A few years back Major League Baseball organized a public relations campaign centered around the slogan "Baseball Fever, Catch It!”
Baseball fever, however, was nothing new to Portage County. As early as 1901 area communities were becoming involved in state-wide organized baseball leagues.
From the State Baseball League of the early 1900s to today's Badger Amateur Baseball Association (BABA), area players have always had the opportunity to compete in baseball well after their high school and college playing days were over.
These days, recreational baseball is at a low tide in popularity on the adult level, with more athletes choosing to be involved in softball, golf, volleyball and other recreational sports.
But during a period from the 1920s through the 1960s, baseball was not only the country's national past time, it was just about the only game in town.
In 1930, not fewer than seven different leagues were flourishing that involved teams from Portage County. Three became particularly popular: the Central Wisconsin Amateur Baseball Association, Wisconsin Valley League and the Portage County League, which ultimately developed into the most competitive and long running league of the bunch.
Baseball in the area can be traced back to the 1880s and 1890s when a Stevens Point team competed in a loosely organized schedule against teams from Marshfield, Chippewa Falls, Portage, Appleton and Green Bay.
By 1900, Stevens Point and the surrounding cities were fielding teams and traveling considerable distances by train, accompanied by their fans, to find prospective opponents.
The first official state league, dubbed appropriately enough the “State Baseball League,” was formed in 1901 and included teams from Stevens Point, Marshfield, Wausau, Appleton, Kaukauna, Oshkosh and Milwaukee. Stevens Point did not apply for admission to the league, but reportedly was included anyway because “of its reputation as a baseball center being so high that it was necessary only to show interest that it wanted to join.”
Various leagues in the area came and went until the 1930s, when the Portage County League emerged as one of the top sports attractions in the area. Membership in the league varied over the years, with Almond, Amherst, Amherst Junction, Lanark, DuBay, Custer, Lake Emily, Mill Creek, Iola, Nelsonville, Plover, Rosholt, Stevens Point and Buena Vista among the perennial entries.
Sunday was always game day, and news involving the league dominated the sports pages.
“We had a lot of good ball players back in those days,” said Bud Berry, a longtime member of the Buena Vista team. “And we used to get big crowds. We'd pass the hat for 25 or 50 cents a crack and come up with $500." “It was serious ball back then. We played pretty hard.”
Sometimes, the players may have played a little too hard, according to George Roman, who played in the league in 1950s and 60s. In fact, Roman, who played along-side two brothers, Fran and Dave, and his father Francis, admits a few of the principles of sportsmanship that he now preaches to his players as coach of the Stevens Point Area Senior High team went out the window on any given Sunday.
‘"I bet there wasn't a diamond in the county that we didn't have a fight at,” said Roman with a laugh. “We'd get up and go to confession on Sunday morning and then get in a fight on Sunday afternoon. It was unbelievable.”
Berry and Roman both recalled a fight back in Roman's college days that occurred following a collision at home plate. "One of the craziest things I've ever seen,” said Berry. “It was a brawl, there were guys everywhere. I must have had 10 guys on top of me,” said Roman. “That was the end of the game. They decided to call it in the seventh inning."
And the fans usually did their share to add to the festive atmosphere. "The fans would stand down the foul lines and ride you! Oh, man, you had to have thick skin,” said Roman. “It wasn't uncommon to get 200-300 people, and they'd be in the stands betting. We had some real rivalries. That was the heyday of baseball in this area."
Alas, those times are gone, albeit not forgotten.
The County League began to dwindle in popularity in the late 1960s and eventually folded for good in the early ‘70s. Only the eight team BABA league, which includes teams from Plover, Lanark, Iola and Scandinavia, remains in the area.
“I think it got to the point where nobody wanted to spend three or four hours in the hot sun on a Sunday when you could play softball and be done in an hour,” said Joe Dernbach, another veteran of the County League. “The older I get, the more I think we don't have those kind of ballplayers anymore.”
“We had a lot of great players,” agreed Roman. “I know of a lot of guys in that league who played college ball and went on to play pro ball. It wasn't unusual for every team to have a couple of guys who played pro ball. Talking about that league brings back a lot of memories.”