| A History of STRUM and the TOWN OF UNITY by Roy Matson |
| THIS IS PAGE 56 | TABLE OF CONTENTS | PAGE BACK | PAGE FORWARD |
| Baseball died for a brief time but after World War One another group was playing on the same grounds. Long John Rognlien served up left-handed curves and slants. Jesse Hogue was the catcher. About 1924 a field was laid out south of Hawthorn Street and was in use for some twenty years. One of the better teams to use that field came up in 1934 with Gordon Gullicksrud and Gordon Kuhl as battery. They won the Dairyland League championship and furnished a majority of the players that beat the Eau Claire Northern League entry. In 1935 they played off for the Western Wisconsin league championship. Odell Bergerson was pitcher. World War Two shortened available talent but immediately after peace had been reached the boys were at it again. And again as in prior years, there was little aid or supervision from the outside. The young men of the town organized and promoted baseball themselves. The 1948 team won a league championship and then applied for and secured entry in the better Western Wisconsin League. They won that championship the next year. Members and manager Forest Spangberg promoted purchase of land for a permanent field and parking space the next year. In 1950 they leveled the playing space, constructed seating for a thousand fans and installed lights for night baseball. Interest was high and for the next 15 years the team reputation was well known, the toughest competition from a wide area was played on even terms. After 1965 small town baseball deteriorated. Motorcycles, golf, WIAA restrictions and labor laws curtailing youth responsibilities all played a part at ending one phase of a most interesting sport. |
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