Staking a Claim
It was just sitting there.
Untouched for years since the river drowned the efforts of former Moline Legion coach Clyde Bierd to maintain it, Veterans Park rotted away and vegetation overtook the old diamond.
Then came a unique league built on the principle of playing a game just because its fun. It's a league without egos--a league of men who don't seek fame or recognition. However, after years of fighting for a field, Veto League Baseball remained nomadic. From Saukie, to Black Hawk, to Moline High School, the travel became tiresome.
The breaking point arrived early this year.
"It was the last thing that sucked about this league," VLB commissioner Matt Veto said. "If we could get a field that would consistently be empty, the league could grow."
After contacting the parks department and Moline Little League, promising leads to securing unused Veterans Park started to surface. A renovating-the-field day was circled on the calendar: Sunday, May 21.
Several die-hard ballplayers turned out to help. Armed with shovels, rakes, and even a metal detector, some members came just to work. For those that assisted in the unglamorous efforts of weed pulling, raking, and grooming, the VLB is in a debt of gratitude.
The parks department is in control of the land, but the field is unofficially in control of the VLB. With no pitching rubber, Veterans Park is useless to little league. The VLB needs no pitching rubber. It's a small card to hold.
"Why people throw a huge hissy-fit over guys playing baseball on a baseball field I will never understand," Veto said. "We rake when we're done. We play our game and leave. We're not the people who set off fireworks at Saukie or dig holes at Black Hawk. We just love baseball and now we're home."
For the rest of the season, VLB games will be played at Veterans Park. With little worry of losing the field to a Little League game, the days of traveling appear to be over.
Of course, the war has just begun. Mother Nature is the next immediate foe.
Flooding killed Moline Legion and the Rock River will forever threaten. Still, the show will go on.
Kilgard Wedding
There is no greater fan of the Chicago Cubs or Veto League Baseball than Jeff Kilgard. The Coal Valley native is so obsessed with baseball, that his wedding on Saturday, May 20 had an interesting, baseball-related twist.
"My guarder was a Cubs guarder," Shelby Kilgard (formerly Connell) admitted. Unfortunately for Shelby, she said yes, and there's no turning back.
Unbelievably the vows lasted past Sunday when Jeff decided his honeymoon had gone on long enough. After opening wedding gifts in the morning, the new Kilgard Family arrived at Veterans Park tardy, but made it nonetheless. Shelby is without a doubt biggest trooper of the VLB.
Vandals 18, SNK Crushers 7
Of course there was the matter of Sunday's game.
The Vandals (1-2) earned their first win of the season and become the first team to win a game on a VLB-official Veterans Park opener.
The deeper fence has already proven difficult for some to handle. Without the easy long ball, Brett Carlson is threatening retirement. His disgust showed after lining what would have been an RBI single to center field. However, Carlson walked to first and was thrown out 8-6-3. Bobby Carter did not score.
Whether Carlson will truly join Lance McCafferty on the holdout list remains to be seen.
The Vandals were led by hot-hitting John Kelley who plated three runs on five hits. Carter and Josh Francque each had four hits for the SNK Crushers in the loss. Josh Paul briefly captained the struggling Crushers, named after the popular NES game Baseball Stars. Jeff Kilgard arrived later to take over and continue to lose.
It was just sitting there.
Untouched for years since the river drowned the efforts of former Moline Legion coach Clyde Bierd to maintain it, Veterans Park rotted away and vegetation overtook the old diamond.
Then came a unique league built on the principle of playing a game just because its fun. It's a league without egos--a league of men who don't seek fame or recognition. However, after years of fighting for a field, Veto League Baseball remained nomadic. From Saukie, to Black Hawk, to Moline High School, the travel became tiresome.
The breaking point arrived early this year.
"It was the last thing that sucked about this league," VLB commissioner Matt Veto said. "If we could get a field that would consistently be empty, the league could grow."
After contacting the parks department and Moline Little League, promising leads to securing unused Veterans Park started to surface. A renovating-the-field day was circled on the calendar: Sunday, May 21.
Several die-hard ballplayers turned out to help. Armed with shovels, rakes, and even a metal detector, some members came just to work. For those that assisted in the unglamorous efforts of weed pulling, raking, and grooming, the VLB is in a debt of gratitude.
The parks department is in control of the land, but the field is unofficially in control of the VLB. With no pitching rubber, Veterans Park is useless to little league. The VLB needs no pitching rubber. It's a small card to hold.
"Why people throw a huge hissy-fit over guys playing baseball on a baseball field I will never understand," Veto said. "We rake when we're done. We play our game and leave. We're not the people who set off fireworks at Saukie or dig holes at Black Hawk. We just love baseball and now we're home."
For the rest of the season, VLB games will be played at Veterans Park. With little worry of losing the field to a Little League game, the days of traveling appear to be over.
Of course, the war has just begun. Mother Nature is the next immediate foe.
Flooding killed Moline Legion and the Rock River will forever threaten. Still, the show will go on.
Kilgard Wedding
There is no greater fan of the Chicago Cubs or Veto League Baseball than Jeff Kilgard. The Coal Valley native is so obsessed with baseball, that his wedding on Saturday, May 20 had an interesting, baseball-related twist.
"My guarder was a Cubs guarder," Shelby Kilgard (formerly Connell) admitted. Unfortunately for Shelby, she said yes, and there's no turning back.
Unbelievably the vows lasted past Sunday when Jeff decided his honeymoon had gone on long enough. After opening wedding gifts in the morning, the new Kilgard Family arrived at Veterans Park tardy, but made it nonetheless. Shelby is without a doubt biggest trooper of the VLB.
Vandals 18, SNK Crushers 7
Of course there was the matter of Sunday's game.
The Vandals (1-2) earned their first win of the season and become the first team to win a game on a VLB-official Veterans Park opener.
The deeper fence has already proven difficult for some to handle. Without the easy long ball, Brett Carlson is threatening retirement. His disgust showed after lining what would have been an RBI single to center field. However, Carlson walked to first and was thrown out 8-6-3. Bobby Carter did not score.
Whether Carlson will truly join Lance McCafferty on the holdout list remains to be seen.
The Vandals were led by hot-hitting John Kelley who plated three runs on five hits. Carter and Josh Francque each had four hits for the SNK Crushers in the loss. Josh Paul briefly captained the struggling Crushers, named after the popular NES game Baseball Stars. Jeff Kilgard arrived later to take over and continue to lose.
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