Baseball and Rodeo
By: Ruth Nicolaus
Two American sports come together in Hamel
Greg DeVos is the connecting rope between the Hamel Hawks baseball team and the Hamel Rodeo. Under his guidance, the team volunteers at the rodeo, and receives funds from area organizations like the Hamel Lions, who raise their funds through the Hamel Rodeo concessions stands. Courtesy photo.
Hamel, Minn. – America has birthed a few sports, and two of them: baseball and rodeo, will come together on July 6 in Hamel, Minn.
The Hamel Hawks amateur baseball team and the Hamel Rodeo have plenty of connections.
The Hamel Hawks do volunteer work at the rodeo, and funds raised by the rodeo go towards making the Hawks baseball field a nicer place.
It all started about seven years ago, when Greg DeVos’ son was playing for the Hawks. Two service organizations, the Hamel Lions and the Lord of Life Military Family Support Ministry, asked the Hawks if they’d like to volunteer at the rodeo, which this year, will be held July 7-10.
The baseball players, who usually range in age from 18 to 35, are perfect candidates for helping with the bigger tasks, like setting up fencing around the Corcoran Lions Club perimeter, and putting the steel panels up for the rodeo arena.
Volunteering is something the Hawks require of their players. DeVos, who is general manager, said it’s good experience for them. “The young players say to me, why do we have to volunteer? I explain, the rodeo’s a big deal, and when they volunteer, they enjoy it.” The young men are more able to do the manual labor than the older generation, too. “They can pound in fences,” DeVos said, and other heavy lifting jobs that come up during rodeo setup.
“I tell them, this is a great thing to put on your resume.”
The Hawks have another rodeo connection. The Hamel Lions are helping fund the Hawks baseball field renovation, and the Lions raise their funds through volunteering at the Hamel Rodeo. The Lions have purchased a new scoreboard for the field, new grandstands are in the works, and the field has new lights.
DeVos has multiple rodeo connections. Not only is he the general manager for the Hawks, but he is president of the Hamel Lions, is a voting member of the Hamel Rodeo committee, and is on the rodeo parade committee, too.
This year, FOX 9 TV will visit the Hamel Hawks on July 6 as part of their Town Ball Tour. The game starts at 7:30 pm; FOX 9 will broadcast live from the ballpark beginning at 5 pm, with postgame coverage at 9 and 10 pm and giveaway bags and yard games. The Anderson Daniels band will play from 5-7 pm before the ball game.
All events are free to the public. Pony rides and concessions will be available, for a fee.
The Hamel Hawks have been a successful ball club. They have won state twice (1987, 1997) and have qualified for the state tournament twenty consecutive years. Their website is http://hamelhawks.teams.mnbaseball.org/
The team is coached by Tim Flemming, who, over his 44 years in baseball, started as a bat boy, then progressed to player and is now coach. He played on two Minnesota Amateur Baseball State Championship Hawks teams (1987, 1997).
This year’s Hamel Rodeo is July 7-10 at Corcoran Lions Park in Corcoran. Performances begin at 7:30 pm on July 7-10, with a 1 pm matinee on Saturday, July 9.
All tickets are general admission and are $24, except for the Saturday matinee; those tickets are $18.
To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the website at HamelRodeo.org.