The best thing about local baseball is the experiences with family, friends, and neighbors. Watching the Bears is being with the community. It does not matter if they win or lose, though it sure is fun to win. If they win, say “Yay!” and go out for pizza. If they lose say “Aw, shucks” and go out for pizza. The most important thing about baseball is the town. The Bears have always been about the town and its people, and the people are big fans.
The fans have a different view of the Bears compared to others. Fans can be young or old, but they show up because they love baseball and the Bears. When asked how long he has been watching the Bears, Grady Harrison, a young fan, states “All my ten years.” He grew up with the Bears because his dad once played for the team and now has a tournament named after him: The Josh Harrison Memorial Tournament. Harrison also has other connections with the Bears. “My uncle is the manager and my cousin Jackson plays.” His cousin recently graduated from Cannon Falls High School, making the same transition as many players before him: a Bombers to a Bear. The fans see a team that has been around since before them. The fans also see family members and friends playing their favorite games.
The Bears team has a whole new meaning for the players, the people who get fans down to the field. Keith Meyers is a current player who loves baseball so much that he has been playing since 1997, after graduating from high school. “I grew up watching the Bombers and Bears at John Burch Park, which was called the Cannon Falls Athletic Field when I was young. I wanted to keep playing baseball at a competitive level while also starting my career, getting married, and having a family. Joining the Bears allowed me to do all of those things.” says Meyers. Joining the Bears also gave Meyers strong friendships “Some of my closest friends today are guys I’ve met through playing for the Bears. The shared love for the game and the experiences on the field and in the dugout created some great memories and connected us.”
The Bears team earned its name from the Wilson Family. Before the Bears were named, three generations of the Wilson Family played ball in Cannon Falls. Edward Richard Wilson was the first of the three generations to play here in Cannon Falls after originally playing in South Dakota. One of his sons, George A. Wilson, born in 1901, also played for Cannon as a kid. He later left to play with Marshalltown and went on to play with multiple town and company teams based in Milwaukee. In the 1940s, George started excitement in baseball again by starting a more official team in Cannon. His son, James A. Wilson, born in 1934, was a batboy who finally named the team, The Bears. He also called the lower team the Cubs. The Wilson family had an important role in creating the Bears.
As seen above, the Bears are a strong team. They have heart, the players, spirit, their fans, and finally, they have the town, which pulls them all together. The best experiences were probably some of the toughest games, specifically, an extra-inning game in the state tournament against Elrosa in 2009 that propelled the Bears to a 3rd place state finish. They have seen a lot and been through a lot, but that does not mean that town baseball won’t keep going. Hopefully, it will continue for many more years to come.
