Induction held Aug. 28 in Scandinavia
By Greg Seubert
Gordy Peterson’s playing days with the Scandinavia Vikings only lasted a few years.
However, his involvement with the team has lasted a lot longer.
Peterson is one of four people inducted into the Badger Amateur Baseball Association Hall of Fame Aug. 28. His induction ceremony was held before the Vikings advanced to this year’s Grand Championship with a 10-4 win over Clintonville.
Each BABA division nominates a Hall of Fame candidate each year. The other 2022 inductees are Gordie Kopitzke (East Division), Bruce Brietenfeldt (West Division) and Cliff Mortensen (North Division).
Vikings manager Jeremy Moe nominated Peterson out of the South-Central Division.
“I’m quite honored to be the one selected from our division,” he said. “I’m overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from a lot of people telling me I really deserve it.”
Peterson has been a part of the Scandinavia Vikings baseball team for as long as he can remember.
He started going to games with his older brother, Lowell, who played for the Vikings.
“He was on the Grand Championship team in ‘54 and I tagged along,” he said. “I was the batboy, I’m sure.”
Peterson’s involvement with the Vikings continued as a teenager.
“In 1960, I was at a meeting at the old fire hall in town and they elected me secretary-treasurer of our team,” he said. “I was 15 and I just kept at it. I wasn’t married at the time and I enjoyed watching baseball. I tagged along with the guys.”
It was a job Peterson kept for 53 years.
He also replaced Art Krueger as BABA secretary-treasurer in 1972 and held that job for 32 years.
Peterson played for the Vikings briefly in the 1960s.
“I had some knee problems and wanted to give back,” he said. “I thought being an announcer would enhance the game and make it more enjoyable for the fans. A lot of times, people don’t know who’s playing. It used to be all local kids playing. It was like a 10-mile radius and you couldn’t go out of your 10 miles to get kids. Nowadays, kids don’t want to play ball, so we had to loosen the rules and let teams go out and get some players from out of the area. Otherwise, the league’s going to fold.”
BABA legacy in Scandy
The BABA has been around since 1946. Other area communities – including Iola, Manawa, Symco and Lanark – had a BABA team at one time, but the teams eventually folded.
That hasn’t been the case with Scandinavia, however.
“Years ago, the players were more committed,” Peterson said. “The ones who said they were going to play, they were there every Sunday and they were at practice every time there was a practice. Now, the come when they want and it’s just not like it used to be. Some teams forfeit games and as far as I know, Scandinavia’s never forfeited a game ever and they’ve been in that division the whole 76 years.”
Improvements to Ellison Park, the Vikings’ home field, over the years have included lights, bleachers, a batting cage, benches, a shelter and a new concession stand and scoreboard.
“All of that has been done by the ball club and the fans that supported us,” Peterson said. “There was a lot of volunteer labor to put up the chain link fence.”
The BABA has changed over the years since Peterson began going to games as an 8-year-old.
“Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, there wasn’t all this boating and other recreational stuff,” he said. “A lot of the kids that played were farm boys and it was a chance to get out and have some fun on a Sunday.
“We always had a good manager who played ball and wanted to keep things going,” he said. “The young man we have in there running it now – Jeremy Moe – has a lot of good ideas and has kids playing for him.”