Minor League Baseball Teams

I was getting ready to scan some other frames on this roll, but spotted this one and decided to publish it on the off-chance that somebody will recognize themselves or a buddy.

All I know is that the boys are wearing T-shirts that say they are on Minor League teams, including the Bisons, Royals, Orioles, Chiefs and Marlins. I wonder if it’s an All-Star grouping? It looks like the ballfield at Capaha Park down from the Rose Garden and Cherry Hill.

The negative sleeve was dated 1966.

(Click on the photo to make it larger.)

27 Replies to “Minor League Baseball Teams”

  1. I bet Van will know some of them! I played on that same field in 1972-1975? Our uniform shirt looked exactly like the one in picture.

  2. Well…I was a Marlin in…ahem… before these young lads were playing. The Scorboard is still the same and park is Capaha. Alast I don’t recognize a soul in this shot. My uniform shirt looked exactly like the one in picture. Crossed Bats and the Team Name on the front…I was very proud of being a Marlin.

    1. I was surprised to see a Cape team named the Marlins. I could see that for a Florida team, but not Cape.

      You’d think Cape would have teams like the Cranky Catfish or the Fighting Bluegills.

  3. I played on the Royals way before this picture. My uncle, Jerry Dillingham was the coach. I played with Greg Nunalee, Danny Upchurch, Gary Seabaugh. I pitched and played shortstop. What great days we had.

  4. Don Beussink sent the following email:

    I am Don Beussink (wife Sheila Conrad – Cape Central graduate).

    This is regarding your photo of the baseball team dated 1966. I agree with you that it appears to be an All Star picture at the north diamond sign down from the rose garden at Capaha Park.

    I was on the championship team in 1966 & city championship in 1967 (Owls) and I remember some of the names. The article that I have ran on Thursday August 3rd, 1967 in the Southeast Missourian.

    Several of the Orioles players were named and could either know or be the ones with the Orioles shirts on the following year. Here’s the roster named in the article- Messmer, Ryan, Dirnberger, Brown, Landgraf, Hastings, Lee, McElroy, Pind, Smith, Bertrand, Ikerman. The article was written by Bob Evans. I hope this helps you out.

  5. I believe that the second from right in the center row is David Blankenship CHS’73 and second from right in the front row is David Estes CHS’73.

  6. Kevin Mitchell is second row, all the way left. The team is the North Div Allstars.The place is the diamond behind center field of the Capaaha and SEMO b-ball.The Bison went undefeated in 1966.

  7. I was an Eagle. I was very proud of my green baseball cap with the white “E” sown on. One year we went through the play-offs into the championships. We lost in the last inning of the 7th game. Tears were shed as we came off the field, until the coaches told us sharply that men don’t cry. Not that the coaches were heartless. At the customary post-game visit to A&W they bought us TWO rounds of root beer.

    That fall the teacher charged us to write the “what I did last summer” paper. I told the teacher I had nothing to write about because we lost the championships. She said a story did not need a happy ending to be a good story. So that’s what I wrote about.

    Lessons learned.

    1. Andy,

      My youngest was a catcher on a youth league team when he was around 12. One night they played a team that matched them up so well that they game was tied after an inordinate number of innings. It might have been as many as 12.

      The coaches and officials said they would have to end the game because it was getting so late, but opted for a continuation the next night. Again, it was one of the finest games I’ve ever witnessed. Families on both sides were applauding great plays, regardless of which team made them.

      It was almost a shame that the game had to end with one team being the winner. The funny thing is, even though I remember the game like it was yesterday, I don’t remember whether my kid’s team won or lost.

      At the end of the season, my kid was given an award for the most sportsmanlike player in the league. That meant more to me than any other award he could have won.

  8. To add to Ken’s description of the longest game played by our son… the game did, indeed, go 12 innings, but only 9 were played the first night. The game went on so long that the lights went out(probably on a timer) and the last three innings were played the following night.

    I also do not remember who won, but I do know that Adam caught the entire game.

  9. This picture brings back many memories of youth league baseball in Cape! The tall kid on the back row second from the right is Mike Uhls. Thanks for posting……

  10. Ken,
    I believe that picture must have been from 1956 as I recognize (L-R/Front): Leon Griffin, Dale Meiers, ??, Jerry Pind, JJ Edmonds and Tim Young.
    2nd Row: ?????, Richard Whitaker?
    3rd Row: ?????
    I could be all wet! That looks like a 1955 or 56 Studebaker and ’56 Chevys on the right side of the picture.
    Maybe one of the team members can ID all of them.

    1. You’re off the mark on this one unless 1956 was a typo. I started shooting photos in 1959 with the family’s Kodak Tourist II folding camera that took the old-fashioned paper-rolled 620 film.

      I would place it sometime between 1963 and 1967, with the best bet putting it at the end of that period.

      (All kids that age look alike.)

  11. You are correct that this is a photo of a Cape Minor League all-star team sometime in the 1960’s. I am the third player from the right on the front roll (Gary Hill – Royals – Shortstop). I recognize my team mate Mike Uhls. I do not remember the name of the other Royal on the back row but I believe he was our catcher. “Schade” was our coach for the Royals. He lived next door to the Bethel Assembly of God church on Perryville Road. I remember having team bbq’s at his house and watching reel-to-reel movies of the St. Louis Cardinals’ games. Guess I am showing my age. Thanks for the reminder of the good old days! Gary Hill – CHS Class of 1971

    1. That’s funny that you found that. I went to that very page last night looking for something. Thanks for the update. I was debating doing that and got distracted. (Something that’s easy to do.)

  12. I believe 2nd from left top is Richard Bayer amd bottom row 1st on right might be Matt Siemers. The Royals coaches at that time were John Schade and Corky Weiss. Of course Lou Weiss was Corkys father and umped around Cape forever.
    Mike Uhls

  13. I was on the Bisons that year as an 8 year old, my first year to play on a team. Kevin Mitchell (already ID’ed as middle row on left) hit about 4 grand slams that year as our superstar. He went on to be all state football player). Top row left Bison is, I think, Danny Green. Bison in middle row, center, I think is Rodney Baker. Oriole to left of Mike Uhls, back row, was Ralph Beck who was really good back then. Front row Hawk, 3rd from left, was a good friend, Steve L. Taylor, who became a star middle linebacker at Central.

  14. Hey Chris…thanks for posting. Remember the many hours we played at Dennis Scivally(?)Park? Home runs were over a big tree branch.

  15. I WAS AN OWL THAT YEAR THIS I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ALL STAR TEAM THE TWO BOYS IN THE TOP ROW WITH O’S ON THE HAT ARE DAVE GROSS TEACHER/ COACH / PRINCIPAL JACKSON AND RICK WINCHEL

  16. most of my post is incorrect sorry I guess 53 years is too long for me to remember the kid sure looked like dave as I remember
    thats the problem sorry again

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