Killebrew’s legacy lives on locally at Miracle Field
by Jason Olson
Online Sports Editor
Harmon Killebrew succumbed to cancer May 17, but the legacy he built on the field for the Minnesota Twins as a legendary Hall of Famer gave way to a person who lived to fully give back to life after baseball.
Former Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew signs a baseball for a young fan during a ground-breaking event for the first Miracle Field in Minnesota, which is located at the Blaine Baseball Complex.
Killebrew helped with the drive to develop the first Miracle Field in Minnesota.
The field is located at the Blaine Baseball Complex, 1150 Paul Parkway N.E.
The first program in Blaine has gone so well that the Miracle League of Minnesota has opened seven additional fields and plans to open four more this summer.
Miracle League of Minnesota Founder and Executive Director Kevin Thoresen was quick to praise the efforts Killebrew made to help build more fields.
“He’s the best,” Thoresen said. “Grace is exactly what he was about.”
Blaine Mayor Tom Ryan echoed Thoresen’s thoughts.
Ryan said Tuesday that Killebrew’s involvement with the Blaine Miracle Field project brought a great deal of excitement to the community.
“He was just super,” Ryan said. “This field means a great deal to the Twins. Harmon played even when he was hurt. He was a such a happy-go-lucky guy.”
Jim Kappelhoff, Blaine’s park and recreation director, provided this Blaine Miracle League ground-breaking photo. Pictured in the back row are Twins mascot TC Bear; Kappelhoff; Councilmember Kathy Kolb; Dave Knapp, former Blaine Park Board chairman; Twins Manager Ron Gardenheir; Kevin Thoresen, Miracle League founder and executive director; and Kyle Loesch. Among those pictured in the front row are Harmon Killebrew, who died Tuesday at age 74, and Karen Kelly, Miracle League’s assistant executive director.
Killebrew joined Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire for the ground breaking ceremony Blaine in August 2005 and returned to open the field May 6, 2006.
With the donation of labor and funding, in particular the Twins Community Fund and the Pohlad Family Foundation, the field was completed in eight short weeks and stood proudly nestled between complex fields No. 1 and No 2.
Opening ceremonies took place with the chords of “Take Me Out To the Ball Game” piped into the air by a full-size organ brought onto the field. Promotion of the Miracle League Field and the city was enhanced May 15, 2008, when the Twins televised a live broadcast of its pre-game and post-game shows from the field.
At the grand opening ceremony, Thoresen said Killebrew was “touched by number of kids who showed up to the field. He immediately wanted to become more involved with the program and help us out.”
Killebrew didn’t hold back on the support either. “He met all of the kids who were going to be players one day on the field,” Thoresen said as Killebrew’s foundation has given more than $250,000 since 2006 to build more fields. “When he would come to an opening, he would give each kid his attention. He really treated people how he would want to be treated.”
Thoresen shared one example of how much Killebrew though of the fans. “We were at a fund-raising event for one of the fields in St. Cloud and this is the kind of guy he is – we had a number of retired Twins players who played in a game in 90-degree heat and humidity and he signed autographs for each person in line with sweat just pouring down his face for two-and-a-half hours. That’s just the kind of guy he was.”
The Miracle League Metro North opened its 2011 season at the Blaine Baseball Complex the weekend of May 7.
During the season, a total of 150 kids are expected to fulfill the league’s mission: “Every kid deserves a chance to play baseball.”
Jim Kappelhoff, Blaine’s park and recreation director, has fond memories of working directly with Killebrew to make Minnesota’s first Miracle Field a reality.
During a phone interview Tuesday morning, Kappelhoff said he was looking at a group photo from the 2005 field ground-breaking that Killebrew attended.
“That day, he autographed my construction hat and signed it with a HOF 1984, for Hall of Fame,” Kappelhoff said, referencing the former Twins’ historic induction.
In November 2004, the Miracle League approached the city about building its first field in the state.
The Blaine Baseball Complex was considered the primary location for this facility. The field project was enthusiastically recommended by the Blaine Park Board and approved by Blaine City Council in 2005.
Kappelhoff also recounted the Miracle Field’s development in a narrative prepared in 2008.
Kappelhoff said the Blaine Park Board might consider honoring Killebrew by renaming the Blaine Miracle Field in his name as a memorial gesture, even though a later-built youth field in Minnetonka has already honored the Twins’ great in a similar fashion. “It’s something we should strongly consider,” Kappelhoff said.
Editor’s Note: Blaine-Spring Lake Park Life Editor Tim Hennagir contributed material to this story.
Jason Olson is at jason.olson@ecm-inc.com
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