Star Tribune's Secret Fan: Cannon Falls is truly town ball

Secret Fan, Star Tribune

Cannon Falls baseball

This is the fifth in a 10-part series about some of the destinations available to Minnesota sports fans.

Last update: June 25, 2009 - 11:34 PM

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Editor's note: We sent various Star Tribune staff members out to different summer sporting events and asked them to write about the experience from the perspective of a fan. This is what the anonymous "Secret Fan" found:

Arriving in Cannon Falls some two hours early for the Bears' town team baseball game, I sought refreshment at the Mill Street Tavern.

Town ball in Minnesota, nearly 50 years past its prime, still has a home in towns where on the same tavern wall you can see ESPN's coverage of the Yankees-Red Sox game on a flat screen television near a wooden sign reading "16 miles to Kenyon."

Walk west across the Main Street bridge, past the Cannon Valley trail head and over the Little Cannon River, and you get a view into John Burch Park. Cannon Falls High School's varsity baseball team also calls the park home, and many recent graduates are still in uniform. In fact, 19 of the 24 Bears' players are alums.

A few players chased their sports dreams before returning with stories to share. Pitcher/infielder Matt Klein played goaltender for Minnesota-Duluth's hockey team. Team manager and pitcher/outfielder Keith Meyers signed a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Others made their memories within city limits. Rich Burr, in his 19th season with the Bears, was the team's batboy back when his father and uncle played. His children now attend his games.

A ticket cost $2, which is $1 cheaper than the wheelage tax to ride your bicycle on the Cannon Valley Trail. A hot dog costs $2 and you can purchase a 12-ounce beer for the same price. Popcorn costs just 75 cents and you will get a free refill if you spill half the bag on the concession stand counter.

Built in 1938, John Burch Park has been updated several times through the years, including construction of the grandstand behind home plate in 1985. However, fans sitting on concrete slabs or folding chairs above the first base line with no net to protect them or obscure their view outnumbered those in the stands 3-to-1.

Fans offered some support to the Bears, but mostly talked about life without piped-in music or bizarre promotional activities to consume the senses.

About 50 people showed up for the game, which the Bears lost 9-4 to the Edina E-Sox. Cannon Falls led 4-0 until Edina scored seven times in the seventh inning, highlighted by a home run over the left field fence that landed near the Little Cannon River.

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