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Tom Crann
Miesville, Minn.

Town ball

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On deck
Union Hill players take in the last innings of the Rochester/Blue Earth game before they take the field against Sobieski in the Class C state torunament.
MPR Photo/Tom Crann

Though it's the start of the football season, a lot of Minnesotans are keeping their eyes on the baseball diamond this weekend. The Minnesota Twins are trying to solidify their playoff prospects in an import series against Detroit at the Metrodome.

Armand Peterson and Tom Tomashek
Armand Peterson and Tom Tomashek, the authors of Town Ball: The Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball.
MPR Photo/Tom Crann

But another Minnesota baseball championship has just wrapped up. The Minnetonka Millers, the Rochester Royals, and the Blue Earth Pirates are all enjoying the thrill of victory in their divisions this year in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Association. Those playoffs wrapped up over the Labor Day weekend.

Over 240 teams play in Minnesota's amateur leagues in the summertime. That may sound like a lot, but consider this: in 1950 there were almost 800 teams. Towns big and small fielded "town ball" teams, and now two former town ball players have written a book about those days.

I met Armand Peterson and Tom Tomashek last weekend during the class C championship series in Miesville, Minn.

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On deck
Union Hill players take in the last innings of the Rochester/Blue Earth game before they take the field against Sobieski in the Class C state torunament.
MPR Photo/Tom Crann