The season started out less than stellar as we were only 2 wins and 3 losses after our first five games.  But Oats was an optimist, telling us that we were a young team and would get better as the season progressed.  He was quite the fortune teller, we won twelve games out of our last thirteen games played.  We were led in hitting by Danny Loomer who would end up batting well over .400 that season.  He was a special baseball player and even at that age you could tell he was heads above the rest of us.  In those days state bound teams were allowed to carry up to four additional players from other towns within a certain geographical area surrounding Fergus Falls.  We “drafted” Roger Olson, from Battle Lake, Jim Peterson from Henning and Duane Bernu from Perham.  All three played a vital role in our success at the state tournament. In reality, this was an Otter Tail County VFW team not just Fergus Falls. 

You talk about global warming, we had a double header in Starbuck that summer and both games were called after five innings due to extreme heat.  Dan Larson reminded me that he caught both games that day.  Now this was the days before light weight modern uniforms. Ours were made of heavy wool and when it was hot all the heat was retained inside the uniform.  It felt like you were walking around in your own person sauna.  Also, if it rained, the water would be retained in the fabric and it was like carrying a fifty-pound sack of potatoes on your back.

As far as the state tournament was concerned. It was a whirlwind of excitement and the further we progressed the more adrenaline flowed.

To transport the players up to Ely for the tournament Oats had lined up a number of parent drivers.  I was really excited because I thought I’d be on my own without any parental supervision.  Unfortunately, one of the drivers had to bow out at the last minute and my folks agreed to take their place.  Needless to say I was livid, I thought this was going to spoil all my fun.  I was so upset I refused to travel with my parents and ended up riding with Oats in his car while my parents drove two other ball players.  Of course, once we started play I was mighty happy my parents were there to share in the magic of the moment.

Players were housed in local residential homes.  Dan Larson & I boarded with a gentleman whose home was on the second story of a downtown Ely bar.   Now I’m not sure how well we would have slept had we been in a different location but I remember hearing loud noises and music below us well into each night of our 3 night stay there. The thing was, we were so keyed up I doubt it had any effect at all when it came time to play ball. 

Our first game of the tournament was against Winona.  In hindsight this was probably the championship game since they came into the tournament undefeated.  Prior to the game Oats kept telling us not to worry about all the “hype” regarding Winona’s record, that they put their pants on the same way we did and if we played our game we could beat them.  That game turned into nail-biter but we prevailed, 4-3. The star of the game was Roger Olson who struck out the side in Winona’s bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded.  The next game was against a St. Paul team. We won 4-2 but I have little recollection of how the game progressed. 

In the Championship game we played Wells, MN.  They had eliminated the Fergus Falls VFW the year earlier so we were out for revenge.  David Olson pitched and dominated throughout the game.  We ended up shutting Wells out 3-0. 

Personally, I was honored by being selected to the all-tournament team. That was pretty heady stuff for a 12 year old kid who rode his bike to the levee to play ball and have some fun.  Yes!  I could field pretty well and I got 6 hits during the tournament, 3 were bunts singles if that’s any indication of my power.  But that type of player played well with Oats’ philosophy of “station to station” baseball, always trying to move the runner up another base, to give your team a better chance of scoring on an opponent’s miscue.  Unlike today’s game where they always play for the “big blast”, back then we stole bases, bunted runners up a base and tried to hit behind the runners to put them another base ahead.

After the Championship game was over, there was an award ceremony, we ate and had to go back to our “homes away from home” to get our personal belongs.  I think we eventually left Ely about 10:30 or 11pm.  I was back in Oats car for the drive to Fergus and we were all exhausted from the excitement, and lack of sleep from the last four day.  Most of us slept in the car on the way home.  Unfortunately, that included the driver.  Oats was so sleepy driving home that the last 50 or 60 miles he drove with his head out the side window hoping the breeze would keep him awake.  

With a few “pit stops” thrown in, we didn’t get back to Fergus until about 5 AM.  We were met at the edge of town by police and fire truck sirens and numerous cars of revelers who had come out to greet us.  Now years later my dad said there was maybe 20 or 30 cars plus fire and police, but in this twelve-year old mind it seemed like it was the Rose Bowl parade all the way downtown to Skogmo’s café.   They opened up Skogmo’s and told us we could order anything on the menu, ON THE HOUSE.   People were piling in to congratulate us and the whole downtown was abuzz.

Once the party at Skogmo’s was over I went home and slept for almost twenty-four hours straight through.  The air had finally come out of the balloon. 

That wasn’t the end of the story.  A couple of weeks later the Rotary club had a noon lunch for us and along with the state championship legion team.  Then in the middle of October we had a special banquet at the VFW where we were presented with commemorative State Championship Jackets.  They were navy blue with white striping and had our names embossed on the jacket.  I still have the jacket in my possession (not that it fits!) and it remains a treasure from that summer.

We were a very young team in 1960.  Expectations had us as a powerhouse for at least two more years. Unfortunately, we were never able to revive the magic.  Danny Loomer moved away from Fergus the following year and we just couldn’t seem to put the chemistry back together.  Oats worked tirelessly with us over the next two years but the outcome was not the same. In 1961 Fergus Falls hosted the VFW State Championship Tournament and we won the consolation trophy.  The year after that the tournament was held in Litchfield.  We lost our first two games and were unceremoniously sent packing.  Hard to say what the difference was.  We had good athletes but we just couldn’t put it all together.  I guess it’s like they always say, ‘enjoy the moment while you have it because it may never come around again’.

Oats Legrand was one of a kind.  He could be gruff and loud to make a point, but more often fatherly.  It seemed to me he was always teaching and by example, showing us how to be a better person.   He was intolerant when a player did not give their all or showed a lack of hustle.  He always said, “each ballplayer has a different level of ability but if you give me your best effort, that’s all I ask”.  He taught us to appreciate working as a team for a common goal and cherishing the friendships we had with teammates.  But above all else, he believed you should always play for the love of the game and not for any personal rewards you might gain from it.

If there are any errors in my recall, please accept my apologies.  This is the way I remembered that season to the best of my recollection.

Bob Warn
Second Base
1960 VFW Championship Team