Stayton baseball is timeless in the best way
Community values have stood the test of time for the Eagles squad
Stayton, Oregon is a rural community of just over eight thousand people, located a dozen miles away from Salem.
The city was incorporated in 1891, and is named after Drury Stayton—who had actually wanted to name the town after his daughter, Florence. Although there have been changes in the town over the decades, it remains a place frozen in time in the most positive sense. Not because Stayton is still an agrarian focal point in the Willamette Valley, or that many parts of it look the same as it did fifty years ago or even longer. No—Stayton’s nostalgic allure is its stubborn adherence to values that have shaped its residents for so many generations.
That isn’t to say that every Stayton resident walks lock-step in adherence with one another in terms of life-shaping principles, but there are instances where long-standing values crop up in the population. And one such case-in-point involves the Stayton High School Eagles baseball squad. More on the team momentarily.
Stayton is a city steeped in tradition—some of it quite old. The Stayton-Jordan Covered Bridge is a tourist location, and offers visitors a chance to dine on the site if they so choose. Originally the structure was over nearby Thomas Creek, where a new structure was constructed. But the old 1930s span—which had been moved from Lyons to Stayton’s Pioneer Park—burned down when Christmas lights shorted out and caught it on fire in 1994. Crews, after some planning and fundraising--spent two years rebuilding the bridge—and it was rededicated in 1998. It is, predictably, a popular public gathering site in the park. And—as if to underscore the sense of the city’s history, there is a self-guided tour nearby of covered bridges that cross roadways in the greater Stayton area.
There are other locations with a link to the past. The old A&W restaurant looks much like it did in the 1970s and 80s… with drive in parking spots and inside ordering from the booths using old telephone handsets. The location routinely hosts classic car shows during the spring and summer months.
The city’s movie theater—the Star Theater—has been around since World War I. I took my own daughters to there to watch the Lion King in the 1990s. It was “old school” in so many ways—right down to the sticky floors.
The Stayton High School community also took some time just before school ended to clean up in the neighborhood surrounding the school itself—clearing out growth along the walking paths, pulling weeds, and spreading bark dust. Giving back to the town that supports them.
Stayton also did up Independence Day right—with a city parade and a fireworks display at high school’s event grounds—which is made up of the baseball/softball/football complexes clustered on campus. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the event—a decided throwback display of patriotism attracting much of the populace.
For Stayton baseball, the community gathers at Emery Stadium/Joe Brock Park. The latter title was established in 1995 to honor the man—coach Joe Brock—who guided Eagles baseball for 31 years, from 1958 to 1989-90—before retiring from the job.
Joe had been quite an athlete himself—playing along-side famous Linfield Coach Ad Rutschman, whose grandson Adley now plays baseball for the Baltimore Orioles and appeared in this year’s all-star game. Brock passed away in 2017 at the age of 88 years old—but he remained a part of Stayton High life in the years between retirement and his death, even if it was just home appearances at ball games during the spring.
Joe Brock Park is a cozy facility with some artificial surface in the infield to deal with the predictable spring showers that frequently rain-out contests at lesser fields.
The Eagles are currently coached by Steve Salisbury—a man who knows the Stayton Community well. He cobbled together a winning team this spring made up of mostly seniors. The squad finished regular season play with a 16-8 record, good for a playoff spot out of the Oregon West Conference. They won their home playoff opener, then lost in the second round of the 4A playoffs to the Dalles, 7-3.
On the surface perhaps, it appears this is just a nice baseball squad from a small town in Oregon. But there is more to Stayton baseball than meets the eye. A closer examination within the community is necessary.
One community member making a difference is Sharon Goodman. Sharon has been in Stayton for many years, and has worked with the Eagles baseball team since 2015.
Sharon works at Stayton’s middle school assisting students, but is also looking out for the high school baseball team—following up on players grades, and making sure they get help if they are struggling in a class or classes so they can stay eligible to play. She has been described as an “angel on earth.”
Stayton’s baseball team had the highest grade point average among all the teams in their conference at 3.44. Sharon gets much of the credit for that success. In season or out, she keeps tabs on the team members.
“I do whatever is needed to help the baseball players,” says Sharon without hesitation.
“I am checking their attendance… and try to assist with family issues that impact the classroom.”
But there is a whole lot more to Sharon’s effort than that. She observes the entirety of the student. Looks for missing tests to be taken or retaken, sets up study times, tries to track down problems before word gets to the coach. Team members don’t get to play with Fs.
So why put in so much effort? “I love baseball,” is her short explanation. But again—there is more to it than that.
She knows most of the kids from their middle school and even elementary years, and continues the relationship as they play ball at the next level, even setting them up to participate in Stayton youth baseball camps.
Academic expectations are clear for both the kids and their parents early. The team meeting prior to the season introduces Sharon to everyone—and emphasizes the team’s efforts to be in the top ten, grades-wise, on a statewide basis.
“Failure is not an option on the field, and it isn’t an option in the classroom, either,” says Sharon, paraphrasing Coach Salisbury.
Sharon’s love for baseball is also noted on game day. She doesn’t just mentor the players, she works on game day—doing everything from starting up the concessions stand, to running the scoreboard. She does consider herself a part of the baseball team—as technical advisor. Or as she likes to say, a “baseball mom.”
“I do everything but coach… and I don’t even try to do that… despite what some parents like to think,” laughs Sharon playfully.
Stayton’s baseball team has seen an uptick in its efforts on the field, which Sharon credits completely to Coach Salisbury and his staff for the team’s steady improvement.
Sharon personifies one of America’s long held values about hard work—and its role in being a key to success in all aspects of life. Sharon Goodman keeps that principle squarely on the players’ collective radar until the last out of the season. Life is baseball, but is also more than baseball.
One player who was impacted deeply by Sharon is graduated senior Ty Borde. The handsome center fielder and pitcher was first team all-conference and honorable mention all-state among 4A teams. Grades weren’t an issue for Borde during high school, as he graduated with a 3.97 GPA. But he still appreciated her efforts in that arena, saying that he understands how important classroom success is to success on the field.
Ty is more appreciative of Sharon for help with some personal struggles.
“Everybody goes through some tough times,” he recalls.
“I was in a tough situation midway through high school… she was a savior to me, giving me plenty of advice.”
That may be one reason why Borde—who is headed for George Fox University in Newberg next fall—plans to major in psychology and pursue a counseling career while playing football and/or baseball for the Bruins.
Ty also fondly remembers her providing the team with a bagful of warm breakfast burritos for morning batting practice the day of games. At 6:30 or 7:00 am, it was an extra commitment for Sharon to take on, but it is something Ty and the team will always fondly remember.
That is why—to the surprise of no one—the entire team showed up at her office at the middle school on her birthday this past year, with cards and a huge poster to express their gratitude for all she has done for them.
And yet another value recognized by the players—appreciation for those who volunteer to make the community a better place. In this case, the Stayton baseball community.
Marilyn Brock has been up to her ears in baseball for nearly 70 years. The 89-year old matriarch of the Eagles baseball program is the widow of Joe Brock—who coached the Stayton baseball team for 31 years, until he retired in 1989-90. Joe—who was also a teacher at Stayton, continued to come to games after stepping down. He passed away in late 2017.
Marilyn married Joe in 1956, and they moved together to Southern Oregon, where Joe began his teaching and coaching career. She had four children in four years (3 boys, 1 girl), and later became a substitute teacher—toiling in that under-appreciated job for 52 years in Stayton schools. She also watched lots of Stayton baseball as the coach’s wife—making the short walk across the street from the family home built 55 years before.
Marilyn’s boys had good baseball careers. The most famous of the three—Greg—played ten seasons in the major leagues for both the Los Angeles Dodgers (5 years) and the Milwaukie Brewers (5 years). Getting Coach Brock and his bride to Greg’s games in the 1980s was a source of early consternation for the community. Marilyn likes to retell the story with only a little prodding. Being a school teacher, Joe didn’t exactly swim in cash when Greg made the majors—especially with younger kids still at home. City residents chatted, and conspired to get the parents out to watch their eldest son play. They pooled together some money, and presented it to Joe for both travel and lodging to see Greg play.
After his major league career was over, Greg settled as an adult in Colorado, where he had developed a great love for hunting and fishing in the Rockies following his college baseball career at Wyoming. He also became a successful high school baseball coach-and like his dad, has a baseball field (which he built) named after him. He retired from baseball last year, and is recovering from double knee replacement surgery to resume his retirement, when he plans to ski, hunt, fish, and play golf.
Son Eric still lives in Stayton, is an assistant coach for the baseball team—and coaches in the same manner that his dad did, according to some locals who know. It is mostly because of Eric’s involvement with the team that Marilyn has been coming to home games—very reliably—for several years.
But the matriarch says it isn’t just Eric that motivates her to come to games.
“I love baseball! Anything connected with baseball, I am for it,” she declares unwaveringly.
When Marilyn shows up for the home games—rain or shine—she finds a five-star prep baseball fan “set-up” for her behind home plate, just down the first base side.
“They get out the nicest chair, and nicest, heaviest blanket,” says Marilyn incredulously.
“They are SOOOO nice to me, I can’t believe it.”
The team itself also treats her magnificently—as they did last year on her birthday.
“There was a balloon and it said ‘Happy Birthday,’” recalls Marilyn.
“The team sang to me and said hi to me. I am not sure why they treated me so royally.”
Graduated player Ty Borde says there is no mystery here.
“She has a great passion for Stayton,” he says. “She comes to every one of our home games.”
Yet another community value embraced by Stayton baseballers: respect for their history and the people who helped build the town into what it is today.
This is a story that could have been told about a dozen or more small towns across Oregon—where people rub elbows on a daily basis at work, at lunch, at community events, or in the neighborhood. People with different backgrounds, but a shared way of life—linked together by a unique intimacy that brings with it both advantages and decided drawbacks.
For members of the town, the story can be whittled down to two words: Go Eagles.
Ty serves at our church, I've known him since his 6th grade, he is just a class kid.
Thank you mark. So many good people in that town and very good baseball❣️