Reliving the good old days: Gould plans alumni baseball games for June 30

If you’re 20 or older and played American Legion or high school baseball in Jamestown, Tom Gould has an invitation for you.

A week from today, come on back to town and take a few cuts.

Gould is hosting the Post 14 Alumni Games on June 30, an event he hopes becomes an annual event.

“We thought what the heck, so we sent stuff out in April and the response has been really good,” Gould said.

So far he has received word back from between 65 and 70 former player that plan to participate. Two games will be played on June 30 at Jack Brown Stadium.

At 11 a.m., Team A, featuring players 55 and older will take on Team B, consisting of former players between 43 and 54.

At 1 p.m., Team C, with players 28 to 42, will take on the whippersnappers, or Team A, which will have players between 20 and 27.

Players of virtually every have committed to lacing them up, but more are definitely welcome. Gould said they’re a little short of players between the ages of 35 to 50.

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback. We’re going to have a really good time and try not to get anyone hurt,” he joked.

Cost to play is $10. Add $5 more and you get a Post 14 Legion T-shirt. An admission fee of $3 will be charged to spectators with proceeds going back into the Post 14 Legion program.

“We’re just trying to raise a little money for the program and maybe some improvements to the ballpark,” Gould said. “All the money will go into supporting our kids and our teams.”

Former players from as far away as Idaho and Arizona have already signed up to play. A social will be held after the game with hot dogs, brats and beverages provided.

Numbers in the baseball program are up right now and they’d like to keep that positive momentum going.

“Kids are coming down to the ballpark like the old days, it’s really good to see,” Gould said. “We leave things open for them and they come down to hit and just play.”

If Jamestown has a Mr. Baseball it’s Gould. He still coaches the middle school team and is a staple at Jack Brown Stadium from spring through fall.

The alumni games will be a fun day at the yard.

“We’ll rehash the old days and get out on the field and run around a little bit,” Gould said. “It should be a good time.”

If you’d like to play, contact Tom Gould at Tom.Gould@sendit.nodak.edu, or Trevor Wilson at Trevor.Wilson.1@sendit.n-odak.edu

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, baseball, legion