McMinnville Gristmiller Vintage Base Ball Club

10/28/2023

2023 Game Day photos from our Club photographer Chuck Hillestad.

10/27/2023

09/09/2023

09/05/2023

June 13, 1958
A possible pioneer relative examines the famous millstones from the Old Kinney Mill in McMinnville City Park. John C. Hammer, public service commissioner of Tennessee, and resident of McMinnville, Tennessee, points out the stones to Emerson E. Bolz, Linfield student in 1923-25, who came here with him Thursday from a public service officials’ conference in Portland. The old stones were used by W. T. Newby, founder of McMinnville, Oregon, who came here in 1848 from McMinnville, Tennessee. The stones were set in the memorial marker by the Oregon Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1929. Hammer’s mother-in-law, now 86, who lives at his Tennessee, home, was a Newby.

09/05/2023

What is a Gristmiller you ask?

08/16/2023

Our McMinnville Gristmiller Vintage Base Ball Club Manager, "Stretch", will be at Harvest Fest this Saturday and Sunday.. We'll have our sign up sheet in hand if you're interested in joining the club as a player or want to volunteer during the event. Come throw the ball around with us, take a turn at bat, and take a picture in your best 1866 baseball player pose. We have a small exhibition near the schoolhouse from 11am to 1pm on Saturday. If you can't make it out this weekend, see the meeting/practice schedule in the album.

08/09/2023

"open field" try-outs and volunteer sign up this Saturday August 12, 11am at the Heritage Center. We'll be in the field next to the one room schoolhouse.

07/02/2023

Hey team, our manager sent many of you a text msg as well; Pioneers are playing this Friday in West Linn and would like our help subs. Here's the message and get back to me asap if you can make it..."Hi Dave: The Willamettes have put together a team (they couldn't field one last year) to play us at the Annual Old Time Fair on Friday night July 7th. Let me know if you're interested in getting in some innings for us. They basically put us on a softball field until it turns dark (getting in about a 5 or 6 inning game). It is the first night of the 3 day annual Fair. Location is Willamette Park in West Linn."

03/31/2023

It's ! We thought we'd mark the occasion with this image of a Jacksonville-based baseball team who claimed the title of “Champions of Oregon” in 1877. Note the initials on the uniforms denoting playing positions: P=pitcher, SS=shortstop, etc. (Southern Oregon Historical Society image)

02/24/2023

AND001: Rural Baseball Player Posing For Camera at Wasco, Oregon c1930.

Baseball since it’s post Civil War days to current day has always been called “America’s Pastime” and for good reason. It was a game that all could play & surround with family outings. During the Depression years of the 1930’s this was never more true than in the smaller rural areas where it was often not economically possible to get to the larger town venues with their big league or minor league teams…if their was one close enough at all! Small towns would round up members from the community and form their own leagues that family & community members could come, watch, eat snacks & enjoy!

In this restoration, my grandfather Guy C. Andrews is posing in his baseball uniform for his team in rural Wasco, Oregon at his farm in Wasco circa 1930.

Guy was a catcher and also manager for the Wasco team and was good enough to be drafted & signed by a scout for the New York Yankees but he never played for them owing to problems on the farm that required his taking care of. He was also a player/manager of the baseball team in nearby Condon earlier.

In addition to running his farm, he was also an engineer for the Great Northern Railroad for a time.

Even after his “career” was over in baseball, he helped kids develop love for the game by helping them develop their baseball skills while still running his farm.

He died in The Dalles, OR on Dec. 30, 1960.