Coach Kelly Morford
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August, 2007
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Portable batting cage
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Building the home dugout; October, 2009
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Home dugout taking shape
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August, 2007
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Lee Gehring Field
"One of Libby's Best Kept Secrets"
by Maggie Craig
October 24, 2009
Dr. Scott Foss has a vision. The seed was planted when he was a teenager in the late 1980s playing Babe Ruth, and then American Legion baseball in the ballpark that is now known as Lee Gehring Field. Variously known as City Ball Park and Legion Field, the field was renamed in honor of Lee Gehring, a longtime local Legion coach who contributed much to the development of baseball in Libby.
Scott's story begins in 1989, when he was 15. Two local men, George Leo and Dave Benefield, decided to improve the baseball experience for kids in Libby. With time, money, and sweat equity, improvements began to take place at the ball field. Scott remembers helping George and George's son, Jeff, build the dugouts and lay bases. Scott helped stain the concession stand that was built in the early 1990s. In 1992, Scott and a friend, Ryan Schrenk, went door-to-door to raise money for lights for the field. The two enterprising high school seniors were successful, raising $15,000 and getting the lights installed that year. American Legion baseball as we know it today was taking shape. The field is now home to the Libby Loggers, an American Legion affiliated team that has been coached by Kelly Morford since 2006.
Depending on the age of your memory, the field might have been used to play football as well as baseball, or to run track, or you might remember that Logger Days used to be held there. It used to be filled with dust and weeds.
Not anymore.
Scott's vision, growing with him when he left Libby to pursue a degree in chiropractic, involved that dusty, weed-infested ball field. Baseball has shaped Scott into the person he is today: he played college baseball with the North Dakota Jamestown Jimmies, and then hit the minor leagues for a year in 1996 with the Dakota Rattlers in Bismarck, North Dakota. What Scott envisioned for Libby, upon his return, was a premier ballpark, with a first-class playing field, state-of-the-art equipment, a place where Libby youth could practice and play baseball with enthusiasm and a big league-quality ball park that small-town Libby could look upon with pride. When Scott returned to Libby in 2002, he began to make that vision happen.
In the seven years since his return, Scott and his army of volunteers, generous businesses, and city and county governments have transformed the field into the envy of ball clubs around the northwest. Among the many improvements:
* Protective netting for the grandstands installed in 2003.
* Press box, also built in 2003.
* A state-of-the-art computerized sound system like the one used by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* A 1200 square foot clubhouse built under the grandstands with amenities such as custom-built lockers for each player, a coach's office, and a chiropractic table to attend to players.
* Permanent restrooms built in 2007 in time for the state tournament held in Libby that year.
* A playing field, second to none, that is constantly being maintained and improved. The carefully selected grass (a combination of Kentucky bluegrass, fescue and rye) is meticulously watered and mowed daily during the summer playing season. A beautiful red volcanic crush, called volcanic scoria (or "lava rock" to backyard landscapers), has been hauled in from Lethbridge, Alberta, for the track. To date, 47 tons of rock have made it to the Libby field, with more needed every other year or so as the existing dirt settles and dries. Two different particle sizes, layered at specific depths, are needed to make the track exactly right.
* A "Batter's Eye" was installed like those found in big league fields - a visual screen in center field that blocks distractions for batters.
* A new, portable, pro-style batting cage, acquired during the summer of 2008.
* A new scoreboard installed during the summer of 2009.
* New, larger cement dugouts, with one currently being installed (fall 2009) and the second to be installed in the spring of 2010. The dugouts are custom-designed with finish work courtesy of volunteer Doug Adams, and envisioned to be like none other in the country.
* New fencing surrounding the ball field and a warning track are on the wish list.
Although gate receipts help to offset the cost of many of the improvements, it's not nearly enough to cover the expenses of maintaining the field and outfitting the teams. Grant money and labor and materials from the city and county governments help fund the endeavor. And Scott is quite mindful of the generosity of the community to make the ball field what it is today. Local businesses have donated thousands of dollars worth of materials, and volunteers have donated hundreds of hours of labor.
One of Scott's biggest volunteer supporters is his dad, Dick Foss. Dick played football, baseball and track on this same field in the 1960s, and now spends countless hours helping his son make the improvements that baseball players and fans now enjoy.
And in terms of potential economic benefit, Scott points out that Legion teams visiting Libby for games and tournaments have contributed greatly to the local economy. Scott's figures show that since 2006, over a million dollars have made it into the local economy in the form of food, gas, lodging, and shopping. Legion teams love coming to Libby to be able to play on such an exceptional field; a field with qualities not seen in even minor league cities. Legion teams from Seattle have indicated an interest in holding their own tournaments in Libby, simply to enjoy Libby's small-town atmosphere and the big-league amenities of the ballpark.
Additionally, there are immeasurable benefits for our local youth as well. Besides enjoying a first-rate field, Libby ball players, with the current status of the Legion baseball program, can now be competitive at the college level, and nearly two dozen local kids have gone on to play college baseball in recent years.
So if you're familiar with local youth baseball, you already know about Scott Foss and his 20-year dream, and about Lee Gehring Field. If not, this is just another example of what a man with a vision, aided by Libby's generous business and volunteer communities, can accomplish in a few short years. For baseball players and fans, it is an exciting big-league experience with a small-town atmosphere. For Libby, it is an incredibly unique gem.
See you at the ballpark!
The following are excerpts from a 2009 letter from a Legion coach in Calgary, Alberta:
"...Coming down to your town and especially your field is the highlight of my baseball year and I know that all the boys who have attended in past years also feel the same way and look forward to playing in your tournament every year.
...Your diamond is one of the nicest that I have seen in my 20 years of playing and coaching baseball. We have nothing that even compares to it in Calgary and you should be very proud of the extremely high quality of diamond that you have. You and the town should be very proud of the quality of ball and the facility that you are able to provide to many youths participating in baseball."
Related Links:
LibbyLoggersBaseball.com
Libby Loggers Baseball Game; May 14, 2006
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