TinCaps honor their heroes

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The roots of baseball in Fort Wayne go back to the very beginning. But many in Fort Wayne wouldn't know that.

"Some people think there wasn't baseball in Fort Wayne before 1993 when we first got a minor league baseball team in town," said Michael Limmer from the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

But that couldn't be further from the truth. The baseball tradition is rich and it dates back over 130 years. Many have no idea the Kekiongas were the first professional team to play in Fort Wayne. And they participated in the first professional game in 1871.

Many people have no idea who Dottie Collins is. Or, that she played for the Fort Wayne Daisies in the All American Girls Baseball League while the men went off to war. They have no idea Gena Davis was Dottie Collins in the major motion picture, A League of Their Own.

Also, you might not know, one of the first night baseball games was played right here in Fort Wayne. Or, that the Wildcat League was created by a local man named Dale McMillen Senior or "Dr. Mac."
 

He gave thousands of local kids an equal opportunity to play the game. But at the new Parkview Field "Dr. Mac" and dozens of others will no longer be forgotten.

"It's a picture of Dale Mcmillen, Mr. Mac, as he's called, sitting there with Jackie Robinson, Carl Erskine, Bob Feller, and Ted Williams at a park at a Wildcat League event here in Fort Wayne," said Limmer.

Pictures of former players and teams will cover the concourse and the suites.

"We want people to say oh I didn't know that, or my grandpa played on that team, or I didn't know that person came from Fort Wayne," said Limmer.

Chad Gramling is the author of the book "Baseball in Fort Wayne."

"Before i knew it I was knee deep in the research and probably could have done three or four more volumes of it if I had the room for it," said Fort Wayne baseball historian Chad Gramling.

Chad was a big part of the Parkview Field project. He hopes that his work and the work of many others will influence the lives of baseball fans to come.

"Experience and learn that and pass that on and share that with their kids and grandchildren and really enjoy the past time together," said Gramling.

On Friday night a number of Fort Wayne baseball heroes will be honored at the TinCaps second game.