Ronald Dixon of Shoreview e-mailed me this memory of his uncle, Ole Lucken, a great slugger when town-team baseball was the king of summer in these parts after World War II. I enjoyed reading this, and would recommend that people with an interest in Minnesota's baseball past go for it.

By RONALD DIXON

I never paid much attention to my uncle when he talked of the past, living down there on Lexington Avenue near University. He would sit in his easy chair and talk about the old baseball days.

His eyes searched the yellowed wallpaper as if scanning for clues to a bygone era. His only audience was an occasional niece, nephew or mouse.

Somewhere back in his memory was a club called the Faribault Lakers in the AA Southern Minny. They competed against other towns throughout the state's southern plains. Miles of winding rivers, prairies and farms separated places like Owatonna, Albert Lea, Waseca and Austin.

In those days, the match-ups were fierce rivalries, pitting one boisterous crowd against another as the teams went head-to-head for the yearly crown.

Uncle Ole always pointed to a framed article hanging on the wall, his big write up in the Minneapolis Tribune, dated April 26, 1946 by Mark Cox. Back then he played for the Gophers and baseball (and basketball) coach Dave MacMillan. Bud Grant was a teammate in 1947.

Apparently, as a freshman in 1941, Ole hit so many balls over the old Northrup Field fence, they had to move it back a ways. Then the war came and he had to be content playing on Navy's baseball team between flying cargo over the Pacific.

On Ole's return, his new coach Dick Siebert recommended he play in the Southern Minny League rather than trying the pros. He would have a lot more playing time and probably a lot more fun. Ole never regretted that decision. He also made it known that he always outhit Moose Skowron, who was playing for Austin, and he "always got better as the year went on," when Moose did not.

We heard Ole repeat these tales endlessly and never really believed he was that great of a player. But he would say, "It's all there in black and white,'' if anyone wanted to look up the old newspapers.

Uncle Ole died in December 1985, and I decided to do just that. I searched the microfiche collection at the James J. Hill library and unearthed the evidence. He played games at the old Lexington ballpark. That was where his Norwegian father yelled at him from the stands, thinking he was supposed to hit a home run every time at bat.

He played semi-pro ball at age 25, and won state championships in Rimson, Iowa and as a hired "ringer'' for the playoffs in Rice Lake, Wis. In the 1951 playoffs in the Southern Minny, he hit seven home runs and batted .572 in nine games for Faribault. He led Skowron in season slugging percentage at .643. \

Uncle Ole's last season was 1957 for Forest Lake. He batted .489 and hit a grand slam in his final at-bat, saying he only had "one good swing" left in him.

This is not to brag of Ole Lucken's accomplishments; instead, it is to point out a simpler time when communities gathered outdoors, and good fun was the name of the game.

FOOTNOTE: I did a quick search for Ole Lucken and baseball, and this was the first thing that popped up:

APRIL 14,1946: Gophers humble Huskers

MINNEAPOLIS -- Paced by Ole Lucken, Minnesota swamped the Nebraska baseball team, 8-1, Saturday for the second win in two days. Lucken duplicated his Friday performance ( a game won by the Gophers, 6-0) by smacking out two doubles, a triple and crossing the plate twice himself.