Reflections on the good old days in Mt. Shasta by Ray Hill

I grew up in Mt. Shasta during the 1950's when it was a big deal on the week ends during summer to go to the big ball park and see the Mt Shasta Seals play in the Northern California League. I know the mill in town (Mt Shasta Pine) recruited players from out of area and provided jobs in the mill. I assume the other towns in the league did the same thing. The local roster was usually about half out of towners and the rest local players. I can remember as a kid riding my bike to the park every Tuesday and Thursday to shag balls in the outfield during batting practice. What a treat it was to get a broken bat. We would take them home, tape them up and use as long as it was in one piece. On game days all us kids would hang outside the park and chase foul balls. If you turned them in you got a free soda pop, but it seemed that most of them ended up being taken home and played with until the covers fell off As a kid it was a dream to be able to play in the Nor Cal League. After I got out of school I was able to play for Mt Shasta for several years. After college Mt Shasta dropped out of the league so a couple of other guys and I played for Dunsmuir for a few seasons. Family obligations, jobs, injuries and the like caused me to stop playing in the late 60's. Not long after that the league disappeared. The League’s roster included the Mt. Shasta Seals, Weed Sons of Italy, Dunsmuir Merchants, Klamath Falls Pelicans, Scott Valley Stars, Redding Cementers, McCloud Loggers, Red Bluff and Yreka. Most teams had one or two guys who had played in the high minors or had a short stay in the majors. Also, there were a lot of college players and the rest were decent athletes.