Milbank, S.D., cherishes its legacy while building for the program’s next century.
Milbank’s American Legion Baseball team had been eliminated from the tournament they were hosting. Yet there they were, Post 9’s players and coaches, preparing the infield before and after each game at the Centennial Classic even though their playing weekend was over.
It’s a reflection of the work ethic in Milbank, S.D., a community that cherishes its spot in history as the “birthplace of American Legion Baseball.”
“When you pull into Milbank from the east, there’s a sign out there: ‘Birthplace of American Legion Baseball.’ When you pull into Milbank from the west, there’s a sign: ‘Birthplace of American Legion Baseball.’ Same from the north and the south,” said Post 9 Commander Noel Cummins. “… Everybody around here knows we’re the birthplace of American Legion Baseball.”
Nearly a decade ago, though, the birthplace was looking for a new place for its home field.
In 2017, voters elected to build a new elementary school where Legion Field had stood since the WPA built it in the mid-1930s.
“The school board made the difficult decision to buy out the city’s lease on the field and build a new elementary school here. In short order, we had to get a new field together,” Milbank Mayor Pat Raffety said. “We moved to a facility out in the south part of town where we had a field that we renovated rather quickly and were able to keep playing, and started our planning for our new Legion Field that we have now.”
Raffety was standing in the hallway of Milbank Elementary School as he recounted that history. At his feet was a uniquely shaped floor tile, a nod to the home plate where hundreds of Legion Baseball players took their turns at bat across the generations.
Earlier in the evening, before a banquet for the four teams participating in the Centennial Classic, Raffety motioned toward a column behind him and pointed out that the old Legion Field’s right field foul pole had once stood there.
“Even Yankee Stadium is gone now. We like where we’re at but this area holds a lot of special memories for us,” Raffety said.
While Milbank embraces its Legion Baseball history — display cases in the city’s visitors center are filled with memorabilia — the community is also embracing the program’s future.
The city contributed $1.2 million to the new Legion Field at Farley Park, with fundraising efforts drawing another $1.4 million. There’s still more to accomplish, as the pandemic played havoc with construction and costs, but those who participated in the Centennial Classic were impressed with the field.
“This land became available and the city people that were involved in the committees, we thought, ‘Hey, can we get this done?’ COVID set us back a couple years. Our mayor took the lead, said we have to get a field built, and the city stepped up. We have a lot of things that are yet to come, but the field was No. 1, and it’s fabulous,” Post 9 manager Ron Krause said.
“It’s an amazing field, we’re so fortunate to be here,” Broken Bow (Neb.) Post 126 manager Jeff Denson said.
“It’s something (our players are) going to remember for a long time. When we got here, they said they were going to try to treat it like a World Series, and they did,” said LaMoure head coach Jason Thielges.
“When national said they wanted to have a mini World Series here because of the 100 year celebration, we just looked at each other and said, ‘Yes. We’re going to get it done,’” Cummins said.
There are two more ball diamonds to be constructed at Farley Park, as well as a permanent press box and concession stand. There will be more seating for the main ballfield as well: “The grandstands that we’re going to have are ready to put up when they get here,” Cummins said. And that memorabilia from the visitors center will help fill a new museum at Legion Field highlighting the program’s history in South Dakota.
But that main ballfield is a masterpiece already.
“The part you don’t see, under the field, we can take 18 inches of rain and then play within a hour. It’s like super awesome, holds up real well, true good bounces for fly balls out in the outfield. It’s got some neat design quirks in it,” Raffety said.
“We’re very fortunate. Had a lot of community support for it, a lot of national American Legion posts’ support for it, our local business community. We looked at it as our partners, people that have developed in Milbank, founded their business here and grown it.”
For more information on Milbank’s Legion Field, go to BirthplaceOfLegionBaseball.com.
- Baseball