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Park Re-Dedicated to the Founding Father of Kalispell Baseball

Thompson Memorial Park named after Kalispell resident who pitched in first World Series

By Dillon Tabish
Bruce Thompson, the grandson of John Gustav Thompson, speaks at the re-dedication of Thompson Memorial Park in 2015. Beacon file photo

For the first time in a long time, the smell of grilling hot dogs floated in the air as two Pee Wee baseball teams warmed up at the classic field in the heart of Kalispell’s east side neighborhood. The young players tossed around baseballs in the freshly cut grass, bringing back an old tradition.

The scene on Saturday would have brought a smile to the face of John Gustav Thompson.

Last weekend over 100 people gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of John “Gus” Thompson, the so-called “father of baseball in Kalispell.” A rededication ceremony was held for Thompson Memorial Park, a public site that has changed names over the years at Ninth and 10th Streets East and Seventh and Eighth Avenues East.

The ceremony marked the conclusion of a two-year effort by a group of baseball enthusiasts in the community to restore the park to its original namesake. Along the way, a collection of volunteers and businesses rallied together and rebuilt the park to its new prominent stature with a field fully furnished with dugouts, a backstop and an official plaque from the Montana Historical Society detailing Thompson’s remarkable history.

“I know my grandfather would be very appreciative and proud of all the volunteer work that was done here,” said Bruce Thompson, the grandson of Gus Thompson, who flew to Kalispell last week from Washington to attend the ceremony and visit his late grandfather’s hometown.

Born in Iowa in 1877, Gus Thompson played his first professional baseball game for the Helena Senators in the summer of 1902. A year later, Thompson made his major league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That fall, the Pirates advanced to the first World Series in Major League Baseball, facing off against the Boston Americans. In Game 5, Thompson, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander who earned the nickname “Cyclone,” tossed two innings. The 26-year-old struck out one batter and allowed three hits. The Americans went on to win the best-of-nine series, 5-4, but Thompson’s appearance remains an historic one for the state of Montana and Kalispell.

Thompson spent two years in the majors and six in the minors. He starred for Seattle in the Pacific Northwest and was one of the best pitchers in the Northwest League. In 1909, he tallied a record of 32-7.

Thompson and his wife, Edna Knapp, a Kalispell native who was a member of the first high school graduating class here, moved to the Flathead Valley in 1909. Thompson opened a pool hall and cigar store in downtown and it eventually evolved into a sports bar. Thompson brought his passion for baseball to town and even organized a game between a group of Kalispell players and the Chicago White Sox, which was traveling the country and playing pickup games one summer. Thompson also became a revered angler.

He passed away in 1958 and is buried in Conrad Memorial Ceremony. His headstone reads, “Grand Old Man of Baseball.”

Over the years, the city park in the east side neighborhood became a bastion for baseball. It was one of the sites the city used for Pee Wee baseball games and a gathering place for pickup games with the neighborhood kids.

“There’s a lot of history at this park,” said Dan Johns, who first played baseball at the field in 1955 and became an enthusiast of the sport and advocate who spearheaded the creation of Kidsports Complex.

“Back then there were no video games, there were no indoor recreational facilities. This was it. If my parents couldn’t find me, they would come over here.”

Johns praised the community members who led to the re-emergence and revitalization of Thompson Memorial Park, including Betsy Wood.

Over the years, the site fell into disrepair and lost its namesake.

Wood and others first approached the city council in late 2013 to ask for the park to be renamed after Gus Thompson since it had been changed to Eastside Park.

Johns also praised Steven King, an 18-year-old Kalispell resident who worked for almost 50 hours installing the dugouts and backstop and earned his Eagle Scout along the way.

For Bruce Thompson, it was a special honor to see the park’s dedication to his grandfather. Seeing a new generation of young players on the field brought back good memories from his childhood.

“Some of the fondest memories with my grandfather when I was a young kid were coming over here and visiting with him and playing catch,” Thompson said. “Playing catch with a World Series pitcher, my grandfather.”