HURON — Could amateur baseball be returning to the Fair City?
Right now the answer to that question is a solid....maybe.
An agreement between the City of Huron and the Northwoods League, Inc., could however be the first step to amateur baseball coming back to Huron.
The agreement is a three-year option, according to Dick Radatz, Jr., the chairman of the Northwoods League. It places Huron in ‘affiliate’ status in the league.
“What it says is that if we notify the city by Sept. 1 of any year in the agreement,” Radatz said, “then we would be able to lease the facility (Memorial Park) and bring a team in to play the following summer.”
It is the first step in a process that has worked for the past 24 years in the Northwood League and is a positive for baseball fans in the Huron area.

“We have given them the green light on our end,” said Steve Gohn, who chairs the Huron Parks and Rec Board. “We’re going to support it however we can.”
Radatz said that the Northwoods League is currently 22 teams, after adding teams in Bismarck, N.D., and Fond du Lac, Wis., in 2017. With Bismarck being the team furthest west in the Northwoods League - most other teams are in Minnesota and Wisconsin - adding teams that are geographically friendly is important for further expansion.
The Northwoods League is made up of college players - “up and comers,” as Gohn says - who are looking to continue to improve their game over the summer months in a highly competitive atmosphere.
“It is summer collegiate baseball,” Radatz said. “In fact, players must have college eligibility remaining to play in the league. We are an all wooden bat league and have been a stepping stone for players who were drafted into Major League Baseball. We had six players taken in the first round last year.”
Among the players that have completed the trip to the majors from their beginning in the Northwoods League are Washington National’s pitcher Max Scherzer, Ben Zobrist, a two-time World Series champion with the Royals and the Cubs and several players who have been voted into the All-Star game
He added that Northwoods League teams drew 1.1 million fans to ball games last year in their 72-game schedule. “That is more than twice the attendance to any ‘A’ League last year.”
Along with Huron, Radatz has a similar agreement with the City of Mitchell. He was familiar with both cities and their facilities, after being in the area as a youngster.
“My dad was a relief pitcher for the Red Sox, but he got started in the Basin League and played in Watertown back in the day.” Radatz knew of the history of baseball in the area and when the league expansion continued to the west, Huron was a natural fit.
As far as what may take place down the road, it’s kind of unknown at this time.
“We are a pretty stable league and our business model has been successful thus far,” he said. “When we expand, we need to expand in pairs, so the possibility is always there.” Radatz said there are possibilities of adding teams in Ann Arbor, Mich., and in Wisconsin as well.
“We’re excited about the possibility of having a Northwoods League team playing its home games at Memorial Park,” Gohn said. “The folks at the Northwoods League were very persistent about coming to Huron and getting the ball rolling.”