Wade Williams Foundation boosts community backing for historic Baker City ball field
By Joe Hathaway on Tuesday, February 13th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — A group of dedicated fans of America’s pastime and community members in Baker City are rallying around Wade Williams Field, a little league gem with a rich history dating back more than 100 years.
This community-driven initiative, led by the Wade Williams Foundation, has not only preserved the field but also revitalized it into a thriving hub for local ballplayers and families.
The Foundation recently held its annual fundraiser at the Baker Elks Lodge for continued improvements to the ballpark with the upcoming baseball and softball seasons approaching.
“It was phenomenal. We had another huge turnout, a huge number of items donated and auctioned and we raised thousands to improve Wade Williams,” said Kenny Keister, President of the Wade Williams Foundation. “I just want to thank all of our sponsors. There’s really so many, I can’t list them all, but just everybody that contributed to the community in general and our board members.”
The Wade Williams Foundation was established in 2021 by concerned community members. At the time, a lack of funds and volunteers along with only seasonal maintenance meant the field was falling into disrepair.
“We as a community weren’t really taking care of it because of the lack of volunteers and the lack of funding. We created the Wade Williams foundation to assist with that,” said Keister.
Wade Williams Field was built in the early 20th Century by legendary Baker City philanthropist Leo Adler and named after a baseball coach from Baker. Adler supported the Baker community throughout his life via donations and charity to public service and education.
“The field has been around forever. Everybody in this community has played ball in that field,” said Keister. “That’s actually the number one comment that I get is I played baseball there. And so just trying to keep that alive. And it’s also a legacy that Leo Adler built up for this community.”
Keister says the funds raised from this year’s auction will help build new bathrooms at the ball field, as well as other maintenance projects.
Of course, the project wouldn’t be possible without community support. Those who would like to donate or volunteer can send a message to wadewilliamsfoundation@gmail.com or view their Facebook page for more information.
“This is a privately owned field and privately maintained by volunteers. So it doesn’t happen without the funding and while most of these towns have the state and federal funding to help them do that, this isn’t the case for us,” said Keister. “So it’s a large community effort to keep it going and keep it beautiful.
