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From the Desk Dugout of
PLAY BALL!! It is time for another exciting year of American Legion Baseball! Anticipation of the 2009 season has been high for so many reasons. We are pleased to announce the addition of Mountain Home Bomber baseball coach Ronnie Blevins as the new coach of the Hopper Environmental Services Junior Varsity team this year. Coach Blevins has already shown his enthusiasm and support for our program at our first annual player/parent meeting held in January at the beautiful Computer Automations facility in Mountain Home. Coach Blevins will be assisted by former American Legion standout Travis Ifland. Coach Lester White will return for his 26th year as head coach of the Lockeroom AAA Team. Coach White will be assisted by Jim Fudoli and Marty Ninemire. Players on both teams will be blessed to have outstanding coaches who not only know the game of baseball, but will provide life learning experiences for our young baseball players. As our Twin Lakes Classic namesake Brooks Robinson states in his famous quote, these baseball coaches will serve as role models. We are fortunate to have this group of coaches mentoring our ball players. We anticipate a large turnout for tryouts on May 9th at Cooper Park. Be sure to mark your calendars now for the following Saturday (May 16th) for the Hopper intra-squad game starting at 4:30 p.m., followed by the famous Cake & Pie Auction. This auction has become a favorite means of garnering financial support for the American Legion ball teams. Please bring your checkbooks!! After the pie auction, you can enjoy a slice of pie and support the Lockeroom team as they take on the American Legion Alumni team. This is always a lot of fun. The Brooks Robinson Twin Lakes Classic will begin Wednesday, June 10th. Coach White already has 20 teams lined up for this annual event and is expecting more. Please join us in supporting the “boys of summer,” Mountain Home American Legion Baseball. |
2009 American Legion Baseball
Graduate of the Year
of the Toronto Blue Jays
Click on image to go to Overbay's
Major League Baseball stats page
"Graduate of the Year" award winners
from KTLO Radio & The Baxter Bulletin
2008 American Legion Baseball
Graduate of the Year
Justin Verlander
of the Detroit Tigers
Click on image to go to Verlander's
Major League Baseball stats page
2007 American Legion Baseball
Graduate of the Year
Chris Carpenter
of the St. Louis Cardinals
Click on image to go to Carpenter's
Major League Baseball stats page
2006 American Legion Baseball
Graduate of the Year
Click on image to go to Pujols'
Major League Baseball stats page
Brooks Robinson signing autographs at Cooper Park, June 14, 2006
The 2006 Twin Lakes Classic American Legion Baseball Tournament (June 14-18) kicked off with a special visit from National Baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson. His busy first day included an invitation-only luncheon at Big Creek, followed later that evening by an autograph session at Cooper Park. About 500 fans came out for the event. Mr. Robinson signed 400 free baseballs, posed for pictures, high-fived kids and talked to each and every person. His talk to the crowd highlighted his start in baseball on an American Legion team in Little Rock, along with his long-time friend and fellow Legion player, Dr. Robert Nosari (at left in photo). Bob Taylor, baseball commissioner for the Department of Arkansas, also spoke and described our Mountain Home baseball program as the best in the State. A few years ago we were voted the best program in a five-state area.
All 24 teams in the tournament were Legion Post-sanctioned teams; they came from Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Kansas, Illinois and Tennessee. Our Lockeroom team narrowly lost its first pool game and then just as narrowly won its second. However, for the first time in our 20-year history, the Saturday games were rained out, and when the pool winners were selected by a complicated formula, we were eliminated by one run. Canceling the Saturday games at all three fields and not having the local team play its usual Saturday night game cut substantially into our income, but we will do all right.
The Bryant (AR) team won the tournament and is 17-1 for the season. The Christian Brothers team from Tennessee came in second, with Eureka (MO) third and Little Rock Post 1 taking fourth.
A question was raised at a Post meeting as to whether the Legion was getting enough publicity from this program, now that the tournament has been renamed the “Brooks Robinson Lockeroom Twin Lakes Classic Tournament.” In my opinion, taking into account the guest speakers, the posters, signs, T-shirts, souvenir programs, radio ads and broadcasts, newspaper publicity, TV coverage and even the bat boys’ helmets, our Post and the Legion in general have received an incredible amount of advertising. Also, the 501(c)3 governing Board for our two local teams has "American Legion Baseball" in its corporate name. Four Post 52 Legionnaires serve on the Board of Directors (President, Secretary and two board members).
In addition, Mickey Huskey of the Lockeroom is the Department of Arkansas District Commissioner for the Legion.
The Legion Baseball Board recently bought a used Ford diesel 28-passenger bus in excellent condition to replace the last of our big, hard-to-repair Golden Eagle type buses. When we sell the big one and hold our next Texas Hold-Em tournament in February, we expect to have the new bus paid for. Our coaches say that the built-in TV keeps the players quite content on the long trips to ball games.
Rod MacLeod, President
American Legion Baseball Association, Inc.
July 17, 1925: The American Legion Baseball program was created. Today, more than 60 percent of professional baseball players are graduates of The American Legion Baseball program. About 89,000 high-school-age youths play on Legion-sponsored teams each year.
May 2006
For the benefit of those who may be new to the area, The American Legion Baseball Association, Inc., is a separate 501(c)3 corporation set up to run our two Mountain Home Legion Baseball teams — The Lockeroom and Hopper Termite teams. The Board of Directors has four Legion members and six non-Legion members. The program is funded by the sponsors, the Legion Post, ticket sales, concession stand sales, and various fundraisers — including Christmas tree sales, pie and cake auctions, and the recent “Texas Holdem” tournament.
In 1997 our Lockeroom team took the State championship. Our teams play other Legion teams in northeast Arkansas, plus non-conference teams such as Harrison and West Plains. We also play in various tournaments. Our own tournament is the Twin Lakes Classic, played each Father’s Day weekend. This June will be the 20th annual Classic, with 28 teams from four or more states playing at Cooper Park, Twin Lakes Park, Cotter and Gassville. Hall of Famer and Arkansas baseball legend Brooks Robinson will appear at an autograph party and throw out the first pitch at the Classic.
This tournament brings a thousand visitors to the area and about $1.5-million in income to area businesses. Our Legion teams are responsible for a lot of newspaper and radio publicity for the Post. The Post also funds the $500 Mary Lou Dailydas scholarship, named for a former Post 52 Commander. This will be the tenth year to award this baseball scholarship to a deserving young athlete from this area.
Come out and see some of these great baseball games sanctioned and sponsored by Post 52.
Rod MacLeod
