Fox Lake Historical Society March 19 Meeting-- Part 3: About the Russell Tavern Fire and the 1959 American Legion Team

**  In 1959 the Fox Lake, Illinois American Legion team were champions of the Northern Division and went downstate where they placed third in state.  Paul Lewis, for whom the baseball field at Fox  Lake's Grant Township High School was named was coach.

**  The historical society has put together an interesting book on past gas stations in the Fox Lake area.

**  Ruth Sutton died in February.  She was a charter member of the association and president for four years..  In addition, she was the Fox Lake correspondent in the Lakeland News papers group.

RUSSELL TAVERN FIRE

It was by what is today the Black Forest Bakery.  The restaurant was about to open as the 4 Eagles which was to be a Wisconsin-style super club.

Located on Route 12 (US-12) across from the current BP station next to the old Lupo's which is where part of the Ray Chevrolet used car lot is today.

--Cooter

American Legion Baseball: Players Who Went On to Baseball's Hall of Fame

Wikipedia has a long list of American Legion baseball players who went on to MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  Here are just a few of them.

Bob Feller,  Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Al Kaline, Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson, Don Drysdale, Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Nellie Fox and Ryne Sandberg.

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In 2011, Shelby, North Carolina, was names as the permanent home for the American Legion Baseball World Series.  Attendance in 2016 was 120,000.  The last three winners:

Texarkana, Arkansas, Post 58 in 2016
Henderson, Nevada, Post 40 in 2017
Wilmington, Delaware, Post 1 in 2018

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Probably one of the most interesting names for an American Legion team comes from Hooker, Oklahoma, whose team is named the Hooker Horny Toads.  Hooker is in the Oklahoma Panhandle.  Of course, I just had to have one of their tee shirts.

Looking Forward to Baseball Season.  --Cooter

American Legion Baseball

Post 703 has been supporting an American Legion Baseball team for many years now and this year, we are planning a Legion Day for one of the team's home games at Grant Township High School.  More information on that will be given when we know the schedule in June.

Our team is comprised mostly of boys from the Fox Lake area and managed by Brian Talbot.

But, in the meantime, to prepare for the season, we'll take a look back at the history of American Legion baseball.

From Wikipedia.

American Legion Baseball is amateur played by  13 to 19-year-olds in all fifty states and Canada.  More than 3,500 teams compete each year.  The American Legion Department of South Dakota established  the program in 1925 in Milbank, South Dakota.

PURPOSE

To give players the opportunity to develop their skills,  personal fitness,  leadership qualities, and to have fun. Hundreds of thousands of boys have been taught this over the years.

--Cooter

The American Legion-- 1920s and 1930s

AUGUST 9, 1921

The Legion's efforts result in the creation of the  U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of today's Veterans Administration.

JULY 17, 1925

The Legion  creates the American Legion Baseball program.  About 82,000 youths play Legion ball each year.

SEPTEMBER 1932

The Sons of the American Legion is officially recognized at the National Convention in Portland, Oregon.

JUNE 23 , 1935

The First American Legion Boys State convenes in Springfield, Illinois.  Today, more than 19,500  young men participate in this as well as 98 in Boys Nation.

JUNE 11, 1938

The final round of the Legion's first annual  National High School  Oratorical Contest is conducted in Norman, Oklahoma.  Today, more than 3,400 high school students compete in this.

American Legion Baseball in High Gear Here: Going to Tonight's Game Against Lake Zurich

The Fox Lake Bulldogs of Post 703 in Fox Lake, Illinois, travels to Lake Zurich for a game tonight.  I'll be there.

From the American Legion Site:

"American Legion Baseball is a national institution, having thrived through a world war, several nation tragedies, and times of great prosperity as well as great despair."

The 2016 American Legion World Series will be August 11-16 this year in Shelby, North Carolina.

One of the notable Major League Baseball players who played Legion ball was Bob feller.

The best-named team is the Hooker Horny Toads of Hooker Oklahoma in the panhandle area.  They are sponsored by the Jack Goosen Post #137.  They report great tee-shirt sales, including the one I bought when passing through.

Teams play in June and July.

American Legion in High Gear Around Here-- Part 2: Fox Lake Bulldogs Are 4-1

From Wikipedia.

American Legion baseball is amateur baseball played by teenage boys in all fifty states.

The American Legion Department of South Dakota established it in 1925 in Millbank, South Dakota.  The inaugural season was in 1926.  According to the American Legion:  "The purpose is to give young men an opportunity to develop their skills, personal fitness, leadership qualities and to have fun."

The states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin are in the Great Lakes Division.

Illinois has 84 teams, Minnesota the most with 320, Hawaii 2 and Alaska 1.

The National Champs in 2013 and 2014 was Brooklawn, New Jersey, Post 72.

--RoadBat

American Legion Baseball in High Gear Around Here-- Part 1

I have recently become aware of the existence of a baseball team at our American Legion Post 703 here in Fox Lake, Illinois, of which I am a member of the Sons of the American Legion because of my grandfather, a World War I veteran.

The teams in area, the Illinois 10th District American Legion Baseball are in high gear with their season which runs from mid-June to mid-July.  All the boys on our team also play on the Grant High School baseball team.  Home games are played at Grant High School here in Fox Lake.

Last year, there were 14 teams in the league and Lake Zurich came in first with a 12-0 record.  Our Fox Lake team, the Fox Lake Bulldogs, were 8-4-1.  Other teams were also all from Lake County:  Lake Villa, Zion, Waukegan, Deerfield, Grayslake, Mundelein, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Gurnee and Wauconda.

Play Ball!!--Cooter