When Ely hosted its first American Legion baseball state tournament in 1975, Jim Erzar watched some of the games from behind the plate as one of the tournament’s umpires.
It seemed only fitting then that on Sunday, as the book was closed on an era at Veterans Memorial Field, that Erzar was right back behind home plate.
Erzar, a 1970 Ely Memorial High School graduate, was the home plate umpire as Ely downed Roseau 4-0 in the grand finale of the Ely Echo Midsummer Legion Classic, in what served as the final contest at the historic local ballpark before the bulldozers came in to start a $1.6 million facelift.
In between that first state tournament and today, Ely has hosted thousands of games, hundreds of tournaments including the 1980 Legion World Series and eight state tournaments from 19992025.
In the last 20 years especially, Ely has also become a destination for baseball, with both postseason tournaments as well as annual regular season events such as the Midsummer Classic bringing as many as a dozen teams to town, depending on the weekend.
Erzar, meanwhile, moved to Grand Rapids, taught and coached in Deer River and officiated all over the state all while maintaining deep ties to his hometown.
Through the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and even the 2010s, Erzar brought his Deer River baseball teams to Ely in both the spring and summer, during a 42-year tenure that resulted in a few state tournament appearances and a rightful spot in the state’s high school baseball coaches hall of fame.
And in retirement, Erzar has continued to come home - now working a few weekends a year as an umpire at the ballpark that was a second home for him - especially in the early-1970s.
“I worked at the field those years for Matty Stukel and actually was involved in putting up Ely’s first set of lights with those wooden poles,” Erzar recalled Tuesday. “Those were pretty dang high so they hired Fritz Cherne, who was a lineman and my step-uncle, to go up there.”
New lights and a scoreboard were added amenities in 1975, and Erzar, who had also coached Ely’s VFW baseball team that year, was only 23 but already an experienced umpire.
“I had umped a lot of games,” he said. “I started doing Little League baseball the year I got out. I was 13. And I started moving up each year and for five years I bet I did all of Ely’s Legion games. Two guys who were a big help to me were Merle Lunceford, and John Perko. I used to use John Perko’s blow-up chest protector. I think the other plus was when I went to college in St. Cloud, I did some umpiring there and ended up doing some big games.”
The 1975 state tournament, which included an Ely team led by future Minnesota Gopher and Kansas City Royals signee, the late Larry Grahek, served as the town’s coming out party in terms of hosting major tournaments.
“It was Ely’s first big tournament and Matty and a bunch of people, Joe Kastelic, the Zups and of course George Marsnik, who coached the Legion team, put a lot of effort into getting that tournament and selling it,” Erzar remembered.
Grand Rapids beat White Bear Lake in the finals that year, but perhaps more importantly, Ely made a splash in the Legion baseball world - so much so that the state tournament returned in 1977 and Matty Stukel and Len Zupancich convinced the nation’s Legion baseball bigwigs to bring their largest event to Ely in 1980.
The stories of that Legion World Series are legendary and enough to fill a separate column or three another week - but then A-list names including Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Bruce Jenner and sitting Vice President Walter Mondale with his Secret Service detail were here. Along with a few future Major Leaguers.
Matty Stukel retired in the 1980s as did guys like George Marsnik and Merle Lunceford.
Ely’s beautiful ballpark remained but soon began to show signs of age.
But by the mid-1990s, a new and ardent group of baseball supporters were in tow and the town once again became a haven for baseball.
A state tournament came in 1999 and the following year teams came from as far as Kansas and South Dakota for a multistate regional.
In-season events such as the DQ Classic and Midsummer Classic, now sponsored by the Ely Echo, were added.
So too were some upgrades, including new lights in 2003 and a giant scoreboard, new fencing, and a repainted grandstand, which were done in the 2010s. By 2019 the third-base bleachers were gone and a paved pavilion and new windscreen were added.
Erzar brought his Deer River teams to Ely throughout those years and noticed the changes.
“I think it’s just gotten better as the years have gone on,” said Erzar. “One big thing I noticed, those pine trees out in right field that were planted about that time (during the 1970s). Those trees have grown up and when they planted them they had all been along Eighth Avenue also. I know those had to be taken out (for a road project) but it would have been nice to see them still up. The vines have grown up also. And then there’s the grandstand. It used to be those old wooden things and now it’s the nice covered grandstand.”
Erzar’s Deer River teams developed quite a rivalry with Ely, particularly throughout the 2010s when both teams battled for supremacy in both high school and Legion ball.
“We always looked forward to playing Ely and we knew it was our big ballgame of the year,” said Erzar. “The playing field has always been decent but I think recently it has gotten better. And we enjoyed coming up here because we would stay out at Kawishiwi Campground a lot of those years. When the teams would come back, they always talked about those trips up here.”
Erzar got out of coaching about a decade ago but he continues to make summer jaunts home.
He returned to umpiring, adding to an already busy calendar that includes winters working as a highly sought-after high school and collegiate basketball official.
He’s probably as busy each spring and summer, working high school, Legion and college baseball games and serving as umpire-in-chief for last year’s Division II State Legion Tournament, which was of course held right here in Ely.
The 74-year-old worked another five games in Ely last weekend, including the Ely-Roseau Midsummer finale.
“Ely always puts on a great tournament,” said Erzar. “It’s a tournament atmosphere, a great ballpark, teams like to come up there. It’s really nice to come up there, to come back home and see what goes on and see the solid program that Ely has had for so many years.”
Count Erzar among those excited to see what comes next at the ballpark, where a new playing surface, multi-level viewing deck and new concession/bathroom building will be among what greets visitors in 2027.
“I’m waiting to see it in reality, I’ve seen the drawings,” said Erzar. “It looks like a great set-up.”
Plans call for an array of tournaments in 2027, and probably a state tournament or two not long after that.
There’s a good chance Jim Erzar will be there. Once again behind the plate with the best view in the house.
