By Rodney Haas 

605 Sports

MILBANK — Cal Raleigh etched his name in baseball history this week when he won the 2025 Home Run Derby on July 14 in Atlanta, but in doing so the Seattle Mariners catcher became the latest MLB player with ties to American Legion Baseball.  

Raleigh joins a list that includes 89 baseball hall of farmers including this year’s class of CC Sabathia and Dick Allen who have ties to American Legion Baseball, which celebrated its centennial last week at its birthplace, Milbank. 

“This is really a special moment for Milbank,” Milbank mayor Pat Raffety. “We’ve been looking forward to this 100th celebration for quite a while — five years since we started construction of this field. It was our target date to get this done and it’s the involvement of the Legion and the community. It’s the culmination of efforts and we’re excited to see it take place.”

On July 17, 1925, World War I major John Grifftih, who was the commissioner of the Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) was in Milbank when he asked the American Legion Department of South Dakota to form a youth development program. 

What transpired was the creation of the American Legion junior baseball program that was approved by a national resolution in October 1925, with the first American Legion Baseball World Series taking place in October 1926 in Philadelphia.  

“It’s a historical event for us to have it here where it started,” said Kevin Hempel, commander of the American Legion for the state of South Dakota. “It started with a resolution made by the department executive committee that would put together a program for boys with increased patriotism and athleticism and a chance to participate in sports. 

“It started as an idea by a military officer and sort of morphed to what it is today.”

The monument commenting the 25th anniversary of American Legion Baseball in 1950 sits outside the new Legion Field in Milbank. The monument was recently relocated to its current location. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)
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Last weekend, Milbank hosted the Centennial Classic baseball tournament which included Glenwood Post 187/Lowery Post 253 (Glenwood, Minn.), LaMoure Post 19 (LaMoure, N.D.), Broken Bow Seniors, (Broken Bow, Neb.), along with Milbank, celebrating the 100th anniversary.  

“It started here and it caught on,” said Gary Leach, National Vice Commander of the American Legion, who went on to say a lot of big league ballplayers have come through these programs. 

“The big thing in my opinion, is the code of sportsmanship. We impress on the kids to be good sportsmanship and exhibit decor and good sportsmanship and not to lose their tempers and act like you have been there before and no excessive celebrating and that kind of stuff.” 

In 1926 during the inaugural year, 52,000 players from 3,600 teams in 13 states took the field that summer. Since then that number has grown to over 10 million participants with American Legion baseball being played in all 50 states. 

Although American Legion Baseball is active in states like California, the rise of travel ball has cut into participation numbers.  

“My post has it but the travel ball has decreased participation,” Leach said. “We draw kids from the high school and in my town we draw from every high school in the county. The problem is a lot of the high school coaches also coach travel ball teams and they want the kids on their  (travel) teams. The school team plays on the travel ball team.”

Milbank’s Tyler Heinje fist-pumps a LaMoure Post 19 player after Milbank’s loss during the Centennial Classic American Legion baseball tournament Saturday, July 12 2025 in Milbank. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)
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While American Legion baseball continues to stay strong in South Dakota, the rise of travel ball teams, who in some cases play tournaments year-around while focusing on college and MLB scouting, is concerning for Hempel. 

In addition to baseball, the American Legion also sponsors other academic programs in leadership, civics and public speaking. 

“I think you’re really doing an injustice to the young people nowadays by not letting them explore other options and learn,” he said. “That’s my opinion, but I think you need to let the boys experience more than just sports.

“I think Legion baseball is here to stay. It may not look exactly like this 100 years from now.”