Doug Hall’s circle is complete with Wall of Fame induction

Update provided on Carl Kuss Field renovation project

Doug Hall speaks during the West Bend Baseball Association's Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 9 at The Columbian.

By Nicholas Dettmann

WEST BEND, Wis. – All Doug Hall wanted was new dugouts.

On March 9, he was recognized for more than just getting new dugouts. He was honored for being behind the group that has helped preserve the rich history of baseball in West Bend – the West Bend Baseball Association.

He was a pretty good baseball player and overall athlete, too.

Hall was one of the three inductees during the eighth annual WBBA Wall of Fame induction ceremony at The Columbian. Joining him in the class of 2019 was Tom Meisenheimer and Vic Seefeldt. But, one could argue, a night like the one on March 9 wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Hall’s contribution.

“We just wanted new dugouts,” Hall said during his Wall of Fame induction speech, while wearing his West Bend Company jersey from the 2001 season.

In the early 2000s, several upgrades were needed on the baseball field, such as new dugouts and fencing. So, he and several others, including fellow WBBA Wall of Fame inductee Brad Burns (class of 2015) approached city officials about getting assistance with funding to do just that. They got a hard no.

Hall worked with attorney Charles Williams to help establish the WBBA as a nonprofit organization and became the organization’s first president. During his tenure, he and the WBBA made many improvements to Carl Kuss Field at Regner Park, which included new dugouts. Other signs of growth of the organization include an annual scholarship for East and West baseball players, as well as service awards, such as the Prudence Pick Hway Philanthropy Award (won by Nick Winter this year) and the Mark Scholz Award of Merit Scholarship (won by Zach Biermann).

“It’s gotten a lot bigger than I ever would’ve imagined,” Hall said.

Hall has been involved in baseball in some way for more than half a century, starting with the West Bend Recreation Department when he was 8 years old. He played baseball with his brothers whenever the opportunity arose and doing that, he said, was one of his fondest memories growing up in West Bend.

He got hooked to baseball for good when in 1972 – often serving as a bat boy – the Spartans won the WIAA summer baseball state championship, coached by WBBA Wall of Famer Jim Cahoon. One player from that team he looked up to was Bill Lechner. He was 10 years old at that time.

“He was a great four-sport athlete,” Hall said. “He was a second baseman and pitcher on that team. Bill would pick me up and I’d go to the games and think this is the coolest thing on Earth; we’ve got a big-time baseball team.”

To Hall, Lechner was like a celebrity. He was also a mentor.

“He wanted to spend time with us; he really enjoyed working with kids, showing us how to play sports,” Hall said. “I thought, ‘Maybe someday I could do that.’ He was quite an inspiration.”

At West, Hall was a three-sport athlete, also playing football and hockey. But upon graduation from high school, his mind, his heart was set on baseball. He joined the Barton baseball club in 1980. In 1983, he made the All-Star team, hitting .367 with 4 home runs and 18 RBIs.

Then, in 1988, he made one of the biggest contributions in the history of West Bend baseball with the founding of the West Bend Company baseball team. Today, that team is known as the West Bend 7 UP. The team won the Land O’ Lakes Northern Division eight times between 1994to 2004. Hall was a player and/or manager for those teams. In 17 years with the team, the team was 237-64 and won the Grand Championship in 2001 and 2002, becoming the first West Bend team to accomplish that feat since 1935.

Hall also formed the Sunday Night “Old-Timers” baseball league, which is still active today.

“It means a lot,” Hall said of the induction.

For Meisenheimer, he’ll be remembered for his off-the-field contributions to West Bend baseball.

After moving to West Bend in 1970, he joined the Amity softball team. Later, from 1971 to 1973, while working for The Threshold, he was responsible for raising money for the organization, which included the annual Lithia Benefit Game, featuring the Lithia against Barton.

In 1992, Meisenheimer got involved in the West Bend Little League, eventually serving on the organization’s committees and later the Board. He also was behind the formation of the West Bend Warrior youth traveling baseball team, which has enjoyed plenty of success over the years.

Meisenheimer joined the WBBA in 2005 as its secretary. Also that year, he began work with the West varsity baseball team, setting up 50/50 raffles at games and hitting groundballs in the Skygarden at the high schools during the winter. He also coordinated bus trips to see the Spartans play in the WIAA summer baseball state tournament in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Later, he joined AM1470 (WBKV) as a color analyst.

“I feel very humbled,” he said of his induction.

Seefeldt will long be remembered for his hitting, especially his power. He averaged 10-15 home runs per season, culminating in more than 100 home runs during a 14-year playing career with the West Bend Lithia. He was also efficient at the plate, hitting near .350 in that span.

On June 18, 1968, Seefeldt hit home runs on each of his first four at-bats in a game against Horicon. He was hit by a pitch in his fifth at-bat. He followed with a double and a single, finishing 6-for-6 with 8 RBIs.

“It’s an honor,” he said, before fighting back tears as he thought and gave credit to his family for their support.

The other award winners were Matt Parrent of West Bend 7 UP (Area Player of the Year) and Adam Rohlinger of the 7 UP (Area Manager of the Year). Also, the 7 UP was recognized as the Land O’ Lakes Grand Champion for the fourth time in team history.

The latest on Carl Kuss Field renovation

Craig Larsen, project manager for the Carl Kuss Field at Regner Park renovation project, provided an update during the ceremony.

He said there is enough funding to start work on the playing field, but funds are still needed for other aspects of the project, including the concession stands and the grandstands.

Construction is hoped to start by mid-August.

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Former MLB umpire entertains West Bend baseball community;voices opinion on robot umpires

Former MLB umpire entertains West Bend baseball community; voices opinion on robot umpires

Former Major League Baseball umpire Bruce Froemming gives the keynote speech during the West Bend Baseball Association's Wall of Fame induction ceremony March 9 at The Columbian. Photo by Nicholas Dettmann.

By Nicholas Dettmann

WEST BEND – Bruce Froemming spent more than 5,000 games in professional baseball as an umpire. On March 9, during the West Bend Baseball Association’s Wall of Fame induction banquet at The Columbian, he shared stories of some of the best players he ever watched, the life of an umpire and his quickest ejection.

But, he also wasn’t shy to give his thoughts on the direction baseball is headed, specifically with replay and a proposed robot umpiring system. Froemming was in attendance at the banquet as its keynote speaker.

“Baseball is making a big mistake,” Froemming said about the idea of a robot umpiring system.

He also mixed in humor. When he got to the podium, he encouraged the attendees to boo him, which the crowd did. Then, he “politely” told them to be quiet. From there, he shared stories of humor, but also amazement as to how difficult life was for an umpire.

“We’re the same as you,” Froemming said. “We get screamed at a lot. Now, as we look back at it, you realize how well I did my job because we didn’t have instant replay. Everything I called was right.”

Then he talked about a possible three-year test with robot umpires to call balls and strikes at a low level of professional baseball.

“This is incredible,” he said. “I’m going to tell you where this comes from. It comes from the people that go to school out at Yale, Harvard, Cornell and wherever. They’re reinventing the game. It’s really BS. It really is bad.

“How they’re going to do this is I’m going to have an earpiece, the umpire, and the pitch is going to come in and you wait for them to tell you, if you can believe this, that’s a strike. Strike one. They told me what to call. They’ve got these machines, they’re good. But there’s certain things they cannot do. For instance, if you bounce a pitch and it goes above the knees and goes through the strike zone, it’s a strike on the machine. … The games are three hours-plus now and you’re talking about balls and strikes. They’re not shortening the game. It’s a disgrace.”

During a question-and-answer session, Froemming, a Milwaukee native, fielded questions about the best players he ever watched, plus how many games he did during a given season. He is the longest-tenured umpire in major league history in terms of the number of full seasons umpired, finishing his 37th season in 2007. He also worked several postseasons – 111 games in all – including five World Series (1976, 1984, 1988, 1990 and 1995). He also umpired a record 11 no-hitters, including one perfect game (Dennis Martinez with the Montreal Expos against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28, 1991).

Best hitters he ever saw included Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn.

“He was a magician with the bat,” Froemming said about Gwynn.

Best pitchers he ever saw included Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton. But he labeled Bob Gibson as the best. One of the reasons he said those pitchers were among his favorites was because they threw strikes, forcing hitters to swing the bat.

As for how many games he did during a season, Froemming said up until about the late 1970s, life was difficult for umpires. From Opening Day until the end of the season, including postseason for some, umpires were on the field in different cities every day of the season. There were no off days, unless there was a cancelation or postponement. That was 162 games per year, plus, some possible playoff games. Very rarely did umpires make it home to see families, unless they lived in the city with an MLB team and they were in town to work those games.

Because of that, he said, divorces were quite frequent for umpires because they rarely saw their spouses or families from April through October. In the late 1970s, that changed when umpires were given vacations, about three or four weeks’ worth they could take during the season. Froemming called that “a lifesaver.”

The stories he shared filled the room with laughter.

His quickest ejection came in a game in St. Louis with Whitey Herzog as the manager of the Cardinals at the time. It was a 100-degree day in St. Louis and it was an early afternoon game. Froemming said he and Herzog got along very well.

But on that 100-degree day, just two pitches into the game, Herzog began screaming at Froemming from the dugout about a call on a pitch. The next pitch goes in, Herzog still yells at Froemming and he slightly gets irritated. After the fourth pitch, Herzog was still on Froemming and he ejected him – four pitches into a game.

Later on, Froemming met up with legendary broadcaster Jack Buck and they talked about the ejection. Buck clued in Froemming about why Herzog did what he did. Froemming said Buck told him that the Cardinals had an off-day the next day and he was to meet a friend to go fishing the next day.

Froemming also shared a story about how his pants were too tight for a game in the minor leagues in Little Rock, Arkansas, and when he squatted into his stance, his pants ripped. The next day, he sees a picture of his butt with a hole in his pants on the front page of the newspaper. The headline? “Official opening.”

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Doug Hall’s circle is complete with Wall of Fame induction

 

REVIEW: Latest ‘Phantom of the Opera’ is unlike you have ever seen it

"The Phantom of the Opera" returns to Milwaukee in grand and spectacular fashion at the Marcus Center for Performing Arts. Nicholas Dettmann photo.

By Nicholas Dettmann

MILWAUKEE – When you’re Broadway’s longest running show, you have to change things up a bit to maintain that titles. Well, with “The Phantom of the Opera,” mission accomplished in grand and spectacular fashion.

Through March 17, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is hosting the latest national tour for the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic love story. Based on the French novel by Gaston Leroux, the central plot for “The Phantom of the Opera” revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius living beneath the Paris Opera House. The Phantom haunts the Opera House while a cast prepares for an opera, professing his love for the beautiful voice of Christine. If that opera doesn’t showcase Christine, he promises penalties beyond their wildest imaginations. In the process he falls in love with more than Christine’s voice.

Produced by Cameron Mackintosh with The Really Useful Group and NETworks Presentations, “The Phantom of the Opera” steps up its proverbial game with enhanced staging, stage design, scene changes and costumes, as well as a collection pyrotechnics bring the story to fans better than ever before.

More than 50 people complete the cast as well as the orchestra to make it one of the largest productions on tour in North America, according to a media briefing packet.

“With ‘Phantom’ still the reigning champion as the longest-running production on Broadway after 30 phenomenal years, with no end in sight, I’m delighted that this spectacular new production of ‘Phantom’ has been well received in the U.S. as the brilliant original and has already been seen by over 3.7 million people across North America since it opened in November 2013,” Mackintosh said in a news release. “With an exciting new design and staging, retaining Maria Bjornson’s amazing costumes, the new ‘Phantom’ is thrilling audiences and critics alike all over again.”

Yes it is.

I last saw it in the early 2000s, also in Milwaukee. At that time, I was still playing string bass so I had a natural curiosity to hear the music. It was magnificent.

I saw it Friday night with my wife, who is an organist and has a degree in music. She had never seen the live version of “The Phantom of the Opera,” but saw the 2004 movie starring Gerard Butler as The Phantom and Emmy Rossum as Christine.

The story starts with an auction on the stage of the Paris Opera House, set in 1911. After bidding completes on a few items, the auctioneer draws the attention to a chandelier hanging over the Marcus Center crowd, covered with a tarp. Suddenly, the tarp is pulled away, lit and the mesmerizing first notes of “The Overture” blare through the speakers of the Marcus Center, rumbling off the walls and under your feet, making you and any music lover quiver.

For this run of “The Phantom of the Opera,” The Phantom is played by Quentin Oliver Lee. His credits include “Prince of Broadway” on Broadway, as well as touring with “Festival of The Lion King” starring as Scar. His performance was breathtaking.

The female lead for the run is by three women – Emma Grimsley (March 6-7), Kaitlyn Davis (March 8-10) and Eva Tavares (March 12-17). On Friday, it was Davis and, like her counterpart, her performance was nothing short of spectacular. Davis has played Christine previously. She’s also performed at Carnegie Hall, as well as on television with “Law & Order: SVU.” She has a solo extended play of original music called “You Got Me.”

Christine’s lover, Raoul, is played by Jordan Craig for the entire run. Craig’s credits include playing the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz” with the Alliance Theater and several shows at the Houston Grand Opera.

One of the pleasant surprises was the mixture of humor into the story. Combining that with seamless set transitions and top-notch special effects helps add to an unforgettable production of one of theater’s greatest productions ever.

And of course, the iconic score, featuring "The Overture" and "Music of the Night."

There are 10 shows remaining. Tickets can be purchased at marcuscenter.org or ticketmaster.com, or by calling 414-273-7206, or visiting the box office at 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee.

Don’t miss it. It’s “Phantom of the Opera” like you’ve never seen it before.

The chandelier hangs from the ceiling moments before the start of the March 8 showing of "The Phantom of the Opera." Nicholas Dettmann photo.