WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The generosity of a small group of Whitman College alumni means the varsity baseball team will travel with a little more style next spring.
Members of the Class of 1966, many of them former baseball players, collected about $1,500 in recent months to purchase 35 travel bags, along with 10 new batting helmets.
Players will use the large black bags, that came imprinted with the words “Spirit of 66” in addition to the Whitman team logo, to carry baseball gear and uniforms as they travel to away games.
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| Whitman baseball coach Casey Powell (left) accepts new travel bag from George Osborne, Whitman Class of 1966. |
George Osborne, a member of the Class of 1966, made a formal presentation of the gift on Saturday, Oct. 2, prior to Whitman’s annual alumni baseball game. Accepting for Whitman was varsity baseball coach Casey Powell.
“I want to thank all of the alumni who contributed to this gift,” Powell said. “George Osborne, who was the major contributor, was very generous with his support, especially in light of the fact he didn’t play varsity baseball at Whitman.”
Osborne, who played varsity football at Whitman and now lives in Kirkland, Wash., was on the sidelines as three of his 1966 classmates – Charlie Stookey, Jock Edwards and Jim Moore – played in the latest alumni game. All three played varsity baseball as Whitman undergraduates, and all three contributed to the latest gift. Others who contributed were James Cottle, a class member who competed in football and track, and Keith Loper, who coached football at Whitman in the 1960s.
Stookey, now a resident of Reno, Nev., has been a key supporter of the baseball program for the past two years. After contributing a pitching machine and dozens of batting practice balls a year ago, Stookey provided new netting for the indoor batting cage this fall. That equipment is valued at about $2,800, Powell said.
“Charlie has been a great supporter the past few years,” Powell added. “Without his help, we wouldn’t be able to practice indoors the way we want. We are very grateful for his generosity.”
To show its thanks, the baseball team presented Stookey with a team jacket prior to the latest alumni game. “Given everything that Charlie has done for us, it was the least we could do for him,” Powell said.
Others who played in the Oct. 2 alumni game included Bill Nash ’77, John Blackman ’79, Chris Keyes ’80, Eric Main ’94, Jimmy Hill ’00, Ryan Toivola ’02, and Bobby Jones ’02.
Whitman athletic director Travis Feezell, who started the alumni Bullpen Club during his earlier tenure as baseball coach, added his thanks for alumni support.
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| The Whitman baseball team, represented by coach Casey Powell (left), presented Charlie Stookey, Class of 1966, with a team jacket prior to the recent alumni baseball game. Stookey, who played baseball as a Whitman student, has been one of the baseball program's biggest boosters in recent years. |
“We are tremendously grateful to George Osborne and all other members of the Bullpen Club who continue to support our baseball program,” Feezell said. “The club and the alumni game have been ongoing for almost a decade now and we appreciate very much what these alums have allowed us to do in the baseball program. They continue to contribute to the success and experience of our baseball student-athletes.”
Given the broad-based alumni support for Whitman’s new $10 million fitness center, it is remarkable and much appreciated that small groups of alumni continue to support specific varsity teams, notes John Bogley, vice president for development and college relations at Whitman.
The 38,000-square-foot fitness center, in addition to a 30-meter swimming pool, will feature a 10,000-square-foot area for fitness machines and equipment, which will be open to the entire Whitman community, including its 30-plus varsity and club athletic teams.
With about $8 million pledged and donated to date, fund raising for the fitness center is reaching a critical and challenging stage. Persons interested in making a gift for the fitness center can contact the Whitman Development Office. Start of construction is tentatively scheduled for next spring.
Once the fitness center is completed, extensive renovation of the existing Sherwood Athletic Center will begin. The first phase of that renovation actually began last summer, with installation of a new floor and bleachers in the main basketball and volleyball gym. The next phases will make more interior space available for basketball and volleyball as well as for aerobics, dance, martial arts, yoga, and office space for coaches.