The groundwork was actually set 10 years before the birth of the A's by the Kingsbury Breweries Company. While based in Manitowoc, they maintained Sheboygan and St. Paul, Minnesota locations. In 1952 they began sponsoring a Sheboygan baseball team.
“After 10 years, it became apparent that Kingsbury would no longer continue sponsoring a team,” according to
WisconsinStateLeague.com
. At the end of the 1962 season, the team disbanded, but players still wanted to play. So, in the fall of 1962, Denny Moyer along with Chuck Ziechert founded the Sheboygan Athletic Club. The club gave birth to the Sheboygan A’s semi-pro baseball team for the 1963 season. The Sheboygan A’s have been entertaining baseball fans in Sheboygan ever since.
The Sheboygan Athletic Club is the formal organization that oversees the city’s baseball program. While it calls itself a “club,” it really is a non-profit, non-stock corporation recognized by the federal government and State of Wisconsin as a charitable organization. ~
SheboyganBaseball.org
RECALLING THE BIRTH OF THE TEAM
Denny Moyer outlines the beginning of the Sheboygan A's
.
Denny along with wife Donna, have sustained the program since its inception. Denny as a player and later as long time general manager, and Donna driving concessions and fundraising. Through their leadership, Wildwood Baseball Park was constructed in 1982. Following its original construction, the Moyers lead fundraising efforts to upgrade the park in 1997 and in 2008.
Currently, they are again raising money for another renovation. Denny worked extensively to return high school baseball to Sheboygan, created a youth baseball program and positively impacted the lives of hundreds of young men.
In the early years, the Moyers also managed the Sheboygan Red Wings semi-pro football program, which had direct ties to the Green Bay Packers.
Their life’s focus has been improving the quality of life for the Sheboygan community. For many years Denny serviced as primary sports writer for the Sheboygan Press. Later he moved to the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce as Director of Tourism. Donna served the children of the community through her work in the Sheboygan school system.
“Baseball for the community has been their passion. They have given so much of themselves and their love for Sheboygan shows every day. There will never be another couple like them in Sheboygan again.”
~ Scott Stangel President of the Sheboygan Athletic Club
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Courtesy of The Sheboygan A's unless otherwise noted
