“On behalf of the State of Alaska, I want to commend.. Alaska Attorney General Charlie Cole for his aggressive yet patient commitment.” – Gov. Wally Hickel
2011 INTERIOR LIONS HALL OF FAME
One of the great benefits of having an event such as today’s Interior Baseball Lions induction ceremony, is that it gives us all an opportunity to get to know people in ways that we never did before. Even though our paths cross in the professional fields during the winter, and the baseball fields in the summer, we often don’t know the finer moments in each other’s lives.
Many people might know our next inductee — Charles E. Cole — simply as a local lawyer, or as the former Attorney General of the State of Alaska (from 1991-1994) – a man who personally negotiated with the president of Exxon in the wake of the 1989 spill. Or the may know Charlie as the Assistant Attorney General for the Territory of Alaska, or even as the Fairbanks City Magistrate (having beaten George Sullivan in 1955). But there is an entirely different side of Charlie that is worthy of recognition.
And not just Charlie.
This room is filled with many people who have lived incredible lives, and endured amazing hardships — and each of these lives is worthy to be emulated by the young. The type of character developed by living in Fairbanks can be applied in all areas of one’s life — including the strength and determination of one’s athletic competition.
It is hard to survive a winter in Fairbanks unscathed even now, but imagine how it was in the earliest days… when each person had to use every ounce of energy to simply survive. These are the hardships out of which the distinct style of Fairbanks baseball arose… brought to the Tanana Valley on the backs of the gold miners and suppliers.
The Fairbanks of the 1950s in which Charlie Cole arrived was still quite rugged. Alaska was not yet one of the United States… and in Fairbanks, even by the end of the decade, there were still only three roads in town that were paved – Cushman Street, and 1st and 2nd Avenues.
Though many younger people tend to think of the 1950s as drab, and lived in black and white… this was not the case. The 50s decade was very colorful for a number of reasons.
The state of baseball in 1950s Fairbanks was arguably the strongest in our town’s history. The Midnight Sun League was burgeoning, thanks to the number of military teams operating from various bases around the Tanana Valley (Ladd Field, Fort Greeley, Eielson). But the real color came from the local town teams — staffed with scoundrels such as Steve Agbaba, Mike Stepovich, Ed Merdes, and a shortstop named Jimmy Growden.
The town teams (living in that same ruggedness brought on by the unique hardships of living in America’s Northernmost city) played hard – both on the field and off. On the field, our local men took great delight in defeating all comers, particularly the military teams. And they certainly took great delight in beating Anchorage, which was believed then (as well as now) to have been raised out of much softer soil.
Charlie Cole had long been a baseball man before arriving in Fairbanks (January of 1955); in fact, by the earliest part the decade he had played three years of varsity baseball at Stanford University, and had been named co-captain of the club with Dave Melton – both great hitters who averaged well above a .300 batting mark.
But school at Palo Alto, CA was a different world from life in Fairbanks, Alaska.
The question was, did Charlie Cole have what it took to flourish in Fairbanks? The answer was yes.
Playing for the town team organized by the Central Labor Council in 1955-56 (and Sportland thereafter), Charlie became known on the diamond for his powerful stroke and consistent hitting, as well as his dominant pitching. Regularly sitting above the .400 mark in batting as an outfielder, he also regularly struck out 10 batters or more during his occasional pitching outings (showing the value of left handed pitching). Charlie Cole, a doubles machine, was picked up for the All-Star collection of local ballplayers in 1956, and while facing Ft. Greeley, Charlie struck out 11 and lost a shutout in the 9th inning as the locals beat the military men 10-1.
The 1956 Central Labor Council club had a number of epic duels, particularly with the Sportland Bees, Charlie often outshining that club’s resident major leaguer, Clarence Beers (formerly having had a stint with the St. Louis Cardinals). So much so, that by 1957 Charlie became a player/manager for the Bees.
The level of baseball was so great, and was such a defining part of the town, that game results were featured on the front page each day by the local paper. While the push for Alaskan Statehood gained a head of steam with the promotion of local baseball man Mike Stepovich to the Territorial Governorship in 1957, Charlie was dominating all competition on the diamond. In fact, the 1957 Sportland Bees were one of the all-time greatest baseball forces in the world for a local town team — not to mention, one in Alaska! Sporting a roster that included two Coles (Charlie and his brother Dick), Beers, and brilliant moundsman Floyd Brower, the 1957 Bees might just be the greatest town team in Fairbanks history… an absolute juggernaut of rugged play and athletic domination.
But as fine as 1957 was for Charlie, 1958 was even greater…
On the very day the bill for Alaskan statehood was on the floor of the US Senate, Charlie started and won the 53rd Midnight Sun Game (marking the exact half-way point in the history of the solstice classic from 1906 until today, as the Goldpanners will be playing the 106th edition on June 21, 2011).
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 11 strikeout performance.
Though having played professional ball eight years earlier with the Stockton Ports, you could say that Charlie retired from playing organized baseball at the peak of his game while in Fairbanks.
But his commitment to Fairbanks baseball didn’t end there. His on-field determination was translated to off field management. He was the first Chairman of the Alaska Goldpanners’ Board of Directors — a position he held until the arrival of Bill Stroecker (Class of 2010) — and is a position which he holds yet again with the departure of our friend last year.
Despite all the years of off-field management, Charlie wasn’t finished playing the game.
In 2003, once again in Palo Alto, California, at Stanford University’s Old Timers’ Game, Charlie distinguished himself on the field by clubbing a game-ending run scoring double.
As an example of the living symbol of the ideals of Interior baseball, and the determination that Charlie brought to all fields of competition, sitting Alaska Governor Wally Hickel stated: “On behalf of the State of Alaska, I want to commend.. Alaska Attorney General Charlie Cole for his aggressive yet patient commitment..”
So, in honor of the hardships endured by all Fairbanksans, and the personal dedication it takes to rise above those hardships — flourishing personally and athletically — I give you Charlie Cole, Interior Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2011.
