DELL RAPIDS — As a player, manager and commissioner, Jim Wilber has been involved with South Dakota amateur baseball for nearly 60 years. 

Wilber’s association with amateur baseball, which began as a player in 1966, included more than 20 years as manager of the Dell Rapids Mudcats. Wilber stepped down as manager after last season and said “I just felt it was time,” after he helped turn the Mudcats into one of the state’s premier teams. 

Wilber, 77, will still be a recognizable amateur baseball figure and a regular at ballparks, but just won’t be making managerial decisions. 

And that’s what he’ll miss the most. 

“I get satisfaction out of putting a team together,” Wilber said. “I always got a kick out of when my teams played well, and continued to improve. I did take pride in coaching winning baseball teams, and all the camaraderie.”

Wilber has been a part of that camaraderie since his playing days, starting with Highmore in 1966. He also played for his hometown team of Miller, Faulkton, Craven Corner and Redfield. 

A right-handed pitcher, Wilber also played all four infield positions. 

Wilber also played amateur baseball with his three brothers — Jeff, Bob and John.

Jim Wilber has stepped down as the Dell Rapids Mudcats manager. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)
  

He served as the James Valley League commissioner from 1970 to 1988. Wilber also managed Miller’s amateur team, along with the Legion and teeners teams. 

Wilber moved to Dell Rapids in 1993, and coached Legion baseball for a number of years. He was given the Mudcats’ managerial position in 2001.

That’s when Wilber was fully introduced to one of the state’s biggest rivalries — Dell Rapids Mudcats and Dell Rapids PBR. The rivals annually square off during the “Take Me Out to the Ballgame Night,” as part of the town’s Quarry Days celebration. 

The contest regularly draws hundreds of fans at Rickeman Field, and has featured some of the state’s best amateur baseball players. 

“The best day in Dell Rapids is ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ on Quarry Days,” Wilber said. “Two Dells teams playing, a packed house. We’re going to have it always, and it’s a friendly environment. We fill the place. It’s great.” 

Dell Rapids is a hotbed for baseball, across all levels, and the Mudcat-PBR rivalry adds to the town’s passion for the sport. 

“We kept it fun,” Wilber said. “But I tell ya what, there’s some years there were some real hollering, jeering. Particularly in the state tournament.” 

The Mudcats and PBR clashed in two state championships, with PBR winning both matchups. PBR won in 2001, 8-6, and again in 2007, 13-10, on a three-run homer by Dan Conrad in the ninth inning.  

“We couldn’t recover because it was the top of the last inning,” Wilber said. “That was a tough defeat and a lot of jubilation on the other side. It was no holds barred in that one.”

The Mudcats captured their first-ever state championship in 2008, scoring four runs in the ninth to defeat Wynot, Nebraska, 15-13, for the title.

The championship was special for the Wilber family. Jim’s son, Matt, was a key player for the Mudcats and was named to the all-tourney team in 2008. Matt, much like his dad, has been a fixture in the South Dakota amateur baseball scene for years. 

“It was fun coaching him and his friends,” Wilber said. “He’s such a good player. He really helped. He could pitch and hit. He was a college-level player. I guess we got along OK.”

Shortly after the 2008 championship, the Mudcats folded in the 2013 and ‘14 seasons. But were revived in 2015, stemming from conversations at a wedding for Mudcat player Travis Peters. 

“I said ‘What do you think? Should we get the Mudcats going?’ ” Wilber said. “ ‘Yeah. Yeah.’ So here we went again and kept going since.”

As a result, the Mudcats have continued to be a perennial power in Class B and the ultra-competitive Cornbelt League. The Mudcats won back-to-back Class B state championships in 2021 and ‘22. 

The Mudcats also qualified for the state tourney in 2023 and ‘24, Wilber’s final season as skipper. 

Peters and Grant Olson have taken over managerial duties from Wilber, who said he’s happy to see the team is still flourishing without him. 

“I was very happy that it just sailed right along, and it’s taken off great,” Wilber said. “That was my only real concern when I quit, that nobody would step in.”

And while the number of amateur baseball teams have dwindled during Wilber’s amateur baseball career, he said the small-town pride keeps the sport going strong. 

“I have seen a lot of state tournaments and I think the enthusiasm, drive and desire and cheering their teams on and the players going 110% is all still there,” Wilber said.

Jim Wilber has stepped down as the Dell Rapids Mudcats manager. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)