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DIAMOND HERITAGE
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A softball game was one of the contests played Monday at the Mill Creek Junior Baseball League’s Kramer Field complex on Youngstown’s West Side. The league was founded 60 years ago.
YOUNGSTOWN
Just as the towering Marathon Petroleum Co. storage tanks stand out as a next-door neighbor to the Kramer Field complex, the Mill Creek Junior Baseball League’s dedicated volunteers and rich history have enabled it to stand the test of time.
Since the league’s inception in 1954, Mill Creek Baseball has been through many changes and has served thousands of players.
Now in its 60th year, president Bill Helsel reflects: “It’s amazing how many families [of former players] you see down here with their kids.”
Helsel, 68, spoke of several generations who show up at the fields near the intersection of Bears Den and Schenley.
“It’s part of our family and our heritage,” said Helsel, whose father-in-law, Robert “Red” Kramer, is recognized as league founder.
Helsel, who said several other individuals deserve credit for having had a piece in the league’s creation, surveyed the complex on a sunny, mid-May afternoon before walking inside the league office where bookshelves stored manuals containing minutes of the organization’s meetings over the years.
He pulled out a program from 1967 when Sinclair Ball Park was dedicated.
The cover showed the caricature of a dinosaur — the Sinclair Oil Co. logo — with a bat and wearing a ball cap.
Inside pages showed team photos and the back cover had a picture of local business representatives and other dignitaries, including Mayor Anthony B. Flask. Coincidentally, current Youngstown Mayor John McNally is a softball team manager for his daughters.
The league’s civic side is apparent at Kramer, where an outside canvas banner on a fence displays the names of fallen city police officers, most of whom were killed in the line of duty.
With six teams in 1955, games were at Boardman Park. In 1957, games were played at the Kirkmere playground area. In 1967, Mill Creek moved to its present location when Sinclair leased its property for $1. The fields also were known as ARCO fields, for the Atlantic Richfield Co.
At one time, the youth league was synonymous with West Siders and those who would eventually attend Chaney High School.
Mike DeNiro, Mark Brungard, Jerry Olsavsky, the Lou “Red” Angelo clan and the Zordiches are some of the more recognizable names to have left their footprints on the fields.
“Mike Zordich said he wanted his kids to have the same experience he did,” Helsel said of the former NFL safety who now coaches at Youngstown State University.
“His father, Milan, still helps his granddaughter, Dominique [Santisi], manage a girls team,” Helsel said.
John Sefcik and Joe DeFuria are 50-year trustees.
“They still help drag the fields and pick up trash and more every day,” Helsel said of the 87-year-olds,
One girl who played for Helsel in the 1980s brought her boys up from Leetonia to play.
“They moved back from Florida and played three years,” Helsel said of the return business.
The downside, however, is obvious.
“Every age group drops a few kids each year,” Helsel said. “It’s not like when I was 10 in 1954, when you’d have 200 kids out for 12 positions. Now, everybody who signs up plays.”
Mill Creek was the area’s first league to have a “three inning must-play” rule.
“It states that everybody plays at least half a game,” Helsel said. “It’s been a rule since the league was formed.”
The season began April 26 and runs through July 4, followed by all-star tournament games.
Mill Creek’s ascent began when the Uptown Kiwanis Little League eventually faded, while upstart leagues failed to survive. Mill Creek, with 45 teams, is the city’s only organized youth baseball/softball league.
“We’re the only league in Youngstown right now, but we take kids from everywhere,” Helsel said in his Garrison Keillor-like voice.
Longtime sponsors include Gem-Young Insurance, Sandwich Factory, Wharmby Sports and Komara Jewelers. Now-defunct Palko’s Mill Creek Service was a loyal sponsor.
One of the more affectionate names ascribed to its age groups is softball’s Cupcake division.
Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar played in the Mill Creek League before his father took him back to Boardman when he was 12 because, at that time, Mill Creek’s age limit on pitchers was 11.
Mill Creek starts at age 6 and has 490 girls and boys. Players may continue as 13- and 14-year-olds if they wish to participate against surrounding communities in Tri-T Baseball and Softball.
There’s also one Colt team for 15-16-year-olds. Girls beyond 12, who have a greater enjoyment of the game, compete in fast-pitch softball.
The league — affiliated with the Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth Baseball — draws youth from surrounding areas.
“We’re not sanctioned for Little League because we take players from most surrounding communities,” Helsel said.
In 2004, Mill Creek had a 50th anniversary party, for which Kramer wrote a league biography. He died in 2006.
“About 300 people showed, including the great-grandsons of people who played here,” said Helsel, whose granddaughters (Kramer’s great-granddaughters) are playing now.
“Ten years ago, we had close to 600 players, but now it’s between 480-500,” Helsel said.
Was there a correlation between slow-pitch’s demise and fast-pitch’s rise?
“We used to have six or seven teams for girls 14-18, but we did away with it,” Helsel said. “Now, it’s all fast-pitch. High school fast-pitch made the difference.”
He said that Mill Creek (through age 13) and Austintown GSL (through 18) are the lone communities with slow-pitch.
“You’ve got to learn how to field a ball before you play fast-pitch,” Helsel said.
“No matter how bad you are, everybody hits in slow-pitch and that makes every player learn how to field. There are very few strikeouts and everybody hits the ball.”
Bill, himself, played slow-pitch in the 1970s.
“I loved the game because it was quick and the ball was hit all the time and then we’d go drink beer,” he said.
Mill Creek does, however, have two 13-14 teams playing Tri-T fast-pitch.
The area’s loss of population is a reason for leagues and sponsors combining.
Helsel mentioned the 304 League, which was formed when teams from Hubbard, Liberty, McDonald and Niles joined forces because, individually, they don’t have enough 11-12s.
“I’m hoping that jobs pick up and more people move back in the area,” Helsel said about the viability of youth leagues.
Kramer includes two little league and a Pony (11-12) field — all with lights. Mill Creek also uses Scholl [old Kirkmere area] fields, if needed. In 2012, a new batting barn at Kramer was dedicated in Helsel’s name.
Helsel has been president since 1993, with the exception of one year (2013) as a trustee.
He served as equipment manager from 1980-92.
What does the 60th mean to him?
“It means that we’ve provided a great place for kids for 60 years,” Helsel said. “Parents tell me about the good times they had here.
“When they’re visiting their parents from out of state, they’ll talk to someone they played with. It’s a home to people who have played here.”