Willie Mueller

In 1989, the Yankees closer got his big start as the late-inning specialist for the Holyoke Millers of the Eastern League. Not Mariano Rivera, but Duke, the closer in Major League portrayed by Milwaukee Brewers reliever Willie Mueller.

Willard Lawrence “Willie” Mueller Jr. was born in West Bend, Wisconsin, 35 miles north of Milwaukee, on August 30, 1956, the oldest of four children of Willie L. Mueller Sr. (1932-2010) and Patricia (Murphy) Mueller (1935-2005). He was followed by two sisters, Kelly and Abbe, and a brother Spencer. Willie Sr. loved baseball but never played in high school, leaving school after his mother died in childbirth when his father needed him on the family farm. He became a local legend as a hard-throwing right-hander for 27 years in the amateur Land O’Lakes League, mostly with the West Bend Lithias (a local brewery),1 leading to enshrinement into the Land O’Lakes Hall of Fame. His love and passion for the game was passed on to the youth of West Bend. As Willie Jr. told West Bend’s Washington County Daily News at the time of his father’s death, “My father taught me, I would say 80 percent of the things I know.” “[I] was just fortunate to have a father that pushed [me] to become not just a great baseball player but a great person.”2 Willie’s mother, Pat, was an LPN and a good-hitting softball shortstop, occasionally pitching, and an accomplished bowler. Going to Willie Sr.’s games became family outings on most weekends and baseball was a big part of their family. Willie Jr.’s sisters were good high-school softball players. His brother starred in baseball and basketball in high school. Willie Sr. and Pat’s grandson (Kelly’s son), Ryan Rohlinger, joined Willie Jr. as a major leaguer with San Francisco, and another, Mike Mueller (Spencer’s son), spent three seasons in the Braves organization. Ryan’s brother Adam was a baseball star and hall of famer at Concordia College of Wisconsin, while Spencer’s daughter, also named Abbe, was an All-American volleyball player and UW-Whitewater hall of famer.

Willie Jr. attended Holy Trinity Grade School in Newburg, Wisconsin. Because he did not live in West Bend, he was not eligible for Little League, but Karl Kuss, heading the city’s recreation baseball program, helped him enroll at age 6, a year under the minimum.3 When he was 10 he was the batboy for the West Bend Lithias.4 He also played in the Pony League for Newburg.

At West Bend West High School, Mueller participated in four sports from 1971 to 1974 – wrestling, track, baseball, and basketball. He was a hard-throwing pitcher like his father. When not on the mound, the righty played second base his first two years and then shortstop. As a sophomore, he helped win his school’s first Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Summer Baseball Championship, besting the Plymouth Panthers 7-2.5

During his junior year, Mueller was 8-0 with a 0.40 ERA, surrendering only one extra-base hit, while fanning 61 and walking 17. At the plate, the right-handed swinger hit .308, smacking 20 hits.6 The Spartans finished 18-4 but lost in the first round of the state regionals to hometown rival West Bend East. He started his senior season fanning 55 of the first 67 batters he faced.7 Mueller pitched a seven-inning no-hitter that sealed the Spartans’ 17th consecutive victory to end the season. Facing rival East in the regional finals again, the 6-foot-4 tosser allowed only six hits while fanning 13. But the defense faltered as the Suns prevailed, 6-2; the Spartans ended with a 17-2 record. Willie finished 8-2 with a 0.60 ERA, with 123 Ks and 16 walks. He batted .320 with half of his 16 hits for extra bases, swatting the team’s only two homers.8 He was voted West’s MVP and named a second-team All-State pitcher, finishing his career 21-2.9

Mueller was not drafted but signed a free-agent contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 13, 1974. Most Wisconsin summer league players are not selected in the June amateur draft because practice cannot start until May 15 with games eight days later. Longtime scout Emil Belich, who inked Mueller, had only one mother – Willie’s – in 50 years of scouting mail him a letter advising he needed to look at her son. He did and liked what he saw.10 The 17-year-old started his professional career in Newark, New York, in the Low-A New York-Pennsylvania League. The Newark Co-Pilots’ youngest player made seven appearances, hurling 15 innings and finishing with a 6.00 ERA.

Mueller spent most of the next three seasons with Burlington, Iowa, in the Class-A Midwest League. He began as a starter but struggled developing a changeup.11 Seeing how hard he threw (“mid-to-low 90s – a hard slider”12) Bees manager Matt Galante moved Mueller to the bullpen to better use his speed an inning at a time. He finished with a winning record, 5-4 and a 3.12 ERA, earning a save, the first of 52 in the minors. At the plate, he had the bulk of his professional batting, 31 of 35 career at-bats,13 smacking six hits, with three doubles and two RBIs.

In 1976 Mueller broke his right thumb during spring training, losing pitching time, and was assigned to the Midwest League’s Clinton Pilots instead of Burlington because Milwaukee had other pitchers to develop. This upset the 19-year-old, who explained how it reignited his determination: “I wasn’t in a good way after breaking the thumb and felt rejected by the Brewers. I was mad and it lit a fire under my ass.”14 After 12 games in Clinton, Mueller returned to the Bees, making 17 relief appearances with five saves. He had his best ERA, 1.75, going 5-4.

Needing more closing experience, Mueller returned to Burlington in 1977. After the June amateur draft, Mueller got a new roommate when the Brewers’ first pick, future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, asked Bees manager Denis Menke for a mature roomie. Menke suggested Mueller, the same age but with three years’ minor-league experience; starting a lifetime friendship.15 Burlington struggled early, finishing last in the Southern Division but put it together to win the second half. After defeating their first-half rival, Cedar Rapids, in the semifinals with Mueller closing the clincher, they faced the Northern Division winner, Waterloo. Burlington won the championship with Mueller wrapping up the 3-0 victory.16 For the season, Mueller led the league in games (55) and was second in wins (15). He fanned a career-high 114 batters in 124 innings. After the season, he played for Milwaukee’s Winter Instructional League team in Arizona; he topped Brewers pitchers with 20 appearances, finishing with a 3-4 record and a 4.38 ERA.

Moving up to Double-A Holyoke (Massachusetts), Mueller was the team’s closer in 1978 and was leading the Eastern League with 53 games and 15 saves in August when the Brewers, struggling for pitching, became interested in him. GM Harry Dalton visited Holyoke to see Mueller throw. Liking what he saw, Dalton drove the young hurler to Boston (the Brewers were playing the Red Sox) so manager George Bamberger could see him work. Bamberger also liked what he saw, saying, “He probably throws harder than anyone in our bullpen. … [a]nd he throws as hard as or harder than anyone on our staff. He’s got a chance to make it as a big league relief pitcher”17 Mueller was asked to stay overnight to work out again the next day. He was subsequently promoted to the Brewers.

Mueller did not wait long for his major-league debut, entering the fray at Fenway Park that evening, August 12, 1978, 18 days shy of his 22nd birthday. He became the fourth Brewer Wisconsinite.18 Entering the contest in the fifth inning, he relieved starter Mike Caldwell, with runners at first and third, one out and the Brewers trailing 6-0. The first batter, Butch Hobson, struck out looking. Rick Burleson then tripled to right, plating both runners. Burleson scored on first baseman Ben Oglivie’s error before future Hall of Famer Jim Rice flied out to end the inning. The rookie retired eight consecutive batters before running into trouble with one out in the eighth. After Mueller yielded a single, Rice slugged a homer over the right-field bullpen for Boston’s final runs. In 3⅔ innings pitched, he surrendered three hits and two earned runs, fanning four. The four strikeouts established a Brewers’ relief pitcher debut record that held until Jake Cousins whiffed five Diamondbacks on June 21, 2021.19 Bamberger was “impressed very much,” by Mueller, stating, “He handled himself like a veteran who has been around 10 years.”20

The 220-pound reliever’s next opportunity was on August 22, his first home game in County Stadium, with parents, family, and friends attending. Coming into game two of a twilight-night doubleheader in the sixth inning with Milwaukee trailing Cleveland, 4-2, he replaced starter Eduardo Rodriguez. With two outs and a runner on third, Mueller retired the side on a pop foul. He kept the Brewers close, holding the Indians scoreless, working out of a jam in the seventh frame with two runners on base. The only hit surrendered was to a fellow Wisconsinite, Sturtevant’s Duane Kuiper, in the ninth. Mueller was rewarded with his first win when the Brewers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Cecil Cooper’s bases-loaded single scoring Don Money, and sweeping the doubleheader. Excited after the victory, Mueller said, “I’ll never forget it. I didn’t have my best stuff. I was pitching wild.”21 His manager saw it differently, saying he was “fantastic.”22 It proved to be Mueller’s only decision in the majors.

Pitching three more times for a total of 5⅔ innings, Mueller struggled with baserunners, allowing 12 hits and four walks for eight runs, seven earned. He whiffed only two after his debut. His 2.57 ERA ballooned to 6.39. But with Holyoke he had led the Eastern League in games pitched (53) and saves (15). And at age 22, he had debuted in the majors and earned a win. With the Brewers enjoying the franchise’s first winning season, finishing third, he received a $175.26 partial share bonus; he saved it.

Reporting in 1979 to his first big-league spring training, in Sun City, Arizona, Mueller was one of four pitchers battling for two spots.23 He didn’t get much action and was disappointed with early demotion to Triple-A Vancouver.24 Mueller was a starting pitcher early but didn’t fare well, returning to the bullpen, where he thrived. He enjoyed playing for the 1979 Canadians. “It’s very pretty up here – they have a nude beach – and the ballpark is beautiful,” he told a Milwaukee sportswriter.25 In May, when the home-plate umpire was hit on the elbow, leaving the game, Dennis Kinney of the Hawaiian Islanders manned first base and Mueller umped at third, both in uniform, until a local replacement arrived in the fourth. Mueller had a “tough call” on a caught-stealing.26 In June he pitched “two perfect innings” against the Brewers in an exhibition game in Vancouver.27 In his first Pacific Coast League campaign, Mueller was second in team appearances and fourth in victories, with another winning record of 7-3. That fall when the Brewers sold him to Vancouver to free up space on the 40-man roster, he responded positively: “I knew I had to keep working and glad to be able to so.”28

As one of five nonroster invitees to spring training in 1980, Mueller thought he had an opportunity after an offseason of running and lifting weights,29 aided by Bamberger saying at the end of the previous season that the 23-year-old would be one of his long relievers if he worked out.30 But the manager retired during the offseason for health reasons following a heart attack the previous spring, and his replacement, Buck Rodgers, did not follow through, demoting Mueller in the second round of cuts. Mueller was angry, saying, “I just wish someone would give me a chance in the big leagues.”31 Returning to Vancouver, he was quite effective out of the pen, leading the Canadians in games pitched (57), and second by one in the league. Mueller also was third in innings pitched (112), and wins (8, against 6 losses).

Milwaukee’s arms pursuit continued in 1981, with 25 pitchers invited to camp, but not including Mueller. He did throw occasional batting practice and twirled in their final Cactus League match, yielding three hits and two runs to Cleveland in two innings.32 Returning to Vancouver, he posted a 1.78 ERA, fourth in the PCL, and finished 21 of his 31 appearances for a 5-3 record with five saves. Late in the season, he was loaned to the Denver Bears of the American Association, Montreal’s Triple-A affiliate, which needed pitching because of injuries. The Brewers thought a different league would be good experience. The righty was angry with the move, especially after three Vancouver teammates were recalled to Milwaukee. Unable to understand why another minor-league team was more important than the Brewers, he said, “All I know is if Milwaukee doesn’t have any plans for me after the season I had this year … I can’t do better than that.”33 Pitching for Felipe Alou, the former Milwaukee Brave and Brewer, Mueller worked two regular-season innings, earning a save in his first outing, and then got a postseason win in 4⅓ innings of relief. Denver swept the Omaha Royals for the American Association championship.34 Mueller was recalled to Milwaukee on September 15 and pitched in one game. Mueller entered the contest in the sixth inning with Milwaukee trailing Baltimore 7-2 at Baltimore. Pitching two innings, he gave up four hits and one earned run. Mueller did not pitch in the major leagues again. After the season he pitched in the Puerto Rican Winter League for the Santurce Crabbers (20⅔ innings pitched, 3-1, 1.71 ERA35).

The 1982 season is filled with fond memories for Brewers fans as their team made its only World Series appearance, losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. But it wasn’t so good for the pitcher who grew up 35 miles away. Entering spring training, Mueller was hopeful. “Anybody in this camp has a shot at it,” he said. “If you didn’t you wouldn’t be here.”36 Making the majors at age 21 may not have been the best for him, said. “When you get called up that young, some people might not be able to handle it. I guess I couldn’t. Instead of keeping my nose to the grindstone like I did at Double A, I kind of let myself go a little bit.”37 But after a solid spring with a 2.25 ERA in four innings, he was optioned to the Expos’ new Triple-A team, in Wichita, remaining Brewers property with 24-hour recall. Montreal expressed interest in Mueller after the previous year’s playoffs but the teams failed to make a deal. The big reliever wasn’t happy after learning of the move from manager Buck Rodgers and GM Harry Dalton and stormed out of the clubhouse.38 Feeling he was being taken advantage of, he said, “Why optioned? Why not trade me for a player to be named later? Or why not sell me to them.”39 With Wichita, Mueller was the top righty out the bullpen,40 tied for the club lead in games pitched (56) and second in the American Association in saves (12). He suffered his first losing season, 3-9. Although Wichita returned to the playoffs, Mueller didn’t pitch for them; Milwaukee pulled him and stopped trade talks holding him in reserve in case Pete Ladd failed as replacement for injured closer, Rollie Fingers. Mueller never received that call. He was notified in November that he was being dropped from the 40-man roster.

For Mueller the start of the 1983 season was delayed because of knee ligament damage suffered playing basketball.41 When he was able to resume throwing at Vancouver, he had arm troubles, his ERA surpassing 7.00 into July. Mueller’s difficulty was surrendering too many hits and walking too many batters. When healthier, he started improving. By season’s end, he had lowered his ERA to 6.87, pitching 74⅔ innings in 40 games. More telling were the 102 hits and 40 walks surrendered, leading to five saves and a 3-9 record. The disappointing year finished when Mueller was one of six Vancouver players released by the Brewers. Bruce Manno, Milwaukee’s coordinator of minor league operations, told a sportswriter, “We just felt it would be more advantageous for them to go somewhere else and get another start.”42

As a free agent at age 27, Mueller was invited to San Francisco’s spring-training camp, but decided to retire when he was demoted to Triple A. “My arm was losing power and elasticity. I gave it 10 years, it was time to leave.” The Brewers offered him some coaching opportunities but he wanted to return home and work with West Bend’s youth.43 His 10 minor-league seasons included 395 games with 809 innings pitched and a 52-41 won-lost record. As a major-leaguer he pitched 14⅔ innings in six games and had the one victory.

Willie married Ruth Ann Enright of Sheboygan, a water utility clerk with the city of West Bend on November 30, 1985. They had two children. Daughter Lindsey starred on West Bend West High School’s volleyball team and played Division 1 volleyball at Binghamton University. Their son, Daniel, repeated Willie’s feat of pitching West Bend West to the Summer Baseball Championship as a sophomore.44 Dan was an infielder at Concordia College when his father was the pitching coach. The couple divorced in 2012; Mueller has not remarried.

In 1988 the movie Major League was filmed in Milwaukee. (Cleveland Stadium was unavailable because it was being used by the NFL Browns.) The movie was about the hapless Cleveland Indians, whose new owner wanted the team to lose so she could move it to Miami. Former Brewers starter Pete Vuckovich was originally cast as the Yankees’ closer, Duke, but when director David Ward first saw him he thought Vuckovich would be perfect instead as the slugging first baseman they were struggling to cast.45 Ward turned to Mueller to become Duke on Vuckovich’s recommendation. Mueller was skeptical when contacted and asked how they obtained his phone number. He was told that Vuckovich had been asked “if he knew anybody who could play the part, someone who was big, kind of ugly and (could) throw the ball.” The caller said Vuke didn’t pause, responding, “Willie Mueller.”46 That convinced Willie that the call was legitimate. Ward and producer Chris Chesser in the extras included with the 2007 DVD release Major League Wild Thing Edition said that “Mueller really got the character.”47 Mueller spent three months on the set, even assisting former Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager, the film’s technical adviser. Mueller said he had many great memories of the experience, and cherished two autographed baseballs, one signed by Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, and Pete Vuckovich and the other by Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes. About 10 years after the movie was released, the family was watching it when 10-year-old Lindsey refused to accept that “Duke” was her father and young Dan broke out crying when the Yankees lost, feeling bad for daddy.48

Like his father, Mueller worked with West Bend’s young people at all levels – Little League, high school, and college. He was a Little League umpire for seven years and coached youth football and basketball. In the late 1980s he began conducting baseball clinics year-round at the local indoor baseball facility and throughout southeast Wisconsin. He said his philosophy is simple and no-nonsense: “Respect the game, expect failure and learn how to deal with it.”49

In the fall of 2003, Mueller and other former West Bend ballplayers and coaches organized the West Bend Baseball Association. The nonprofit foundation’s mission states, “WBBA is committed to preserving West Bend’s fine baseball tradition by promoting and supporting youth, high school, and adult baseball in our community.” It has provided scholarships to baseball players in the city’s two high schools and supported Little League field improvements and supplies. WBBA’s greatest focus is Karl M. Kuss Memorial Field at Regner Park, where the high-school and adult teams play. Under Mueller’s leadership as president, more than $1.4 million was raised for a new grandstand and turf field, completed in the summer of 2021, updating the Depression-era ballpark. The organization continues raising funds to replace the lighting and make other additions to the ballpark.

Mueller worked as the pitching coach for Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, a Milwaukee suburb, from 2005 to 2012. The Division III school is a member of the Northern Athletic Conference. His son, Dan, received All-Conference Honorable Mention after leading the team in batting average (.354), at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, and RBIs as a senior.

Mueller has been recognized by two organizations. In June 2011 he and his father were included in the inaugural class of the WBBA’s Diamond of Honor Wall of Fame. He told the Washington County Daily News, “I was quite humbled, there’s a lot of emotion here. … I feel honored especially for my dad.”50 The following year, he was enshrined in the Old Time Ball Players Association of Wisconsin’s Hall of Fame.

After baseball, Mueller had several jobs before joining the City of West Bend in 1989, for which he has held several positions, mostly for the Parks Division. He has worked doing maintenance and delivery for Furey Filter and Pump since retiring from the city in 2013 with plans to retire in 2022.

In 2017 Mueller was invited to participate as a coach at the Brewers Fantasy Camp by camp director Bill Schroeder, a former Brewers catcher turned broadcaster. He went with three friends including Mike Gonring, former West Bend East baseball coach and fellow inaugural WBBA Wall of Fame inductee, who was a camper. The team coached by Willie and former Brewers outfielder Corey Hart went undefeated and won the camp championship.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and SABR.org.

The author met Willie Mueller at the RBI Baseball Academy in West Bend for an initial interview. All other telephone interviews and interactions were conducted around his camp schedules. 

Special thanks to SABR member Bill Mortell of Maryland, whose knowledge of Ancestry.com and research skills have again proven to be invaluable.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Willie Mueller.

Notes

1 Similar to town ball, the Land O’Lakes League was founded in 1922, with teams throughout Southeast Wisconsin.

2 Pat Neumuth, “Life Long Mentor – Baseball Remembering Willie Mueller Sr.,” Washington County Daily News (West Bend, Wisconsin), July 22, 2010: 9.

3 “Mueller Signs Brewers Pact, Reports to Newark Tuesday,” West Bend News, July 15, 1974: 10.

4 Pat Neumuth, “Old Time Ballplayers Induct Mueller into the Hall of Fame,” West Bend News, September 12, 2012: 9.

5 “First Championship for West Bend Since 1951,” West Bend News, July 28, 1972: 7. The Wisconsin Athletic Association instituted two leagues in 1965 (through 2018), spring and summer. West Bend High split into two high schools in 1969, East and West (both in the same building).

6 Leif Eriksen, “Pitching Was West’s forte,” West Bend News, August 3, 1973: 7.

7 “Mueller Fans 20 as West Blanks Plymouth,” West Bend News, June 12, 1974: 9.

8 “Pitching Was West’s Strong Suit,” West Bend News, July 23, 1974: 9.

9 West Bend Baseball Association 2012 Wall of Fame Induction.

10 “2000 Midwest Scout of the Year,” Belich started scouting with the Milwaukee Braves in 1953. Besides the Brewers, he also scouted for the Phillies and San Diego as well as the Major League Scouting Bureau. He signed two stalwarts of the 1982 Brewers, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor and Jim Gantner.

11 Telephone interview with Willie Mueller on January 2, 2022, hereafter referred to as “Mueller interview.”

12 “Four Men Born in West Bend Have Played in the Big Leagues. These Are Their Stories,” Washington County Daily News, October 27, 2012: 1.

13 Mueller had four at-bats over the course of the 1979, 1981, and 1982 seasons to avoid using another reliever with three strikeouts.

14 Mueller interview.

15 Mueller interview.

16 “Bees Swarm to First Midwest Title Since ’65,” The Sporting News, September 27, 1977: 41.

17 “Brewers Test State Hurler,” Milwaukee Sentinel, August 12, 1978: Part 2, 3.

18 Mueller was preceded by Gene Brabender of Black Earth, Wisconsin; Jerry Augustine of Kewaunee; and Jim Gantner of Eden.

19 Todd Rosiak, “Brewers Shuffle Roster as Anderson Goes on the Injured List,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 23, 2021, C1. Mueller and most Brewer fans, including the author, were not aware of the record until Cousins broke it.

20 “Haas Will Make Brief Showings,” Milwaukee Sentinel, August 14, 1978: Part 2, 4.

21 Lou Chapman, “Brewers Pull Off a Miracle,” Milwaukee Sentinel, August 23, 1978: Part 2, 1.

22  Chapman, “Brewers Pull Off a Miracle.”

23 Lou Chapman, “Smooth Camp Suits Dalton Just Fine,” Milwaukee Sentinel, March 6, 1979:  Part 2, 1.

24 Mike Gonring, “West Bend’s Mueller Doing His Chores in Triple A,” Milwaukee Journal, June 26, 1979: Part 2, 7.

25 Gonring.

26 “Pacific Coast League,” The Sporting News, May 26, 1979: 39.

27 Gonring.

28 Mueller interview.

29 “Eight Seeking Pitching Berth,” Milwaukee Sentinel, March 7, 1980: Part 2, 1.

30 Mueller interview.

31 George Sauerberg, “Rookie Outfielder, Replogle Sparks Brewers,” Milwaukee Sentinel, March 22, 1980: Part 2, 2.

32 “Brewers Whip Indians in Exhibition Windup,” Milwaukee Sentinel, April 9, 1981: Part 2, 3.

33 Steve Aschburner, “Mueller to Miss Bus for Brewers Stretch Drive,” Milwaukee Journal, September 3, 1981: Part 3, 10.

34 “Mueller Wins for Denver,” Milwaukee Journal, September 4, 1981: Part 2, 8.

35 Statistics furnished by Jorge Colon Delgado, official historian, Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League.

36 Tom Flaherty, “Mueller Hopes He’ll Beat the Odds,” Milwaukee Journal, March 2, 1982: Part 2, 5.

37 “Mueller Hopes He’ll Beat the Odds.”

38 Vic Feuerherd, “Brewers Trim Porter, Mueller From Roster,” Milwaukee Sentinel, April 1, 1982: Part 2, 1.

39 Tom Flaherty, “Spring Training,” Milwaukee Journal, April 2, 1982: Part 2, 10.

40 Dale Willenbrink, “Update on State Players in the Minor Leagues,” Milwaukee Journal, July 15, 1982: Part 3, 8. 

41 Tom Flaherty, “Baseball Dances to the Tune of Musical Managers,” Milwaukee Journal, February 13, 1983: Sports 3.

42 Tom Flaherty, “If Lachemann Answers, It’s Not Your Lucky Day,” Milwaukee Journal, November 13, 1983: Sports 11.

43 Mueller interview.

44 “Stevens Point – ‘Yes He’s Only a Junior,’” Washington County Daily News, July 27, 2007. 

45 Director David Ward and producer Chris Chesser discussing the film on the 2007 DVD release Major League Wild Thing Edition.

46 Nicholas Dettmann, “‘League’ Still Resonates,” Washington County Daily News, April 4, 2014: 7.

47 Ward and Chesser.

48 Nicholas Dettmann, “‘League’ Still Resonates,” Washington County Daily News, April 4, 2014: 7.

49 Mueller interview.

50 Nicholas Dettmann, “For Love of the Game,” Washington County Daily News, June 24, 2011: 1.