Much can be said about Tom Melchior’s major contributions to Belle Plaine Tigers’ and local area town-team baseball – but not nearly as much as he so committedly wrote about it. Melchior, at 89 years old, passed away on May 9. He authored a pair of comprehensive books that will forever preserve the rich history of Tiger town ball: Belle Plaine Baseball, 1884-1960, and Scott County Baseball. After graduating from Belle Plaine High School, Melchior played three seasons with the town Tigers: from 1954 to 1956. He also had short stints with a handful of other town-ball teams in the following years. In 2016, the Belle Plaine Baseball Association hosted “Tom Melchior Night” at Tiger Park. It was the first game in the history of the Minneapolis MudCats -- managed by his son, Paul, and pitched by his grandson, Sam. Tom threw out the ceremonial first pitch in an 11-1 MudCats win. Beginning in 2017, the Mpls MudCats have been a staple at the annual Tigertown Classic tournament, resulting in various visits by Tom to the storied baseball grounds he knew and covered so well. The BPBA extends its deepest sympathies and sincere gratitude to Tom’s family. Obituary
Johnny Miller, a former player and field manager for the Belle Plaine Tigers, plus a long-time groundskeeper at Belle Plaine's Tiger Park, passed away on April 30 at age 82. Miller played for the town Tigers from 1965-72, then again from 1975 into the late '70s. The Tigers didn't have a team in 1973 and '74, but Miller helped bring baseball back to Belle Plaine in 1975, serving as the field manager in '75 and '76. Johnny came out of the stands for a surprising second stint as skipper in 2007, guiding a nine-win squad a year earlier to a 22-win campaign and the team's first state tournament appearance since 2001. In 2008 -- Miller's swan song at the helm -- he again brought the Tigers back to the state tourney despite a 2-15 start, ripping off 14 wins in the final 21 contests. "On to the State!" was Miller's battle cry, much to the delight of his players. The following summer, in 2009, Miller began taking care of Tiger Park for the rest of his life. During the high-school and town-team seasons, Johnny could be found at the ballpark on a daily basis -- and often multiple times per day. Johnny managed his son, Jeff "Dog" Miller, who was a key member of the 1994 state champion Tigers and early-90s squads, and a minor leaguer with the Seattle Mariners organization. Johnny also managed grandson Josh Terrio, later watching Josh and another grandson, Jared Miller (Josh's brother), from his familiar spot in the stands on the first-base side, with the sages down the right-field line. Obituary
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