July 25, 2010 in Sports

Golden times from Alaska

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Kathy Plonka photo

Coeur d’Alene resident Mickey McClain played American Legion baseball in Alaska.
(Full-size photo)

In 1955 the Sitka, Alaska, American Legion team won the Territorial playoffs.

The tournament was played in Anchorage in early August. Alaska was, at the time, still a territory.

I was 14 years old, and our team went two years without a loss in tournament play. We were on our way to Billings for the Western Regional tournament.

Sitka was a small fishing town at the time with a population of about 4,500-5,000, so our player pool was small, but just about all the kids played ball. It was the only summer sport we had.

We left Sitka in August by a PBY amphibian to Annette Island, Alaska, which had a Coast Guard station and an airport. We then boarded a TWA prop airplane, which took us to Seattle. This part of the trip took an entire day, but we were too excited to care.

We arrived in Seattle and spent the night in the Stewart Hotel. I think the hotel was on Third and Stewart and is now long gone.

What a treat for kids from Alaska, many kids never having been out of the territory. Also, somewhat intimidating – a real hotel, lots of restaurants, city noise. It was intoxicating to a lot of us.

We also saw some ugly parts, like “WHITES ONLY” signs. Some of us didn’t know what it meant until someone explained to us. We had no idea.

We traveled to Billings by train, another first for many on the team. I don’t remember much about the train trip, except for the dining car (they had finger bowls). I wasn’t sure we would ever get there. At this time, Sitka had only 10 miles of road (it now has 13), so the train trip seemed to go on forever.

Another shock came when we arrived in Billings. The temperature was in the mid-90s. In Sitka, 65 degrees was a warm summer day.

We liked Billings. There was a cafe that sold half-size hamburgers for 5 cents. We bought them by the bag. It was heaven for young teenagers.

Then came the first game day. There we were in our wool uniforms in 100-degree weather. It was a real killer and we lost big.

Our second game was a night game. None of us had played under lights. Our outfielders and everyone else had a hard time adjusting. Another loss – two and out.

But it wasn’t about winning or losing, although it seemed so at the time. Meeting other teams and players from so many other places was the true benefit. What an adventure and learning experience.

The next year, we went to the Western Regionals in Yakima, but that’s another story.

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