BeeJays Baseball
Each summer,
baseball fans of all ages enjoy Bee Jays baseball- Liberal's own
semi-pro team. The Bee Jays have made their mark as a premier
team, winning the national championship four times, most recently
in 2000.
The Bee Jays
are named after baseball pioneer Byron Bancroft Johnson, the creator
of the American Baseball League. After a short stint as a baseball
player, "Ban" Johnson took over a struggling minor league
circuit in 1893, made it a success, and changed it's name to the
American League.
The Bee Jays'
tradition in Liberal spans more than six decades, dating back
to 1955. Bee Jays' players are recruited from colleges across
the nation, and schools such as the University of Texas at Arlington,
Arizona State, Northeast Louisiana and the home town school, Seward
County Community College, have been represented on the team.
The Bee Jays
Season runs from June until August, and thanks to the sponsorship
of local merchants, the public can attend the games free of charge.
During the
season, players share more than a baseball diamond with the city
of Liberal. Local residents volunteer as host families for players
each summer, and as some host parents will tell you, letting go
of their Bee Jays player is sometimes as hard as letting go of
their own children.
Visit
the official site
