A 1906 bar bet has turned into a tradition on summer solstice

By VAN WILLIAMS
Anchorage Daily News


FAIRBANKS -- It began as a bar bet 100 years ago. Who'd win a baseball game played in the middle of the night under the Midnight Sun? Fairbanks' California Bar or the Eagle's Club?

So they organized a game that started at 11 p.m. and ended at 12:30, with the California Bar "Drinks" handily dispatching the Eagle's Club "Smokes" 7-4 before an estimated crowd of 1,500 -- in a game contested years before the first tent went up in Anchorage.

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning they did it again, for the 100th time, as always without the benefit of artificial lights.

"The game dates back to the very beginning of the town, so I think it's all about Fairbanks," said Fairbanks assistant general manager Todd Dennis, who broadcasts games live on the Internet while also handling public address announcing duties during home games.

Don Korsmo of Seattle, working construction here this summer, wouldn't miss it.

"I reserved my ticket a couple weeks ago," said Korsmo, 47. "It's pretty cool when you can go to a baseball game in the middle of the night with no lights."

The only lights visible are from the scoreboard or headlights on the road behind center field.

Playing baseball in the middle of the night for 100 years has helped the Midnight Sun Game reach legendary proportions among baseball fans.

Word is spreading.

Goldpanners assistant GM Dennis said at least 20 journalists from around the country, including reporters with The New York Times, Chicago Sun Times, ESPN.com and National Public Radio were there. So were cameras from two network morning shows.

"Everybody wants to get a piece of it these days, whereas back in the '70s and '80s we went largely unnoticed except for the real die-hard fans," said Dennis, who has worked for the Goldpanners since he was 9 years old.

"Now it's the average person that's getting a chance to find out about it, which is great."

If tourists consider the Midnight Sun Game a must-see attraction, locals consider it a birthright. Hundreds of fans arrived early in campers, RVs and pickup trucks for tailgate parties.

Gates opened at 8:30 p.m., two hours before the first pitch, but fans started filling the parking lot as early as 7.

"This is the highlight of the celebration of solstice in Fairbanks," said Jeff Johnson, a Goldpanners' season-ticket holder.

By 9 p.m., most of the crowd had flowed into the stadium. Growden Memorial Park seats only 3,500, but there may have been twice that many in attendance, although the Goldpanners don't keep an official tally.

The enormous turnout forced a temporary standing-room-only section to be added alongside left field and caused the evening's split-the-pot winnings to swell to an all-time high.

The Goldpanners didn't disappoint the large, energetic crowd, winning their 13th straight Midnight Sun Game 3-1 over the Omaha (Neb.) Strike Zone behind hometown pitcher Sean Timmons.

At midnight, the game was stopped for the singing of the "Alaska Flag Song" and throwing out the ceremonial midnight pitch.

By 12:54 a.m., Fairbanks reliever Garrett Hill got the final out to end the game and send the team's faithful home happy yet again. The sun had officially set nearly a half-hour earlier, but it was still light enough to keep playing.

Just like 100 years ago.

"It's sunny out now, and it's 1 in the morning. It's crazy," said Omaha's Adam Engekamp, who is from Nebraska. "I'll always remember this."


MORE THAN A GAME

Visiting Alaska for the first time, George and Margaret Hills of Salt Lake City wanted to experience everything the Last Frontier offered. They panned for gold in Fairbanks, saw Mount McKinley and planned to fish for salmon on the Kenai River.

But their trip wouldn't have been complete unless they attended the Midnight Sun Game. Avid baseball fans, the couple used to attend nearly every Texas Rangers home game.

They've traveled to ballparks all over the West, and planned their day in Fairbanks around the late game.

"We took our naps," said Margaret, 63. "So you know we gotta stay up."

Once the clock struck 12 in the top of the sixth inning, the game was stopped.

The Rev. Mary Ann Warden of Barrow sang the Alaska Flag Song, just as she had at Midnight Sun games in the 1970s and 1980s. She performed the song in Inupiaq, and received by far the loudest ovation of the night.

Next came the ceremonial midnight pitch, handled by former Boston Red Sox great Bobby Doerr, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. Doerr watched his first Midnight Sun Game in 1970 and came back this year for the 100th anniversary.

"Everybody should have an opportunity to come to Alaska and see the Midnight Sun Game," Doerr said.

Even after the ceremonial obligations were finished, the energy of the crowd didn't wane. A few people left after the Alaska Flag Song, but for the most part the place remained packed. Fans are loyal to the game.

"It's an event -- something you can say you were at," Dennis said.

The line to get into Growden Memorial Park before the game extended nearly two city blocks and took at least 45 minutes to get through. Fans received a free baseball commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Midnight Sun Game and were treated to a gorgeous sunset.

With few reserved seats, finding a place to sit down was nearly impossible, especially for fans who arrived after 9 p.m. People sat wherever they could -- in the isles of the bleachers, on the railing of the bleachers, on top of the Goldpanners' dugout. Some didn't find seats at all and had to stand all game.

On this night, though, nothing seemed to matter but the centennial game.

Nobody cared about the screaming kids, some still in Little League uniforms, running wild around the ballpark well past their bedtime. Nobody grumbled when they had to wait 20 minutes to use the bathroom. Nobody complained about waiting a full inning for a hot dog.

Seth Myers, a UAF graduate student from Colorado, appreciated the laid back feeling of the evening. A former New Yorker who has watched games at Yankee Stadium, Myers quickly noted how differently people treated each other compared to the East coast.

"Here, you're everybody's best friend," Myers said. "It's really something."

Clear skies and beautiful weather kept people in their seats. So did the game, the camaraderie and the beer.

At 11:10 p.m., the first wave pulsed through the crowd.

At 11:38 p.m., the Goldpanners took the lead for good.

At 11:54 p.m., Goldpanners Internet broadcaster and former pitcher Zak Basch was given a birthday cake in the press box for turning 24.

"I'm a Goldpanner for life," said Basch, a Toledo native who helped lead the Fairbanks team to the 2002 National Baseball Congress World Series title.

Basch, who now lives in Reno, Nev., started working for the Goldpanners this summer and said the buildup for the 100th Midnight Sun Game started the day after last year's game ended.

"You can almost feel this day approaching," Basch said. "These people wait the whole winter for the solstice and this game."


HISTORY OF THE GAME

The Midnight Sun Game is much more than a game -- it's a celebration of Fairbanks that brings the community together.

Dennis, the assistant general manager, said the Goldpanners love to showcase the players, the team and the Golden Heart city.

By Alaska standards, the game has a long history.

From 1906 to 1959, various local and military teams played. In 1960, the Goldpanners began hosting the event. The team actually played three different midnight games that first year, before settling on the summer solstice date.

The only thing nearly as consistent as bountiful sunlight on June 21 is a Goldpanners victory. This year's win gives Fairbanks a 36-10 record since 1960, including a string of 13 straight dating back to a 2-1 loss to the Victor Valley (Calif.) Mets in 1992. Fairbanks has only lost four of midnight games since 1974.

"You can go out and lose another game and the town doesn't really look at it the same way as losing the Midnight Sun Game," said Goldpanners catcher Johnny Ray. "We don't want to lose this one."

They usually don't. Most years, the Goldpanners play against nonleague teams but ABL rivals sometimes make the trek, too. Fairbanks beat the Peninsula Oilers 9-1 last year, for instance.

The game typically ends around 1 a.m., but some have gone deep into the night. In 1998, the home team beat the Morgana Marauders 8-0 in a game that didn't end until 3:06 a.m. In 1981, the Goldpanners put away the Intermountain Badgers at 3:02 a.m.

Most of the crowd hangs around until the end -- no matter how late. That's part of the whole tradition. You haven't really been to a Midnight Sun Game unless you've seen the sunrise at the ballpark.

"You have to be here to see it," Basch said.

Before this year's game, Goldpanners founder Red Boucher, general manager Don Dennis and president Bill Stoecker were honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame before the game. Stoecker's father, Eddie, played in the original Midnight Sun Game a century ago.

The three men are largely responsible for making the Midnight Sun Game what it is today.

"This is a great event for baseball, Alaska and all of America," said Greg Harris, director of development for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.


THE 100TH GAME

As if celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Midnight Sun Game wasn't enough to make this year memorable, Sean Timmons emerged to add another chapter to the game's legacy.

Timmons, 30, came out of ABL retirement to pitch in Tuesday night's game, the first time he had pitched in a real game since last season. He had not expected to play in what would be his eighth season with the Goldpanners because he's about to start school in Savannah, Ga., to be a physician's assistant.

School doesn't start until next week, though, so Timmons planned to at least watch the game.

But Goldpanners manager Ed Cheff had other plans. He wanted Timmons to start the Midnight Sun Game for the third time in four seasons.

"I was like, 'OK, I guess I better start throwing,' " said Timmons, the Goldpanners' all-time leader with 25 career wins. "I hadn't thrown since July of last year."

Despite the layoff, Timmons was relatively sharp. He settled down after allowing a run in the first inning, going five innings to earn his record third Midnight Sun Game victory. The right-hander seemed to get better with time, collecting six of his seven strikeouts in his final three innings of work.

A Fairbanks native, Timmons appreciates the meaning of the game and the importance it has on the community more than any other player. But no matter how many times he takes the mound, he still has to pinch himself to make sure it's all really happening.

"I was making my third start in the Midnight Sun Game and I still had to stop, look around and take it all in," Timmons said. "It gets better every time. It's awesome. This one being the 100, it's even more special."

And to top it all off, Timmons' No. 33 jersey was shipped off to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., where it will go on display for the world to see.

Omaha's Adam Engekamp knows he isn't going to Cooperstown anytime soon. But he did get to play in the 100th Midnight Sun Game, and that may be as close as he gets to the Hall.

"I didn't come up here to get recognized. I came up to see Alaska and play in this game," Engekamp said. "This is the best atmosphere I've ever played in front of."


Daily News reporter Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@adn.com or 257-4335.