Play ball! Al Morrison league celebrates 50 years

DIXON – Tradition calls for gold on a 50th anniversary, but on Saturday morning in Page Park, a half-century of tradition called for diamonds.

A few hundred people turned out to celebrate 50 years of the Al Morrison Memorial Baseball League on the season’s opening day, including board members – a few founders among them – players past and present, and fans. Even Mother Nature had a gift for the celebration: a perfect day for baseball, with a cool breeze and only a few clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky above the green and brown of the diamonds.

The original seven board members established the group back in 1967. Before that, the Jaycees organized the league in the Dixon area, Scott Johnson, the current board president, told the crowd of about 200 people before the opening pitches.

“They named it after Al Morrison, who umpired for years and years. It was a unanimous vote,” Johnson said.

The original seven Al Morrison board members were Alex Paisley, Isaac “Ike” Mercer, Delbert “Speed” Saunders, Ernie Michaels, Barry Royster, George Oswalt, and John Preston.

Paisley and Mercer, the two surviving members of the board, received personalized commemorative sweatshirts designating their founding member status. They also threw out the first pitches, with Ike’s son, Steve Mercer, catching his throw, and Jackson Spinden, one of the ground maintenance members, catching Paisley’s pitch.

Alex Paisley, who will turn 80 in July, was a civil engineer with the Illinois Department Transportation when he was approached about helping start the league.

“I was only 30 at the time. Bill Dixon at IDOT called me. The Jaycees ran it up until that time, and said they could no longer do it,” Paisley recalled.

Eventually, all four of his sons played Al Morrison baseball, and Alex stayed on the diamonds, too, playing baseball and softball until he was 65.

“It’s thriving now,” he said.

Mercer, 89, was a steelworker at Northwestern Steel and Wire Co. when he joined the board. His sons also played Al Morrison baseball.

“It’s wonderful. We have good kids, good parents in the program,” Mercer said.

Bob Mezo, a past president of Al Morrison and one of Saunders’ grandchildren, said his grandfather was a pipefitter, and like the other founders, “Speed” had something in common with today’s Al Morrison volunteers.

“Most volunteers are down to earth. They’re people who want to coach their kids and be involved,” he said.

Mezo also recognized his grandmother, Lucille Saunders, and the other wives of Al Morrison volunteers, saying they couldn’t have done what they did with without the support of their wives.

Current board members were recognized, and group photos were taken on the diamond. Cub Scout Pack 85 raised the flag, while Sydney Friel sang the national anthem.

Some of today’s players talked about what they thought of the ceremonies.

“It was good,” said Spencer Pleskovitch, 8, who was preparing to play second base for the Marine Corps team from Dixon.

Owen Brooks, 12, of Dixon, practiced catching with one of his teammates on the Most Plumbing and Mechanical team. His father, Alan, also played Al Morrison ball.

“I like how we recognized them,” Owen said of the founders, before going back to prepare for the game.

Johnson talked about the program’s growth through the years – this year there are more than 500 players registered in the leagues, with kids from Dixon, Amboy, Ashton, and Franklin Center playing.

It would be hard to say exactly how many players have donned a cap or swung a bat in the past 50 years, but Johnson said, even “if we only average 300 kids per year, that’s nearly 15,000 children over the 50 years.”

That’s a lot of players, volunteers and fans passing the time with America’s pastime, and judging by the success of the past 50 years, the bases should be loaded for a long time to come.

TO JOIN, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION

Al Morrison Memorial Baseball runs from May 13 through July 22 this year, and has 15 board members, with seats open. Leagues include:

• Instructional, for ages 5 to 6

• T-balll, for ages 6 to 8

• Future, for ages 9 and 10

• Bronco, for ages 11 to 12

• Koufax, for ages 13 to 14

• Mantle, for ages 15 to 16

Visit almorrisonbaseball.org for more information and how to register.