Untitled - Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks

Transcription

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110 Years of Resultss and Historical Information on Page 4
The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks program has a tremendous reputation throughout the baseball world, yet its profound impact on baseball history is understood by
few. The Goldpanners were pioneers in the promotion of collegiate sports, and rode
the strength of the college athlete to many achievements on and off the field. The club
operates in a manner similar to a Minor League Baseball team (playing daily, using wood
bats, traveling by bus), thereby preparing college athletes for the rigors of pro ball.
This summer the Goldpanners organization
will be in its 56th season of operation. The
success of the program in player development has far exceeded that of any other team
in the history of amateur baseball. The bulk of
that success is attributable to the 50-year run
of Don Dennis, who has been associated with
the club since 1964.
letic struggles during the team’s relentless
march for a record-expanding seventh NBC
World Series championship.
Though started as a humble town team in
the “North of the Range League”, the Alaska
Goldpanners gained wide fame almost immediately after finishing second overall in
the the national tournament, which is held in
Over 200 Goldpanners have reached Major Wichita, Kansas. Over its 81-year history,
League Baseball as players, including Barry only the Goldpanners have won the champiBonds (83), Tom Seaver (64-65), and Dave onship six times (72-73-74-76-80-02).
Winfield (71-72). Even more significant is the
record number of 1,170 Goldpanners drafted The curiosity about the team’s Alaskan roots,
by Major League Baseball teams. There mixed with the entertainment of a young
have also been numerous others who trans- team composed entirely of collegians, enlated their summer experience into success deared many fans to the Goldpanners. The
continued successes of the club led to an
throughout the professional world.
almost cult-like following during the 60s and
From the beginning of its operation in 1959, 70s. The team’s allure has only continued to
the club’s goal has been to assist the young grow.
athlete in maximizing his potential to the
fullest. Intensifying the personal disciplines Over the years, the club has achieved numerrequired to succeed during the difficult Alas- ous national and international distinctions,
kan baseball season is the means to achieve leading to world-wide fame rivalling that of
this end. Aside from the physical discipline many professional teams. The influence of
required to compete at the highest level of the Goldpanners in the baseball world is still
amateur baseball, there are many off-field on the ascent even now. Besides the growchallenges which require mental discipline. ing popularity of the Midnight Sun Game, the
Triumphing over these struggles with strong team’s alumni often continue with the game
physical and mental discipline forges the type after their playing careers are over, and are
of character which enhances success in all now positioned administratively throughout
all levels of play.
areas of life.
The compressed schedule forces players to
rapidly develop these traits in an environment
which requires an extreme level of endurance
and dedication. The challenge presented is
to meet and overcome all personal and ath-
During the past few years, legendary ballplayer Bill “Spaceman” Lee (66-67-08) has
taken it upon himself to spread the word of
the world-class Fairbanks program, even
declaring that the club was “the number one
amateur baseball organization in history.”
Back-to-Back ABL Champions
2015 GROWDEN PARK SCHEDULE
JUNE 16
JUNE 17
JUNE 18
JUNE 19
JUNE 20
JUNE 21
JUNE 22
JUNE 24
JUNE 25
JUNE 25
JUNE 26
JUNE 27
JUNE 28
JUNE 29
JUNE 29
JUNE 30
7p
7p
5p
7p
7p
10:30
7p
7p
5p
8p
7p
7p
7p
5p
8p
7p
Chugiak Chinooks*
Chugiak Chinooks*
Chugiak Chinooks*
Fairbanks Adult All-Stars
Seattle (WA) Studs
Seattle (WA) Studs
Seattle (WA) Studs
Everett (WA) Merchants
Kenai Peninsula Oilers*
JULY 1
JULY 2
JULY 10
JULY 11
JULY 11
JULY 12
JULY 13
JULY 14
JULY 15
JULY 21
JULY 22
JULY 23
JULY 24
JULY 25
7p
7p
7p
5p
8p
7p
7p
7p
5p
7p
7p
5p
7p
2p
Anchorage Bucs*
Anchorage Bucs*
Anchorage Bucs*
Anchorage Bucs*
Anchorage Bucs*
Anchorage Bucs*
Anchorage Bucs*
Mat-Su Miners*
Mat-Su Miners*
Mat-Su Miners*
Anchorage Glacier Pilots*
Anchorage Glacier Pilots*
* Alaska Baseball League Game
2015 PERSONNEL DIRECTORY
GENERAL MANAGER: Todd Dennis
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD: Charles E. Cole
PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD: Phil Prax
VP/GAMING MEMBER IN CHARGE: Brian Rasley
STADIUM OPERATIONS: Christoph Falke
MARKETING DIRECTOR: Mike Cloutier
LIONS CAMP DIRECTOR: Lynn Hines
HOUSING DIRECTOR: Rhonda Lohrke
TRAINING STAFF: Jim Kimbal
GROUNDS MANAGER: Dennis Volkheimer
FIELD MANAGER: Jeff Stephens
VEHICLES: John Lohrke, Seekins Ford
PANNERVISION BROADCASTER: Gero von Dehn
TICKETING: John Denning, Bri Dennis
SOUVENIRS: Torie Dennis
PRESSBOX: Tom Dennis, Taylor Pittman
PUBLIC ADDRESS: Raleigh Johnson
www.goldpanners.com
P.O. Box 71154 Fairbanks
907-451-0095 / 907-456-6429
Yearbook by Todd Dennis (todd@goldpanners.com)
1
2014: Back-to-Back State Titles
Winners of ABL American Division, ABL Postseason Tournament, ABL Title
The 2014 Goldpanners were the
undisputed champions of the state
of Alaska for the 30th time, compiling a 37-11 record behind strong
second-half pitching and a remarkable display of offense. The Panners hit .327 as a team, with Scott
Hurst leading the pack at .417.
On July 12th, the Panner offense
operated flawlessly, scoring 19
runs in the second-inning, with 14
runs scoring before the first out
was made. In that second frame,
Kris Paulino became one of only
two known players in the entirety
of baseball history to hit two grand
slams in a single inning.
The strong 21-4 home record ensured that even moderate success
on the road would be enough to
capture the state crown. Despite
this fact, the Panners won 12 of 14
to close the Alaska season.
Following the ABL regular season,
the Goldpanners swept through the
competition in the league’s postseason tournament to win Fairbanks’ second consecutive state
title. In the best two-of-three tournament finals the Panners swept
the Mat-Su Miners in two games.
Fairbanksan Torgen Soderlund followed his 2013 season by pitching
nearly 30 innings and compiling a
2-1 win/loss record. Following the
season, Torgen pitched for the Chico
State Wildcats.
For the second year in a row the
Goldpanners were blessed with a
high school prodigy. Following high
schooler David Fletcher’s amazing 2013 season was prep standout Scott Hurst‘s 2014 campaign.
Hurst showed great maturity at the
plate, and an aggressiveness on
defense that often saved the day for
Fairbanks. Over the course of the
season, he performed as well as
any outfielder in team history, making difficult and impossible plays
appear routine.
Also for the second year in a row,
four titles were won in a single campaign, including the American Division title, the ABL “Top of the World
Series” crown, and the Alaska Baseball League championship. To top
off these awards, the Panners won
the Midnight Sun Series banner by
sweeping the Monarchs from Lake
Erie, Michigan. The highlight of that
series was the 109th W.G. & Eddie
Stroekcer Midnight Sun Game, which
the Panners won 13 to 6 behind the
pitching of Yale’s Chasen Ford.
Sharing the spotlight with Hurst was
fellow prep hurler Tylor Megill. After
having been cut by the Pilots, Tylor was picked up by Fairbanks and
proceeded to win five games to no
losses.
NBC WORLD SERIES
The great success the 2013 pitching
staff achieved was attributable to
Pitching Coach Ken Hokuf. Hokuf,
a professional pitcher in the A’s organization, took a wildly divergent
group of athletes and made them a
fearsome unit. Led by righty Mike
Benson and lefty Jace Puckett, the
hurlers combined for a 3.83 team
ERA, more than enough room for
the Panner offense to operate.
Veteran pitcher Andrew Buehler
distinguished himself by being on
the mound for the second year in a
row when the Goldpanners won the
Alaska “Top of the World Series”. In
VALUABLE
PLAYERS
Mike
Benson
Jacob
Hayes
On the offensive side the best production came from outfielder Jacob
Hayes, whose home run stroke
yielded 10 dingers. In addition,
Hayes led the club with a patriotic 49
runs batted in.
ANOTHER PREP SUPERSTAR
PITCHING STAFF
MOST
Unlike the previous year’s ABL
championship club, the 2014 squad
had no trouble hitting. Compared to
a .253 team batting average in 2013,
last year’s team hit a lusty .327.
Cody Nulph was another major producer of offense. As co-leader in
games played, Cody knocked in 42,
while leading the club with 11 doubles. Nulph also had nine big flys
of his own. Jacob Hayes’ home run
title was threatened by Vahn Bozoian too, with Bozo clubbing nine.
Including Scooter Bynum, there
were a record three high school seniors on the club. For the first time
in Panner history two prep players
were starters in an ABL contest.
2
2014, he delivered a gutty five-inning
performance to close out the State
title game victory for Fairbanks. In
2013, Andrew won the title game
following 2.1 innings of shutout ball
against the Anchorage Pilots, while
striking out four and walking none.
The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks’ barnstorming roots were revisited in 2014 with the squad traveling to Wichita, Kansas for the 80th
National Baseball Congress World
Series. Despite the Panner bats wilting in the midwestern heat, the group
clawed to a seventh-place finish in
the nation. Fairbanksan Mike Studer, GM and coach of the Oceanside
(CA) Waves, outdueled ConcordiaIrvine’s Mike Grahovac and defeated
the Panners into eliminatation.
Despite the failure to extend the
Goldpanners’ all-time leading championship tally of six, there were many
great moments on and off the field.
Slugger Jacob Hayes pulled off an
inside-the-park homer to win the
team’s home run crown.
The pinnacle Wichita moment came
on August 4th, when two-time Panner
MVP Steve Kemp joined the club to
celebrate his induction into the NBC
Hall of Fame.
The interview between Steve and broadcaster Gero
von Dehn is available for viewing at
YouTube. Also available is the 19run second inning vs. Anchorage.
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top: Joel Belk, Chasen Ford, Vahn Bozoian, Tylor Megill, Tanner Pinkston, Andrew Buehler, Torgen Soderlund.
middle: Luke Barker, MGR Mike Grahovac, Jacob Hayes, Scooter Bynum, Miles Chambers, Russell Harmening,
Kris Paulino, Jace Puckett, Eric Hutting, Anthony Hutting, Mike Benson, Ken Hokuf. bottom: Tyler Mildenberg,
Ryan Clark, Brandon Caruso, Jayson Balades, Scott Hurst, Cody Nulph, Mike Wieland, Hunter Villanueva.
2014 SEASON FINAL, OFFICIAL STATISTICS
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2015: 56th Season of Championship Baseball
Many Fresh Faces Alongside Experienced Program Veterans
The 56th season of the Alaska Goldpanners program will be full
of surprises.
In addition to numerous astonishing upgrades to
the Growden Memorial Park facilities, this year’s roster is sure to
amaze.
With the momentum of six championship titles in the last two seasons, recruiting was elevated to secure the nation’s very top talent.
An aggressive approach to recruiting even resulted in players forsaking unbinding contracts with lesser leagues, including the CCBL.
Players from around the country have gathered in Fairbanks and the
quest for an ABL three-peat has begun in earnest.
As in 2014, the Alaska Baseball League is split into two divisions:
American and Nation. The American Division is comprised of the
Goldpanners, Anchorage Bucs, and the Peninsula Oilers. The National Division houses the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks and the Mat-Su Miners. All teams will compete
against teams from both divisions.
Eli Lingos entered the game in the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless
inning against the big league club.
One interesting facet of this year’s club is its distinguished outfield. Matt
Gelalich of Pepperdine was featured on ESPN this spring following an
outstanding game-winning catch. Jordan Qsar, also out of Pepperdine,
rode a mature approach to distinction as both a fielder and a pitcher.
Scooter Bynum of Fairbanks follows his successful first collegiate season with another stint roaming Growden’s outfield. Surprisingly, all five
Goldpanners outfielders bat left-handed and throw right-handed.
The Panner infield is talented in the extreme. Third baseman Ty France
was a pre-season All-American pick for San Diego State University, and
justified the selection by batting a cool .336. On the other side of the
infield is 6-foot-6 first baseman Austin Bush, who led the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in home run production. The middle infield is anchored
by Chad Carroll, veteran of the 2012 Goldpanners squad. Nathan
Reynolds, nephew of Goldpanners Harold Reynolds, Don Reynolds,
and Larry Reynolds, will also see plenty of action.
Field management this season will be headed by Jeff Stephens, a
standout ballplayer at UC Irvine, and coach at various levels of play.
The catching corps this season is Brian Lees of Akron University, Fairbanksan Matt Wixon, and Renae Martinez, who was a key component
of UC Irvine’s run in the 2014 College World Series.
Among the highlights of this year’s roster are Arizona State University pitching duo Ryan Hingst and Eli Lingos. On March 3rd of this
year, they both faced MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks in a pre-season
exhibition game. Hingst started the game and pitched three innings
of shutout ball, yielding only a hit to Paul Goldschmidt.
One of the other surprises this year is the removal of the warning track
fence at Growden Park. This, combined with great speed and hitting
talent, will assuredly yield a greater amount of triples than has been
usual in Fairbanks.
JEFF STEPHENS
Jeff Stephens is the top young
coach in the amateur baseball
according to former North Pole
Nicks manager Mike Gillespie.
Mike should know, having
coached Stephens while the
duo were at UC Irvine.
Jeff is a winner of many prep
awards and is known as a
fierce competitor, as shown
during his collegiate career at
UC Irvine and Sierra College.
He is currently coaching at his
alma mater. He now resides in
Roseville, CA and is on schedule to complete his Masters in
Sports Science this summer.
Stephens Steals Home
JAMIE SLUYS
CHRIS SMITH
Jamie Sluys of Auburn, WA returns to Fairbanks for his second stint as an Assistant/Hitting
Coach for the Goldpanners. In
2012, Jamie was part of the staff
supporting ABCA Hall of Famer
Jim Dietz during Jim’s final
games as a Field Manager.
Chris graduated from Ohio Dominican University in 2009, following a pitching career in which
he was named an All-American,
was three-time All-Conference,
and a two-time Academic AllAmerican. Chris pitched for
the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in
2007.
Sluys has had a distinguished
career as a player, as a Head
Coach, and as an Athletic Director. Jamie is currently the
Athletic Director and Head Baseball Coach at Muckleshoot High
School -- a dual role he also held
while at Northwest Indian College.
After his playing days were over
Chris began a coaching career
focused on developing high
school players into collegiate
prospects. These days, he develops collegiate prospects into
professionals as pitching coach
at Northwestern Ohio Univ.
Sluys and the Dietz Legacy
Chris in USA Today (11/10/08)
2012 GOLDPANNERS COACHING STAFF
JIM DIETZ
TIM KELLY
JON TATUM
JAMIE SLUYS
3
Staying in Stockton out of high school, Bennetts
spent his first two collegiate seasons pitching for
the Mustangs at Delta Junior College. In 2013,
Bennetts went 2-2 with one save in 34 innings
pitched. He picked up 20 strikeouts while sporting a 3.71 ERA. In 2014, Bennetts put together a
9-3 campaign as a starter with a 2.71 ERA in 89.2
innings pitched. For his play he earned Second
Team All-Big 8 honors.
Austin played his first season of collegiate baseball
at the University of Cal., Santa Barbara. Bush’s
most dramatic moment of the year came on the
12th of May, when he hit a go-ahead two-run
home run against Cal. State, Bakersfield two outs
and two strikes in the 9th. He ended up trying
for the team lead in home runs. A teammate of
Goldpanner Ryan Clark, Bush played in 21 games,
batting .270 on the season.
The standout of the Lincoln High School pitching
staff, Bennetts earned team MVP honors for his
play while taking home First-Team All-San Joaquin
Athletic Association honors. As a senior, Bennetts
appeared in a team-high 14 contests with 10
starts. He threw six complete games while sporting a 2.79 ERA and a 4-4 record. In relief, Bennetts
picked up a pair of saves.
As a senior at Turlock (CA) Prep, Austin batted a
gaudy .398 with an on-base percentage of .509
and a slugging percentage of .693. He was voted
Offensive Player of the Year after his senior year,
and was awarded a First Team All-League selection and was a member of the 2014 All-Region
team. As a junior, he was awarded First Team AllLeague, League Offensive Player of the Year, and
Perfect Game Underclass Honorable Mention.
In 2015, Sean had a three-game winning streak
against BYU, Gonzaga (in Spokane, WA), and Seattle University. As a junior, he is expected to be a
mature presence on the Goldpanners staff.
Ty France is an exciting player out of West Covina,
California -- the same hometown of Goldpanners
Andrew Carrillo and Jason Giambi.
At SDSU this spring, Ty hit .336 (83-for-247), which
was good for second place on the 2015 Aztecs.
Heading into this year, France earned secondteam Freshman All American honors from Baseball
America, third-team All-American honors by Baseball America for his sophomore season and is a
first-team preseason All-American by the National
Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
“I worked really hard last season, so I was kind of
hoping something like that would happen,” France
said. “But to have a 42-win season, and have me be
a part of it, that was really cool.”
4
“Anyone who’s worth their salt always wants more,
and that’s Ty for you,“ Martinez said. “He’s dangerous with the bat, and we like that,” Martinez said.
“Anytime we’re going to walk onto the field, the
opponent is going to have his name circled.”
“I plan to obtain my degree but my main goal is
to play baseball and see how far I can go with the
game I love,” Bush said.
AJ Franks is a 6-2, right-handed submarine pitcher who throws from the Kent Tekulve slot with
velocity and serious life. AJ hails from Santa Ana
College, where he is coached by Tim Kelly.
During the 2015 season Franks estalished himself as one of the best closers in the nation. He
sported a nifty 1.84 ERA in 44 innings pitched
over 28 appearances. He struck out 32 batters
during that stretch utilizing his velocity and deceptive delivery.
Following the Alaska season, AJ will attend Grand
Canyon University, where he has been awarded a
full-ride scholarship to pitch.
Fairbanks native Scooter Bynum joined the 2014
Goldpanners fresh out of Monroe Catholic Prep
and had a solid season. Scooter showed flashes
of brilliance in his limited duty, including a two-RBI
triple in the ABL Scout Showcase.
Bynum followed the Fairbanks season with a stellar effort for the Arizona Western College baseball
club. During the 2015 season he flirted with a .400
batting average, and ended with team-leading statistics in numerous categories.
In 2014, Scooter was named the Alaska Athlete of
the Year in both football and baseball. In the 2014
Major League Baseball draft, Scooter was picked in
the 18th round by the Cincinatti Reds. Instead of
signing to play professional baseball, he opted instead to attend college.
Prior to the start of the season Scooter was quoted
as saying, “I love baseball and the ultimate goal is
to play at the highest level, and I feel like I can go
further in the sport of baseball”.
Matt is a sophomore outfielder from Pepperdine
University in Malibu, California. During the 2015
season he hit .289 (41-for-142), with 7 doubles, 4
triples, and 2 home runs, while knocking in 23. On
May 23rd, Matt was featured on ESPN’s Top Ten
Countdown of the best plays of the day.
As a true freshman, Gelalich played in 58 of 59
games for the Waves, mostly as the team’s everyday centerfielder. His first three RBI performance
came with 1-for-4 hitting at Loyola Marymount
(5/19) and the second time was against Michigan
State (6/1) in the NCAA Regionals, where he went
1-for-3 with three RBI.
At Bonita High School, Matt was a two-time First
Team All-CIF-Southern Section and an All-San Gabriel Valley selection. He was also a two-time Allleague selection, and was named All-league and
All-CIF in football.
He loves baseball “because it forces you to deal
with adversity and to learn from your mistakes”.
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In his first year as a Wildcat, Carrillo earned his
spot as the starting second baseman and No. 2 hitter in the team’s batting order. Andrew responded
by leading the club in batting average at .325 (37for-114). Halfway through the season his batting
was .412.
Prior to his transfer to Chico State, Carrillo played
at Azusa Pacific University. He appeared in 68
games and stole 13 bases in his two years with the
Cougars.
He is a 2012 graduate of Covina High School, where
he batted .346 and stole 63 bases in four varsity
seasons. Andrew was named the Colts’ team MVP
in 2011 after hitting .379 and swiping 30 bases.
He is a three-time All-Valley Vista League selection
in baseball…Earned two All-VVL honors in three
seasons of football and was a member of two VVL
championship teams.
Last summer, Andrew was a part of the Athletes in
Action program, playing for the Xenia Scouts
Jose Cardona is a 6-foot-2, 205 pound right-handed pitcher out of Canoga Park, California. In 2015,
Jose pitched for 2014 Goldpanners Field Manager
Mike Grahovac at the University of Concordia at
Irvine. He originally transferred from Cal State
Fullerton, where he was coached by Goldpanners
coach Rick VanderHook. During his two seasons
at CS Fullerton, Cardona pitched effectively before
injury halted his career there.
After a full recovery, Jose wound up with Concordia-Irvine this spring, where he pitched 16 innings
. He is a talented prospect, with an 87-90 MPH
fastball, a slider, as well as a changeup. He holds
runners on base well, and is known for his veteran
approach and quality work ethic.
Jose prepped at El Camino Real High School in
Woodland Hills, California, graduating in 2011. He
was named team caption his senior season.
Chad Carroll is a veteran returnee to the Goldpanners program, having spent time in both the infield
and outfield during the 2012 season. In his return,
Chad will be reunited with Jamie Sluys, who was an
assistant to Jim Dietz that season. During his summer with the Goldpanners, Chad hit .308 (49-for159), and led the team with 38 runs and 17 stolen
bases.
At James Madison University Carroll led the club
with a batting average of .339 (62-for-183). His 48
runs, 13 doubles, 29 walks and .497 on base percentage all led the club statistically. In addition,
he was the far-and-away leader in stolen bases by
swiping 27 -- three times more than the next closest in the category.
As a junior at JMU, Chad was named the preseason
Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Year,
Preseason Third Team All-American by National
Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and was
identified in a poll of CAA coaches as being the
league’s best pure hitter, the toughest to strike out
and the best baserunner.
Evan is a left-handed hitting centerfielder from the
University of California at Irvine, where he has attended school since 2013.
Prior to his stay at UC Irvine, Cassolato was part
of the Cathedral Catholic program in San Diego
County. During his prep career, he was named the
Defensive Player of the Year in baseball and also
lettered as a football player.
Evan was named to the San Diego Union Tribune
All-Academic Team in 2011 and 2012, and he was
the High School Sports Association Scholar-Athlete
of the Year.
Though used primarily off the bench, Evan had a
number of contributions. He has a big game for UC
Irvine this year on April 19th, when he came off the
bench and hit a two RBI single, tying the game.
“When it was my time to go up there, I wanted
to stay aggressive and do the best thing I could to
contribute for the team,” said Cassolato.
Ryan Hingst, right-handed starting pitcher from
Arizona State University, is from El Paso, Texas. His
father David played baseball at the University of
Texas at El Paso.
Brian Lees is a highly-touted catcher cut out of the
mold of Mike Matheny. His former coach Todd
Winston, had a distinguished two-year career with
the Goldpanners in 1990-91.
Ryan held the D-backs to one hit across a pair of
scoreless innings in his first career collegiate start,
and faced MLBers AJ Pollock, Aaron Hill, Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, Mark Trumbo, Yasmany Tomas
and Tuffy Gosewisch
This spring, Brian had a batting average of .292 (59for-202), and tallied 10 doubles, and was second
on the club with 28 walks. Brian his a walkoff single
against Buffalo on May 10th.
During his first career Pact-10 start with ASU, Ryan
did not allow a hit in 1.2 hitless innings and struck
out two against Utah on April 4th. He picked up
the win in relief after striking out five in 2.1 innings
vs NMSU on March 31st.
Lees started for the Brunswick High School varsity
baseball team since his sophomore season, and
was a three year letterwinner for the varsity baseball team. In his junior year, Lees was a first-team
All-Northeast Ohio Conference River Division selection at third base.
During his prep career Hingst was named Two
Time All-District, Two Time All-City, District Pitcher
of the Year, and Academic All-State. He also received the Presidents Academic Award Recipient
from ASU, and was a Perfect Game National 2nd
Team All-American.
Lees took a visit to Akron and shortly after, he was
sold. “He offered me a scholarship, and I couldn’t
pass up anyone wanting to pay for my college,”
Lees said. “To me, it was a no-brainer.”
5
1960-2015: 56 Seasons of Championship Baseball
Holder of Many State, National and International Titles, Including1966 World Crown
In 1959, shortly after the passage of the 1960 Championship: North of the Range League
Alaska Statehood Bill, University of Alaska 1961 Championship: North of the Range League
Fairbanks basketball coach Ray Wheeler de- 1961 Championship: N.B.C. Alaska Regional Tournament
1961 Second Place: Alaska State Championship
termined to field a baseball club.
1962 Championship: North of the Range League
Ray sought to generate support from a number of local baseball enthusiasts. In the process of preparing for the season, he ordered
a set of uniforms to be manufactured by a local sporting goods store: Pan-Alaska Sports,
which was operated by WWII veteran H.A.
“Red” Boucher.
Despite Wheeler’s best efforts that spring,
he was unable to get the team onto the field.
Boucher, then stuck with a set of uniforms for
a team that didn’t exist, organized his own
push to see the project through.
This he did, and 55 years later through the
leadership of Boucher and Don Dennis (starting in 1967) the Alaska Goldpanners organization has won numerous state, national and
international records.
The successes of the club are numerous. Listed on this page are year-by-year results for all
54 seasons.
6
YEAR
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
MANAGER
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Boucher
Olsen
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Hines
Hines
Hines
Hines
Hines
Snow
Snow
Kelly
Weathers
Weathers
Weathers
Harrison
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Dietz
Baumann
Parker
Parker
Leppert
Cowgill
Cowgill
Cowgill
Jones
Cheff
Cheff
Cheff
Cheff
Cheff
Gloyd
Gloyd
TOTALS
G
18
16
31
57
54
57
63
55
48
59
57
68
60
66
80
68
82
78
69
66
52
44
57
61
65
66
62
59
67
52
57
61
47
59
55
51
54
56
56
45
48
53
57
55
45
51
43
43
38
Gloyd/Dietz 73
Dietz
49
Dietz
35
Dietz
47
Harris
57
Grahovac
48
W
11
12
24
45
35
38
50
45
37
41
38
46
40
49
60
51
56
48
41
45
43
26
40
42
42
41
39
40
46
30
37
47
22
36
36
33
24
38
31
24
28
26
38
38
29
39
21
23
18
34
34
27
25
35
37
L
7
4
7
12
19
19
13
10
11
18
19
22
20
17
20
17
26
30
28
21
9
18
17
19
23
25
23
19
21
22
20
14
25
23
19
18
30
18
25
21
20
27
19
17
16
12
22
20
20
39
15
8
22
17
11
%
61%
75%
77%
79%
65%
67%
79%
82%
77%
69%
67%
68%
67%
74%
75%
75%
68%
62%
59%
68%
83%
59%
70%
69%
65%
62%
63%
68%
69%
58%
65%
77%
47%
61%
65%
65%
44%
68%
55%
53%
58%
49%
67%
69%
64%
76%
49%
53%
47%
46%
69%
77%
51%
61%
77%
3,017 1,978 1039 66%
1962 Championship: Alaska State Tournament
1962 Championship: N.B.C. Alaska Regional Playoff
1962 Championship: N.B.C. Alaska Regional Tournament
1962 Second Place: N.B.C. World Series
1962 Award: National Non-Pro Team of the Year
1962 Award: Most Popular National Non-Pro Team
1963 Award: Most Popular National Non-Pro Team
1963 Third Place: N.B.C. World Series
1965 Fourth Place: N.B.C. World Series
1966 Championship: Hawaii International Baseball Tourn.
1966 Championship: World Baseball Tournament
1969 Second Place: N.B.C. Alaska Regional Tournament
1970 Championship: N.B.C. Big West Conference Tourn.
1971 Second Place: N.B.C. Alaska Regional Tournament
1972 Championship: N.B.C. World Series
1972 Fifth Place: Honkbal Baseball Week in Holland
1973 Championship: Alaska World Series
1973 Championship: Kamloops International Tournament*
1974 Championship: Alaska Baseball League
1975 Championship: Alaska World Series
1975 Championship: N.B.C. Far West Regional Tourn.
1976 Second Place: World Crown Tournament
1976 Championship: Pueblo Tournament of Champions
1977 Championship: N.B.C. Northwest Regional
1977 Second Place: National Baseball Congress World Series
1980 Championship: National Baseball Congress World Series
1983 Championship: Top of the World Series
1983 Second Place: National Baseball Congress World Series
1984 Third Place: National Baseball Congress World Series
1985 Championship: Alaska Regional NBC State Tournament
1986 Championship: Alaska Baseball League Pacific Division
1987 Second Place: U.S. Open Tournament - Hawaii
1988 Championship: U.S. Open Tournament - Tahoe
1989 Championship: Midnight Sun Invitational
1990 Championship: U.S. Open Tournament - Ontario
1991 Championship: National Shootout Tourney - Amarillo
1991 Second Place: U.S. Open Tournament - Carson City
1993 Championship: Alaska Federation
1993 Second Place: Grand National Baseball Tournament
1994 Championship: Alaska Invitational Tournament
1994 Second Place: Grand National Baseball Tournament
1995 Championship: Alaska Federation
1996 Championship: Hawaii International Tournament
1996 Second Place: Kelowna International Tournament
1997 Second Place: Alaska Invitational Tournament
1997 Second Place: Kelowna International Tournament
1998 Second Place: Kelowna International Tourn.
2001 Championship: Wood Bat Invitational Tournament
2005 Winners: Midnight Sun Game Centennial
2009 Championship: Kamloops International Tournament
2013 Championship: Barona (CA) Bash Invitational Tournament
2013 Championship: ABL Post Season Tournament
2014 Championship: Alaska-American Division
2014 Championship: “Top of the World Series”
A
Bou
nity
gea
bal
N
Team founder H.A. “Red” Boucher enlisted in the
Navy at age 17, served in the Pacific theatre during World War II as an expert signalman and meteorologist, and achieved the rank of Chief Petty
Officer.
At Midway, Boucher served aboard the famous Big
E -- the USS Enterprise. After the war, one of his
tours of duty took him to the Panama Canal Zone
where he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Ribbon - the only Navy man so honored for
athletic endeavor - for his service in the baseball
program at Albrook Field in the Canal Zone. Albrook was one of a number of Air Force and Navy
teams that Boucher led to championships.
Red and his family came to Alaska, settling in
Fairbanks in 1958 after John F. Kennedy told him
there was great potential in the far north territory.
Fielding the Goldpanners in 1960 was only one of
his local projects. He also served on the Fairbanks
City Council, and became mayor in 1966. Boucher
was elected Lieutenant Governor of Alaska under Governor William Egan, serving from 1970 to
1974. Afterwards, he served in the Alaska House
of Representatives and later served on the Anchorage Assembly. He was also a telecommunications leader in Alaska, boosting Internet access in
remote villages. Boucher passed away at age 88
during the summer solstice of 2009.
Red won many accolades
with the Goldpanners,
none greater than being
named the “Manager of the
Decade” by the National
Baseball Congress,
operators of the
World Series of
summer ball
in Wichita,
Kansas.
Raymond “Hap” Dumont
Bi
C
Jo
St
Te
R
Br
R
Le
D
C
Ja
D
C
D
Be
Bo
Bi
H
H
H
M
To
Le
M
An
D
Ll
Fr
W
Jo
H
R
Ph
Er
Ed
W
Ja
D
C
Er
Al
G
Bi
C
Sh
H
C
Fr
Bo
R
Fr
Jo
D
St
To
Ji
Ji
Ji
R
La
Bo
Bo
Ji
Jo
G
R
C
Vi
Ju
G
Ke
Al
Jo
R
Pa
Ke
Jo
C
Le
D
Le
B.
D
Bo
C
Ji
Ke
H
Al
E.
Ly
Bu
D
Bi
Ji
he
uretty
Big
his
ne
aor
all
Alvy
in
m
ry.
of
ks
er
nto
se
nain
88
ALASKA GOLDPANNERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Boucher strengthened the organization’ ties to the Fairbanks community by organizing a volunteer director board in 1963. The board is
geared toward supporting the careers of college athletes pursuing pro
ball, and Fairbanks athletes pursuing college scholarships.
Name
Joined
Departed
Bill Ackiss
Cynthia Adams
John Luther Adams
Steve Agbaba
Terry Aldridge
Russ Amerson
Brad Amundson
Roger Anderson
Lenny Arsenault
Davy Daldwin
Carroll Barber
Jason Barnebey
Dan Barrett
Cliff Batye
Dr. James Beckley
Ben Bennett
Bob Bloom
Bill Boggess
H.A. (Red) Boucher
H.A. (Red) Boucher
Heida Boucher
Mark Boyer
Tom Brice
Lee Bridgeman
Mark Browning
Andy Brice
Don Bruce
Lloyd Burgess
Fred R. Burnett
Wally Burnett
John Butrovich
Harold Byrd
Ricky Campbell
Phil Carboy
Ernie Carter
Ed Carroway
Wally Cathcart III
Jack Clowers
Dean Clowers
Charles Cole
Eric Cooper
Al Collins
George Craft
Bill Creighton
Chuck Culver
Sheena Cummings
Hap Currington
Chris Custer
Frank Danner
Bob Davis
Ron Davis
Frank DeLong
John Denning
Don Dennis
Steve Dennis
Todd Dennis
Jim Desmond
Jim Dieringer
Jim Dixon
Robert Dixon
Larry Dotson
Bob Douglass
Bob Downes
Jim Eidenmiller
Joe Eisenmenger
Gerald Evans
Rodney Evans
Christoph Falke
Virginia Farmier
Judge Vern Forbes
Gerald Finley
Kevin Fitzgerald
Al Fleetwood
Joe Franich
Robert Francis
Paul Gavora
Kevin Ginley
John Glidden
Conrad Gonzalez
Les Gray
Dale Green
Les Gunderson
B.J. Hall
Dave Hall
Bob Hardin
Col. Ken Haycraft
Jim Hayes
Ken Henry
Hank Heuvel
Al Hines
E. Chilton Hines
Lynn Hines
Bud Hollowell
Don Hoover
Bill Hutchinson
Jim Jasperson
03/14/73
05/12/02
05/12/02
04/12/67
05/01/92
10/12/77
05/01/92
05/20/81
03/05/80
05/22/11
03/17/86
05/13/09
03/05/80
05/08/07
09/20/66
04/22/81
03/10/71
04/17/68
05/28/63
11/29/89
06/21/69
06/17/87
06/17/97
03/07/01
05/07/08
07/22/83
12/01/71
05/06/65
05/28/63
05/28/63
05/31/66
02/15/67
05/10/12
06/03/70
05/28/63
05/21/65
03/12/75
05/26/82
05/01/92
05/28/63
08/27/13
04/12/67
03/10/71
03/20/74
03/30/83
05/07/08
05/04/77
05/08/07
04/05/66
03/10/71
03/29/67
04/06/77
05/07/08
01/31/68
05/12/92
04/07/01
07/31/66
06/09/82
05/13/09
05/28/63
05/13/09
05/01/92
03/05/80
05/22/11
03/12/69
04/05/65
05/07/14
05/10/12
05/26/10
03/22/67
04/05/65
05/08/07
03/22/67
05/28/63
05/12/92
03/22/67
05/08/07
05/09/86
06/09/09
05/27/70
04/07/65
01/19/72
02/28/86
7/11/2013
03/13/74
05/21/65
06/07/91
04/17/74
04/14/76
04/26/89
02/17/95
02/17/95
03/18/81
04/07/77
03/12/75
04/18/79
1974
2008
2008
1970
ACTIVE
2008
1995
1982
1991
ACTIVE
2012
ACTIVE
1980
2008
1980
1981
1973
1968
1972
2009
HON.
1995
2006
2004
2010
1987
1992
1969
1963
2012
1978
1995
ACTIVE
1980
1968
1967
1975
1984
1996
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
1967
1980
1981
1995
2010
1977
2009
1970
2000
1976
1982
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
1998
ACTIVE
1969
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
1963
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
2001
ACTIVE
1973
1969
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
1969
1967
ACTIVE
1972
1978
2010
1972
2012
1990
2013
1971
1965
1980
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
1977
1982
2003
1977
1979
2009
2012
ACTIVE
1981
1980
1976
1981
Name
Joined Departed
Norm Jenkins
Shirley Jenkins
Carl Johnson
Martha Johnson
Steve Karakash
Jim Kelly
Ed Kennedy
Jim Kimbal
Mark Klaich
Jane Knox
Barney Kopf
Julius Kornfeind
Walt Kozie
Eric Kuntz
Lee Lambert
Marc Langland
Marc Langland
Mike Lawless
Ed Lawrence
Ray Leach
Ted Lehne
Tony Licalsi
Dick Lobdell
John Lohrke
Rhonda Lohrke
A.J. Maestas
Robert Marcinkowski
Jack Markstrom
Harvey Marlin
Harvey Marlin III
Michael P. McConahy
Jon McCoy
Jim McNamee
Bob Meath
Ed Merdes
Ward Merdes
Ward Merdes
Tony Messina
Tom Miklautsch
Gene Miller
Mike Minsky
Harold Moles
Tom Moyer
Jack Murphy
Steve Nerland
Carl Noble
Ed Orbeck
Bill Pair
Steve Peek
Ed Perkowski
Mark Poole
Phil Prax
Lowell Purcell
Phil Ramos
Dale Rankin
Brian Rasley
Dave Rasley
Luella Rasley
Gretchen Ray
Dr. Joseph Ribar
Les Rogers
Doyle Ruff
Mort Schierhorn
Leo Schlotfeldt
Ralph Seekins
Mike Sfraga
Ryan Shaver
Steve Shaver
Harris Shelton
Jack Shuttleworth
C.W. Snedden
Duane Snedden
Dr. Bryce Stallard
Rod Stephens
Steve Stephens
Mike Stepovich
Mike Stepovich III
Nick Stepovich
John Stein
Dave Stewart
Shirley Stewart
Bill Stroecker
Jay Sullivan
Tim Sullivan
Dave Swanson
Danny Thomas
Sean Timmons
L.K. Virgin
Nate Voegeli
Bob Vogt
Dick Ward
Bill Waugaman
Emmitt Wilson
Sam Woodke
Dale Woody
Dale Yoder
02/28/86
02/28/86
07/01/95
07/12/89
04/07/65
03/24/76
03/25/70
05/13/09
02/23/72
05/01/92
03/09/67
11/02/77
03/10/71
05/07/08
11/11/81
02/28/73
01/30/80
05/26/10
05/11/84
02/05/69
03/26/69
07/22/83
03/20/74
04/14/04
05/07/14
05/26/10
05/26/10
04/28/65
04/28/65
04/18/79
08/27/13
05/07/08
03/22/67
04/06/77
03/22/67
05/08/92
05/13/09
03/19/68
04/05/65
01/24/68
05/20/87
07/01/81
07/15/87
01/24/68
03/24/76
05/06/83
06/07/63
01/30/80
05/07/08
05/04/77
05/09/86
03/07/01
05/01/92
03/18/81
03/26/75
05/07/03
05/20/81
05/13/09
05/07/03
04/05/65
03/16/77
06/15/84
12/07/77
05/08/65
03/28/79
06/24/87
05/10/12
05/07/15
05/14/82
03/10/71
05/28/63
03/27/68
03/24/80
05/07/08
03/14/73
05/28/63
05/25/84
08/27/13
05/13/81
03/10/71
05/13/09
05/28/63
07/12/78
05/09/86
11/04/81
03/17/76
05/08/07
03/29/67
03/16/01
03/06/68
01/24/68
04/05/65
04/12/67
04/18/79
03/12/75
03/12/75
2012
2012
2004
1995
1967
1980
1972
ACTIVE
1976
2007
1987
1995
1982
ACTIVE
1988
1977
1982
2010
1988
1975
1974
1995
1975
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
2012
ACTIVE
1966
1968
1983
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
1969
1987
1991
1995
ACTIVE
1978
1995
1976
2003
1991
2008
1987
1980
1995
1969
1981
ACTIVE
1978
1991
ACTIVE
2000
1981
1995
ACTIVE
2009
2009
ACTIVE
1966
1995
1987
1980
1971
1991
1990
2012
ACTIVE
1992
1987
1967
1990
1980
2010
2010
1967
1987
ACTIVE
1987
1973
ACTIVE
2010
1981
1988
2010
1981
ACTIVE
1969
2004
1970
1969
1969
1972
2010
1978
1980
Charlie Cole - Chairman of the Board
Many people might know Charles E. Cole as a local lawyer, or as the former
Attorney General of the State of Alaska (from 1991-1994) – a man who personally negotiated with the president of Exxon in the wake of the 1989 spill. Or
as the Assistant Attorney General for the Territory of Alaska, or even as the
Fairbanks city magistrate (having beaten George Sullivan in 1955). But there is
an entirely different side of Charlie that is worthy of recognition.
The Fairbanks of the 1950s in which Charlie Cole arrived was still quite rugged.
Alaska was not yet one of the United States. The state of baseball in 1950s Fairbanks was arguably the strongest in our history. The Midnight Sun League was
burgeoning, thanks to the number of military teams operating from various
bases around the Tanana Valley (Ladd Field, Fort Greeley, Eielson). But the real
color came from the local town teams -- staffed with scoundrels such as Steve
Agbaba, Mike Stepovich, Ed Merdes, and a shortstop named Jimmy Growden.
The town teams (living in that same ruggedness brought on by the unique
hardships of living in America’s Northernmost city) played hard – both on the
field and off. On the field, our local men took great delight in defeating all comers.. And they certainly took great delight in beating Anchorage, which was
believed then (as well as now) to have been raised out of much softer soil.
Charlie Cole had long been a baseball man before arriving in Fairbanks; in fact,
by the earliest part the decade he had played three years of varsity baseball at
Stanford University. But school at Palo Alto, CA was a different world from life
in Fairbanks, Alaska. Playing for the town team organized by the Central Labor
Council in 1955-56 (and Sportland thereafter), Charlie became known on the
diamond for his powerful stroke and consistent hitting, as well as his dominating pitching. Regularly sitting above the .400 mark in batting as an outfielder,
he also regularly struck out 10 batters or more during his occasional pitching
outings (showing the value of left handed pitching). Charlie Cole, a doubles
machine, was picked up for the All-Star collection of local ballplayers in 1956,
and while facing Ft. Greeley, Charlie struck out 11 and lost a shutout in the 9th
inning as the locals beat the military men 10-1.
The 1956 Central Labor Council club had a number of epic duels, particularly
with the Sportland Bees, Charlie often outshining that club’s resident major
leaguer Clarence Beers (formerly having a stint with the St. Louis Cardinals). So
much so, that by 1957 Charlie became a player/manager for the Bees. The level of baseball was so great, and was such a defining part of the town, that game
results were featured on the front page each day by the local paper. While the
push for Alaskan Statehood gained a head of steam with the promotion of local
baseball man Mike Stepovich to the Territorial Governorship in 1957, Charlie
was dominating all competition on the diamond. In fact, the 1957 Sportland
Bees were one of the all-time greatest baseball forces in the world for a local
town team -- not to mention, one in Alaska! Sporting a roster that included two
Coles (Charlie and his brother Dick), Beers, and brilliant moundsman Brower,
the 1957 Bees might just be the greatest town team in Fairbanks history... an
absolute juggernaut of rugged play and athletic domination. But as fine as
1957 was for Charlie, 1958 was even greater... On the very day the bill for Alaskan statehood was on the floor of the US Senate, Charlie started and won the
53rd Midnight Sun Game. In the 1958 Midnight Sun Game, Charlie struck out
15 batters from the Ladd Field Special Units through eight innings, but almost
saw disaster strike in the 9th. Picking up with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
account: “The excitement continued until the final pitch of the ballgame. In
the last of the ninth with a two-run cushion, Cole got the first two away easily
on grounders to short, but a missed fly ball and a single by Hammer put the
tying runs on base with the winning run at the plate. In sensational fashion,
Clair picked a Cole delivery, sending the ball on its way over the low Centerfield
barrier (at Griffin Park). But Bee’s centerfielder Frank Price made a desperate
racing catch of the ball before it dropped over the wall, saving the day for the
Sportland squad.” In that game. Charlie went 1-for-1 with a run scored, four
walks and an RBI -- in addition to his 11 strikeouts.
You could say that Charlie retired from organized baseball at the peak of his
game. But his commitment to Fairbanks baseball didn’t end there. His on field
determination was translated to off field management. He was the first Chairman of the Alaska Goldpanners’ Board of Directors -- a position he held until
the arrival of Bill Stroecker -- and is a position which he holds yet again. But,
despite all the years of off-field management, Charlie wasn’t finished playing
the game.
In 2003, at Stanford
University’s Old Timers’ Game, Charlie distinguished himself on
the field by clubbing a
game-ending run scoring
double. As an example of
the living symbol of the
ideals of Interior baseball,
and the determination,
that Charlie brought to
all fields of competition,
sitting Alaska Governor
Wally Hickel said:
“On behalf of the State
of Alaska, I want to commend.. Alaska Attorney
General Charlie Cole
for his aggressive yet
patient commitment.”
Assistant AG for AK Territory Charlie Cole
AK Territorial Governor Mike Stepovich
1960: Goldpanners Adopt Midnight Sun Game Tradition
World Famous Event Enriched by Future Major League Ballplayers
The Midnight Sun Game tradition dates back to the earliest days
of Fairbanks, Alaska. During the winter of 1905/06, two local pubs
bet bragging rights for the entire winter (plus a few incidentals) on
the outcome of the game. From there, the novelty of the event led
to outsiders being imported to take on the Fairbanks team. In the
first year of operation for the Goldpanners ball club, Red Boucher
recognized the novelty of the promotion, and the opportunity the
game offered to represent Fairbanks to the outside world.
BASEBALL’S MOST NATURAL PROMOTION
For over a century, a special baseball game has annually been held
in Fairbanks, Alaska on June 21st. On the longest day of each year
(with a full 24 hours of daylight in the vast Tanana Valley), Fairbanksans
celebrate the coming of summer with the playing of this traditional
game - which continues through the midnight hour and never uses
artificial lights. With Fairbanks a mere 150 miles south of the Arctic
Circle, the sun is just beginning to set in the North as the game of
baseball gets under way and, at its conclusion some three hours later,
the sun begins to rise again - also in the North.
It is a phenomenon ever so rare.
The “high noon at midnight” baseball game originated in Fairbanks in
1906. Every year since then it has been the ritual to play the game on
the solstice. Never once has artificial lighting been used for this unique
event, and only once in history (following the death of Bill Stroecker)
has the game been delayed because of darkness.
The Alaska Goldpanners baseball club, founded by World War II
veteran H.A. “Red” Boucher, adopted the Midnight Sun Game in
their first year of competition. The year was 1960, and Boucher led
the Goldpanners to a 11-0 victory over the Fairbanks Pioneers. The
Goldpanners have hosted the tradition every year since then. As
part of the annual celebration, the game is stopped at the half-inning
closest to midnight for the singing of the Alaska Flag Song.
Over the years, the W.G. & Eddie Stroecker Midnight Sun Game has
taken on a significance greater than that of any other team tradition
in sports. There is certainly no other team in baseball that hosts a
tradition as old. The famed World Series itself - which is the promotion
of no single team - is but three years older than the annual solstice
classic in Fairbanks.
Due to its novelty, the Midnight Sun Game has enjoyed wide
popularity. Baseball America called it one of the “12 Must See
Events for the Baseball Fan”. ESPN Magazine selected the Midnight
Sun Game as the Number One Destination for the “2010 Baseball Road
Trip”. GQ Magazine dubbed the tradition one of “86 Reasons to be
proud to be an American”, and in 2012 Yankees Magazine called the
event “Baseball’s Most Natural Promotion”. For Fairbanksans, the game
is a way to reflect on the passing of another year, and the survival of
another long winter.
8
Midnight Sun Series vs. Japan. Red Boucher, Bill Lee, Yasuo Fujitsu, and MGR Masayuki Furuta
ALL-TIME GAME RESULTS (1906-2014)
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
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Northern Commercial
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WINNING PITCHER
Ross/Stroecker
McLaughlin
Wakefield
“vast swarms of mosquitos”
Courtemanche
Jack Buckley
Eddie Stroecker
Jack Buckley
Howard Logan
Eddie Stroecker
Howard Logan
Stanford
Eddie Stroecker
Held at Exposition Park
Charles Gies
No Known Records
No Known Records
Played on June 24th
“Championship of the World”
Tourists “from as far as Seward”
Bortz
Shaw
Hinsey
Ralph Wien
No Known Records
Herb Johnson
Abie Holt
No Known Records
W. Locey
W. Locey
No Known Records
Selwyn Young
MGR: Walter “Sticky” Griffin
Bern Reake
No Known Records
L. Albin
Treskovich
Held at Ladd Field
Johnson
Allen
B. Brown
Joe Lagosky
Valentine
Danny Smith
Newman
Klesitz
Brow
B. Roberts
B. Roberts
Kay Rigby
Floyd Brower
Charlie Cole
Frank Keenan
Ray Wheeler
Paul Long
George Mies
Dave Newkirk
Barry Lersch*
George Mies
Don Rose*
Yasuo Fujitsu; Lee*
Brent Strom*
Burt Hooten*
Leon Hooten*
Rich Troedson*
Kenny Alfred
Lynn Allan
Wayne Steele
Thad Troedson
Greg Harris*
Mike Boddicker*
Ray Fontenot*
Alan Wiggins
Ron Romanick*
Dan Plesac*
Eddie Delzer
Todd Simmons
Dion Beck (forfeit)
Blas Minor*
John Sipple
Kris Kramer
Jim Richardson
Dennis Gray
Jerry Stafford
Benji Grigsby*
Gabe Herrera
Robert Donnely
Darin Blood
Chris Bloomer
Adam Pettyjohn*
Craig Jones
Pete Fredericks
Jason Berni
Adam Heaps
Andy Davidson
Sean Timmons
Drew Jenson
Sean Timmons
Sean Timmons
Chris Kissock
Tim Stromble
Bill “Spaceman” Lee*
Darrah ; Timmons, sv
Simon Kudernatsch
Mac Acker
Cody Priest
Michael Bennett
Chasen Ford
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BASEBALL USED TO REBUILD FAIRBANKS SPIRIT FOLLOWING FIRE OF 1906
“PLAY BALL” IN THE
MIDNIGHT SUN
The history of the W.G. & Eddie
Stroecker Midnight Sun Game
revolves around the city of Fairbanks,
Alaska, and its unique dedication to
the sport of baseball.
From its earliest days as a gold
rush camp, Fairbanks has had
an almost religious devotion to
the sport of baseball. As will be
seen, one cannot tell the story
of the game without the city, nor
that of the city without the game.
Fairbanks was established -- through
providence or sheer chance -- as a
base of commercial operations in
1901. When gold was discovered
by Felix Pedro the following year,
the local population began to grow
significantly. As one might expect,
the culture that arrived was mix of
prospectors and adventurers, bringing
many scoundrels and law men to the
Tanana Valley of Central Alaska.
For four years, Fairbanks was booming
thanks to continuing gold strikes in
the surrounding valleys. Between
1903 and 1905, the gold take coming
from Fairbanks grew from $40K to
$6 million dollars annually. The
freewheeling spirit that typified the
entirety of the earlier gold rush era
embedded itself completely in the
camp of Fairbanks -- which became
the final destination in that illustrious
and infamous period in the history of
the American West.
Baseball emerged as a highly popular
form of recreation, and competition
was vigorous. Large sums of money
were routinely wagered on single
plays. With only so many ways for a
newly rich man to throw his money
around the community in those
reckless days, it is easy to imagine
how culturally significant those
early games really were.
From the very beginning,
Fairbanks’ love of baseball unified
its community spirit. No event
demonstrates the importance of
baseball in Fairbanks’ early days
more than the very first midnight
sun baseball contest.
In the spring of 1906, sawdustinsulated wood buildings along the
Chena River broke into flames. The
entire population sprung into action
to save the chief commerical depot
of the gold trade. Without enough
water pressure to adequately fight
the fire, the Northern Commercial
Company thought to burn 2,000
pounds of bacon in its boilers.
RECOVERING FROM
CATASTROPHE
The Great Fire of Fairbanks broke
during the last week of May in 1906.
The blaze devastated commerce
related to the gold trade. Instead of
allowing this dreadful blow to cripple
the town’s morale, immediate
plans were made to rebuild. In
the most critical moment of the
life of Fairbanks, the community
determined to survive. It was at this
time that the gold camp became a
true frontier town.
Within a month, the entire population
built a new life on top of the ashes
of the old. This quick success
made the arrival of summer a
time of great celebration. Local
hero Eddie Stroecker organized a
special midnight “base ball” game
to commemorate the longest day
of the year. Apparently, the fire
Eddie Stroecker, driving force behind the first Midnight Sun Game.
relocated itself into the competition
of the athletes and the rowdiness of
the fans.
“Fully 1,500 people were present
and there has never been
such hooting at a local game.”
June 22, 1906
The spectacle electrified
Fairbanksans with a sense of
accomplishment and a renewed
hope for the future. Baseball saw
continued enthusiasm through the
remainder of season. From that
time forward, the midnight game
became a standard of Fairbanks
summer life.
For the first decade of the tradition,
vigorous contests were held
between town teams. Local clubs
- such as founding host California
Bar - battled for supremacy at
midnight under the watchful eye of
Old Sol. Winning the wildly popular
game bought the victors bragging
rights throughout the entire Arctic
winter.
During this early era, local prospector
and California Club bartender Ed
Stroecker was the towering player
and promoter. He was called “Dad
Stroecker” in his playing days, and
“The Grand Old Man” afterwards.
A poem with that title recalls his
mythic stature. To observers, the
greatness of his community standing
was matched only by the ferocity of
his athleticism. So noted the local
paper:
“Ed Stroecker, the daddy of them all
in the game at Fairbanks today, will
be in uniform, which means that there
will be plenty of ginger in the play.
If Stroecker doesn’t get the players
and the fans enthused it will be
because they haven’t got it in them.”
June 21, 1916
(cont. on page 26)
Son William G. Stroecker, President of
Goldpanners organization for 48 seasons
1964: Tom Seaver Auditions for U.S.C. Scholarship in Fairbanks
Boucher and Dedeaux Establish Partnership and Create Fabled Fairbanks “Pipeline to the Big Time”
The Goldpanners were a hit everywhere after finishing second in the nation in 1962. In a short
period of time, Red formed relationships with several West Coast colleges as he promoted summer baseball in Alaska. But it was Boucher’s bond with U.S.C. coach Rod Dedeaux that put the
Goldpanners on the map. Dedeaux had one of the top college programs in the country. And
Boucher, in Alaska, could help build these young boys into men. Dedeaux sent a young pitcher
with hopes of transferring into U.S.C. up to Fairbanks to be sized up by Red.
Tom Seaver set the standard for a generation of big
league pitchers. In his twenty-year career in the
Major Leagues, the right-handed fireballer won
311 games and notched 3,640 strikeouts, while
posting a 2.86 career ERA, and picking up three Cy
Young awards. Seaver was elected overwhelmingly
to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992
-- the first year he was eligible for the ballot -- by
the highest percentage in history.
But before Seaver became the National League’s
1967 Rookie of the Year, and a world-famous New
York Mets champion in 1969, “Tom Terrific” was an
Alaska Goldpanner. He played in Fairbanks for two
seasons with the Panners (1964-65), after his first
year of college ball, at Fresno City College, and second after his transfer to the University of Southern
California.
Upon his arrival in Alaska, he was greeted by Goldpanners manager Red Boucher. Mr. Boucher gave Seaver
a uniform and then drove directly to the park, where
the Goldpanners were playing the Bells from Washington State. The score was tied at 2-2. Tom was asked
to get in uniform and go to the bullpen.
Tom Seaver: “They picked me up at the airport. I got
in the car, and my uniform was in the car! They said,
‘get dressed’, because they were playing. I didn’t know
where we were going. I didn’t know anybody on the
team.
So we drive to the stadium, and I got out and went to
the bullpen... which is where pitchers - young and old
- go and spend their time. All of a sudden, they called
down there and said ‘get loose, you are going to be in
the game next inning.’ And I pitched in the game.”
The transfer to USC came as a direct result of Tom’s
progress during his summer with the Fairbanks
club. In those days, Panner manager Red Boucher
had struck a highly successful relationship with legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux, who in this case
wanted to make sure Tom was good enough to deserve a college scholarship.
By the sixth inning, Tom was brought into the game,
having just got off the plane. At the mound, he met
College World Series MVP Bud Hollowell. Buddy
played for USC during the college season, and was to
be Tom’s catcher for the Goldpanners. Seaver struck
out the first batter he faced, got the next one to pop
up, and went on to win the game.
Red Boucher: “Tom was of the caliber I would call,
‘the typical Goldpanner’. I didn’t have to teach him
much as far as baseball was concerned.”
Tom Seaver: “If there is one thread that runs through
Red Boucher and Rod Dedeaux, it is their enthusiasm
for what they are doing. And especially talking about
baseball.“
Tom Seaver: “For me, it was just going to be an
adventure going to Alaska. I mean, for a kid from
Fresno? No way. I very gladly got on the plane, and
went on to Fairbanks.”
Fr
Le
To
Seaver started the 1965 Midnight
Sun Game, facing Dedeaux’s
USC Trojans.
“To describe Monday night’s
Midnight Sun game as dramatic
would be the understatement
of the year. It was more like the
closing scene from a fabulous, but
unbelievable Hollywood production...
From the very first inning it was
evident that the Trojans and the
Panners had come to play ball, and
play ball they did. Tom Seaver and
John Herbst, teammates in 1964
with the Goldpanners and this
college year with USC were facing
each other as Seaver started for
the Panners and Herbst for USC. It
developed as a tight pitching duel
to the fifth inning when Seaver,
making a bare-handed play on a
two hopper of the bat of Herbst,
had the ball catch him between the
fourth and small fingers and split
his hand.”
Stan Caufield
Tom was unhurt by the line drive,
and the Panners won the game.
By the time his career was over,
Tom Seaver was regarded as
one of the greatest pitchers
ever. He was voted into the MLB
Hall of Fame with the highest
percentage of votes in history.
Even after establishing himself in Major League Baseball, Tom would keep in touch with Red. One of the
last times they were together was at the 80th birthday
party for Rod Dedeaux at USC.
Throughout the decades since 1964, the “Boucher/
Dedeaux Pipeline” to Fairbanks has resulted in many
other similar situations, including the Fairbanks careers of other USC baseball luminaries, such as Steve
Kemp, Dave Kingman, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, and Bret
Boone.
10
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USC Head Coach Rod Dedeaux
Tom Seaver :“Your program, Red, was a vital step in my progress
toward reaching a world championship and specifically the Cy Young
award of 1969. I send my heartfelt thanks to you and the members of
the Goldpanners organization -- May it never cease to exist.”
Tom Seaver’s 1965 Pitching Motion
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The Sporting News, August 26, 1967
From the top of the world to the bottom of the National
League in two fast years is the saga that has unfolded for
Tom Seaver and Danny Frisella.
In 1965, the two hard-throwing California collegians were teammates on the Goldpanners in Fairbanks, Alaska, the northernmost “big” city in the United States— not far removed from the
Arctic Circle. Today Seaver and Frisella are teammates and starting pitchers for the Mets in New York, the country’s largest city.
Other than the differences they have encountered between life in Fairbanks and on the Great White Way, the two rookies have had to adjust
to the winning and losing ways of the Goldpanners and the Mets. Seaver was with the Goldpanners in 1964 and ‘65 and both times the team,
managed by Red Boucher, won the state semi-pro championship. Frisella
helped in winning the ‘65 title. With the Mets, they’re doing their best to
keep the team from dropping out of the bottom of the National League.
Seaver is well on his way to establishing himself — in his rookie year,
no less — as the best pitcher the Mets have ever owned. He has already tied the record for most victories by a Met right-hander (11)
and is a virtual cinch to better Al Jackson’s 1933 record of 13 wins.
Frisella, who joined the Mets right out of the Army on July 25 after
an earlier fling this year with Durham in the Carolina League, compiled a one-win, one-loss record. Frisella got his first victory over
the Pirates, August 11, He was not around to enjoy the win, Don
Shaw relieved him and Frisella was in a cab en route to Kennedy
Airport for a weekend of Army training when he heard the news.
Seaver and Frisella recall happily their days in Alaska with the Goldpanners. “Alaska is something else,” said Seaver. “You can’t realize what a
magnificent place it is unless you have been there. And it’s a lot different
than most people picture it. “I can remember my first trip there. I expected it to be so cold I wore a sweater and a topcoat as I got off the plane.
But the fellow who met me at the airport was wearing a short-sleeved
sports shirt. “The weather in July and August is ideal, it’s in the high 60s
and 70s every day and no humidity, it’s the’ time of the year when they
have 24 hours of sunlight and it’s pretty weird.” Seaver said getting used
to 24 hours of daylight is a little difficult at first. “I can remember waking
up one night at 3 o’clock. I saw the sun coming through the windows - my
first thought was that I’d overslept and blown my job.”
Frisella said Alaskans kept the light from coming in the windows by
covering them from the inside with tinfoil. “It’s playing night games
without lights that’s really strange,” Frisella said. “We would start a
game at 8 o’clock in July and we wouldn’t need the lights!’
The big game of the year is the “Midnight Sun” game, according to the
two rookies. “That’s the longest day of the year,” Seaver related, “and
they celebrate it by starting the game at 11 o’clock at night.” Both
boys earned their keep while playing for the Goldpanners. Frisella
drove a lumber truck. “I was a groundskeeper,” said Seaver. “I’d cut
the grass and water the infield.” Manicuring the Fairbanks diamond
proved of some value to Seaver. As far as fielding pitchers go, no Met
covers more ground than their No. 1 rookie.
Signature From Player Contract
1965:
First Ever MLB Draftee
The Goldpanners are the Yankees of the MLB Draft
No other amateur sports organization in the world has
had more players drafted to play in professional ball.
The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks
own the Major League Baseball draft
like no other team in baseball history.
There have been a record 1,170 player
selections devoted to Goldpanner ballplayers, dating back to 1965 and Rick
Monday -- the very first player ever
drafted by a major league franchise.
Of those picks, there have been 125
first round selections, and 19 were
either the very first or second pick of
the entire draft! In addition, there have
been over 200 players to reach Major
League Baseball. This, too, is a record
among all non-professional teams, and
the 16% average of drafted Goldpanners to reach MLB is well ahead of the
average ratio of 1 draftee in every 33
(3%) to reach baseball’s pinnacle .
Dodgers broadcaster Rick Monday,
who played 19 years in the major leagues from 1966-84, was the
No. 1 selection overall by the Kansas City Athletics in baseball’s first
amateur draft in 1965.
The 1964
Goldpanners infielder/outfielder recalls that historic draft 46 years ago:
“Nobody really knew how the process
was going to work. I had talked to
quite a few ballclubs, but Kansas City
was going to have the first pick. Their
scout, Art Lilly, had talked with me
very briefly when I was with Arizona
State. He said there was a real good
chance that the Athletics would select me as the number one pick. But
on the periphery of all of this, nobody
knew exactly what was going to happen. No one knew the effect it was
going to have on both baseball overall
and the people who were going to be
signed out of high school or college.
Actually, I had attorneys coming to
12
Rick Monday
me saying, “Look, let’s take this to
court because if you’re selected
number one, why should you negotiate with only one ballclub?” And
my first question was “How long will
this process take?” They said, “Oh,
about three to five years.” I said, “Forget that, I’m going to play baseball.”
So we were in Omaha, Nebraska on
the day of the draft. Arizona State
was ready to play the opening game
of the College World Series. We
were in uniforms, sitting in the stands
and waiting for the preceding game to
be over. Someone comes up and says
“It’s just come out that you were Kansas
City’s first pick in the draft.” I went out
that night and struck out three times.
Then (Kansas City Owner) Charlie Finley flew into Omaha and Sal Bando and
I were drafted off the same team. It was
an opportunity for me to reach out and
try to grab the brass ring, something I
dreamed about as a kid wearing a Little League uniform and watching the
Dodgers play in the Coliseum.
.
What’s nice about having been the
first selection in the very first draft
is that I get to relive the dream and
the opportunity when that door was
opened.
Every year in June, it takes
me back to that very first year.”
.
Four days after he was drafted, with A’s
owner Charles O. Finley in the stands,
Monday homered in a 2-1 win over
Ohio State to lead the Sun Devils to
their first College World Series championship. Monday would sign the largest bonus in the 1965 draft, $100,000,
and went on to enjoy a productive 19year big league career. He remains in
the game as a broadcaster for the Los
Angeles Dodgers.
Graig Nettles
13
The 55 Greatest Alaska Goldpanners
Chosen During the Team’s 55th Season
Sean Timmons
(94-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-0506-07-08-09-10-11)
Emmitt Wilson
(62-63-64-65-66-67)
1967: Mike Adamson Vaults to MLB
Twenty players have skipped the minor leagues; six are Goldpanners
H
b
n
f
a
c
b
Nine players made the majors from the 1966
Goldpanners Of these, two - Bob Boone and
Bill Lee - forged nearly Hall of Fame worthy
careers. However, it is little known pitcher
Mike Adamson who made the most immediate impact upon the game of baseball.
Adamson’s stuff was so good for the Goldpanners in 1966 (9-0-0 record, 1.43 ERA),
and U.S.C. in the spring of 1967, that he
bypassed the minor leagues entirely, making his professional debut in the American
League pitching for the Baltimore Orioles..
On June 6, 1967 Mike Adamson was drafted
by the Orioles in the 1st round (1st pick) of
the 1967 amateur draft (Secondary Phase).
He signed on June 27. At that time he was
the first player in draft history to go straight
to the major leagues.
Though seemingly taken from the realm of
fantasy, similar meteoric advancements have
been enjoyed by numerous Goldpanners.
In fact, out of twenty modern players
like Mike to have made their professional debuts in MLB, six are Goldpanners!
And there could have been more. David Clyde
was set to pitch in Growden Park for the Goldpanners in June of 1973. Instead, he found
himself pitching in Arlington Stadium for the
Texas Rangers Major League Baseball club.
Clyde, who was a bat boy for the Goldpanners in the 1967 NBC World Series, had long
desired to play for Fairbanks. However, the
opportunity to vault directly to the top was
too incredible to ignore. That, and the contract terms that were being offered.
David received a $125,000 ($617,769 in current dollar terms) signing bonus, which was
the highest bonus ever given to a draft pick
16
Mike Adamson
A
G
c
in
M
at the time.
Nevertheless, David was apparently greatly disappointed by this denial of his boyhood dream, and he took the time to write
Goldpanners management expressing his
sorrow.
T
A
t
t
b
p
The leap straight to the major leagues is
not easy on anyone.. and Mike Adamson
was no exception.
The 19-year-old’s first appearance came on
July 1, against the Cleveland Indians. Adamson appeared in 3 games for the 1967
Orioles posting a 0-1 record in 3 appearances, before being sent to the International League Rochester Red Wings for the
remainder of the season. While there he
won 3 games while losing 4, pitching 60 innings and turning in a good 1.95 ERA.
T
t
c
c
W
L
O
c
c
a
t
p
n
e
c
g
fi
p
Mike started 1968 with the Red Wings,
winning 8 games and losing 4 in 60 innings
and posted a 3.07 ERA. He was called up to
the Orioles for the remainder of the season, going 0-2 in 7.7 innings and posted a
9.39 ERA.
In 1969 Mike was with both the Orioles and
Red Wings clubs, building a 11-8 record in
149 innings with a 4.17 ERA with the Red
Wings and going 0-1 in 6 games with the
Orioles. This year was his last appearance
in the majors.
A
g
w
T
p
r
a
Mike appeared in 27 games with the Rochester club in 1970, winning 4 and losing 5
in 95 innings with a 4.36 ERA. The young
man spent 1971 with three different minor
league teams, with an overall record of 1-3
in 74 innings and a combined 8.06 ERA.
At age 23 the right-hander had spent 5 seasons in professional baseball and decided
to look elsewhere for a career.
Dave Roberts
FEB 1966: Tommy Lasorda and
future N.L. Rookie of the year
Don Sutton are in Fairbanks for
the A67 & Alaska Goldpanners
Winter Carnival. A banquet is
held at Club Switzerland.
and
ear
for
ers
t is
H.A. “Red” Boucher was a pioneer in numerous fields. In summer
baseball, Boucher recognized the quality of the amateur athlete,
noting in 1960 that “collegiate baseball is becoming a viable source
for major league talent.” By forming a roster comprised solely of
amateur players - utilizing no professional or semi-pros, as was the
custom of the day - Red paved the way for collegiate baseball to
become the direct route to the major league it is today.
Among the roughly 1,500 players and coaches to have donned a
Goldpanners uniform through the 2014 season, hundreds have
continued their careers into professional baseball, with 203 having made it all the way to the pinnacle of professional baseball in
Major League Baseball.
There is perhaps no better way to measure the success that the
Alaska Goldpanners program has attained over the years than by
the number of players they have sent to the professional ranks and
the major leagues. The Goldpanners have so many players in the
bigs this season in fact, that they could conceivably field a competitive club on the major league level of ex-players alone.
The Fairbanks club’s national second place finish in 1962 helped
the club create many contacts throughout the baseball world, increasing the quality of athlete playing for the Goldpanners. Key
contacts include collegians such as Rod Dedeaux (USC) and Bobby
Winkles (ASU), as well as pros such as Jim Campanis and Tommy
Lasorda (Dodgers), both of whom visited Fairbanks in 1966-67.
Other reasons for the immense success of the Goldpanners alumni
can be offered, but perhaps the easiest explanation is the intense
conditioning only baseball in Alaska can provide. Raising the overall demands - physical as well as mental - upon a person teaches
them how to deal with adversity and raise the intensity of their approach. All Sourdoughs are familiar with this phenomenon. Panner athletes are taken far from home, and are expected to perform
every day of the week against top-notch competition (unlike the
collegiate season, which plays only on weekends). Mix in the ruggedness of the Alaskan experience, and the athlete is forced to
find a previously unapproached level of mental and physical discipline in order to succeed.
A number of Goldpanners are also ascending to the top of the
game in MLB front offices. Luis Medina (83), for instance, has
worked in the Kansas City Royals’ front office for over a decade.
The advancement seen by Goldpanner alums in the ranks of MLB
personnel is an exciting recent development. Securing such highranking, off-field MLB personnel positions is at least as much an
accomplishment as achieving an on-field roster spot.
For Dan Pastorini (68), the
top of the game was as
starting Quarterback for
the Houston Oilers N.F.L.
franchise.
Listed on this page are
the 203 Goldpanners
players to ascend to
the major leagues, listed by their debut date
and major league club.
The latest Panner to
reach the big leagues
is Allan Dysktra, first
baseman from the 2005
ABL champions.
Debut
06/18/61
10/03/64
09/02/65
09/11/65
04/26/66
09/03/66
04/13/67
07/01/67
07/05/67
07/27/67
09/06/67
09/07/67
05/27/68
07/04/68
09/09/68
06/25/69
04/09/70
04/24/70
06/14/70
09/09/70
06/20/71
06/23/71
07/30/71
07/31/71
09/15/71
09/19/71
05/17/72
06/07/72
07/31/72
09/10/72
04/08/73
04/09/73
06/18/73
07/04/73
07/19/73
04/04/74
04/07/74
06/14/74
07/27/74
04/08/75
06/14/75
05/15/76
09/17/76
04/07/77
04/19/77
05/05/77
04/07/78
04/07/78
06/29/78
07/09/78
08/06/78
08/19/78
04/11/79
06/08/79
09/07/79
09/17/79
04/11/80
06/01/80
06/12/80
06/28/80
09/01/80
09/04/80
09/06/80
09/08/80
09/20/80
04/11/81
04/12/81
04/26/81
05/20/81
08/19/81
09/02/81
09/09/81
09/15/81
04/07/82
04/09/82
07/06/82
09/11/82
09/12/82
04/05/83
06/02/83
09/02/83
09/02/83
09/13/83
09/20/83
04/03/84
04/03/84
04/05/84
04/11/84
06/02/84
07/28/84
05/19/85
06/26/85
09/05/85
04/11/86
05/30/86
07/19/86
09/02/86
09/05/86
09/06/86
04/25/87
Name
Club
Don Leppert*
Dave Dowling
Dick Selma*
Charlie Hartenstein
Jimy Williams
Rick Monday
Tom Seaver
Mike Adamson
Curt Motton
Dan Frisella
Graig Nettles
Al Schmelz
Mike Paul
Andy Messersmith
Eddie Leon
Bill Lee
Rich Hand
Greg Garrett
Steve Dunning
Jim Nettles
Pete Broberg
Tom House
Dave Kingman
Jim Barr
Don Rose
Dan Pastorini (NFL)
Bob Gallagher
Dave Roberts
Brent Strom
Bob Boone
John Andrews
Rich Troedson
Dave Winfield
Eddie Bane*
Craig Caskey
Jim Sundberg
Mike Reinbach
Steve Swisher
Rusty Gerhardt
Jim Umbarger
Kerry Dineen
Pete Redfern
Gary Wheelock
Steve Kemp
Floyd Bannister
Jackson Todd
Chuck Baker
Don Reynolds
Dwight Bernard*
Dennis Littlejohn
Scott Sanderson
Bruce Robinson
Eric Wilkins
Dan Graham
Sandy Whitol
Dave Schuler
Dave Smith
Vance Law
Mike Kinnunen
Tim Lollar
Bobby Mitchell
Dave Edler
Tim Wallach
John Butcher
Ken Phelps
Dan Boone
Tim Leary
Danny Garcia
Greg Harris
Terry Francona
Ron Roenicke
Tim Tolman
Dave Hostetler
Ed Vande Berg
Gary Rajsich
Don Slaught
Chris Codiroli
Dave Baker
Mike Couchee
Kevin McReynolds
Mike Fuentes
Harold Reynolds
Jeff Doyle
Marty Decker
Ben Hines*
Dave Meier
Ron Romanick
Alvin Davis
Jeff Cornell
Ed Amelung
Oddibe McDowell
Bob Sebra
Kevin Romine
Dan Plesac
Barry Bonds
Billy Moore
Dave Cochrane
Pat Dodson
Brad Arnsberg
Billy Bean
PIT
STL
NYM
CHC
STL
KCA
NYM
BAL
BAL
NYM
MIN
NYM
CLE
CAL
CLE
BOS
CLE
CAL
CLE
MIN
WAS
ATL
SFG
SFG
NYM
HOU
BOS
SDP
NYM
PHI
STL
SDP
SDP
MIN
MON
TEX
BAL
CHC
SDP
TEX
NYY
MIN
CAL
DET
HOU
NYM
SDP
SDP
NYM
SFG
MON
OAK
CLE
MIN
CLE
CAL
HOU
PIT
MIN
NYY
LAD
SEA
MON
TEX
KCR
SDP
NYM
KCR
NYM
MON
LAD
HOU
MON
SEA
NYM
KCR
OAK
TOR
SDP
SDP
MON
SEA
STL
SDP
LAD
MIN
CAL
SEA
SFG
LAD
TEX
TEX
BOS
MIL
PIT
MON
CWS
BOS
NYY
DET
04/25/87
05/25/87
07/04/87
07/02/87
09/14/87
04/07/88
04/26/88
06/02/88
07/14/88
07/20/88
09/02/88
09/05/88
09/12/88
09/14/88
09/16/88
04/05/89
06/07/89
07/07/89
07/15/89
08/19/89
04/09/90
09/06/90
09/18/90
09/02/90
05/07/91
05/22/91
05/25/91
06/16/91
07/02/91
09/01/91
09/02/91
05/17/92
05/17/92
08/03/92
08/06/92
08/19/92
05/05/93
05/29/93
05/29/93
05/31/93
07/28/93
08/13/93
09/01/93
09/04/93
09/12/93
09/21/93
04/05/94
04/05/94
04/19/94
07/18/94
04/28/95
04/28/95
04/30/95
05/08/95
08/02/95
09/10/95
04/02/96
05/18/96
09/06/96
05/31/97
09/03/97
03/31/98
04/02/98
06/09/99
08/21/99
08/27/99
09/03/99
09/07/99
08/29/00
09/04/00
09/07/00
04/06/01
07/16/01
09/19/01
05/10/02
09/03/02
06/26/03
09/02/03
07/02/04
09/08/04
04/16/05
09/18/05
04/01/06
07/02/07
03/21/08
07/11/08
07/21/08
05/21/09
05/23/09
09/01/09
07/21/10
09/08/11
06/16/13
06/23/13
04/13/15
Joe Magrane
Shane Mack
Mike Campbell
Alex Madrid
Dave Stapleton
Don Heinkel
Craig Worthington
Don August
John Fishel
Roger Samuels
Luis Medina
Mike Harkey
Dennis Cook
Chad Kreuter
Steve Wilson
Phil Stephenson
Jeff Wetherby
Mike Benjamin
Kevin Ritz
Rob Richie
Tim Layana
Paul Faries
Brent Mayne
Al Osuna
Chris Donnels
Don Wakamatsu
Jose Mota
Bret Barberie
Mark Davis
Tom Goodwin
Ed Zosky
Brad Brink
Benji Figueroa
Doug Linton
Shawn Barton
Bret Boone
Pat Meares
Greg Brummett
Kevin Higgins
Daryl Scott
Ty VanBurkleo
Brian Turang
Roger Smithberg
Eric Helfand
Bob Hamelin
Marc Ronan
Mike Kelly
Keith Lockhart
Jeff Tabaka
Eric Schullstrom
Todd Steverson
Gary Wilson
Steve Rodriguez
Jason Giambi
F.P. Santangelo
Darrell May
Dan Naulty
Shad Williams
Mike Robertson
Jose Cruz Jr.
Dan Rohrmeier
Travis Lee
Bobby Hughes
Jacque Jones
Adam Kennedy
Robert Ramsay
Cole Liniak
Jeff DaVanon
Jerrod Riggan
Todd Belitz
Michael Young
Christian Parker
Adam Pettyjohn
Jason Phillips
Jason Lane
Jim Rushford
Aaron Heilman
Bobby Crosby
David Bush
Greg Dobbs
Dave Gassner
Ryan Garko
Steve Hecht*
Brendan Ryan
Sheng-Wei Wang#
Mike Cervenak
Brooks Conrad
Kris Medlen
Carlos Fisher
Brian Jeroloman
Brad Davis
Chris Schwinden
Jake Dunning
Ryan Robowski
Allan Dykstra
STL
SDP
SEA
MIL
MIL
STL
BAL
MIL
HOU
SFG
CLE
CHC
SFG
TEX
TEX
CHC
ATL
SFG
DET
DET
CIN
SDP
KCR
HOU
NYM
CWS
SDP
MON
CAL
LAD
TOR
PHI
STL
TOR
SEA
SEA
MIN
SFG
SDP
CAL
CAL
SEA
OAK
OAK
KCR
STL
ATL
SDP
PIT
MIN
DET
PIT
BOS
OAK
MON
ATL
MIN
CAL
SFG
SEA
SEA
ARI
MIL
MIN
STL
SEA
CHC
ANA
NYM
OAK
TEX
NYY
DET
NYM
HOU
MIL
NYM
OAK
TOR
SEA
MIN
CLE
TEX
STL
BRO
PHI
OAK
ATL
CIN
TOR
FLA
NYM
SFG
DET
TBR
17
1971: Winfield Becomes Every Day Player
Minnesota used Dave sparingly as a pitcher; the Panners let him play.
Dave Winfield used his prowess in the outfield, and his ferocity at the
plate, to drive his career straight into the MLB Hall of Fame. Dave is
the second Goldpanner to be inducted into that illustrious fraternity.
Allan Simpson, Sports Writer
June 28, 1972
The story of how Dave Kingman gave up pitching to become one of baseball's top hitters has now been chronicled. It was the year 1969, as the story goes, that Kingman,
then a sophomore pitcher out of the University of Southern California, was recruited
by the Alaska Goldpanners to play ball for the summer in Fairbanks. His reputation
as a pitcher at the time was such that he was considered one of the top collegiate
throwers in the country.
However, that summer the Goldpanners, though still respecting his ability as a pitcher, also recognized his unlimited potential as a hitter like no one else had before,
and in a bold move they converted the six foot six inch slugger from a pitcher to an
outfielder. And since that switch, Kingman has quickly risen to prominence, gaining nationwide acclaim for his slugging exploits with the San Francisco Giants. All
this because the Goldpanners took it upon themselves to convert the multi-talented
slugger from a pitcher to an everyday ball player.
And now that they've seen what's happened to Kingman, could history repeat itself?
Could the Goldpanners have another Kingman in their midst? The name this time is
Dave Winfield, and the similarities between his career to date and that of Kingman's
at a comparable stage are actually quite amazing.
Winfield, like Kingman, was originally recruited by the Panners as a pitcher, but his
recent batting exploits have been so awesome of late, that the natural question to
ask is: could he switch positions and become another Kingman?
Tuesday night at Growden Park, Winfield, who like Kingman also towers to a height
of 6-6, put on another hitting exhibition which even Kingman would have been
proud of, as he cracked a grand slam home run and a run-scoring single to power
the Goldpanners to a 5-2 victory over the Grand Junction, Colo., Eagles. Winfield's
bases loaded blast, which came with the Panners trailing 2-1 in the fifth, not only
personally won the game for the Goldpanners, but it also helped them halt Grand
Junction's win streak at 14 games, after the Eagles had taken the opener 7-5 in extra
innings. The offensive display by Winfield follows one he put on Saturday when he
slammed a double and two home runs—a performance which wasn't even good
enough to win his own game.
So in only 12 official at-bats this season, Winfield is hitting .500 and has slugged three
home runs. That’s ahead of the pace Kingman established in ‘69 when he clubbed
seven home runs in a total of 64 times at bat. “We’ve known all along what Winfield’s capable of doing with the bat,” said manager Jim Dietz “and that’s why we’ve
tried to work him into the lineup occasionally.” “He’ll play more and more in the outfield as the season progresses, but whether he’ll ever become a full-time outfielder,
it’s hard to say at this time.”
Excerpt from Dave’s Hall of Fame Induction Speech: “Fairbanks, Alaska Goldpanners. Yeah, I played
in Alaska for two summers, which many of these guys up here did. It was the best baseball in the
country, prettiest, most majestic state in the union. And to get a chance to win and climb mountains,
go dog sledding in the winter - all that. It was a wonderful experience.”
Dave in a Letter to Don Dennis: “I have probably never adequately thanked you and the entire Goldpanner family for giving me the opportunity to live and play in Fairbanks. Even had I not achieved
the level of success I now enjoy in professional baseball, I would still appreciate the opportunity as
much.”
Dave Kingman
1976: Andy Messersmith Becomes First True Free Agent
Landmark Court Ruling Against MLB Reserve Clause Heralds New Era in Baseball
Though the Panner program has graduated a large number of important ballplayers to the big
leagues, what is truly amazing is the broad impact that the cream of that crop has had in shaping
the state of the game itself. By personally taking on the highest echelons of power in baseball and
then defeating them, Andy Messersmith became the most important player since Babe Ruth.
Right-hander made history by challenging reserve clause
By Gary Caruso / ChopTalk Magazine
The Braves don’t open the regular season until the end of
March, but college baseball is in full swing. Among a few
former Braves coaching in college is Andy Messersmith, the
pitcher who in 1976 changed the course of baseball history
-- with the assistance of Ted Turner.
Messersmith, a product of the University of California at
Berkeley, didn’t like how the media portrayed him and his
quest to break down the reserve clause. He had little to say
to the press then, and little has been heard from him since
then.
Messersmith, 62, is the head baseball coach at Cabrillo College, a community college in Aptos, Calif., located on the
Pacific coast, south of San Francisco, between San Jose and
Monterey. He just started the third season of his second
stint at the school, where he also coached from 1986-91.
Last year, the Seahawks were 18-22 overall, 10-15 (fourth
place) in the Coast Conference.
In fact, more than three decades later, he’s still not interested in talking publicly. ChopTalk made three attempts to
interview him, including one through the Cabrillo journalism
department and one through a sports writer in his area, and
he declined all of them. He does talk to the press in his area,
but only about his players and team, possibly making him
the most-reticent college coach in the country.
Veteran Braves fans are sure to remember Turner signing
Messersmith in 1976 -- to baseball’s first free agent contract
-- and promptly issuing him uniform No. 17 with the “nickname” Channel on the back to promote his TV station.
Messersmith won 39 games in 1974-75, led the NL in winning percentage in ‘74 (.769) and in starts, complete games
and shutouts in ‘75 (40/19/7). He won Gold Gloves both
seasons and made the All-Star team both years, giving him
three career selections. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, however, few
player acquisitions worked well for the Braves, and this signing fit that description.
Messersmith was one of the game’s best pitchers from
1969-75, twice winning 20 games. He started Game 1 of
the World Series for the Dodgers in 1974, when he tied Phil
Niekro for the league lead in victories.
In 1975, Messersmith played without a contract and claimed
he thus became a free agent who no longer was subject to
the infamous “reserve clause” that basically bound players
to their teams for life at that point. Major League Baseball
refused to recognize his claim, and the matter went before
an arbitration panel set up to handle disputes between
players and management.
The panel ruled that the reserve clause was no more than
a one-year option, thus making Messersmith and Expos
pitcher Dave McNally the first free agents. McNally was
injured and retired. Messersmith likely would have found
himself without a job.
If not for Turner, the maverick owner looking to make a
splash with his new team and trying to create viewership
interest for a major block of programming on his TV station.
Turner signed Messersmith for what he called a “lifetime
contract” of $1 million. Actually, it was a three-year deal
that would be laughed at on today’s market. In 1976, however, it was major news.
Messersmith, only 30 when Turner signed him, never really
was the same pitcher again, though that was due to injuries,
not a lack of talent.
The right-hander started slowly in ‘76. He missed Spring
Training due to contract negotiations and didn’t win a game
until his seventh start on May 17. In June, he appeared to
be the pitcher the Braves thought they were getting -- going
5-1 and earning his fourth All-Star selection. He injured a
hamstring right before the All-Star break, though, and that
-- combined with a sore shoulder -- hampered him during
the second half and he finished 11-11 with a 3.04 ERA in 29
games (28 starts).
Messersmith won just five games in 1977, shutting down
after a July 3 elbow injury that required surgery. The Braves
sold him to the Yankees, and he pitched briefly and ineffectively for them in ‘78 and for the Dodgers in ‘79 before retiring. His career record is 130-99 in 12 seasons, and his 2.86
lifetime ERA and .212 opponents’ batting average are strong
evidence of the quality of pitcher he was when healthy.
Ted Simmons: “Curt Flood stood up for us; Jim Hunter showed us what was out there; Andy
Messersmith showed us the way. Andy made it happen for us all. It’s what showed a new life.”
Andy Messersmith : “I did it for the guys sitting on the bench, the utility men who
couldn’t crack the lineup with (the Dodgers) but who could make it elsewhere. These
guys should have an opportunity to make a move and go to another club. I didn’t do it
necessarily for myself because I’m making a lot of money. I don’t want everyone to think,
‘Well, here’s a guy in involuntary servitude at $115,000 a year. That’s a lot of bull and
I know it.”
Barry Bonds : “We should make it. We’re the ones doing the entertaining.”
Jim Bouton : “For a hundred years the owners screwed the players. For 25 years the
players have screwed the owners - they’ve got 75 years to go.”
Ted Turner : “Gentlemen, we have the only legal monopoly in the country, and we’ve
f------ it up.”
Andy in N.Y. Times : “I wasn’t prepared for the pressure that came down [after the Seitz
ruling and his Braves deal]. I didn’t know anything about it. I came out as the
dirty dog. That was a real hard thing for me. I just wasn’t ready for it.”
Andy Messesmith - 1974 National League Wins Champion
2.86 Career ERA (Seaver won in 1975 and had an identical 2.86 career ERA)
19
1983: Fourteen Panners Will Ascend to MLB
Goldpanners Comprise 6% of all Major Leaguers in Late 1980s
The 1983 season saw what was possibly the most talented Goldpanners squad
of them all, as attested by the record 14 players that later went on to play in
Major League Baseball. One of them is a future Hall of Famer.
The Goldpanners’ “Pipeline to the
Big Time” was strong throughout
the late 1960s. But by the time the
decade of the 1970s was over, the
Goldpanners’ output had blanketed
the professional game.
There were at least ten future major
leagues on six of the 1970s club
rosters. In the mid 1980s, however,
the floodgates opened, resulting
in a strong Goldpanners influence
throughout all levels of play.
The largest single group of budding
major leaguers played together on
the 1983 team. An astounding 14
total players from the club eventually made Major League Baseball!
No other amateur team in history has come close to either this
single season total, or the overall
aggregate.
Among all the recognizable names
on the list, of major leaguers from
the 1983 club, the one that stands
out the most is that of Barry Bonds.
Barry set the all-time season and
career home run records, among
many other achievements.
What is amazing about Barry’s time
with the Goldpanners is that, being
unable to crack the superbly talented outfield, he was forced to handle
fielding duties at FIRST BASE.
That season, the Goldpanners
were sporting what NCAA Hall
of Fame coach Dave Snow called
“the most talented outfield I have
ever coached”. The trio of fielders
-- all future major leaguers -- were
dubbed the “Million Dollar Outfield”.
They were Mark Davis in left, Oddibe
McDowell in center, and Shane Mack
in right. The combination was lethal
to opponents, helping lead the Panners to the title game in the 1983
NBC World Series.
Following is an article on the 1983
Goldpanners outfield, written by
Bob Lutz for the Wichita Eagle:
Outfielders Oddibe McDowell, Shane
Mack and Mark Davis are all speedsters who help make the Fairbanks
Goldpanners’ offense potentially lethal. The players are sharing a room
in Wichita during the National Baseball
Congress tournament.
“We just call it the ‘Gold Room”, said
Goldpanners Manager Dave Snow.
(Barry Bonds later commented to Don
Dennis, “‘The Gold Room? Have you
been in there? It’s more like the ‘Mold
Room’).
Snow hasn’t posted armed guards at
the ‘Gold Room’ door to protect his
outfielders. But it might not be a bad
idea.
“All three of these kids are outstanding
prospects,” Snow said. “It’s the best
collection of outfield talent I’ve ever
coached.”
McDowell, Mack and Davis all come
from the baseball-rich Pacific 10 Conference. McDowell patrols center field
for Arizona State. Mack is the right
fielder for UCLA and Davis plays center for Stanford.
McDowell and Mack were two-thirds of
the All-Pac 10 outfield and both were
All-Americans. Davis was an honorable mention All-Pac 10 choice.
Stanford co-sports information director Bob Vazquez is astounded that
all three are together with Fairbanks,
which has a 4-1 tourney record.
Hutchinson defeated the Goldpanners,
5-4, Friday night. ‘Ten years down the
road,” Vazquez said, “that’s an all-star
outfield.”
San Diego native is batting .322 with
35 RBI and 47 runs scored and has
stolen 26 bases in 29 attempts.
Davis, who plays left field for Fairbanks, admits he needs to work on his
strength.
have been chosen.
But he remains unsigned because
the Twins aren’t offering enough
money, he says. “I’m not looking for
six figures,” McDowell said. “They
just haven’t come up with the five
figures I want.”
“My arm is not really strong yet,” Davis
said. “I’ve learned a lot this summer,
though. My biggest goal was to learn
how to bunt. With my speed that has
to become a part of my game.”
The book on McDowell is that he
can do everything - run, hit, throw though he hasn’t gotten untracked in
the NBC.
Davis has had a pair of bunt singles
in the tournament and has stolen two
bases.
“I haven’t done a whole lot in this
tournament,” McDowell said. “Hopefully, things will start going right for
me sooner or later.”
“I’m not your typical leadoff hitter,” Davis said. “I don’t like to take strikes and
I don’t like to look for walks.”
But Davis has drawn 29 walks to lead
the Goldpanners - even if he doesn’t
like it.
Says Snow: “Mark’s a guy who continually works to improve his skills and to
become a complete players. He’s got
a lot of confidence in his game and I
think he can be a prospect as a center
fielder after he improves his throwing.
McDowell hit .352 and stole 36 bases
for Arizona State this season, then was
the top pick in the secondary phase of
the draft - for players who previously
The Hollywood, Fla., native has
been a valuable commodity to major
league scouts since his high school
days - McDowell has been drafted
five times.
Hutchinson manager Dan Radison
was coaching at Fort Lauderdale,
Fla Junior College when McDowell
was still in high school.
“I knew he was going to be a great
one all along,” Radison said. “He
hasn’t shown what kind of hitter he
really is in this tournament. He really doesn’t even belong in this tournament. If he’d sign he probably be
playing Double A ball.”
As Fairbanks General Manager Don
Dennis says, however, it’s difficult to
tell how far a player can go at such a
young age.
Davis is only 18 while Mack and McDowell are 20. “There are just too
many variables,” Dennis said. “But I’d
have to say that these three are ticketed for getting a shot to play in the big
leagues.”
Barry Bonds
So far in the NBC tournament, Mack
has be the best long-term prospect.
Davis’ stats with the Goldpanners are
better than McDowell’s or Mack’s. The
Mark Davis
Oddibe McDowell
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22
2002: Goldpanners First to Broadcast Video of Entire Season On Internet
PannerVision Kicks Open the Door to the Digital Frontier in Sports Video Programming
The Goldpanners’ organization leads the baseball
world in a number of categories on the field, but
their successes off the field are just as impressive.
Broadcasting of games is no exception, with many
victories in that field of promotion. In 1962, KFAR
engineered their longest-distance transmission
to date in order to cover the Goldpanners at the
N.B.C. World Series in Wichita, Kansas.
From 1962 to 1999, many great announcers (such
as Steve Agbaba, Larry Rhody, Dick Lobdell, and
Lowell Purcell) broadcast Goldpanners games to
the Fairbanks area through radio technology. Selected Midnight Sun Games were covered by local
television stations, as well (including Tom Seaver’s
start against the USC Trojans in 1965).
The technology behind the game broadcasts
changed dramatically in 2000 through the production work of current GM Todd Dennis. From that
year forward, Goldpanners games were delivered
through the Internet. Lowell Purcell served as
the announcer, as every game of the season was
broadcast world-wide for the very first time.
The year 2001 saw another great technical leap,
with broadcasts being featured live online with
video for the first time. Announcer Gero von Dehn
became the face of the broadcast show, which he
dubbed “PannerVision“. Though this was a major
milestone for sports programming, shows were
limited to home games.
In 2002, the Goldpanners became the all-time first
team - of any sport - to stream an entire season
over the Internet. Programming that year included
all games, home and away. This included the team’s
participation in the NBC World Series in Wichita,
Kansas, which was broadcast in its entirety by PannerVision. And to top off the remarkable season
of broadcasting, the Goldpanners won their record
sixth NBC championship -- yet again against their
arch-rivals, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots!
By 2002, no other sports team had broadcast even
a majority of their season online in such a way.
ESPN started streaming in early 2003, and Major
League Baseball followed suit a few months later.,
but only by offering out of market games using
streams of TV broadcasts. College baseball joined
the online video parade in the late 2000s.
Over the years, there have been many brilliant
moments on PannerVision. The many highlights
include the Panners’ defeat of the Chinese-Taipei
Olympic team in 2003, and also a contest that became known simply as “The Game”, in which Derek
Bruce went 6-for-7 at the plate, and Jeff Culpepper
went an astounding 7-for-7 in an extra-inning defeat of the Kenai Oilers.
In addition to the game activity, there have been
many other key moments, such as when MLB Hall
of Famers Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins, and
Bobby Doerr tossed ceremonial pitches during
Midnight Sun Game broadcasts.
Every once in a while -- and far more often than
you might expect -- something completely out of
the ordinary happens which just defies belief and
stimulates wonder. Though it would be obvious
to suggest that the various on-field streakers deserve consideration here, there is one broadcast
in particular which cemented the “anything goes”
attitude of the Goldpanners stream : “The Plane
Crash Game” of July 31, 2003.
During the third inning of the last game of the
Alaskan portion of the 2003 season, Culpepper
was at bat against the Anchorage Bucs in Mulcahy
Stadium. As Jeff was stepping to the plate, the
umpire frantically called time and waved toward
right field -- where to everyone’s horror, a plane
was rapidly descending in an apparent attempt to
land on left field! The plane, a Cessna 207 Skywagon, had stalled and was coming down. As
the Bucs’ left-fielder scrambled for cover, the pilot
made a last-second wave of the left wing to avoid
a light pole, and then plowed into the fences just
behind left field. The plane flipped over and a ball
of flames erupted out of one side, after which it
came to rest on its belly with the engine sheared
off by the fence.
“It was incredibly violent,” said passenger Marc
Fisher. “My ankle snapped the second we hit. My
seat may have been busted. I had seat belts on,
but I ended up in the luggage.”
Describing the desperate minutes leading up to the
crash, Fisher said “There were people everywhere.
Every road was busy. It just looked like there’s no
way to go, nowhere to land. It was scarey, buddy.
Ten seconds from landing, my brother and I both
looked at each other and said, ‘We’re f-----.” Fortunately, the pilot and three passengers all escaped
more serious injuries, and no one on the ground
was injured.
The actual clip of this event is available for viewing on the Internet. To watch, visit Youtube.com/
PannerVision There have been millions of views of
all of the PannerVision games and video clips available online.
Be sure to tune in to PannerVision in 2015, as our
broadcast march continues as the Goldpanners attempt to win the ABL title for the third consecutive
year and 31st time overall!
WWW.PANNERVISION.COM
Brian Wahlbrink commented: “This is ME!! 96 mph: 5 stitches
and a concussion. The helmet broke and sliced my head open.
I was trying to charge the mound when my legs gave out. I
talked to this pitcher a few weeks later. He apologized, said he
had trouble with his control and bought me a beer. The batter
after me is Paul Janish who now is the shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds. “
Basch sets all-time record for lowest ERA in relief at 0.62 in 43.1 innings:
23
Eli Lingos is a left-handed pitcher in the same staff
as Ryan Hingst. Numerous times during the 2015
season, Ryan would start a game in which Eli would
relieve.
As a freshman at Arizona State University, Eli tossed
a career-long four innings at UNLV on April 7th, and
earned his first collegiate win throwing a scoreless
11th and 12th inning vs. Utah and allowed no hits
with one strikeout. At the University of Oregon,
Lingos pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts on March 22nd.
One of the highlights of his season came on March
3rd, when he threw a scoreless 7th inning with one
hit and one strikeout during an exhibition game
against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
During his high school career at Great Oak in Temecula, California, Eli was named 1st Team AllLeague, Team MVP, and was featured in the North/
South Showcase.
Riley Roberts comes to the Goldpanners out of Fullerton College. Last spring while playing for Coach
Fuscardo at Fullerton, Riley earned the starting
position at first base and had a .325 season batting average while only committing 2 errors in 149
touches at first base. After this upcoming spring
season, Roberts plans to continue playing after
transferring to a four year school.
Prior to last season at Fullerton College, Riley
played 4 years of varsity baseball at Yorba Linda
High School, in Orange County (Southern California). While at Yorba Linda High School, he had a
career batting average of over .400 and in his senior year (2013), he was in the top 5 (batting average) of the Empire League with a .533 average (All
League).
24
Riley plays first base primarily, but will also see
time in the outfield.
This spring, Martinez sported a batting average
of .380 (54-for-166), and knocked in 9 doubles,
2 triples, and homered for the El Camino Compton baseball team. During an April victory over
Long Beach City, Renae lined what appeared to be
a single to centerfield. But the ball skipped past
the centerfielder all the way to the wall. Martinez
raced all the way around to score for the insidethe-park home run and a 1-0 Compton lead.
Prior to this season, Renae was a member of the
UC Irvine program. His RBI in the 2014 Regional
Tournament helped the UC Irvine baseball team
surprise No. 1-national seed Oregon State, 14-2,
which aided in propelling the club to the Super
Regional.
Spencer Nielsen is a sophomore infielder from the
University of Concordia at Irvine. He compiled a
.281 (57-for-203) batting average this spring, with
7 doubles, 4 triples, and 2 home runs. He also stole
5 bases and was hit by pitch nine times. Overall, he
had a .352 on base percentage for the Eagles.
Prepped at El Capitan (Calif.) High School in Lakeside, CA, graduating in 2012...Played varsity baseball for coach Steve Vickery for two years as an infielder (2011, 2012)...Named MVP his senior year...
Earned most dedicated award his junior year.
At San Pedro (CA) High School, Renae was voted
to the All-Marine League first team, was named
the league’s Most Outstanding Player, was firstteam All-CIF. Martinez was selected to the Daily
Breeze all-area first team in 2011 and 2012
Dillon Moran plays for Mike Grahovac at Concordia-Irvine. After a successful fall season, Dillon
earned a spot in the starting rotation. He throws
in the 87-90 range, has a hard sink, a change up
and a curveball.
During the 2015 season, Moran compiled a 10-4
win/loss record in 91.1 innings pitched. He finished the season with a 3.45 earned run average,
striking out 68 batters while walking only 18.
Lawrence “Larry” Stewart is another player coming to Fairbanks out of the Santa Ana Dons program. Though just a freshman, Larry made a big
impact on the season for the Dons. As the first
option out of the bullpen, Larry was called upon
to “stop the bleeding” on many occasions.
On the 2015 season, Stewart appeared in 15
games, totaling 19.1 innings pitched. He average
over six strikeouts per game, and finished the
season with a 3.72 ERA.
On May 4th, Moron was named the GSAC Pitcher of the Week after he threw a complete game
against The Master’s College, allowing just seven
hits and four runs with seven strikeouts in the win.
He did not walk a single batter as Concordia won
13-4. He is 42nd in the NAIA in wins with eight and
fifth in the conference. His 52 strikeouts to date at
that time was 12th in the GSAC.
The 6-foot-3, 200 pound left-handed pitcher is
originally from Laguna Beach, and pitched for
Laguna Beach (CA) High School during his prep
career.
Dillon prepped at San Clemente (Calif.) High School,
graduating in 2012.
As a pro prospect Stewart generates interest due
to his command, size, and athleticism.
He is a gifted athlete who played football, as well.
Larry was a very successful QB and went 21-5
during his Junior and Senior seasons.
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Local product Matt Wixon is returning to the Goldpanners after participating in the ABL championship season of 2013. His season was shut down by
injury prior to his first start, but he was a constant
presence in the dugout all season. He was on hand
for the dogpile when the Goldpanners clinched the
ABL championship in Fairbanks by defeating the
Mat-Su Miners.
Wixon lettered in baseball for the West Valley High
School Wolfpack. He was named to the Mid Alaska
All-Conference team his junior and senior seasons
and was named to the all-tournament team in the
same seasons. Matt played baseball at Dakota
County Technical College (Rosemount, Minn.) in
2012 and 2013, and in 2012 he pitched in 22.1 innings for the Blue Knights with a record of 1-3, an
ERA of 9.27 and seven strikeouts.
In 2012, Matt was named a Team of Excellence
All-State Selection, which is voted on by American
Legion Post managers and coaches.
John Schreiber is a 6-foot-3, 200 pound righthanded pitcher. He attends Northwestern Ohio
University during the collegiate season. The junior,
originally out of Rockwood, Michigan, pitched well
enough to become a serious professional prospect.
During the spring season, he appeared in 25 games
-- all in relief. He dazzled opponents with his arsenal of pitches, finishing the season with 14 saves to
lead the league and set an all-time UNOH record.
His 2.25 earned run average was tops on the club.
In 36 innings pitched, he struck out 40 batters to
only 14 walks.
In the 2015 NAIA tournament, Schreiber pitched
around a leadoff double in the eighth inning, and
threw a scoreless ninth to give the Racers a chance
at their first walk-off win of the season. On May
8th Schreiber was selected to the Academic AllDistrict team, one of only two pitchers on the entire team.
Qsar is the 26th rated outfielder in the state of California and is ranked in the top 230 in the nation according to Perfect Game. “Jordan is a tremendous
athlete that should help us with his speed and his
versatility,” said Pepperdine head coach and 1990
Panner Steve Rodriguez. “He is a well-rounded athlete and can help on the mound also. He is a lefthanded batter that has the ability to use all parts
of the field, and on the mound he will be very affective as well.”
Qsar was an All-Grossmont Hills League honoree
and was named to the Upperclass Perfect Game
All-Tournament Team last season. He was also
the 2013 Team Offensive MVP and made the MLB
South Scout Ball All-Star Team.
As a standout outfielder Qsar hit .333 scoring 27
runs and driving in 21 on 39 hits. He posted 12
doubles and three home runs as well. In 15 innings
of work on the mound Qsar posted a 1.87 ERA with
four saves and 10 strikeouts.
Nate Verlin is a multi-talented player for the University of Pacific. During the 2015 season he
played at first base and in the outfield, appearing
in 47 games.
A standout at Lincoln High School just down the
street from Pacific, Verlin graduated in 2014. A
three-year starter for the Trojans, Verlin proved to
be one of the best hitters in the San Joaquin Athletic Conference as he was a three-time all-league
and all-area honoree including a pair of first team
awards.
As a senior, Verlin posted his finest season in which
he hit .479 with 18 RBI, two home runs, and 19
runs scored. In all three seasons he never hit below
.370, his lowest mark coming as a junior when he
drove in a team-best 27 RBI and posted 12 extrabase hits. Off the field, Verlin was an exceptional
student posting a 4.2 GPA while making the Principal’s Honor Role all four years. His father Ron is the
Pacific Tigers’ head basketball coach
Shortstop Nathan Reynolds is in Fairbanks this
summer to carry the torch in the longtime Goldpanners/Reynolds family connection. Nathan is
the nephew of Goldpanners Harold Reynolds
(80), Don Reynolds (73-74), and Larry Reynolds (74-75-76-77).
Nathan attends Feather River College, and
originally hails from Corvallis, Oregon. This
spring, he had a .330 (34-for-103) batting average, and tallied 11 doubles, helping establish him as a pro prospect. He was named
to the first team of the Class 1, District 3 AllDistrict baseball team and to the Black River
League All-Conference first team.
Reynolds had a two-run double n Feather
River’s 4-2 win at Lassen in Susanville, California. He had a combined six hits, including
a two-run double, April 9 in two home wins
against College of Redwoods in Quincy, California.
Billy Sample has joined the Goldpanners this year
as an a roving hitting instructor. William Amos
Sample (born April 2, 1955 in Roanoke, Virginia), is
a former professional baseball player who played
in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder
from 1978-1986. Sample played for the Texas
Rangers (1978-1984), New York Yankees, (1985)
and Atlanta Braves (1986). Over a 9-year career,
Billy hit for a solid .272 average.
Primarily a broadcaster/writer after his playing
days, Sample has broadcast for the Braves, Seattle
Mariners, and California Angels, as well as contributing to NPR, CBS Radio, ESPN, and MLB.com. As
a writer, Sample has been published in Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, and was one
of the columnists at the inception of USA Today’s
Baseball Weekly (now Sports Weekly). Billy most
recently added filmmaker to his résumé, producing his award-winning screenplay into the movie
“Reunion 108,” an edgy, satirical comedy with a
baseball backdrop.
25
FIRST BASEBALL PILGRIMS WELCOMED TO TANANA VALLEY
(Continued from page 9)
Even as Fairbanks transformed itself from a temporary gold camp into
an incorporated city, baseball maintained its civic importance. With
the fame of America’s northernmost city spreading, tourists arrived in
increasing numbers to observe the natural phenomenon of baseball
being played at midnight. Fresh arrivals to town (“Chechacos”)
celebrated the tradition alongside Sourdoughs, and took game reports
home to the Lower 48.
Struck by the novelty of the solstice event, journalists published word
of the game to an ever-widening audience. The earliest known report
was given by the Seattle Times in 1907. The tale of midnight baseball
traveled down the West Coast. In 1913, Sunset Magazine printed the
first of its many Fairbanks baseball stories, entitled “Play Ball at Midnight
- Showing How Fans Are in Evidence in Central Alaska on the Longest Day of
the Year”. In the article, H.C. Jackson engages a talkative Sourdough.
When asked if the tradition was new, the Fairbanksan replied, “New
nothing. Why, ever since the Fairbanks camp was struck in 1902, or as soon
afterward as we had suitable grounds, to be exact, we have been playing
ball at midnight on the longest day of the year.”
Colorful reporting, coupled with distribution of picture postcards of
the game, proved an irresistible lure. As transportation into Fairbanks
became more reliable, tourism increased dramatically. In 1918,
Nenana became the first outside ball team to join the spectacle.
Defying geographic obstacles to arrive in Fairbanks proved easier
than the threat of Eddie Stroecker. Stroecker started on the mound for
the locals, and beat the Nenana nine. Of Eddie it was written, “The
difference in the playing lies in the spirit of the nines. Dad Stroecker, captain
of the Van Dycks puts the pep in his men. He keeps them gingered up even
if the score is going against them.”
As the fame of the Midnight Sun Game tradition grew, so too did
commercial investment into Fairbanks. The mineral wealth of the
Tanana Valley began to be exploited, and numerous jobs became
available. This led to a continuing stampede of laborers and speculators
into the area. The tradition of solstice baseball in the 1920s and 1930s
saw the emergence of teams of industrial workers. These men played
for large corporations such as the Fairbanks Exploration Company
and Standard Oil.
The decade of the 1940s saw Fairbanks and the midnight tradition grow
dramatically. Fairbanks had become the central hub for military buildup in Alaska. The lend-lease program utilized Fairbanks as the main
transfer site for eight thousand aircraft to China, the USSR, and America’s
European allies. As a result of the increased activity, Fairbanks saw
another population boom. Declaration of war in Europe and the threat
of Japanese invasion made Fairbanks even more critical as a center of
military activity. In 1942, on the day of the 37th Midnight Sun game, the
U.S. Government announced that Alaska’s western islands had been
occupied by the Japanese. Military bases around the Tanana Valley
were staffed with thousands of soldiers and the elaborate “Midnight
Sun League” was born. Each of the bases would hold versions of
the solstice classic. All told, there were around thirty held during the
decade. With so many new converts to the charm of the midnight
game, it was not long until word of the Fairbanks event spread all the
way around the world.
After the conclusion of the war in the Pacific in 1945, Fairbanks thrived as a
military hub of activity. Army surplus equipment made the area resemble
the beaches of Normandy. Veterans of war often stayed in Alaska after their
tour of duty expired and the new population turned Fairbanks into a thriving
- if still small - city.
During the decade of the 1950s, baseball dominated sporting life in Fairbanks.
The North of the Range League was in full swing, and the Midnight Sun
Game was still a major event. 1959 saw the end of an era, as this would
be the last year that the host team for the midnight classic was staffed
entirely by Fairbanksans.
In 1960, an entirely new life was given to the
tradition with the establishment of the Alaska Goldpanners baseball club.
The Goldpanners organization, founded by World War II veteran H.A. “Red”
Boucher, was increasingly staffed with college athletes from around the
nation. The Panners were a hit in Fairbanks, and won their first three Midnight
Sun games, en route to an appearance in the NBC National Championship
Game at Wichita (KS) in 1962. Their strong showing, and determined play
made them a hit everywhere they went. Tales of the midnight ballgame
followed along with them.
One thing that is certain about the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks ballclub is
a learned approach to decision making. The team is powered by a volunteer
Board of Directors. At the head of that body for 45-years was one main figure:
President William G. “Bill” Stroecker. Bill is the son of Eddie Stroecker -- founder
of the Midnight Sun game -- and, like his dad, he became the driving force
behind the Fairbanks team’s success in the contest. Bill’s relationship with the
Goldpanners dates back to 1962. Needing financial help to take the team
to the national tournament in Wichita, team founder Red Boucher contacted
Bill, who was the President of First National Bank. “I called Bill up and he said,
“How much do you need?” - Red Boucher
During the roaring decade of the 1970s, Fairbanks grew into the full-fledged
city it is today. The discovery of vast quantities of oil in Alaska’s North Slope
brought another population stampede to the Tanana Valley, which served
as a hub of operations for construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. With the
local population again flush with cash, ball games saw a resurgence of the
type of reckless enthusiasm -- on and off the field -- seen in its founding era.
Huge crowds surged through the stadium, and betting stakes were high. Oftentimes, fist fights would break out in the stands. Thousands of fans watched
the Goldpanners win midnight games with regularity.
With Fairbanks, the Goldpanners, and the Midnight Sun game enjoying unprecedented world-wide attention, teams began clamoring for the chance
to play under the midnight sun. Key opponents during the 1970s and 1980s
were college teams from around the nation. NCAA programs operated development clubs during the summer, and the best were invited to Fairbanks
for the traditional game. The 1990s saw an increase in international teams
participating in the solstice event.
The decade of the 2000s was special for a number of reasons. Perhaps the
most obvious reason was the 100th playing of the traditional game. Media
from around the country was on hand to witness the 100th year of the solstice
tradition. Major League Baseball representatives were on hand, and following the Goldpanners’ win they collected the hat and jersey of three-time
winning pitcher Sean Timmons. Sean’s gear was put on display at the MLB
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and he was invited to participate in their 2005
ceremony alongside Kirby Puckett and Wade Boggs. Greg Harris, the Major
League Baseball Hall of Fame Vice President of Procurement, said: “I’ve been
lucky enough to attend many World Series, All Star Games and Opening Days but
the Midnight Sun Game is in a league of it’s own.”
The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks is proud to be an important part of community life in the Tanana Valley. In addition to the many Goldpannners imported
from Outside schools, many others are home grown. Pictured with George Mies are some all-time great Fairbanksans who played for the Goldpanners.
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26
DAVY BALDWIN
SEAN TIMMONS
CHRISTOPH FALKE
EMMITT WILSON
GEORGE MIES
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1965 Midnight Sun Game
“To describe Monday night’s Midnight Sun game as dramatic would be the understatement of the year.
It was more like the closing scene from a fabulous, but unbelievable Hollywood production.”
Ninth inning... Goldpanners leading 4-3... the
University of Southern California Trojans with the
bases loaded... two out and a 3-2 count on the
batter. The stage was set and the actors in their
places as Muggs Mies went into his stretch...
here comes the pitch, the swing, as the runners
start to go... and it’s a foul ball. There’s only so
much tension that can be built up, and though the
limit seemed to have been reached in the above
situation, it continued to climb as Ken Walker
fouled off a pitch to right field, another back over
the press box...
How Many Strikes?
Could Mies continue to pour strike after strike
over the plate? A ball would force in the tying run.
Another foul, and then the crack of the bat, the
gasp of the crowd, as everyone seemed to sense
the grand slam home run... then the relief as the
ball curved foul far out over the left field wall.
And then it was over. Mies had set down Walker
with a curve and the silence of that moment was
suddenly lost as the crowd realized the game
was won.
From the very first inning it was evident that the
Trojans and the Panners had come to play ball,
and play ball they did. Tom Seaver and John
Herbst, teammates in 1964 with the Goldpanners
and this college year with USC were facing each
other as Seaver started for the Panners and
Herbst for USC. It developed as a tight pitching
duel to the fifth inning when Seaver, making a
bare-handed play on a two hopper of the bat off
Herbst, had the ball catch him between the fourth
and small fingers and split his hand.
second, Graig Nettles was given the hitaway sign by manager Red Boucher and
drilled a line double between the outfielders
to send Maxwell home with the go-ahead
run. Herbst, taking a hitch in his belt, got the
next two batters on a strikeout and an infield
grounder to end the inning.
Setting The Stage
And then came the ninth inning. To set the
stage for the dramatic climax, Ed Gagle
reached first on an error. Mies, having a
control problem once again, walking the
next batter, received a break when catcher
Al Diamond made the force play at third
on an attempted sacrifice for the first out.
And there were still two base runners. In
trying to set up a man in scoring position,
the Trojans put Don Johnson in to run for
Shuey. On the attempted steal of third, a
prefect peg by Diamond to Maxwell caught
Johnson in a real tight play. Two outs, and
then two straight walks loaded the bases to
set up the storybook finish with Walker going
down swinging.
Tom Seaver Patrols Mound
An estimated 2500 persons attended the
traditional game which followed a number
of presentations and awards and a program
of entertainment under the direction of the
Golden Days Committee and the Alaska 67
group.
Nettles Jogging to Left Field
- By Stan Caulfield, Reprinted from Fairbanks
Daily News-Miner June 22, 1965
Seaver Taken to Hospital
Not Serious
Seaver was taken immediately to the hospital
where a thorough examination proved the injury
less serious than at first believed. But the duel
continued... Muggs Mies, without any warmup
came in for the Panners. Having trouble with his
control, Mies let in one run with a wild pitch, and
with one run already in due to an error, the Trojans
had tied the score at 2-2. Getting stronger as he
loosened up, Mies retired the side with Walker
flying to center and Dedeaux striking out.
U.S.C. & Panners Line Up
1965 Fairbanks Little League Roster
Goldpanners Trailing USC
The Trojans opened the sixth with a double by
Daryl Wilkins who moved to third on a passed
ball and then scored on Fred Shuey’s single. The
run put the visitors ahead 3-2. Herbst, appearing
stronger as the night turned to dawn, continued to
handcuff the Panners whose two runs had come
in the second inning on a combination of three hits
and an error. Mies, too, picked up steam as he
was getting warmed up, and the 3-2 score looked
better to the Trojan fans all the time.
Maxwell Scores in 8th
The Panners though are scrappers and hadn’t
given up. Tom Brogan opened the eighth with
a single, moved to second on an excellent bunt
laid down by Ray Henningson and then came
in with the tying run on a throwing error on an
infield play, Maxwell continuing to second on the
play. With only one out and the go-ahead run on
Final : Panners 4 USC 3
27
“Rounding Third and Heading for Home”
Sports Illustrated: “On the summer solstice the natural light
never dies out in Fairbanks, 160 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and on this night Camacho, a California-raised righty, would
never leave the confines of Growden Memorial Park, where the
centerfield backdrop is the eight-starred Alaskan flag and Take
Me Out to the Ballgame is forsaken during the seventh-inning
stretch in favor of the Beat Farmers’ 1985 country-punk song
Happy Boy. Out with the peanuts and Cracker Jack, in with lyrics
about a dead dog in a drawer, as well as the most guttural refrain ever to blare from a stadium speaker: “Hubba hubba hubba
hubba hubba!”
Remembering Our Friends
Bud Anderson
Luella Rasley
(1929-2015)
(1931-2015)
Bud and Joyce Anderson were
very active in the Panners.
They spent many years in the
1970s hosting Panner players
during the summer. Bud was
friends with Jack and Babette
Shuttleworth, who also kept
Goldpanners.
“Many summer nights were
spent at three different ballgames and then she would
load us up and finish the
evening at the last few innings of the Goldpanners
baseball game”
Wallace Duhon
Mary Louise Pearson
(1921-2014)
(1943-2014)
“He was an Alaska Goldpanners fan. For more than
50 years, he never missed
a Midnight Sun Baseball
Game.”
“She was a great fan of the Goldpanners and was so proud of
those players who went on to
the big leagues. Everyone knew
not to call Mary when the games
were on.”
Tony Gwynn
Bob Welch
(1960-2014)
(1956-2014)
Tony was a longtime supporter
of the program, and often spoke
on the club’s behalf. When he
told Barry Bonds that the Panners were flying him up for an
appearance, Barry reportedly
said “Why do they want YOU? I
played for the club!”
Bob was a big fan of the Goldpanners program. Years after
defeating the Panners in the
1975 NBC World Series title
game he remarked, “I should
have been a Goldpanner.”
I was walkin' down the street on a sunny day
Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba
A feeling in my bones that I'll have my way
Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba!
“Happy Boy”
By the Beat Farmers
Well I'm a happy boy (happy boy)
Well I'm a happy boy (happy boy)
Oh ain't it good when things are going your way,
Hey Hey?!
My little dog spot got hit by a car
Put his guts in a box and put him in a drawer
I forgot all about it for a month and a half
I looked in the drawer and started to laugh
Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba!
Country Dick Montana
(1955-1995)
Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy) 2x
Oh ain’t it good when things are going your way? Hey Hey?!
Alaska Flag Song
Written by Marie Drake;
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.
Derek Wilson
(1988-2014)
“During the college breaks, he
played for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks in 2009 and
the 50th anniversary season of
2010.”
After playing only five games
in 2009, Field Manager Jim Dietz showed great confidence
in Derek by putting him in 14
28 games.
Derek Wilson and Jim Dietz
Steve Kemp and Don Reynolds
with Glen “Glenner” Anderson
ht
irld
he
ke
ng
ng
cs
eba
”
a
olds
on

Untitled - Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks

Transcription

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