Stan Lokken

Class of 2015

Utility

CRBL: Foster 1957-58; Bracket Orioles 1960; Beef River Bullfrogs 2000, 07

ECCBL: Strum Merchants 1961-63

Manager

Beef River Bullfrogs 1996-2008

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Stan Lokken’s energetic and competitive persona enabled him to enjoy a career in amateur baseball that spanned over 50 years.  It was during his reign, however, as organizer and manager of the hard-hitting Beef River Bullfrogs that Lokken indelibly made a historical mark on the existence of the CRBL.

A native of the Strum area, Stan was a fixture as a utility player for the Foster, Bracket, and Strum teams of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.  He then finished the first stage of his amateur career by playing for the Strum Merchants of the Eau Claire Classic Baseball League from 1961 to 1963.

33 years later, Lokken was instrumental in reconnecting the Strum community with the CRBL, as the Beef River Bullfrogs debuted in 1996.  Success came quickly for the Frogs when in 1997, they finished 9 and 7 from the South Division and qualified for the WBA tourney, winning their first round game 11 to 9 vs. Ashland in Ashland.

After three sub-.500 campaigns, Stan and the Bullfrogs leaped to a South Division crown in 2001 with a 12 and 6 record.  In the CRBL championship game, they lost a well-played 4 to 0 contest vs. the Chippewa Falls Lumberjacks at first-year Casper Park.

Two years later in 2003, the amphibious crew from Beef River was back in the CRBL title bout.  Facing the veteran Tilden Tigers at Tilden, the explosive line-up that Stan had assembled piled on the runs in a 14 to 8 victory.  It was the first amateur baseball championship for a Strum region team in over 50 years.

2003 also marked the beginning of an impressive five season run (2003-2007) where the Strum based squad won 11 or more league games and qualified for the WBA tournament in each year, stamping their place as a marquee foe in CRBL competition.

Playing on as needed basis for Beef River, Stan set the unique record for the longest time between league games played at a sizeable gap of 37 years.  Having played for the Strum Merchants in 1963, Lokken did not play again until 2000.  Impressively, Stan’s last CRBL game came in 2007, when he again set another record, this one for being the most senior statesman to appear in a league game at the age of 77.

Known as a selfless promoter of his Bullfrogs players as well as the Eleva and Strum communities, Lokken single-handedly organized countless promotional nights and events during his 13 seasons at the helm of Beef River.  Additionally, Lokken commendably assisted several of his players in receiving scholarships to play college baseball across the country.

Upon induction, Stan ranks 6^th in games managed with 227, 7^th in managerial wins with 121, and 8^th in WBA appearances with 7.