The 2020 W.G. & Eddie Stroecker Midnight Sun Baseball Game was the first solstice contest since 1959 to be staffed entirely by local Fairbanksans. In honor of the continuing tradition three “all-time” midnight sun game teams were released.
ALL-TIME MIDNIGHT SUN GAME TEAM:
FAIRBANKSANS
In an attempt to frame the previous 114 seasons of midnight sun baseball as clearly as possible, three divisions have been employed to categorize all players who saw game time in the classic contest’s history:
- All-Time Team: Panners
- All-Time Team: Opposition
- All-Time Team: Fairbanksans
In addition to these releases, the 2020 edition of the W.G. & Eddie Stroecker Midnight Sun Baseball Game will be covered in detail, including links to all known live broadcasts.
STATISTICAL ORGANIZATION
This all-time team is more traditional than the opponents team, but still there is no left-handed pitcher. Floyd Brower’s performance in the 1957 midnight game demands recognition and Sean Timmons, the most accomplished pitcher in the history of the event, was not to be denied.
Like the previous lists, this all-time team is heavily weighted towards the second-half of the tradition’s history. As there is little to learn about the earlier players, we can only marvel at the endless possibilities. Just imagine what kind of characters made up the teams from the mining camps… or the 1940 team from Ester. If the 1930 game is any indicator, then the non-sports angles seem limitless. (During that contest, Standard Oil’s Ralph Wien pitched to a dazzling victory, only to be killed that October when a terrified passenger in his bush plane yanked back on the secondary yoke during a descent.) There were new, athletic but hungry, men arriving on the boats every day all summer long. Who were they and what did they become? God only knows.
What we do know, however, is that the midnight sun game served as a beacon to the community for decades, including during its most vulnerable early period. A case could be made that the 1906 game solidified the desire of Fairbanksans to rebuild following the apocalyptic fire of that spring. It is assumed that the 2020 edition, held in the midst of the global pandemic which stopped most public events, will serve likewise.
Though the details of the early decades are extremely murky, the 1950s saw a dramatic uptick in newspaper coverage. Military teams joined up with the local Fairbanksans to create the Midnight Sun League, an arrangement that flourished through the 50s until the rise of the Goldpanners clubs. The last hurrah of the league could be said to have been during the 1960 solstice, when no less than four midnight games were held throughout the Tanana Valley.
ALL-TIME MSG TEAM: FAIRBANKSANS
The information below is being organized as a “study archive” for the midnight sun game. The all-time team will be considered, player by player, with links to relevant data (under construction through 2020). The method of investigation will begin in the outfield, and then work down the lineup. All position information is accurate according to the archives.
LF: DICK COLE
CF: CHARLIE COLE
The original Cole Brothers of Fairbanks used their collegiate and professional training to tear through all opposition. This domination applied to all of their athletic, as well as legal, pursuits. Often working side by side in both fields, their preternatural communication overwhelmed opponents like a one-two punch. Dick was a tremendous athlete but the second-half of that punch, Charles E. Cole, was a knockout always waiting to strike. And he did so often on the field, pitching complete games and swatting doubles with regularity.
1956 Midnight Sun Game:
DC: 1-for-2, 2B
CC: 2-for-4, R
1957 Midnight Sun Game:
DC: 1-for-3, BB, SB
CC: 1-for-4, R, BB, SB
In the 1958 Midnight Sun Game, Charlie struck out 15 batters from the Ladd Field Special Units through eight innings but almost saw disaster strike in the 9th. Picking up with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner account, “The excitement continued until the final pitch of the ballgame. In the last of the ninth with a two-run cushion, Cole got the first two away easily on grounders to short, but a missed fly ball and a single by Hammer put the tying runs on base with the winning run at the plate. In sensational fashion, Clair picked a Cole delivery, sending the ball on its way over the low centerfield barrier (at Griffin Park). But Bees’ centerfielder Frank Price made a desperate racing catch of the ball before it dropped over the wall, saving the day for the Sportland squad.” In that game. Charlie went 1-for-1 with a run scored, four walks and an RBI in addition to his 15 strikeout performance.
Charlie was the first Chairman of the Alaska Goldpanners’ Board of Directors — a position he held, with interruption by Bill Stroecker, until 2016.
RF: ED MERDES
Edward A. Merdes, like the Cole Brothers, was an Alaskan legal pioneer. He was also a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Active Ready Reserve and President of the World Jaycees. Additionally, Merdes served as a Goldpanners board member from 1967 until 1991. Ed’s sons Ward and Mark both played for the Goldpanners. His entry into the midnight game for the Fairbanks Pioneers, in 1960, was a heralded event: “One of the outfielders is Ed Merdes, a righthander who played at Cornell University before coming to Fairbanks. Merdes has been out of ball for several years but is now wielding a big stick again and is a constant threat at the plate.” In the 1960 game, Merdes went 0-for-3 in a loss to the newly formed Pan Alaska Gold Panners.
3B: BOB MAXWELL
Bob Maxwell moved to Fairbanks following his collegiate career as an infielder/outfielder at the University of Arizona. Due to his skills and his enthusiasm, Bob found a roster spot on the Goldpanners for four years (1962-63-64-65). In the 1962 solstice classic, Maxwell went 2-for-4. In 1963, he went 2-for-3 with a triple. In 1964, the paper credits him with a “single to right”. Bob’s final midnight game, in 1965, saw him scoring the go-ahead run as well as applying a decisive ninth-inning tag on attempted base-stealer Don Johnson to preserve the win against the University of Southern California.
SS: EMMITT WILSON
Emmitt Wilson is considered by many to be one of the greatest baseball men in the history of Alaska. Following his six-year playing career with the Goldpanners (1962-63-64-65-66-67), Emmitt moved to coaching youth baseball. An entire generation of players credit Wilson with helping them advance in their careers, including Colorado Rockies Minor League pitching coordinator Daryl Scott.
1963: Wilson 0-for-1
1963: Wilson 0-for-1
1964: Wilson 0-for-3
1965: u/k
1966: u/k
1967: Wilson 0-for-1
2B: CHIP LAWRENCE
Edwin “Chip” Lawrence is one of the most accomplished Fairbanks products in the game of baseball. His Goldpanners career extended over three seasons (1993-94-95), but for Chip that was only the beginning. Entering pro baseball in the Orioles organization, Lawrence used his defensive prowess in the infield to advance within one step of Major League Baseball. His Triple-A statistics were stronger than at all other levels, but the final leap onto a MLB roster was not be had. Instead, Chip moved into the field of scouting, where he worked for the Toronto Blue Jays (2000-2003), Philadelphia Phillies (2003-2010) and San Diego Padres (2012-current ). His most outstanding player signed to date is 2013 NL All-Star Domonic Brown. Chip’s father, Fairbanksan Edwin Sr., was hired by Major League Baseball as Executive Director of the Umpire Development Program in early 1988.
1B: CLARENCE BEERS
Clarence Beers was a major league pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1948. Following his pro career Beers moved to Fairbanks. Having taken time off of baseball to serve in World War II, his military period may have resulted in his decision to move to Fairbanks (tbd). Regardless of how he came to be in Fairbanks, he was a faithful laborer for many years thereafter. His service on the field for the Central Labor Council led to a resurgence of his playing career. Nearly every game saw a memorable highlight from Clarence, who pitched and played first base in addition, later, to managing. Though it will take time to fully explain the impact of Clarence Beers upon Fairbanks, here is what we know:
In 1954, Clarence pitched from the sixth inning to the end. He also pitched in 1955. In 1956, Beers pinch hit in the ninth inning, swatting a home run. In 1957, he had a double and a run scored. In 1958, he went 2-for-3 with 2RBI while simultaneously tossing a 4-hitter in which he allowed no earned runs.
C: EDDIE STROECKER
An adventurer who came to Alaska at the turn of the century, Ed Stroecker brought with him a passion for the game of baseball that is remembered to this day. He played in the earliest organized “base ball” games in Fairbanks, and is remembered as “The Father” of Fairbanks’ annual midnight sun baseball game. Ed not only organized the very first traditional solstice event, in 1906, but he also played as the starting catcher for the California Bar club. In 1910, the local paper described the midnight game by reporting that “to the work of Eddie Stroecker more than to any other one person, is the victory of the Athletics attributable, as he put life and confidence into his team and made use of his head at all times in playing his team.” For parts of six(?) decades, Ed served the tradition as an organizer, player, umpire, and fan. “Baseball seemed to mean more to him than anything,” said Eddie’s son, Bill Stroecker.
RHP: FLOYD BROWER
“Big” Floyd Brower was a U.S. Marine who, like Beers, decided to live in Fairbanks following the war. Though working, mostly, in a military environment, he also pitched for the Sportland Bees in the mid-to-late 1950s. His tremendous power as a pitcher and a hitter was shown many times. In the 1957 midnight game he struck out 20 (a record that stands to this day) and hit a home run. Neither tally was that unusual, as Floyd had a tendency to do that sort of thing. In his start prior to the solstice contest, he was noted for “blasting a 350 foot round tripper into the swimming pool beyond the left centerfield fence”.
RHP: SEAN TIMMONS
Sean Timmons, known as “The North Star”, is the greatest pitcher in the history of both the Alaska Goldpanners and the W.G. & Eddie Stroecker Midnight Sun Baseball Game. Sean is the holder of most records by a pitcher in both realms, including most games won. In the 97th game, Sean started and won a 2-1 triumph after allowing a single run. In the 99th game, Sean defeated the Kenai Oilers, again allowing a single run. In the 100th game, Sean won his third midnight game, again allowing a single run. Before the game was over, a visiting representative of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame museum collected his jersey (#33), his hat, and a ball to mark the centennial of midnight baseball. “I couldn’t get a higher honor,” said Timmons. In 2009, Sean picked up the save to solidify his mark on the game.
RP: RAY WHEELER
Ray Wheeler is as responsible as Red Boucher for seeing the midnight tradition continue into the next generation under the stewardship of the Pan Alaska Gold Panners. While serving as Athletic Director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Ray worked with Red to make sure that the Gold Panners fielded a competitive squad from the start. In 1960, “Big Ray” Wheeler started the midnight game, finishing his game with 14 strikeouts with zero walks in 24 at-bats during seven innings pitched. Though it was nearly impossible to reach base against Wheeler in the game, “Owen Wright had to pay his way to first when he caught a curve ball in the ribs.” In 1961, Ray pitched 4+ innings in relief, holding the opposition scoreless from the third until the eighth inning, when we was lifted for George Mies.
THE FRIGID-AIRES
W.G. “Bill” Stroecker, called “Son of the Midnight Sun Game”, continued his father Ed’s legacy in the tradition by shepherding the event through the decades of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. In addition to his administrative work, Bill also provided pre-game entertainment for many solstice contests as part of his band called “The Frigid-Aires”. In 2006, the paper reported, “[b]efore the game, Goldpanners president Bill Stroecker, whose father played catcher in the original midnight sun game a century ago, entertained the crowd by playing trumpet as a member of the Frigid-Aires along with accordion and stand-up base players.”