Marcusen Memorial Park – “The House that Scheid Built”

Austin’s town ball teams have at times been truly dominant. The 1912 edition that featured future Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes claimed a state championship prior to the state tournament even being created. When Burleigh returned to Austin with his Brooklyn teammates in 1921 the Austin team was playing at what was called the Hormel Ball Park near what later became the Terp Ballroom.

Austin featured a Southern Minny League team and a “Hormel Good Foods” team playing an independent schedule during the 1930’s. Those games were generally played at what is referred to as the “Marcusen lot.” When the Austin Baseball Association made the commitment to field one primary team in the Southern Minny, the team responded by winning the State Class A Championship behind the stellar pitching of Phil Golberg and hitting and fielding of tournament MVP Johnny Hulet.

Austin won the Southern Minny playoffs in 1939 playing its last games at the “Marcusen lot.” Despite the general airing of grievances about the conditions at the Marcusen lot, the next available option and the option used until Marcusen Memorial Field was built was the use of the Mower County fairgrounds. At least one drawing shows the baseball diamond in the infield area of the old track. The use of the fairgrounds effectively made the teams homeless as they physically could not play during the fair and usually didn’t play at home after the fair as the “field” was trampled and rutted.

Austin claimed an additional state championship in 1942 when Phil Golberg returned from playing in New Richland and shared pitching duties with Fred Ludke. Even though games continued to be played in the Southern Minny during the war, those games were played under travel restrictions with far fewer players let alone the best players available to play the games as many stars of the League entered military service. Austin’s baseball teams still lacked a permanent home.

With the end of the war, thoughts turned to recreational opportunities for the returning soldiers. With more players available, the Austin Baseball Association decided to field a team in the Southern Minny League and a team in the Cedar Valley League in 1946. Emil Scheid was given charge of the newly (re) formed Austin Merchants in the Cedar Valley League.

Emil had been involved in town ball in Waseca prior to moving to Austin. He knew how to build a team and his Austin Merchants were dominant in 1946. They won the Cedar Valley League and advanced to the Class A state tournament. But for an ankle injury to Bud Stanek, they might have claimed the championship before settling for runners-up status.

Emil was given charge of the Southern Minny entry in 1947 and set the stage for his later teams bringing in Earl Mosser and Ray Riley from out of town replacing Austin hometown players in the process. The transition to out of town players didn’t always sit well with the locals especially when Ray Riley replaced Bernard Stanek in center field. Even though Emil’s Packers didn’t always hit to the standards expected by the Austin fans the team record improved from a 6 and 8 in 1946 to 9 and 5 in 1947.

The problem was that the Austin teams were still largely homeless and it took revenue to pay top talent to play baseball. When paying players to play, it also made sense to play more games than just on Sunday. The problem being that of all of the teams in the league, Austin was the town without a ballpark and with no ballpark there were no lights. With no lights, there was no night baseball and with no night baseball. With no night baseball, playing opportunities on weekdays were also limited.

That stadium situation was finally rectified on June 8^, 1948 when Scheid’s Austin Packers welcomed Sam House’s Spencer (IA) Cardinals to Marcusen Memorial Park. Lights were installed and tested on June 7^th. With no time to build stands, bleacher seats accommodating up to 1,000 fans were installed.[1] 1,084 fans attended the game and hopefully were on hand to see Red Lindgren hit the first home run in the new park in the eighth inning.[2]

Even though the park was open for business, there was the matter of a formal dedication. The Local 9-CIO sponsored the ticket sales for the dedication game with the proceeds to be given to the city to help pay for the lighting system.[3] The game was initially scheduled as an exhibition game against Faribault to be held during the evening of June 27^th.[4] The game was washed away by the weatherman.

The dedication was finally rescheduled to July 25^th after another attempt was washed away. The event featured the municipal band and remarks by Mayor Merril Rolfson and Frank Schultz as union chief. The dedication included not only the field but the scoreboard and flag. The flag was donated by the American Legion and the scoreboard was provided by funds from the Earl Peterson estate.[5]  Red Lindgren homered twice and Dick Seltz held Faribault in check as the Packers beat Faribault 9-3.[6]

Even though the park was open for business, the matter of fan accommodations remained an issue. This photo from the Mower County Historical Society files shows the park as built but without the grandstand or, quite frankly, much in the way of fan seating:

Marcusen Park under Construction (Courtesy Mower County Historical Society)

The lack of fan accommodations had no impact on on- the-field performance. Scheid’s Austin Packers fell one out short of claiming the Southern Minny postseason title in 1948. His 1949 Packers utterly destroyed the Southern Minny losing only 7 of 35 games played and swept through the rest of the field at the state tournament to claim the state class AA championship.

Marcusen Memoral Park would finally have a grandstand during the 1950 season. Construction of the grandstand was scheduled to be completed in time for the season opener but as with many things baseball related, the weatherman intervened.[7] The season opened on May 21^st without the grandstand being available even though its construction greatly impacted parking. The Packers won 4-3 in extra innings with 1,505 fans in attendance.[8]

The Packers then went on the road for an extended period of time. By the time the Packers returned home to face Faribault, sections A,B and C and part of section D were available to the public.[9] Extra seating was needed because the Austin Queens team hired Negro League great and former Cleveland Indian Satchel Paige to pitch an exhibition game for them against Scheid’s Austin Packers on June 7^th.[10]

Work continued on the grandstand and all seats became available to the public for the Packers June 25^th game against Owatonna.[11] With the grandstand finished, the matter of dedicating it was scheduled for August 1^st[12] along with an announcement that an additional 1000 bleacher seats were being added down the first and third base lines to raise the Park’s capacity to 5,000. A previous crowd of 4,423 greatly exceeded the capacity of the new grandstand.[13]

The full page advertisement in the Austin Daily Herald announced the dedication of Marcusen Memorial Field.

Part of the dedication advertisement read:

Filling a long felt need Marcusen Memoral Field brings to Austin and Southern Minnesota a baseball field unsurpassed by any of its contemporaries. Seating capacity exceeds 4700. Accommodations for home and visiting teams. Concession stand and rest rooms for the public provide for every need.[14]

The one thing needed was a roof over the field as rain delayed the dedication until August 3^rd. Claude Moore, chairman of the park and recreation board served as master of ceremonies and introduced the speakers that included M.G. Rolfson, mayor, Waldo Swanson, president of the Southern Minny, and John Mayer, president of the Austin Baseball association. 4,057 fans turned out to see the Packers do their part on the field by defeating Waseca 8-7 with some late hitting heroics by Harry Elliot.[15]

Scheid’s Packer teams continued to dominate the Southern Minny in 1950, 1951 and 1953 advancing to the state Class AA finals in each of those years. With that success came crowds to Marcusen Memorial Park as this photo from the archives of the Mower County Historical Society amply illustrates:

(Courtesy of Mower County Historical Society)

Somewhat ironically, between 1949 and 1953 the Austin Packers made the finals of the State Class AA tournament every year except one:  1952. That was the year that Austin and Marcusen Memorial Field actually hosted the state tournament. It was also the only year during that time frame that Scheid’s Packers failed to even reach the tournament.

The House that Scheid Built was the scene of countless battles in the Southern Minny until the League’s demise in the 1960’s. Marcusen Park was, however, much more than just the home of the Austin Packers. Marcusen Park was and is the hub of baseball in Austin hosting a countless number of high school, American Legion, VFW games since its construction and continues today thanks almost entirely to the volunteers of the Marcusen Park Baseball Association that maintain the Park.

Thanks to those volunteers, Marcusen Memorial Park remains as a monument to a time before baseball on television and the internet. Even now, Austin’s Greyhounds remain atop of the Twin Rivers Conference after a hard fought victory over the Waseca Braves reminiscent of games between the Austin Packers and Braves in the old Southern Minny.

Marcusen will host more baseball this season as the Greyhounds host the Dodge County Diamondjacks on July 24^th at 7:30. That final game of the Conference regular season may well be a battle for the top seed in the conference playoffs. Let’s hope Marcusen Park will be hosting playoff baseball once again.

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[1] “Packers Open New Ball Park Against Spencer,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 8, 1948.

[2] “Packers Gain 9-5 Decision Over Spencer,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 9, 1948.

[3] Tom Koeck, “Success of Baseball Park Dedication Must be Credited to Local 9-CIO,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 16, 1948.

[4] “Marcusen Park Dedication Sunday,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 26, 1950.

[5] “Dedicate Diamond Sunday,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, July 24, 1950.

[6] “Packers Win and Lose as They Roll Up Hits and Runs,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, July 26, 1950.

[7] “Attendance Trophy Hopes at Marcusen Given Spur,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, May 18, 1950.

[8] “Packers Win 4-3 in Extra Innings,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, May 22, 1950, 8.

[9] “Faribault Lakers Play Here Sunday,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 3, 1950, 5.

[10] “Austin Raps Paige for 3 Hits, 2 Runs,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 8, 1950.

[11] “All Seats Available in New Grandstand,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, June 24, 1950.

[12] “Dedication Scheduled at Marcusen Park,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, August 1, 1950.

[13] “Additional 1000 Bleacher Seats Available Tonight,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, August 1, 1950.

[14] Austin (MN) Daily Herald, August 1, 1950.

[15] “Elks Reward Scheid With Watch, Plaque,” Austin (MN) Daily Herald, August 4, 1950.

The Owatonna Aces Were a Superstitious Bunch

Behind new pitcher Al Bell, the 1936 Aces posted a 6-1 record in the First Half of the Southern Minny League season. Blooming Prairie, flaunting its ability to hire four outside players, posted an identical record. To settle the matter, a playoff game was set at Dartt’s Park with Bell facing off against a newly hired gun for the Blossoms. Bell was off his usual solid form and the Blossoms captured the First Half Pennant with an 8-5 win.

Needing to win the second half to force a playoff and a chance to return to the state tournament, the Aces turned to chicken decades before Wade Boggs ever coined the phrase “chicketarian.” The Owatonna Daily Free Press of July 9, 1936 noted that:

Mindful of a chicken dinner that started them on winning ways in Southern Minnesota league competition a year ago, the Owatonna Aces will repeat the act of 1935 in the hopes of a flag repetition.

Following the dinner the previous year, the 1935 Aces won the final game of the first half, won six of seven in the second half and five straight games in the state tournament. During the stretch, Ronald De La Hunt even pitched back to back days to claim the pennant with the only other loss being in the championship game to Red Wing.

Relying heavily on Al Bell in 1936 and maybe just a bit on fried chicken, the Aces rattled out an undefeated second half to force a playoff series with the sagging Blooming Prairie Blossoms for an entry into the state tournament. With Bell relatively in form, the Aces swept away the Blossoms 9-5 and 3-2. Unfortunately for the Aces, tournament play forced a pitcher not named Al Bell to start a game and the Aces were dropped from the tournament 3-1 by Darwin in the second round.

The 1936 Owatonna Aces:

Denied a chance to repeat as Loop Champions in 1937 by Phil Golberg and the Austin Packers, the Aces took no chances in 1938 in the state tournament.  They brought in  former Ace Al Bell from Mankato and Walt Petroborg to back up Fred Ludke and multi-season batting champion Happy Lowe from Waseca to patrol the outfield.

Even with these more than solid additions to an already stout Owatonna team, baseball superstitions prevailed as noted by The Daily People’s Press of September 25, 1938:

• “Each car traveled to the Shakopee field over the same road every day – all in different directions from Owatonna. One turned off at the wrong road the first day, and on subsequent trips made the same wrong turn intentionally.”
• “The manager took off his sweater at the same time of each game.”
• “Another walked a beaten path, inning by inning and day by day, to his playing position.”
• “Another carried his glove to the bench at the end of each frame.”
• “Another clung tightly to a religious item.”

Of course solid pitching never hurt either. Owatonna’s ace all season, Fred Ludke was in fine form throughout and had Bell and Petroborg to not only rest Ludke but to dominate their games as well. When Ludke began to falter in one particular game, Bell was called in to relieve him, striking out all seven batters he faced to keep the Aces in the tournament with an extra-inning win.

After multiple attempts during the decade, the Aces finally were able to call themselves state champions in that decade.

 

The Owatonna Aces Al Bell’s Amazing Streak

Al Bell’s obituary states “Al was well known pitcher in the Southern Minnesota Baseball League, pitching for Owatonna, Waseca and Mankato.”  The Southern Minny had many town aces over the years, but Al was an ace among aces for many of the years he spent his Sundays flinging baseballs across Southern Minnesota.

During the 1939 season, Bell set the Southern Minny single game strike out mark with 23 strikeouts.  Not surprisingly, he pitched the Waseca team to the top of the League and into the League finals.  He is the one wearing the jacket in the middle in the Waseca team picture below.

In 1941, he pitched even better causing newspapers across the country to carry the following:

“Baseball scouts better start looking up time-tables to Owatonna, Minn – … Al Bell, pitcher for the local club, hasn’t allowed an earned run in 93 2-3 innings.”

This note appeared across the country with the following newspapers being but a sample of the national coverage of Al Bell’s exploits in 1941:   the Harrisburg (PA) Telegraph, High Point (NC) Enterprise, Ithaca (NY) Journal and Tallahasee (FL) Democrat.

With a hot pitcher on hand, it isn’t all that surprising that the Owatonna Aces made a late push for a play-off spot in the Southern Minny League.  With Bell on the mound, the Aces shut out the New Richland Red Sox 2-0 behind a five-hitter by their ace in the first semi-final game.

The following week, Bell pitched the Aces in to the Southern Minny League championship game by allowing only four-hits and preserving a narrow 1-0 win.  The win stretched Bell’s unearned run record to 102 innings.

In the finals, Al Bell squared off with the defending state champion Albert Lea Tigers at Albert Lea.  The Tigers had their own ace “Squire Riddle” on the mound.  A crowd of 2,500 gathered to witness the contest.

Bell would stretch his unearned run streak to 110 2/3 innings before giving up doubles to Shanty Dolan and Jimmy Delmont.  Trailing 2-1 going into the fateful ninth, Owatonna railed for three run on two hits, a walk, a fielder’s choice, an error and squeeze play executed by none other than the winning pitcher Al Bell.

For his efforts, Owatonna baseball fans hoisted Bell on their shoulders and carried him from Hajek Park down Albert Lea’s Main Street.  That Bell could handle the bat should have come as no surprise as he was often found among the league leaders in batting average.

With a hot pitcher on hand, Owatonna captured the Class AA state championship.  Like many players in the Southern Minny, Bell was called into military service in World War II.  Following the war, he would return as a manger and occasional pitcher in the League.