the 2nd game of double header to
Pipestone, 7-3. JHS finished second in the conference standings to
Marshall. Also, the Jays were runner-up in the district to Butterfield in
1979. Jackson beat Sioux Valley, 9-0, Comfrey 8-5, and then lost to
Butterfield 5 to 1 in the finals of the District. Earlier in the spring,
Jackson beat Butterfield, 9-1.
Some of the outstanding players on
that 79 team were pitchers Curt Egeland and Randy Christopher, SS Ted Smith, C
John Miller and OF Mark Whisney.
Other Notes:
The 70's are considered the high
point of SWC athletics. The balance of the teams in the league and the
number of quality athletes in each school is said to be the highest of any era.
There were several outstanding
baseball players in the 70's, but one pitcher that stands out the most that
never had the opportunity to win many games was Bruce Stofferan. Stofferan
pitched in 1973 and 1974, striking out a record setting 124 hitters in 1974.
The two outstanding hitters of the
70's were Brent Christopher and Duane Whisney. Christopher and Whisney
played on the same teams from 75-77. Coach Weflen said, "All the Whisney's
and Christopher's were excellent players and contributed to our success in the
70's. Brent and Duane could really hit." "Brent also did a lot of
pitching for us and kept us in a lot of games."
The Whisney's, Duane, Mark and
Kevin, and the Christophers, Brent, Kevin, Randy and Corey were brother acts
that played for JHS. The Whisney's were known for their ability to hit.
The Christopher's were known for their versatility as baseball players.
All of them pitched, but Randy was the outstanding pitcher as he won 15 games in
the 3 years. Kevin was one of the better catchers in the area in the 3
years he played at JHS. Father, Vern Christopher, played 3B for the first
baseball team JHS in 1952.
There were several families that
contributed 2, 3, or 4 players at JHS. But the family that had the most
athletes from one household was the Jim Smith family. Father, Jim Smith,
was an outstanding athlete at JHS in the late 40's and early 50's. Sons,
Warren was a 2B-P, 1973, Tim OF, 1975. Jim OF-3B. 1977. Ted, SS,
1979 and Dan, catcher in 1983, all were outstanding players for JHS. All
of the boys attended U of M at Morris. Ted and Dan played baseball for
Morris in the years they attended college.
1980's
A
diamond history
The fourth in a series of Jackson's prep baseball annals
Picture Caption: Jackson's Wade Wacker (front right) signed a
professional baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins in June of 1987.
Pictured with Wacker in this photo, first printed in June 11, 1987, Jackson
County Pilot, is Twins scout "Cobby Saatzer" and Wacker's parents, Tyrone and
Vereen.
The Eighties
The 1980's were very productive baseball years at JHS as the Jays complied a
100-88 overall record.
Led by pitchers Steve Schultz and Kevin Nordquist, the 1984 team finished with a
13-6 overall record. With Schultz leading the way on the mound and in the
hitting stats, JHS finished runner-up to Windom in the District tourney.
Jackson beat Sioux Valley in the first round of districts with Schultz striking
out 19 batters. Other outstanding players on the '84 team were first
baseman Mike Swanson and freshman shortstop Wade Wacker.
The Steve Weflen coached teams would also finish runner-up in the district in
1983 and 1987. In 1989 the Blue Jays won their first district championship
since 1965 as they beat SVRLB 8-5, MLBO 5-4 and Windom in the finals 13-6.
In the first round of the region held at Windom, Jackson lost to Luverne 9-4.
Some of the outstanding players on the '89 team were center fielder Scott Holm,
pitcher/outfielder Tony Sadunky, catcher Steve VantHul, third baseman/pitcher
Greg Wicskus, pitcher Brian Bell, second baseman Corey Christopher and pitcher
Scott Anderson. Two freshmen played important roles in the championship
run in 1989 in pitcher Eric Johnson and shortstop Lincoln Wacker. Johnson
was the winning pitcher in the district final game against Windom.
In the summer of 1983, Jackson High School hired a new football coach (it's
fourth in four years), Tyrone Wacker. Along with the new coach came his
son, a freshman athlete who would go on to a storybook career at JHS. Wade
Wacker played all the sports at JHS very well but professional scouts said
baseball was the sport he should play. In early June of 1987, the
Minnesota Twins selected Wacker in the third round of the amateur draft.
He signed his first professional contract with the Twins later that June.
Earlier in May, Wade had signed a tender to play baseball at Bradley University
in Illinois. "It was a hectic spring," Wade said. "Just about every
game we played there were two or three scouts there. In the first round of
the district tournament at Windom, just about every professional team was there.
"I thought I would be taken in the fourth for fifth round by the Dodgers.
Dad was told I would be taken in the first or second round by the Angels."
Said Tyrone: "Baseball-wise things got very serious in the summer after his
junior year as I would take him to tryout camps around the Midwest.
Wherever we went, scouts were always very interested, asking whether I would let
him sign right out of high school."
Wacker's high school athletic career was highlighted by making the
all-conference baseball team four years, basketball three years and football
three years. He also anchored the 4 x 100 meter relay team to a second
place finish in the Region his junior and senior years. Wade was also the
first athlete in Minnesota history to be selected to the Minnesota Metro-Outstate
all-star games in three sports (football, basketball and baseball). Wade
was voted the MVP of the basketball all-star game held at Williams Arena.
What started out as a dream career at JHS ended with a series of back injuries
that plagued Wade's minor league career. Medical treatment taking him
across the country, countless hours of therapy and constant pain limited his
playing time and made his experience as a professional baseball player a long
and tedious grind. But as Wade said "W wanted to be a professional
baseball player. I wouldn't do a thing different."
Other Notes From the 1980's
*In the summer of 1982, two new light towers were erected on the baseball field
as wind storms blew two of the eight down along with the dugouts.
*In the fall of 1983, the vocational school put up the new cyclone fence around
the entire athletic complex. Centerfield was no longer 500 feet.
Also in 1985 a new track was constructed. A track backers group in the
community raised the money and supplied most of the work to complete the
project.
*In the summer of 1984, football coach Tyrone Wacker was hired as athletic
director at JHS. With the help of janitors Dave Ward and Don Holmen, the
entire complex at Swearingen Field received a facelift as the grounds received
the attention needed to keep up with other Southwest Conference schools. Wacker
stated,
"Ward and I started about the same time. The first thing we did was find
the old plans of the complex to find where the water lines were."
The early plans had grandstand for the baseball field and a grandstand for the
softball field. The softball field field would have been located
were the B-squad baseball field now rests. The water lines were laid out
perfectly to accommodate the two fields.
"One time during football practice, I got upset and stomped my foot. It
made a "thump" sound, said Wacker. "Ward came over with a shovel and dug
up a never used sprinkling faucet. It was amazing to me that such perfect
plans were made in the mid 1950s and were never kept up."
1990's
The 90's started
out on a high note as the Bluejays went 13-8 in 1990 and then won their 3rd
District championship in 1991. 1991 marked the last year of Coach Steve Weflen's
16 year tenure as baseball coach at JHS. Coach Weflen finished with 162
wins and 143 losses.
Todd Card took over the coaching duties in the spring of 1991
and proceeded with back to back district championships. Card coached until
1997 and finished with a 76 and 50 record.
In the history of JHS baseball, the best winning stretch of winning baseball came during the late
80's and early 90's as they won 4 district championships in 89, 9l, 92, and 93.
Two important factors of those championship were pitcher, Eric Johnson and SS
Lincoln Wacker. Both were 4 year starters in baseball and went on to have
outstanding athletic careers at JHS. Johnson won a record-setting 21 games in
his career, and Wacker played SS 91 games in his career. The Wacker-Johnson
combination dominated SWC statistics for several years, but probably the most
unique situation developed during their senior year in basketball. Both
players scored over a thousand points in their basketball career, but what was
very unusual, is they scored their 1000th point 50 seconds apart. Wacker
scored his first on a driving lay-up, then 50 second later, Johnson hit a jump
shot to score his 1000th point. Both players went on to have good college
baseball careers. Johnson at Morningside College, and Wacker at
Morningside College and University of Wyoming.
Two other players
that contributed a great deal in those years were catcher Jason DeWall and 3B-P
Kip Wachal. DeWall was an outstanding defensive catcher, and Wachal was
one of the premier, all-time hitters in JHS history. It was said by many
that Wachal "could get up Christmas morning and hit line drives." The
passing combination of Wachal and DeWall in football also set many passing
records in the SWC. Other outstanding players on those teams were 1B Mike
Ruskel, 2B Dan Sauter, LF Mark More and pitcher Jared Spaeth.
The 90's also brought more changes in the baseball facilities.
Money raised by the Jackson Baseball Association, donations from the American
Legion, and the many hours of donated time by volunteers finished many projects.
Swearingen field was the site of many summer-time tournaments in levels of
baseball. Never-the-less, in the mid-90's, there were some difficulties
with field maintenance where Jackson lost all of the tournaments. As Scott
Bahr stated, "at one point, the fields got so bad that the Legion team and the
Bulls cancelled their July home games and played them all on the road.
Water was turned off, washrooms were locked, and the fields were taken over by
thistles, weeds, and gophers." Many of the problems started when
a new administrator was hired at the high school and did not allow access to the
field. The current situation got back to normal in the late 90's.
After the merger of Lakefield and Jackson in
the fall of 1997, former athletic director and football coach, Tyrone
Wacker was hired as the new baseball coach. Jackson County Central went on
to win the Sub-Section in the spring of 98 and finish second in the SWC.
Ryan Dunlavey and Andy Traetow were two of the outstanding players at JCC in the
late 90's. Dunlavey was a outstanding infielder and relief pitcher, while
Traetow was a catcher. Both players were outstanding all-around athletes
at JCC. Dunlavey went on the play baseball at Augstana College and was a
two time NCC all conference 3rd baseman, while Traetow became a All-American
football player at Gustavus. Tratetow was selected to play in the 2000 All-Star
baseball game in Chaska.
Other notes from the 90's:
**Jackson/JCC finished the
90's with a 131 and 85 record.
**Todd Card finished his 6th year career with a 76 and 50 record.
**Steve Weflen finished his 16 year career with a 162 and 143 record.
**There were several outstanding baseball players that played on outstanding
teams for JHS/JCC in the 90's. New heights were reached during this era.
Many of the records that were broken during that time still stand. Players such
as Eric Johnson, Lincoln Wacker, Kip Wachal, Jason Dewall, Matt Foster, Ryan
Dunalvey and Andy Traetow had outstanding baseball careers and were some of the
best all-round athletes in JHS/JCC history.
**Probably the best brother combination ever to play athletics in Jackson were
the Wacker brothers. Wade (87) and Lincoln (92) had outstanding careers at JHS.
The two of them made the All-SWC select teams a total of 13 times. Both
athletes were shortstops, quarterbacks and point guards. Both Wade and
Lincoln set records in their sports during their time. During the spring
they were sprinters on the track team. At one time, Lincoln held the
record in the 100 meter dash. Wade is one of two athletes in Minnesota to
make the All-Star teams in Football, Basketball and Baseball. Lincoln went
on to be one of the best amatuer baseball players in Minnesota.
**Lincoln Wacker was killed by drunk drivers in a car crash near Glencoe,
Minnesota in September of 1999. He was in his first year of coaching and
teaching at Central High School in Norwood, Minnesota.
**The baseball record for the first century of baseball ended at 361 victories
and 383 losses.
Game by Game Scores for Each
School since 1969