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Ben Cheney and Cheney Lumber Co. sponsored youth and adult
baseball, basketball, football, soccer, bowling and hockey
teams in Washington and Oregon. The first Seattle/Tacoma are
baseball team was established in 1954 and the Athletic
Division of the Cheney Lumber Co. went on to sponsor youth and
adult baseball teams through 1984. The Tacoma-Pierce County
Baseball-Softball Oldtimers are proud to host the 60th
anniversary celebration of the Cheney Studs baseball teams and
the public is invited to attend this event on May 19th, 2013.
Click on Current Banquest above for details.
MISSION STATEMENT
TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY BASEBALL-SOFTBALL
OLDTIMERS ASSOCIATION
Past Banquet PhotosThe
Tacoma-Pierce County Baseball-Softball Oldtimers Association
was conceived and organized to recognize and honor those
participants whose commitment and dedication has resulted in a
significant contribution to the history of those sports in the
Tacoma-Pierce County community. The Association shall
conduct an annual awards ceremony for the purpose of inducting
worthy members into the organization's baseball, fastpitch,
and slowpitch "Halls of Fame" and other related categories. In
addition, certain special wards created to recognize and
appreciate efforts "above and beyond" shall also be presented
at the ceremony. The Association shall establish the
necessary criteria to determine nominations for the respective
honors, and the Association shall elect inductees from those
nominations. Other goals of the Association shall be to
establish a site, or sites, for its Hall of Fame (s) and the
displaying of appropriate recognition for all inductees. The
Association pledges cooperation with the Shanaman Sports
Museum in developing its Hall of Fame plans to be certain of
not conflicting with their already-established public
displays. The perpetuation and recognition of the
sports of baseball, fastpitch, and slowpitch remain #1
priorities of the Association, and all efforts of the
organization shall be directed toward enriching the phrase,
"Play Ball"!
ANNUAL OLD-TIMERS BANQUET DATES BACK TO
1937
The first reported Old-Timers Banquet was
held on Friday, April 30, 1937 following the season-opening game
of Tacoma's entry into the Western International League, a Class B
professional association. The Tacoma Tigers were slated to meet
the Vancouver Maple Leafs in a 3:30pm game at Athletic Park with
the banquet following at the Tacoma hotel.
Mike Fisher,
owner of the Tacoma Tigers during the 1904 and 1905 seasons when
they won the Pacific Coast League title, was joined by Charles
Graham, a catcher for Fisher on the Tacoma club who later became
president of the San Francisco Baseball club. Fisher, a noted
after-dinner speaker and widely regarded as one of the greatest
wits in the baseball world, was slated to be the main speaker.
According to Nelson R. Hong, Sports Editor for The Tacoma News
Tribune, was quoted as saying that "every available seat will be
filled at the Tacoma Hotel, making the Tacoma old-timers'
gathering the biggest of its kind in the Northwest, surpassing the
established reunions in Seattle and Portland." He continued on
that, "....Tacomans regard it a rare privilege to have Mike Fisher
with us after an absence of 32 years during which time he has been
heaped with honors."
After a number of years with no Oldtimers Banquet, the TAC revived
the banquet in 1957 with veteran players organizing the get
together. Leading the effort were front row l. to r.: Dill Howell,
George Wise, John Heinrick, and Ocky Haughland. Back row l. to r.:
John Kochear, Hugh Fotheringill, and Willard Carpy. Photo courtesy
Shanaman Sports Museum collection.
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TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY
BASEBALL-SOFTBALL OLDTIMERS ASSOCIATION
The Tacoma
Pierce-County Baseball-Softball Oldtimers Association is dedicated
to recognizing and honoring the many players who have been
instrumental in the growth of baseball and softball in this
community over the years. Sponsored by the Tacoma Athletic
Commission, Columbia Bank, and the Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club,
an annual banquet is held every spring which honors various teams
and individuals who have made significant contributions in their
sport.
In the past, these get-togethers have been very
informal gatherings of fans, pros, amateurs, duffers and all
people interested in America's favorite pastime-BASEBALL! One of
the first meetings was held in the mid-fifties at the old "Firs"
nightclub out on Pacific Avenue. Dill Howell and John Heinrick
were the heads of this occasion. Then, in the sixties, with a
great assist from the T.A.C., the next banquet was held at the Top
of the Ocean Restaurant in Old Town. The get-togethers were held
there until it burned down (no fault of the Oldtimers).
The
gatherings then moved along with the T.A.C. to the 9th and
Commerce location for about ten years. Here, Frank Ruffo, Rudy
Tollefson, Harold Smith, Dan Walton and others, joined Heinrick to
organize the affair. A lapse of four years followed until a
committee again organized a get-together in 1985 at the Poodle Dog
Restaurant in Fife.
With a turnout of over 175 in 1990 at
the Tacoma Elks Club, the Oldtimers made the move to accomodate
more fans by hosting the banquet from 1990-98 at the Puyallup
Elks. Since 1999 the banquet has been held at the Tacoma Elks Club
in Tacoma and we are pleased to welcome back Columbia Bank as our
major sponsor and along with the continued suport of the Tacoma
Rainiers Baseball Club, the Oldtimers Association is looking
forward to another outstanding banquet in 2003.
In
closing, remember....May continuing good health be your lot until
the Great Umpire in the Sky dismisses you to the Clubhouse.
VALLEY BASEBALL LEAGUE REUNION AT THE FIRS - June 5,
1953
The valley League was started in the late 1920's by H.E. Anderson
who served as league President. Anderson was owner of Washington
Hardware, the main outlet in Tacoma-Pierce County at the time for
sporting good needs by playes and teams.
| Head Table:
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Row 1
(Left):
- Paul "Doc" Wotten
- Rick Lewis
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- Barney McFadden
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- Cy Ball
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Row 2
(2nd from Left):
- Bill Smith
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- Eddie Carlson
- Al Bland
- Bill Moe
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- Ward ??
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Row 3:
- Joe Hermsen
- Tony Banaszak
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- Walter Webster
- Fuzzy Elliott
- Ed Joskies
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- Curt Tenzler
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- Bud Bittner
- Frank Borozovich
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Row 4
(Right):
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- Paul Crossetto
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- George Wise
- John Heinrick
- Lou Grant
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Click here to view photos of the 2008 Oldtimers Banquet.
Photos available for purchase.
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