By Lee May
Walter Howard of Loyalton worked at the Herlong Army Depot for several years after graduating from Loyalton High School in 1961. After working at the mill for one year, he joined the Navy for a little over 4 years before going to work in Herlong. Continuing to reside in Loyalton commuting daily, the opportunity came for him to organize a team of Sierra Valley slo-pitch softball players into a team that could represent the area in the annual Herlong Invitational Slo-pitch Softball Tourney. Long story short, Sierra Valley teams organized by Walter won the Herlong Tournament 3 of the 4 years they entered from 1979 to 1982. Teams from all over NE California had been invited every summer to Herlong for their famous double elimination slo-pitch softball tournament for several years. Being a fully active military installation back then, enlisted men came in from all over the US. Some had played on teams from other bases. One guy on the '82 Herlong base team had been selected "All Army" the year before when playing somewhere else. For Sierra Valley to have beaten his team twice for the title was some accomplishment; both games by 1 run.
Many of the members of the '82 winning team will gather on Saturday, 11/2 from 2-4 p.m. at the Sierra Valley Bar & Grill (formerly the Golden West) to commemorate that championship 42 summers ago. Members of that team were Walter Howard, Dick Patton, Chris Lonergan, Jim Caplinger, Mitch Wilson, Lee May, Doug D'Andrea, Fabian Plazola, Jay Beesemyer and Leroy Vanetti. How talented was this team? 3 members were chosen All Tourney: Jim Caplinger, Jay Beesemyer and Mitch Wilson. Caplinger was voted MVP for the tournament. A collective toast to Dick Patton (deceased) and a hearty greeting to Chris Lonergan, at work in Montana, and Fabian Plazola, unable to attend, will be part of the gathering. Anyone wishing to drop by and visit is welcome. Especially welcome is anyone from any one of the Sierra Valley men's or women's teams that played back then. The established manager indicated that the bar will be open and a cook on duty to prepare food for, what they deem, a private party.
Sierra County was part of a nationwide trend involving millions of people in the game of slo-pitch softball. A 3 team men's league won by Last Chance Saloon in Chilcoot in '79 grew into 8 men's and 5 women's teams by '83. Teams played two games a week at one of several softball venues throughout the county. Information is sketchy as to whether slo-pitch softball continued to thrive after 1983 in the county. Both men's and women's programs prior to that had been projects of Sierra County Probation's Justice System Subvention Program headed by Lee May. He utilized State of California CYA grant money to provide a totally free softball option for adults. Lee left county employment in late '83. Thereafter, other juristdictional entities coordinated softball events. Once organized softball ended in SV by the mid 80's, several players from the area continued to play on teams in the Reno area.
Walter Howard of Loyalton worked at the Herlong Army Depot for several years after graduating from Loyalton High School in 1961. After working at the mill for one year, he joined the Navy for a little over 4 years before going to work in Herlong. Continuing to reside in Loyalton commuting daily, the opportunity came for him to organize a team of Sierra Valley slo-pitch softball players into a team that could represent the area in the annual Herlong Invitational Slo-pitch Softball Tourney. Long story short, Sierra Valley teams organized by Walter won the Herlong Tournament 3 of the 4 years they entered from 1979 to 1982. Teams from all over NE California had been invited every summer to Herlong for their famous double elimination slo-pitch softball tournament for several years. Being a fully active military installation back then, enlisted men came in from all over the US. Some had played on teams from other bases. One guy on the '82 Herlong base team had been selected "All Army" the year before when playing somewhere else. For Sierra Valley to have beaten his team twice for the title was some accomplishment; both games by 1 run.
Many of the members of the '82 winning team will gather on Saturday, 11/2 from 2-4 p.m. at the Sierra Valley Bar & Grill (formerly the Golden West) to commemorate that championship 42 summers ago. Members of that team were Walter Howard, Dick Patton, Chris Lonergan, Jim Caplinger, Mitch Wilson, Lee May, Doug D'Andrea, Fabian Plazola, Jay Beesemyer and Leroy Vanetti. How talented was this team? 3 members were chosen All Tourney: Jim Caplinger, Jay Beesemyer and Mitch Wilson. Caplinger was voted MVP for the tournament. A collective toast to Dick Patton (deceased) and a hearty greeting to Chris Lonergan, at work in Montana, and Fabian Plazola, unable to attend, will be part of the gathering. Anyone wishing to drop by and visit is welcome. Especially welcome is anyone from any one of the Sierra Valley men's or women's teams that played back then. The established manager indicated that the bar will be open and a cook on duty to prepare food for, what they deem, a private party.
Sierra County was part of a nationwide trend involving millions of people in the game of slo-pitch softball. A 3 team men's league won by Last Chance Saloon in Chilcoot in '79 grew into 8 men's and 5 women's teams by '83. Teams played two games a week at one of several softball venues throughout the county. Information is sketchy as to whether slo-pitch softball continued to thrive after 1983 in the county. Both men's and women's programs prior to that had been projects of Sierra County Probation's Justice System Subvention Program headed by Lee May. He utilized State of California CYA grant money to provide a totally free softball option for adults. Lee left county employment in late '83. Thereafter, other juristdictional entities coordinated softball events. Once organized softball ended in SV by the mid 80's, several players from the area continued to play on teams in the Reno area.
