July 3, 2014 at 3:21 p.m.
2014 marks 60 years of Rhinelander Little League
2014 marks 60 years of Rhinelander Little League
Some things haven't changed though. Some things remain relatively untouched by time and age.
Baseball, and even more accurately, Little League baseball, is one of those things. It's still about fathers playing catch with their sons and doubleheaders on a hot summer day.
It persists, and the elements of the game that make it so enduring and very American are as alive today as they were in 1954, and for decades before that.
Little League got its start 75 years ago in Williamsport, Pa. when Carl Stotz organized a youth baseball league, complete with bats, balls and uniforms. It was the very first of its kind and promised kids baseball instruction to go along with the irreplaceable experience of summer baseball.
Fifteen years later, Rhinelander found it's own version of Stotz. Bob Estabrook is retired now, but back in 1954, the Little League's inaugural year in Rhinelander, he was there with his cap and glove, ready to suit up for the Daily News Cardinals. His dad, who was also named Bob Estabrook, had spent months working to make the league a reality.
"He started Little League here," the younger Estabrook said. "He was the first president, and that just means you do all the work. His sidekick in all of this was Gordon Hurlbutt. He did just as much work as my dad, and basically, the two of them brought Little League to Rhinelander."
The process began in January of that year. The senior Estabrook organized meetings and rounded up enough sponsors for four teams. There were the Daily News Cardinals, the Cleary's Braves, the Ripco Giants and the 444 Yankees.
Next, he rallied enough support for coaches, managers, umpires and other volunteers the league would need to get on its feet.
Summer was fast approaching, but before the games could start, Estabrook and Hurlbutt needed a place to play. Luckily, they knew just the spot.
"My dad and Gordon Hurlbutt built the original park where we all played Little League ball," Estabrook said. "It was out at the original Oneida County Fairgrounds. The Little League got a section of that land that they could build a park on. A Little League field is a scaled-down diamond. It's about two-thirds the size of a regular diamond. The outfield fence was full of signs for all the businesses that contributed, and my dad and Gordon solicited all of those funds."
There was still plenty of work to do. The land had to be transformed into a real ballpark, and that meant things like a concession stand, bleachers and even dugouts. Estabrook and Hurlbutt were more than capable, but did suffer a setback or two.
"There were dugouts, and they were pretty nice," Estabrook said. "They built them all by hand. I remember when we were getting ready for the opening day of Rhinelander Little League. I was out there with my dad and Gordon, working to get the park ready. It was time to drag the infield, which was the finishing touch to get the park ready. He was pulling the drag behind a little jeep, and it got going too fast. My dad always drove too fast. The drag, which was supposed to smooth out the field, swung out to the outside because he was going to fast and took down half of a brand new dugout. They had to reconstruct a brand new dugout before any players had ever used it."
Before long, the field was in prime condition and the teams gathered for the opening games. Estabrook said he remembers putting on his Cardinals uniform and taking the field. Although the league was brand new to Rhinelander, he said the stakes were plenty high.
"The kids were very excited," he said. "Even in the ages of 8 to 12, they were all very serious about the game. We had high-pitched voices like all kids do, and we were all screaming and shouting the whole time. It was things that all kids do today at Little League. We took our ball games very, very seriously though."
To an extent, it's the same way today. Little League center fielders rome the outfield and dream of making diving catches or reaching over the wall to rob a home run like Carlos Gomez or Mike Trout might do. But baseball was bigger back then. The '50s were a golden age for the game. Guys like Yogi Berra, Willi Mays and Mickey Mantle were in the prime of their careers. Hank Aaron was hitting home runs in Milwaukee for the Braves. Baseball held a place at the center of American culture, and even for Little Leaguers in Rhinelander, that raised the stakes.
"I'm not sure I had that much fun," Estabrook said. "I'm not sure all the other kids had that much fun. It was because we took it so seriously. It was like Major League Baseball to us. I was a devout Milwaukee Braves fan. My dad used to come into my room and shut the radio off because I would fall asleep listening to the games.
"In 1957, the Milwaukee Braves won the National League title, played the Yankees in the World Series and beat them. They were world champs. It's 57 years ago, but I can still recite the starting lineup in the World Series and give you their season batting average. In Little League, I can't say how happy we all were, but we were noisy. We were serious, the coaches were serious and we were out to win."
Sure, it was competitive. But it was also a chance to put on a jersey, claim a number and be a part of a team. It was a group of kids playing baseball on a summer evening.
Now 60 years later, that scene still persists. Despite constant change swirling all around it, the game is still the same. It's fathers playing catch with their sons and doubleheaders on a hot summer day.
Head down to Hodag Park some evening. It's all still there, just as it was.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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