{"id":2937,"date":"2008-10-07T13:52:09","date_gmt":"2008-10-07T20:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=2937"},"modified":"2008-10-07T14:07:48","modified_gmt":"2008-10-07T21:07:48","slug":"fastpitch-fans-still-longing-for-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=2937","title":{"rendered":"Fastpitch fans still longing for the game"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Country Messenger, Scandia, MN<\/strong><\/a>
\n(Hat tip: David Blackburn)<\/em>[Reprinted with permission, Kyle Weaver, Country Messenger, All Rights Reserved]<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nBy Kyle Weaver<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

If George Lindgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old softball hat could only talk, it would probably tell a lot of stories.<\/p>\n

But then Lindgren and others of his generation who watched and played fast pitch softball in Scandia have plenty of stories of their own.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There was a whole lot of talk about softball back then,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lindgren, who some have identified as the biggest Scandia softball fan ever.<\/p>\n

Scandia has a rich history with the sport, dating back to the post-World War II era and a team formed in 1946 by Les Benson and Stan Sandquist.<\/p>\n

In the late 1960s and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc70s, Scandia fast pitch was not to be missed. During that time period, the town produced numerous state and national tournament-winning teams.<\/p>\n

In fast pitch softball, having a good pitcher meant having a good team, and the key to much of Scandia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success in those days was the fact that Scandia had a few good pitchers \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Jim Lindberg and Wayne Erickson, a 1984 inductee to the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A team depended on pitching talent,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Greg Benson, who played for about 12 years during the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc60s and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc70s.<\/p>\n

A good fast pitch softball game, then, meant 2-1 or 1-0 scores. No-hitters were fairly common \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they certainly weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the anomaly they have become in the modern era of million dollar baseball salaries and deep pitching crews.<\/p>\n

In 1976, for instance, Lindberg pitched a 25-inning game that ended with a 2-1 score. According to a 1966 tournament program, Erickson averaged 12 strikeouts per game during the 1963 season, more than half the batters he faced during the seven-inning contests.<\/p>\n

Near the ends of some of those close games, Scandia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitching was really something to watch, Lindgren said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153When the going got tough, they really put the smoke on \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcer then,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindgren said with his trademark chuckle.<\/p>\n

Scandia had its share of clutch hitters, too, Lindgren said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They could get ahold of one that would make you wonder if the ball would ever come down,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n

Scandia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s softball team gave the town a reputation, one that followed its players.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t uncommon for players to introduce themselves as being from Scandia, only to have someone mention the softball team, Benson said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everywhere you went, that would happen,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n

Lindberg agreed.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scandia got on the map then, because of it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindberg said.<\/p>\n

But Scandia softball was probably best known as a source of local culture and community pride, Lindberg said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We used to have some scrappy games, I tell ya,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindgren said.<\/p>\n

Players used to drive around the former township with a speaker mounted to the roof of their vehicle, announcing the game and encouraging people to attend, and having a crowd of 300-400 people attend a weeknight game was not uncommon. Admission cost 25 cents.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Back then, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what you did for recreation,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindberg said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Once you got a taste of it, it was really hard to stop.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Community pride in the team was evident all around. Business owners in the area competed for top billing as sponsors of the team, and some companies would even find work for good softball players.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you knew how to play, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d find a spot for you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Benson said.<\/p>\n

Once, when the team lost to a team from Marine on St. Croix, the owners of Meisters Bar & Grill flew a black flag from the building.<\/p>\n

Though there were a lot of sponsors, the team was often supported financially by residents. The team and fans held more than a few fundraisers, some of which were perhaps as fun as the games themselves.<\/p>\n

One such event, an old-fashioned \u00e2\u20ac\u0153smoker,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d cooked up by Lindgren and a few others, involved lots of cigars, poker, blackjack, dice and slots \u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the same as Las Vegas,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindgren said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That second year, we really made the money,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindgren said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We had fun with all those activities.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Scandia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lighted softball field, which still today is a cultural centerpiece for the town, was a busy place in that era.<\/p>\n

Fast pitch softball once had its following worldwide. It was the era of Eddie Feigner, and his Harlem Globetrotter-esque four-man softball team called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The King and His Court.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Feigner often pitched from second base, sometimes even from center field, to give his opponents a chance. He was unrivaled in the sport and traveled the world with his act.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I watched (Feigner) when he came to St. Paul one year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Benson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was pretty tough.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The Scandia team traveled all over as well, often making trips to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada to play in tournaments.<\/p>\n

Yet those days are gone. Worldwide, the game still plugs on, but it is almost gone from the American landscape. Lindberg and Benson believe that young pitchers simply weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t willing to learn fast-pitch pitching and baseball pitching both. The game faced competition from other methods of recreation as well. Some purists even argue that, while still popular today, slow pitch softball contributed to the game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s demise.<\/p>\n

Notable fast pitch softball teams in the United States today are largely comprised of well-paid players from New Zealand, Lindberg said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite died in Canada like it has here,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Benson said.<\/p>\n

Lindberg, Benson and Lindgren all agree that the culture that fast pitch softball once brought to Scandia is missing today.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That was a different time,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindberg said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Softball was it then. \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 That icon is gone. And it really was an icon.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

For Lindgren, a noted coffee drinker in Scandia, conversations about the game are what he misses most.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We talked ball, played ball, kidded each other,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindgren said.<\/p>\n

Citing a recent exhibition held during the last Taco Daze, Lindberg believes there is still an interest in softball in Scandia, though. He believes the game could be revived with the right efforts.<\/p>\n

At the very least, the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fan base is still ready. Lindgren still has his hat.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If there was a team today in Scandia, people would go,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lindberg said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Country Messenger, Scandia, MN (Hat tip: David Blackburn)[Reprinted with permission, Kyle Weaver, Country Messenger, All Rights Reserved] By Kyle Weaver If George Lindgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old softball hat could only talk, it would probably tell a lot of stories. But then Lindgren and others of his generation who watched and played fast pitch softball in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2937"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}