Galesburg Little League- Nothing Little About It

There was nothing “little” about Galesburg Little League back in the old days. The program that was geared to 9-12 year olds was at the center of summer life in Galesburg for many decades. 

Much of the structure of Little League in the ‘50’s, ‘60’s and ‘70’s is credited to the organization of Chuck Bednar. Mr. Bednar was a successful baseball coach and athletic director at Galesburg HS. 

Bednar is credited with the idea of dividing the teams into an American and National League with the east side of Galesburg being the American League and the west side being the National League. He felt Galesburg was too divided based on the north side vs south side, so he hoped to impact that a little bit. The dividing line was Cherry St was a dividing line for the two leagues for most of the ‘50’s thru the ‘70’s. 

At the peak of Little League in the ‘60’s when Galesburg’s population was at its largest, it was tough to make one of the rosters. There were about 180 spots on the 12 teams with the players being drafted by the coaches. Depending on the era, coaches were required to keep 1-2 nine years olds on their roster, and a maximum of seven 12 year olds. 

Players who did not make a roster, played in the mornings at O.N. Custer Park in the Farm League. Depending on the director of the Farm League, it was a combination of drills and games, where everyone got to play. 

Each team played a 15 game schedule, playing the other teams in their league three times each. The post season involved each American League team playing the National League team who finished in the same spot (ie. 2nd vs 2nd place, 3rd place vs 3rd place). The first place teams played in the City World Series in a best of three games series. 

Starting in the ‘50’s for nearly 40 years, the Galesburg Register-Mail had the boxscores in the newspaper the next day. 

1950’s- the Dodgers

Bob Darrah- 1955-1959

Team- Red Sox

Coach- Mr Earl Hayes

Best Hitters

1:  Larry Pickrel Yankees

2:  Carl Swanson Red Sox

3:  Mike Davis White Sox

4:  Tim Toureene Giants 

and Pat Prina White Sox  

Best Pitchers

1). Tim Toureene Giants

2). Mike Davis White Sox

Favorite Memories

Being drafted by Earl Hayes Red Sox as a 9 year old. Only two 9 year olds were allowed on each team. David Lundstrom was the other 9 year old

Winning the 1958 Little League World Series in Galesburg. We beat the Giants in 2 games to none. I was the winning pitcher. Wonderful night at O N Custer park!

Watching Larry Pickrel Yankees (awesome player) center fielder hit and throwing out runners at home plate!! and Pat Prina playing SS

Mike Ebbing- 1956-1959

Team- Dodgers

Coaches- Bob Briggs, Ass’t Coaches- Jack Poplett, Jack Enes

Best Hitters

Frank Dexter, Carl Swanson, Mike Davis, Rick Callahan, Gary John

Best Pitchers

Mike Davis, Bob Darrah, Tim Toureen, Frank Johnson

Best Memories

All my success in baseball and later senior softball (playing competively now for 70 years.. in baseball since 1956 and starting my 25^th season in senior softball on an 80-year-old team in 2027) can be traced back to my days playing Little League baseball in Galesburg under manager Bob Briggs. He had exceptional knowledge of the game, lived and breathed baseball almost 24 hours a day. 

We would often have a couple practices a week before games (very few teams did that). I remember riding my bicycle across town for afternoon practices at a ball field next to a local school. 

Win or lose, Coach Briggs would take our team behind the centerfield fence and usually bawl us out. Fortunately, we won most of the time, but we still got chewed out. If I made an error in centerfield, Coach Briggs would look at me and say, "Ebbing, one night you look like the best centerfielder in the city. The next night, you play like you're not worth more than a quarter. Maybe the worst in the league." I still always admired him.

For several summers, my mom and dad would take my sister and me to my dad's aunt's fishing resort in Minnesota for a couple weeks. One summer Coach Briggs went to my parents' house to plea with them. "The playoffs are around the corner," he told them. "We need Mike! How about if he stays at our house while you go to Minnesota?" Bob lost his plea even though I wanted to stay in Galesburg with the team. 

At the end of the playoffs, Coach Briggs and his assistant Coaches Poplett or Enes would always take the 11-year-old players for a two-day fun trip to Chicago. They put us up in hotel rooms and we spent the first day at Riverview Park with the wood roller-coasters. The next day, they took us to a Cubs' game at Wrigley Field. Imagine 11-year-olds at Wrigley for the first time. 

Coach Briggs was a relative of Pirates' slugger Frank Thomas. After the game, we assembled outside the Pirates' locker room. and Coach Briggs arranged to have Frank come out a talk to each one of us. 

He asked our positions. I told him I played centerfield. He said, "Well, Mike, what did you think of centerfield at Wrigley?" I replied, "It's sure a lot of ground to cover!" He smiled and said, "Mike, you're gonna make it!" I never made it to the BIGS, but have had a pretty good run for over 70 years in both baseball and softball. And, it all had its roots with Little League baseball in Galesburg, IL.

In July of 1959, my last year in Galesburg Little League, we were playing one of our National League rivals, the Pirates. On that night, Pirates' pitcher Herb Small threw a no-hitter against us. But, he gave up 9 walks, and we stole several bases. The end result was a heartbreaker for the Pirates, since we won the game, 3-2, despite not getting a single hit. Just two months prior in May, Harvey Haddix had pitched his legendary 12-inning perfect game for the Pittsburgh Pirates but still lost. 

Rick Welty- 1960-1963

Team- Giants

Coaches- Captain Clayton Charboneau and Clinton Arenez 

Best Hitters

Eddie Barragan and Louie Nichols

Best Pitchers

John Shay, Mike “Bird” Duffy

  

Favorite Memories

Kelley’s Barber Shop sponsored the printing of schedules, Picture Day, box scores in the Register Mail, 15 game schedule, first time getting a baseball uniform, playing under the lights, green wooden outfield fence, American League was mostly Lombard district, National League mostly Churchill district

Best Little League baseball player ever: Steve Ballard who went on to play at Arizona State and in the minor leagues.

Jim Sundberg- 1960-1963

Team- Yankees

Coaches- Willie Hyman, Howard Sundberg

Favorite Memories

In 1961, as a 10 year old, I hit three home-runs in a game. The league took the bat away because they said it didn’t meet LL specs.

Dennis Jacobs- 1962-1964

Team- Giants

Coaches- H/C- Clint Arenz, Asst-  my Dad, Bob Jacobs

Best Hitters- 

Chris Jordan, Jim Kreps, Eddie Barrigan, Louie Nichols, Dave Goodman, Jim Sundberg 

Best Pitchers- 

Jeff Chase, Johnny Green, John Shay, Floyd Lewis, Ruben Triplett, John Pepmeyer, Jim Peck, Bob Hoerner.

Favorite Memories

 Going 2 for 3 against the 1st place Pirates... (we ended up losing that game when I dropped a sky high (some said it went above the lights) two out bases loaded infield fly ball off the bat of Eric Olson that allowed Zack Thiel and John Pepmeyer to score the tying and winning runs... that is not really a "favorite" memory, but was part of what was until then, a great night)... 

Breaking up a "No Hitter" against Floyd Lewis and  the Cardinals.

My Dad, Clint and parents loading up their cars and driving to Canton after the regular season all three years with different guys each year like Mike Sturgeon, Jeff Chase, Dave Goodman, Louie Nichols, John Menke, Sam Chaney,  Steve Ballard, Eddie Barrigan, Rick Welty, Rick Fox, Kenny Bell, Mike Duffy, Jimmy Taylor and Robbie Derry to play against teams from Farmington, Fairview,  Pekin, Beardstown and Canton.

Lived at the Little League park during my childhood. Rode my bike daily over the Farnham street bridge and down Losey to ON Custer.

 

All-Star team from ‘60’s

Bill Swanson- 1962-1965

Team- Yankees

Coaches- For the first 3 years, Willie Hyman was the head coach and Howard Sundberg was the assistant coach; for my last year, Howard Sundberg was the head coach and John VanFleet was the assistant coach

Best Hitters- 

I'll try my best at this, but I'm sure I'll leave out some good hitters.

    

Of course Jim Sundberg would be near the top of the list.  Some others that come to mind would be Billy Westfall (he played baseball and football at Yale), Kurt Williams (who also attended Yale), Mike Doyle (an all around great athlete), Dave (Louie) Nichols (who played baseball and football at Illinois State University), and Fred Mims (who played at Iowa and also in the Cubs organization).  When I was 9, I saw Dave and Fred each hit home runs to left field that looked like moonshots!

Best pitchers- 

Jim Neubaum, Dave Clague, and Billy Westfall come to mind. Billy was a tremendous pitcher in Little League but somehow hurt his arm and actually had to play left field on our American Legion team because his arm wasn't very strong.  He was also one of the fastest players I ever played with or against. 

But NO ONE  that I faced in Little League threw the ball as hard as Floyd Lewis. I faced him in the town's World Series in 1964 (my 11 year old year: he played for the Cardinals) and he struck me out every time I came to bat, I believe it was 3 times. I had NEVER seen such fastballs.  I later played American Legion baseball with Floyd. One of the nicest guys you would ever meet.  He played in the outfield and could literally throw the baseball out of the park. He definitely had a professional quality arm.

Favorite memories-

Oh boy.  I could ramble for awhile on this one. In my 12 year old year, we scored 7 runs against the White Sox after 2 were out and no one on base to erase a 3-0 deficit in the 5th inning.  I knocked in the go ahead run.  

Another favorite was the last regular season game when I was 12.  We were in 3rd place and the Athletics were in 1st. They had a really good team.  We beat them 3-1.  I pitched the whole game, knocking in 2 runs and scoring the third run all the way from first base on a double by Jim Buck.  And all of our runs were scored with 2 outs. On my dash around the bases, I think I would have beaten Usain Bolt!  I was going to score no matter what.  

I also pitched a no-hitter when I was 12, I believe against the Tigers, but I may be mistaken.  When I was 11, I pitched a key game against the Athletics to help us win the league championship.  It came down to the final game of the season between us and the A's.  It went extra innings.  We went ahead by 1 run in the top of the 7th, and I had to pitch the bottom of the inning and hold them scoreless for us to win the league.  And I did. 

I remember that night leaving my bedroom and going downstairs because I couldn't sleep and there was my mom!  She couldn't sleep either. She told me she talked with some of the other parents and they had the same experience!

Sorry this is getting long, but this is fun!  I remember when I was in my first year of Little League (I was 9).  They only kept two 9 year-olds on the roster.  And I was one of them.  I remember coming home after finding out I had made the team.  Mom was downstairs ironing when I told her the good news.  She was ecstatic!  I'm fighting tears as I write this.  She would have been 99 today.  She was my biggest fan.  She told me years later that if she knew I was pitching in the game that night, her right arm would start hurting as she entered the ballpark!

Another thrill was watching the first game of the town's World Series when I was 10.  I didn't play in the game, but what a game to watch.  Jimmy Sundberg pitched for us, and John Shay (who pitched at Illinois State) pitched for the Pirates.  After 6 innings it was 0-0.  The Pirates had no hits and we only had 1.  The poor hitters for both teams were simply overmatched.

After my 12 year old year, we were invited to a tournament in Canton.  We won all 4 games we played and won the tournament.  Our pitchers didn't give up a run after the first game.  In game one, I was the leadoff man and hit 2 inside the park home runs in my first 2 at bats (they didn't have a fence!).  Clint Arnz was the coach and it was a lot of fun.

Let me wrap up this tome by saying I wouldn't trade my years in Galesburg Little League baseball for anything.  It was very well organized and the emphasis was on the kids.

Eric Doss- 1967-1970

Team- Indians (my older brother Dan was on the Indians, so I automatically became an Indian)

Coaches: Don Blaine (Ox) and Ray Hendricks (Andy’s Dad)

Best hitters-

Billy Camper, Jay Stone, Heston Spinks, Jerry Blixt, Scott Kimble

Best Pitchers-

Jay Stone, Mike Yard, Doug Allensworth, Waymond Hamilton, Mark Hannam

 

Favorite Memories

During this time frame the ages were 9-12. Scott Kimble and I made the team as 9-year-olds, so we played together for 4 years in LL.

The Indians made the world series 3 years in a row and won the WS as 11 and 12 years olds!! Beating the Dodgers both years.

 

Great memory was hitting 3 home runs in one game (as a 10-year-old) vs the White Sox and my good friend Jerry Blixt, who threw very hard. We still lost 6-5.

 

I always hung around the farm league games as an 8-year-old and Phil Erickson would let me participate!!

 

When I was 15, I ran the press box and did the announcing of the hitters, etc. kept the books and would ride my bike downtown and drop off the box scores so the Register mail could get the updates in the paper!! (Also, for coach Erickson who was the leader of the league at the time)

 

After practice, me and friends would be at ON watching all the games!! Great summers!

Steve Cheesman- 1967-1970

Team-Pirates

Coaches- Mac McClure, Bob Jacobs, Jack Cheesman, Don Spencer & Corky Evans

Best Hitters-

Louis Vitale. Mark Thiel, Barry Cheesman, Eric Doss & Scott Kimble

Best Pitchers- 

Louis Vitale, Mark Thiel & Barry Cheesman (did not face them, but they were the best pitchers. Peach Johnson was outstanding. He gave me fits as a big, long armed lefty!

Favorite Memories- 

The relationships we made, the competition was fierce and we all were always talking about baseball and Little League. 

Ron Pillsbury once hit 2 grand slams in the same inning.

Barry Cheesman threw a perfect game with 17 strikeouts out of the 18 batters he faced.

Barry Cheesman- 1969-1972

Team-Pirates

Coaches-Jack Cheesman, Corky Evans

Best Hitters-Allen Pickrel, Mark Mendez

Best Pitchers-Carl Finley, Chuck Unger

Favorite Memories-

I hit a Home Run in the playoffs at 10 yrs old. 

Won the city World Series during my 11 year old year. Beat the perennial winners, the Red Sox. 

Hit 16 home runs at 12 years old. 

Pitched Perfect game at 12 vs the Braves, struck out the last 17 hitters.

Steve Schwab- 1973-1974

Team- A’s

Coaches- David McBride, Pat Napier

Best Hitters- 

Casey Piggee, Troy Berry, Mark Fields

Best Pitchers-

Mark Yancy, Randy Merriman, Mark Fields, so many more. 

Best Memories

First year won  10 games. Second year went to the city Little League World Series. Beat the undefeated Cardinals. But lost the 2 out of 3 series. 

Casey Piggee 1972-75 

Team- The best team ever- the Cardinals

Coaches- Irv Jaccobson and Rance Berry

Best Hitters

Kevin Johnson, Phil Goodman, Troy Berry, Brent Stanley, Andy Holt, and Rory Jackson

Best Pitchers

Steve Schwab and Mark Fields were hard to hit. 

Favorite Memories

Leading the League in home runs and getting a free hot dog for each one- LOL!!

Winning the championship two years in a row. 

Chris Kleine- 1978-1981

Team- A’s

Coaches- Doug Simmons, Jim Rich, Darrell Clevidence

Best Hitters

Greg Bennett, Scott Bower, Dan Clevidence, Lance, Mitchell, Doug Harvey was a good stick for a little guy😊

Best Pitchers

Joe Dennis, Jami Isaacson, Greg Bennett, Corny Stanley, I was glad I didn’t get in the game against Paul DeJaynes😊

Favorite Memories

Hitting a walk off homer against the Yankees to send the A’s to the Series and winning it all in 1981, I think our record was 16-5

Less of a personal highlight, I was pitching against the Orioles and Kenny Barton was umping and  wasn’t giving me the corners, I was pouting on the mound and was looking down when Dan Clevidence threw the ball back from home plate and it hit me in head knocking me silly, my little brother had to come in as a 10 year old and get the last two outs to secure the win.

Also, I was catching when Corny Stanley hit his first LL homer as a 10 year old. His brother, Clee, came up next, and I was like “Little brother hit one out before either of us.” We just laughed.

Corny Stanley- 1980-1982

Team- Reds then we changed our name to the Astros.  

Coaches- Our coaches were Lindell Goodman, Charles Shelton, and Alan Rogers. 

Best Hitters-Crystal Boone, Toby Davis, Guy Goodman and Scott Bower. 

Best Pitchers-  Greg Bennett, Toby Davis and Craig Steward. 

Favorite Memories-  When I was 10 years old I hit my first home run off Randy Gilbreath and some other memories were battling the Cubs and the Rangers.  We always had tough games but we won a couple little league championships in my day.  

Jeremy Kleine- 1980-1983

Team- A’s

Coaches- Jim Rich and Darrell Clevidence in 1980 - 1981 and Jim Rich, Alan Rhoades and Jim Turner from 1982 - 1983

Best Hitters

Chris Kleine, led the A’s to the World Series Championship in 1981., Mark Wanless, Jami Isaacson, Toby Davis, Joe Dennis, Bob Jackson, Corny Stanley, Guy Goodman, Crystal Boone, Sergio Interial was the best 9 year old hitter I ever saw at ON Custer Park.

Best Pitchers

Jami Isaacson, Corny Stanley, Scott Horton, Sean Webber, James Harvey

Favorite Memories

Jami Isaacson hit me with a pitch when he was 12 and I was 9.  I always told him he was lucky I didn’t charge the mound😊  I did have a deep bruise for about 2 weeks.

 

I hit my one and only Little League HR off one of my best friends, Sean Webber.  He claims he would have struck me out if his dad would have been in the stands for the start of the game as his dad would have motioned for him to throw me a change-up.  I remind “Oots” of that HR every time we get together, he loves the reminders.

 

Crystal Boone was one of the best hitters during my LL days.  I was pitching against her and she hit what I believe was the first ever home run for a female in Galesburg LL history. The next time she came up to the plate, I threw one high and tight, just kidding.  I threw her another meat ball down the middle and she hit what I believe was the second ever home run for a female in Galesburg LL History. The next time she came up, I threw one behind her, just kidding.  She never got another hittable pitch from me.

Jason Shay- 1982-1985

Team- Pirates

Coaches- Mike Wilson and Terry Jackson

Best Hitters - Jason McGraw, Kris Parrish

 

Best Pitchers- Chris Mundy

Favorite Memories- Playing in the Little League championship series; it was a battle between the best two teams, Pirates-Rangers, Shay vs. Mundy; the crowds over those three nights were big and electric; I was unfortunately hit by a pitch and broke my thumb in Game 3; we lost to the Rangers in 3.

Mickey White- 1985- 1988

Coaches- Don Derry (9), Tony Fritzel (10, 11), My Dad (12)

Best Hitters-

The best hitter I've ever seen in any league, any team anywhere ever was Chad Simmons. He hit something like 23 home runs when I was 11 years old, which was certainly more than one a game. He had this red bat and it was a war club.  It was probably 29 inches long and it had to weigh 30 ounces. Nobody else could swing the bat.

Best Pitchers

The best pitcher I ever faced in Little League was Jason Shay.  When I was 9 years old, I came up to bat and he threw me two fastballs that could have been 800 miles an hour. And there's no way I'm going to hit this third pitch.  He throws me a curveball, I just sit down.

Jeremy Lee was a great Little League pitcher,  but really got better and better as he got older.

Best Memories

I remember my mom telling the story when they had Little League drafts back then. It was at the bowling alley. Mom's in the league. Coach was our neighbor, she could hear him yell down the bowling alley, “I got him.”

I had the pleasure of playing for my dad, he was a brilliant Little League coach. We got more reps, he had different stations. I remember him reading books and watching videos at home about coaching Little League.

You can't think about O.N. Custer park without the dirt infield and just, God bless our moms for the amount of laundry that they had to bleach to get all the dirt out of the white pants we used to wear.

O.N. Custer, was special because it was so simple. The scoreboard, the concession stand, free soda after games, and playing cup ball. Wad up an empty Pepsi cup for the ball and play under the scoreboard. We'd go over and see our friends playing and just play cup ball.

There are a handful of no hitters, a lot of strikeouts, hit some home runs, but I think just more than anything, spending, time with my friends, with people that wouldn't have probably been my friends because we didn't live by each other had it not been for baseball. We went to different schools, and we just probably wouldn’t have been together. And baseball and sports have a way of bringing people together in a community as equals that you just don't see. 

Ted Trueblood- 1985-1988

Team- Rangers 1985, then team name changed to Blue Jays 1986

Coaches- Ray Mendez, Mike Voyles, Mike Trueblood

Best Hitters: Chad Simmons, Jeremy Lee, Chris Folger 

Toughest Pitchers: Jason Shay, Matt Reid, Mick White, and I got to play alongside the best in Jeremy Lee. 

Favorite Memories

Little League was so different during this time because not only would everyone try to get in the league, they actually had tryouts back then where you were cut or an “alternate,” and it went from ages 9-12. 

I actually came across the stat sheet of our 1985 team when I was 9, and I got 14 at bats the whole year and sat on the bench a lot and, watched, and had to earn playing time, and that was normal for a younger player then—now a kid gets 14 at bats in a travel ball day! 

Also, what team you were on was part of your identity—you name just about any classmate from the 90’s and I could tell you what team they played on. 

We had a great coach in Ray Mendez and won the title in ‘85, ‘86, and ‘88. 

I remember O.N. Custer at that time to be similar to a lot of the older, special places in Galesburg that came alive on game nights. If you were one of the four teams playing in the doubleheader, you were going to get to be in the newspaper the next day and a lot of the league would be at your games. 

Reed Allison- 1986-1990

Team- Cubs

Coach- Delmer Barnes

Best Hitters

Tyson Mixon once hit a homer off me that cleared the trees at Custer park. When he came around he missed home plate. I appealed and he was called out. Might have been the only way I could have gotten him out. 

Best Pitchers

Jeremy Lee. I was 8 and he was 12. He had just hit the batter before me and broke his arm. I drew a walk. I don’t think I could have been further away from the plate for that at bat. 

Best Memories

Really remember going to the park and hanging out with the guys. We would get dropped off on nights we weren’t playing and watch the games, play “cup ball” under the scoreboard and Don O’Brien would let us hang out in the press box with him. Learned how to keep score up there. 

Can still name most of the teams that individual players were on. 

Register mail coverage was also a highlight. In the paper right next to the big league box scores.