Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Little League Baseball Popular Local Pasttime

Some 250 Gurdon children will be participating in Little League baseball this season.

According to Gary Plyler, with the Gurdon Baseball Association, two more baseball teams were added to accommodate the children wanting to play this year.

He told members of the Gurdon Rotary Club, during their regular weekly meeting Thursday, May 9, games will be played at Cabe Field, and the fields will be kept busy with Farm League, Pee Wee League and Little League, as well as Senior Little League.

Plyler said 90 children are involved in the 5-7-year-old program. These youngsters will hit the diamond Tuesday and Friday nights.

The Farm League is made up of players between the ages of 8 and 10. There are six teams in this division. They will play Monday and Thursday evenings.

Little League follows for those players 10-12-years-old. There will be three teams with about 40 children involved. They will take to the field Tuesday and Friday nights.

All teams are governed by the Little League Charter, Plyler said. At the end of the season, All Star teams will be selected from the different teams. Each All Star team will have 15 players.

These teams, in turn, will play All Star squads from Prescott, Rosston, Sparkman and Fordyce, with the winner going on to the state tournament.

The winner of the state Little League Tournament will make the trip to the regional tournament, and the winner here gets an invitation to the prestigious Little League World Series.

Gurdon teams, Plyler said, haven't made it past district play yet.

There will be one senior Little League team this season. This team is made up of players from 13 to 15 years of age. This was the only age group which had to have players cut to trim down the roster.

According to Plyler, the senior Little League squad will play teams from other areas on Monday and Friday nights.

Teams were selected in mid-March. Once the teams were set, practices were begun and continued through April. Play began in early May and will run through June 14.

The All Star tourneys will be held the first Saturday following July 4.

Plyler said the GBA is self-supporting, raising money through different events. This year, he said, the dues were raised to $20, up from $15. The $20 is for the first child in a family, all other children can be registered for $15 each.

Sponsors are also a major contributor to the GBA. Plyler informed the Rotarians it costs $150 per year to sponsor a team, as Rotary does. The cost of renewing a sponsorship is $50 annually.

In addition, the Cabe Foundation has been a big help to the program, as has the Ross Foundation, Firestone, Smith Ready Mix and Carrier, along with local businesses.

Plyler said the Cabe Foundation will fund construction of updated bathroom facilities, making them ADA compliant.

It is expensive to field a team, he said. A set of uniforms for a team runs about $700. These uniforms, with the exception of the shirt and socks, are collected at the end of the season to be used for next year's crew.

Equipping a team runs another $350 on top of this.

Cabe Fields are maintained mostly through volunteer labor. Area residents, Plyler said, work to keep the fields mowed and fences repaired.

Recently, International Paper Co. painted all the fences, the dugouts, concession stands and the press box.

Concrete was also poured in the dugouts for the Little League and big field where the Go-Devils play.

Last year, before the season started, the hill by the Little League field was dug out and concrete poured to make four-tiered bleachers large enough for people to set lawn chairs.

Plyler said the association has attempted to "burglar proof" the concession stand, especially after buying a new refrigerator last season.

New fencing was erected along Highway 67 this year, and a new outfield fence installed on the pee wee field.

In addition, plans are to enlarge the concession stands, completely remodeling them and the restrooms.

He said it is hoped a new terrace can be poured on the pee wee field this season as well, and the ground can be levelled around the center diamond.

"This is something Gurdon should be proud of," he said speaking of the program. "The people of Gurdon made all this possible."