Dale Mackedanz
Dale was born in 1961 and was blessed with a life centered on faith, family, baseball and community. Growing up in Roscoe, baseball was more than a game – it was a way of life. At age five, he became the bat boy for the Roscoe Rangers, proudly serving in that role until he was twelve. Dale played high school baseball for four years, and in 1977, he joined the Rangers, where he played alongside his father, who was managing the team. He was also a member of Roscoe’s inaugural Legion baseball team in 1979.
Over the next four decades, Dale played his amateur ball as primarily a right fielder but played every position except pitcher. During his career, he was a solid hitter and was selected as a Stearns County All-Star in 1985, 1986 and 1993.
One of the greatest blessings of Dale’s baseball journey was sharing it with his family. After playing with his dad and later with his two brothers for years, his son Justin joined the Rangers in 1996, followed by Jacob in 2006. Playing alongside both of his sons is one of his most cherished memories. In all, Dale’s family baseball tradition has spanned six generations, as his grandsons now proudly wear the Roscoe Little League jerseys, continuing a legacy of dedication, sportsmanship and community pride.
Dale’s commitment to baseball has extended far beyond his playing career. Since childhood, he has helped maintain the Roscoe ballpark and served as president of the amateur board for 25 years. In addition, Dale volunteered on the Roscoe Recreation Association for over 45 years, serving two years as secretary. He was instrumental in many projects including dugouts, fencing, irrigation, concessions, grandstand renovations and an electronic scoreboard. Helping preserve Roscoe’s baseball tradition is one of his greatest achievements.
Dale is a lifelong member of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Roscoe, where he has volunteered in many parish and community events. He was a volunteer for Roscoe Fun Days for 45 years, Roscoe Rangers softball tournament for 30 years and volunteered for the Manannah bingo fundraiser for four years. He was also a member of the St. Martin Rough Riders Snowmobile Club for five years.
Dale credits his parents, Charles and Jeanie, for teaching him the values of faith, humility, hard work and service. He is especially grateful for the love and support of his wife, Donna, his three children, Justin (Amanda), Ashley (Jon) Stueve and Jacob (Laura), along with 10 grandchildren.
Butch Steen
Butch was born in Sisseton, South Dakota, and graduated from Browns Valley High School in Minnesota in 1962 where he was a 4-year letter winner in baseball and wrestling. After graduation, he attended South Dakota State University where he played baseball for one year and wrestled for four years. After Butch graduated from SDSU in January 1967, he entered active duty in the U.S. Army for the next three years. There, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam where he commanded a mobile army hospital and earned two Bronze Stars. After his honorable discharge, Butch taught biology in Raymond and MACCRAY for 32 years. He coached baseball, football and wrestling, earning Coach of the Year honors in each at various times.
Butch has been involved with baseball for over five decades. He began his amateur baseball career in 1961 for New Effington, SD and joined the Browns Valley Bombers in 1965. He was known as a tenacious competitor. Butch was a hard throwing right-handed pitcher who also played third base with a career batting average over .300. He helped lead Browns Valley to their first state amateur tournament in 1966. In all, he played in four state amateur tournaments—three with Browns Valley and one more as a draftee for Dumont. He managed Browns Valley from 1970-1973 and played there until 1987.
Butch resurrected Raymond’s amateur baseball program in 1989 after he left Browns Valley and has managed them ever since. To date, he has managed 17 state tournament teams and helped make Raymond one of the top programs in the state, winning a state title in 2016 and losing in the semifinals three other times to the eventual state champion.
Butch also oversaw the building of dugouts, press box, concession stand, bathrooms and batting cage. He coordinated the installation of an irrigation system, infield sod, new fencing and helped build Raymond’s new grandstand. Butch helped organize the Cornbelt League in 2001 and was their league secretary for 24 years. In 2025, he initiated the Raymond Area Baseball Association to keep baseball alive among area youth.
Butch is also a member of the Raymond Rockets Hall of Fame, the West Central MN Historical Society Baseball HOF, the Cornbelt League HOF, the Dave Bartelma Wrestling HOF and the National Wrestling HOF/MN Chapter.
Butch married his wife, Deena, in 1984 and has three daughters (Janice, Terri, and Jennifer) and two sons (Trevor and Tyler) along with 12 grandchildren.
Gary Schleper
Gary’s baseball roots run deep in one of Minnesota’s true townball families as his dad, Joe, and uncle, Elmer Schleper, are already enshrined in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. Growing up in Shakopee, some of Gary’s fondest memories are playing wiffle ball in his back yard and later playing amateur baseball alongside three of his brothers for the Shakopee Indians with their dad as manager.
As a standout three-sport athlete at Shakopee High School, Gary earned All-Conference and team MVP honors in football, basketball and baseball, while also serving as team captain in all three. He received All-Metro and All-State recognition in football, helped lead Shakopee to three conference championships in football and baseball, and was named the school’s Senior Athlete of the Year in 1982. He was inducted into the Shakopee High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
At Southwest State University, Gary earned eight varsity letters and was All-Conference four times in football and baseball. A three-time NAIA All-District selection and a Northern Intercollegiate Conference MVP in baseball, he graduated as the school’s career leader in home runs and doubles. He was inducted into the Southwest State University Athletics Hall of Honor in 2015.
Gary debuted with the Shakopee Indians in 1979 at age 15 and played townball for 29 seasons. He appeared in 10 state tournaments with Shakopee and five more as a drafted pitcher, contributing to Jordan’s state championship teams in 1986 and 1994. He remains Shakopee’s all-time home run leader with 140. His retired #44 hangs proudly at Joe Schleper Stadium.
Gary was Shakopee’s player-manager from 1990–2007 and has been the team’s manager since 2014. Under his guidance, Shakopee has reached 15 state tournaments, including two runner-up and three third-place finishes. Gary coached 9th grade baseball at Shakopee High School for three seasons and was a volunteer coach of the 14U Shakopee Youth Baseball Association for 16 seasons. He volunteered as an announcer for Shakopee High School baseball for multiple seasons and is a member of the Shakopee Stadium Committee that oversees care and capital improvements for Joe Schleper Stadium. Gary led efforts when Shakopee hosted state amateur tournaments in 2008, 2018, 2020, 2024 and 2026. He’s heavily involved in ballpark capital improvements and doing unnoticed tasks like stocking the concession stand and organizing fundraisers. Since 2018, Gary has also served on the MBA State Board.
Throughout Gary’s career, he was supported by his parents, Joe and Rose, along with siblings Joe, Jr., Linda, Jeanne, Dave, Bill, Tom and Jen while being a loving and supportive uncle to 17 nieces and nephews.
Greg ‘Ode’ Odegaard
Greg grew up in Arlington, where baseball was a central part of his life. In high school, he was an All-Conference selection in football, basketball and baseball at Arlington/Green Isle High School where he helped lead the baseball team to a third-place finish in the 1976 State Tournament as a junior catcher. Greg also played Legion baseball for Arlington from 1972 to 1977.
After graduation, Greg continued his baseball career at Mankato State University from 1978 to 1981 where he was primarily a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher and first baseman. He hit a key home run to send his team to the 1980 NCAA Division II College World Series, where MSU finished third. He also earned a win on the mound against Florida International during that tournament. In his senior year in 1981, Greg served as team captain and was named to the NIC All-Conference team.
Greg played amateur baseball for the Arlington A’s from 1975 to 1992 and was a member of championship teams in 1979, 1984 and 1985, earning tournament MVP honors in both 1984 and 1985. He and his son, Christopher, are recognized as the only father and son MVPs in state tournament history, an accomplishment which Greg is especially proud of. In all, he was selected to the All-Tournament team five times. Greg later played for the Glencoe Brewers from 1993 to 1998 and was a member of the 1998 State Championship team as well. He managed the A’s for seven seasons and coached youth and Legion baseball in Arlington/Green Isle for many years and still mentors young players whenever asked. Greg was inducted into the inaugural Arlington A’s Hall of Fame in 2000. In addition, Greg served 17 years as an umpire with Northwest Umpires, working both high school and amateur games.
Greg served as Treasurer on Arlington’s baseball board for twelve years. He also dedicated countless hours to maintaining Arlington’s baseball field, helping make it one of the premier fields in Minnesota. Greg served as a deacon at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glencoe for eight years, assists with fundraising for the Plato Blue Jays and contributed many volunteer hours during the construction of the Glencoe-Silver Lake athletic complex.
Greg attributes much of his success to his parents, Ray and Pearl; his wife, RaNaye; his sons, Christopher (Katie) and Matthew (Paige); his daughter, Courtney (Chris); and his eight grandchildren.
Al ‘Fritz’ Drexler
Al grew up on a dairy farm southwest of Searles as the youngest of eight children. He played baseball wherever he could on the farm. He began playing for the Searles Peanuts in 1968 at age 12 and quickly advanced to Jr. Bi-County the next year, often pitching multiple games per week.
Al played just one year of high school baseball for the New Ulm Eagles in 1974, a notable achievement because he started as a senior without prior high school experience or time in legendary coach Jim Senske’s program. Al was an important part of the district championship for New Ulm that year, highlighted by a three-run home run in the title game.
Although Al’s amateur career with Searles was cut short by a hit-by-pitch hand injury, it was filled with success both on the mound and as a left-handed hitting shortstop. He averaged a strikeout per inning as a pitcher and was known to have a “hot” bat with good power. After his injury, he devoted his attention to the talented young players moving up through the program and helped them develop their love for the game/
His coaching career consisted of Searles Peanuts, Junior Bi-County and Bi-County baseball along with Bi-County girls’ softball spanning over 40 years. During that time, he also served as an assistant coach for Cathedral High School junior high baseball for a few years and spent a year as assistant coach for New Ulm Junior Baseball.
Perhaps Al’s greatest contribution to amateur baseball came off the field. In 1989 he was elected to the Searles Baseball Board and became president in 1994, serving in that role for the next 30 years. During his tenure, he helped transform Searles Ballpark through fundraising, field maintenance and major improvements — including new dugouts, bathrooms, irrigation systems, fencing, lights, batter’s eye, scoreboard, grass infield, picnic tables and a new youth ballfield. Even after retiring from the board, Al still spends countless hours at the ballpark helping with field prep, maintenance, concessions and supporting local baseball.
Beyond baseball, Al served as Cathedral High School’s concession stand supervisor for over 35 years, and over 40 years of service to St. John’s Catholic Church in Searles on its Church Council, Festival Committee, Cleaning Committee and ushering.
In recognition of his commitment to his community, Al received the KNUJ Hometown Hero Award in 2015. In 2016, he and his wife, Kathy, were honored as co-recipients of the Cathedral High School Distinguished Service Award. Together, they are blessed with a blended family of six children and eight grandchildren.
Tim Beier
Tim was born in 1962 and raised on a dairy farm just outside of Regal. Growing up, Tim and his siblings were unable to participate in school sports because they needed to return home to help on the farm. His organized baseball experience was limited to Little League, Legion, and town ball with Regal, just down the road.
In 1976, at the age of 14, Tim joined Regal’s amateur team and went on to play 39 seasons as an outfielder and steady left-handed pitcher, finishing with a career batting average of .300. He also managed the team for 22 of those seasons.
Tim played in ten state amateur tournaments for Regal, serving as a key player on the 1991 state championship team and as player/manager for the 1997 state runner-up team. He continued to both manage and play for many years, eventually sharing the field with his son, Chris. In 2016 and 2017, Tim coached his son and a young group of players to their first two state amateur tournaments.
Through the years, Tim also volunteered significant time coaching in the Paynesville community ed, Babe Ruth, VFW and Legion baseball programs. He coached a group of young players all the way through who eventually won the Minnesota American Legion State Championship in 2003 and a state high school championship two years later.
Tim continues to volunteer and contribute to the game in every way — from coaching, umpiring, collecting admission, fund raising, PA announcing, running the scoreboard and cleaning up afterwards. He has seemingly done it all at the ballpark.
Tim works tirelessly maintaining two baseball fields in Regal. He has been the lead in keeping these ballfields in pristine condition since 1984. Over the years, Tim has been a part of countless ballpark projects including a new Little League field, bathrooms, storage sheds, playground, irrigation systems, new lighting system, backstop, dugouts and an elevated viewing area. Tim has also been president of the Regal Youth Baseball Club since 2008, County Line League President from 2008-2018 and was also Region 4C Commissioner from 2018-2024.
Tim married his wife Rosie in 1984 and together they have two children – Chris (Annie) and Emily (Kevin) Kramer, along with five grandchildren.
