The History of
Hallie Boys Baseball
In the early spring of 1970, a small group of parents got together for a meeting at the Eagles Club in Hallie. They formulated plans to start a youth baseball program. This was the birth of youth baseball in Hallie. The name of this program was the Hallie Little League.
At that time there were enough kids to field four teams...
* Cardinals - coached by Barry Nesja
* Mets - coached by Tom Sipple & Chick Gorton
* Twins - coached by Jerry Connor
* Cubs - coached by Bob Green
At that time there were enough kids to field four teams...
* Cardinals - coached by Barry Nesja
* Mets - coached by Tom Sipple & Chick Gorton
* Twins - coached by Jerry Connor
* Cubs - coached by Bob Green
The games were played on the softball diamond at the Hallie Eagles Club. Originally two games per week were scheduled, both games on Thursday night. The very first game was played on June 23, 1970. The Cardinals were the League champions that first year.
The following year the name of the league was changed to Hallie Boys Baseball. It was decided that the league would no longer be affiliated with National Little League. The league wanted to be able to have their own rules such as 'not requiring tryouts' and having a 'everyone bats lineup'. These two regulations would lay the foundation for Hallie Boys Baseball.
In 1971 the Eagles Club leased some land to the town of Hallie at no cost to build their own ball field. Volunteers graded the field, planted the grass, built the backstop and layed the blocks for the dugouts. This field became the Hallie Little League Field. This field eventually was used as a practice field until it was torn down in 2007.
Hallie Babe Ruth was formed in 1971. Games were played on the old Hoot Field. This field was located where the Eau Claire Printing Company now resides (near the Hallie Golf Course). There were two teams and they belonged to the Tri-County League. Soon after that the Tri-Town League was formed which included Hallie, Seymour and Lafayette. Eventually the SHAL League was formed which included Seymour, Hallie, Altoona & Lafayette. At this time Hallie had 4 teams in Babe Ruth. In 1977 the Babe Ruth games were moved to Weigands Field. This field was located where Sports Motors now resides.
Remember When?
Hallie Boys Baseball provides many memories for a lot of people. Every person that has ever played or coached could tell you a story that would probably start with "Remember when...". One of the best was told by Barry Nesja and is called the 'Frog Incident'.
Let's set the scene....
It is the summer of 1970. The first year of Hallie Boys Baseball. The Cards were playing the Mets on a hot summer night. The Cards had bases loaded with 2 outs, when the batter was walked. The youngster on third started walking towards home plate. At the same time a little boy was playing with a frog on the sidelines near the third base line. The frog got away from the boy and hopped across the line right in front of the base runner and was heading towards the pitching mound. The base runner was half way to home plate when he saw the frog. He forgot all about the game and got down on his hands and knees and started crawling after the frog. The coach and the parents were silenced and could not believe what they were seeing! All of a sudden they heard... "The base runner is out!" The umpire called the boy out for leaving the base line with no intent on advancing to the next base. Out Number Three!! An argument soon broke out but the umpire stood firm. The Cards did go on to win that game.
The following year the name of the league was changed to Hallie Boys Baseball. It was decided that the league would no longer be affiliated with National Little League. The league wanted to be able to have their own rules such as 'not requiring tryouts' and having a 'everyone bats lineup'. These two regulations would lay the foundation for Hallie Boys Baseball.
In 1971 the Eagles Club leased some land to the town of Hallie at no cost to build their own ball field. Volunteers graded the field, planted the grass, built the backstop and layed the blocks for the dugouts. This field became the Hallie Little League Field. This field eventually was used as a practice field until it was torn down in 2007.
Hallie Babe Ruth was formed in 1971. Games were played on the old Hoot Field. This field was located where the Eau Claire Printing Company now resides (near the Hallie Golf Course). There were two teams and they belonged to the Tri-County League. Soon after that the Tri-Town League was formed which included Hallie, Seymour and Lafayette. Eventually the SHAL League was formed which included Seymour, Hallie, Altoona & Lafayette. At this time Hallie had 4 teams in Babe Ruth. In 1977 the Babe Ruth games were moved to Weigands Field. This field was located where Sports Motors now resides.
Remember When?
Hallie Boys Baseball provides many memories for a lot of people. Every person that has ever played or coached could tell you a story that would probably start with "Remember when...". One of the best was told by Barry Nesja and is called the 'Frog Incident'.
Let's set the scene....
It is the summer of 1970. The first year of Hallie Boys Baseball. The Cards were playing the Mets on a hot summer night. The Cards had bases loaded with 2 outs, when the batter was walked. The youngster on third started walking towards home plate. At the same time a little boy was playing with a frog on the sidelines near the third base line. The frog got away from the boy and hopped across the line right in front of the base runner and was heading towards the pitching mound. The base runner was half way to home plate when he saw the frog. He forgot all about the game and got down on his hands and knees and started crawling after the frog. The coach and the parents were silenced and could not believe what they were seeing! All of a sudden they heard... "The base runner is out!" The umpire called the boy out for leaving the base line with no intent on advancing to the next base. Out Number Three!! An argument soon broke out but the umpire stood firm. The Cards did go on to win that game.
