Saturday, May 3, will mark the first reunion of the 1952 Kansas State Ban Johnson baseball team, the Oswego Rotarians. The group will meet at 1:30 p.m. at the Oswego Community Center. Special guests in addition to the champions will include Paul Hemphill, famous author, who played for Oswego in 1954 and 1955, and Tim Kurkjian, ESPN Baseball Analyst and son-in-law of player Jerry Patrick.

The 1952 game against the semi-pro Great Bend Golden Belters was attended by approximately 1,000 fans, a city record for a baseball game. The Rotarians won the game 5-0 to capture the championship in two hours and 32 minutes. The team was managed by Ray Gifford of Oswego, who took the team from last place in 1951 to state champions the next season.

Team members were from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, as well as Kansas. Three of the players went on to play minor league baseball and another played for the Boston Red Sox. A fifth team member joined the NFL, playing for the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburg Steelers.

See this week’s Labette Avenue for the complete story, team picture and championship roster.

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