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Reflections: Baseball
Sigma Chi Baseball at Swede Johnson Stadium
Eugene, Oregon
Almost exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator and nestled evenly between the Pacific and the Cascades, is the city of Eugene. Arguably it's the loveliest small town in America.
Whether you enter Eugene from the south on Franklin or from the north over the Ferry Street Bridge, what you immediately find is a heavily wooded campus, emerald green. Adding to the natural beauty are magnificent old buildings astride a slow moving stream called the Mill Race. Here is the University of Oregon, home of the Ducks. It's been that way since 1876.
It's also home of the Beta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi, founded in 1908. Scores of Beta Iota men have been nationally recognized for great achievement. Authors, screen writers, doctors, pilots, academics, athletes, business men, the list goes on and on. An example: What other Chapter can claim three Significant Sigs from one single pledge class?
Among those that Beta Iota Sigs brag about is the late great Swede Johnson, class of 1952. After graduation, Swede went on to become one of the most successful lumber brokers the Willamette Valley. The oddity is that it is not the his lumber that causes people to remember Swede. What they remember most were his giant-sized contributions to youth baseball.
This has not gone unrecognized.
Sigma Chi Baseball at Swede Johnson Stadium
The good news is that the ball park Swede helped build has his name on it. Next to an electronic scoreboard (of major league quality) is a great big sign that reads: "Swede Johnson Stadium".
Technically, the Stadium belongs to North Eugene High School, home of the Highlanders. In fact, all of Eugene claims ownership. From home plate to the left filed pole is 320 feet; to right, it's 328. The eight foot high home run fence glitters with advertising from the leaders of the town....Sigma Chi included. The grounds are immaculate, the cut grass as perfect as the eighteenth hole at St Andrews. A dozen very tall light standards allow night baseball -- some of which is played until nearly midnight. There are padded chairs for every single fan. All of it to major league standards.
The kids of Lane County - indeed kids all over Oregon -- owe Swede a lot. So too do the tens of thousands of parents who have come to cheer for boys who are learning what "brotherhood" is all about.
This summer the connection between Swede's accomplishments, Sigma Chi, and youth baseball have been made especially close. Thanks to generous contributions from the Beta Iota Alumni, high school kids ages 15, 16, and 17 are playing in uniforms blazed with the name Sigma Chi. This is an American Legion team -- organized by Carl Nickolson, the Swede Johnson of our time. The team is called the Sigma Chi Challengers; perfect for those who appreciate the nature of our quest.
The spearhead behind this effort is John Hibbs, Beta Iota Class of '64. As you can expect, John's passionate about baseball, passionate about kids, passionate about the Ducks -- and *very* passionate about Sigma Chi. Like other Sigs at Oregon, John loves to watch "his" team dressed with Sigma Chi letters writ large across their jerseys. Says John: "All of us grin when we hear the loudspeaker boom out the words 'Sigma Chi' - several times an inning. But what's even better is when the kids come up, repeatedly, and tell us 'thanks for sponsoring the team'."
Sigma Chi Baseball at Swede Johnson Stadium
The catch is that John is deeply worried that the community has the wrong idea about what the Fraternity is all about. Sitting in the stands he gets insights into the concerns of the parents....always the question: "How much drinking goes on?" "What do you do about it?". There are no glib answers because the problems are widespread and deadly serious. What he tells them, honestly, is that the adult leadership is fervently opposed to rush activities where drinking is the clarion call. "What we need are programs which will elevate the perception of what Sigma Chi is actually all about -- particularly to the parents of those we wish to recruit. We also need to improve our contact management systems, both for purposes of tracking outstanding high schoolers and to ensure our message reaches all the stakeholders." He goes on to pitch "baseball" as an activity that both alumni and undergraduates can "rally around".
Hibbs has no illusions that changing perceptions can be done quickly or easily. This September John begins his third year as House Director of the Beta Iota Chapter. For him, two years of residence "up front and close" has revealed "a ferocious resistance to change". He has also learned of deeply held beliefs that "frats" are conduits to excessive alcohol consumption. He knows better than anyone that a single summer of baseball won't change much of that.
The good news is that the boys who play in American Legion baseball are required to choose between beer and baseball. More good news is this is enforced by parents and coaches who are more interested in character building than wins and losses. But the best news of all is that inside Swede Johnson Stadium - and its counterparts around the nation - are lots of motivated people ready for enlistment in a worthy, common cause.
Yes, there is some heavy lifting ahead.....but for men like Swede Johnson, overcoming hard challenge is the reason they are so long remembered.
Sigma Chi Baseball at Swede Johnson Stadium
Beta Iota Alumni Association Home page
Beta Iota Alumni Association Actitivities Page
Beta Iota Alumni Association Baseball Page
Reflections of a House Director: Baseball
Reflections of a House Director: Badges, Baseball and Banking
Reflections of a House Director: Eugene in the Summer
Home Page for Sigma Chi Baseball
Hibbs Article: About Baseball, Bus Rides and Brotherhood
Hibbs Article: Significant Sig Swede Johnson, and Swede Johnson Stadium
Hibbs Article: Recruiting, Summer Jobs and Bank of America
Hibbs Article: Abner Doubleday and the Sigma Chi Founders -- a lot in common
