The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team which was founded in 1960 as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

team. The Goldpanners were charter members of the

Alaska Baseball League The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league. Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. The Midnight Sun Game, held at Growden Memorial ...

at the league's inception in 1974. The Goldpanners play their home games at

Growden Memorial Park Growden Memorial Park is an outdoor park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.Originally called Memorial Park, the park was renamed in 1964 in memory of James Growden who, along with his two sons, lost his life in the tsunami created by the Good ...

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, United States. They also host the annual Midnight Sun Game at their home venue. Like other

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

teams, the Goldpanners operate in a similar manner to professional

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

organizations: playing a nightly schedule, using wooden bats, and with lengthy road trips facing advanced competition. Facing a unique challenge due to Fairbanks' isolated location, the Goldpanners often play teams from the rest of Alaska and the West Coast of the Lower 48.

History

Founded by

H. A. Boucher Henry Aristide "Red" Boucher Jr. (January 27, 1921 – June 19, 2009) was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1970 to 1974. He had also served as mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, from 1966 to 1970, and ...

in 1960, Fairbanks' baseball team first made national news when the Pan-Alaska Gold Panners appeared in the 1962

National Baseball Congress The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 17 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1935 by Hap Dumont, it has conducted an annual North America ...

championship game. Following a business re-organization led by W.G. Stroecker in 1963, the team changed was renamed the Alaska Goldpanners. From 1970 to 1972, the Goldpanners were a member of the Big West Conference, along with the

Anchorage Glacier Pilots The Anchorage Glacier Pilots are a college summer baseball team in Anchorage, Alaska in the United States. They are part of the Alaska Baseball League, and a member of the National Baseball Congress. The Pilots have won the NBC World Series i ...

Humboldt Crabs The Humboldt Crabs are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Arcata, California. Playing in every season since they were founded in 1945 by Lou Bonomini, later joined by Ned Barsuglia, the Crabs are the oldest continually-operated summer co ...

, Grand Junction Eagles, and

Bellingham Bells The Bellingham Bells are a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League. The team is composed of college baseball players from teams around the U.S. In recent years, the Bells have produced a number of Major League players including ...

. In 1967, the Goldpanners were in the inaugural Western Baseball Association with Humboldt, Grand Junction, Bellingham, and the Santa Rosa Rosebuds. In 1974, the Goldpanners were founding members of the

. In 2008, former Goldpanner Bill "Spaceman" Lee returned to Fairbanks as an alumnus of the Midnight Sun Game. During his time with the club, which included a win for Lee in the Midnight Sun Game, Bill declared that the Goldpanners were "the number one amateur baseball organization in history." The Goldpanners did not play in 2011 due to financial difficulties. The Goldpanners announced in September 2015 that they were leaving the league and would instead play a barnstorming schedule so that they would be available to play in the National Baseball Congress championship game which is held before the end of the ABL season. In 2020, they applied to rejoin the league for the 2021 season and were denied.

League and Tournament Wins

*1960 North of the Range League *1961 North of the Range League *1961

Regional NBC Tournament *1962 North of the Range League *1962

Regional NBC Tournament *1962

Regional NBC Tournament *1964

Regional NBC Tournament *1966

Hawaii International baseball tournament Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

*1966 World baseball tournament *1970

*1970 Big West Conference Tournament *1972 Alaska Baseball League *1972 National Baseball Congress World Series *1973 Alaska World Series *1973 National Baseball Congress World Series *1974 Kamloops, B.C., International Baseball Tournament *1974 National Baseball Congress World Series *1974 Kamloops, B.C., International Baseball Tournament *1975 Kamloops, B.C., International Baseball Tournament *1976 National Baseball Congress World Series *1976 Kamloops, B.C., International Baseball Tournament *1977 Kamloops, B.C., International Baseball Tournament *1978 Alaska Baseball League *1979 Alaska Baseball League *1980 Alaska Baseball League *1980 National Baseball Congress World Series *1981 Alaska Baseball League *1982 Alaska Baseball League *1983 Alaska Baseball League *1984 Alaska Baseball League *1986 Alaska Baseball League Pacific Division *1988 U.S. Open Baseball Tournament - Tahoe *1990 U.S. Open Baseball Tournament - Ontario *1991 Alaska Baseball League *1993 Alaska Federation *1994 Alaska Baseball League *1994

Alaska baseball tournament Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

*1995 Alaska Federation *1995 Alaska Baseball League *1996 Hawaii International Baseball Tournament *2001 Wood Bat Invitation Tournament *2002 Alaska Baseball League *2002 National Baseball Congress World Series *2003 Alaska Baseball League *2003 Wood Bat Invitation Tournament *2005 Alaska Baseball League *2009 Kamloops, B.C., International Baseball Tournament *2013 Barona Bash Invitational Tournament *2013 Alaska Baseball League *2014 Alaska Baseball League *2019 Grand Forks International Baseball Tournament

Notable alumni

Mike Boddicker Michael James Boddicker (born August 23, 1957) is an American right-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles (1980–1988), Boston Red Sox (1988–1990), Kansas City Royals (1991–1992), and Milwaukee Brewers (1993). ...

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father of ...

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During his career Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is a third generation professio ...

Pete Broberg Peter Sven Broberg (born March 2, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Career Broberg played in the major leagues from to . He played for the Washington Senators/ Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and Oakl ...

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

Bobby Crosby Robert Edward Crosby (born January 12, 1980) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The son of former ...

Alvin Davis Alvin Glenn Davis (born September 9, 1960), nicknamed "Mr. Mariner", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He played eight of his nine seasons for the Seattle Mariners and won the American League Rookie of the Year ...

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

Aaron Heilman Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Heilman was drafted by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame in 2001. He came up through the Mets system as a starting pitcher, but was converted to ...

* Kevin Higgins *

Adam Kennedy Adam Thomas Kennedy (born January 10, 1976) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington National ...

Dave Kingman David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career hom ...

* Bill "Spaceman" Lee *

Travis Lee Travis Reynolds Lee (born May 26, 1975) is an American former professional first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball. Amateur career Lee graduated from Capital High School in Olympia, Washington in 1993, where he also p ...

Don Leppert Donald George Leppert (born October 19, 1931) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A catcher, he appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators. Leppert ...

* Shane Mack *

Oddibe McDowell Oddibe McDowell (born August 25, 1962) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1985 to 1994 for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Atlanta Braves. His first name is pronounced "owed a bee" or " ...

Kevin McReynolds Walter Kevin McReynolds (born October 16, 1959) is an American former baseball player who was an outfielder with a 12-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 1994. A two-time All-America from the University of Arkansas, he played ...

* Kris Medlen *

Andy Messersmith John Alexander "Andy" Messersmith (born August 6, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched for the California Angels (1968–72), Los Angeles Dodgers (1973–75 and 1979), Atlanta B ...

Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...

Curt Motton Curtell Howard Motton ( ; September 24, 1940 – January 21, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that ...

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

* Brendan Ryan *

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

Dave Winfield David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he playe ...

* Michael Young *

Alex Vesia Alexander Victor Vesia (born April 11, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2020. Early life Vesia was born in Alpine, Ca ...

Midnight Sun game

First held in 1906, the annual Midnight Sun Game is held yearly in Fairbanks, hosted by the Goldpanners. The game, which begins at 10:30 PM on the night of the summer solstice, has gained the attention of international media. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' declared the game one of the "10 Must-See Baseball Events." In 2005,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

spotlighted the game during "50 States in 50 Days." ''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...

'' called the event the "#8 Ultimate Baseball Experience." ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' declared that on the 21st of June, "Fairbanks is the Baseball Capitol of America". In 2012, ''Yankees Magazine'' declared the game "Baseball's Most Natural Promotion".

Quotes

"I've been lucky enough to attend many

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

s and

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

s but the Midnight Sun Game is in a league of its own." – Greg S. Harris, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Everybody should have an opportunity to come to Alaska and see the Midnight Sun Game." – Bobby Doerr, Boston Red Sox alumnus and Major League Baseball Baseball Hall of Fame, Hall of Famer

2022 roster

*Manager: Mark Lindsay *Assistant Coaches: Ryan Handon, Marcus Mastrobuoni and Jake Taylor *Pitchers **RJ Aranda **Ian Torpey **Corey Braun **Garrett Cooper **Nolan Meredith **Raymond Padilla **Matthew Pinal **Ethan Remmers **Logan Smith **Andrew Troppmann **Steven Vazquez **Kegan Wentz *Catchers **Rafael Flores **Brock Rudy **Issac Schuck *Infielders **Cole Alexander **Alex Garcia **Griffin Harrison **Caleb Millikan **Marty Munoz **Tate Shimao **Dalton Sloniger *Outfielders **Cayden Clark **Dominic Hughes **Brock Kleszcz **Sean Rimmer

References

External links

*
Alaska Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaska Goldpanners Of Fairbanks 1960 establishments in Alaska Alaska Baseball League Amateur baseball teams in Alaska Sports in Fairbanks, Alaska Baseball teams established in 1960 Baseball teams in Alaska