As you can see above, these two players were Buckley-Loda graduates that wound up playing later with the
Buckley Dutch Masters of the former Eastern Illinois and Danville Twilight Leagues. Scott Garrelts and Mark Scheiwe were part
of a special Rocket baseball team that made the towns beam with pride in the spring of 1979. Carol Krumweide submitted the
following passage to us from the Buckley Sesquicentennial booklet in 2006 about that season.
A YEAR TO REMEMBER
"Buckley-Loda High School baseball turned out to be something special, starting one spring
afternoon in 1978. The 1978-79 team ended the season with a 17-7 record,
but that wasn’t the whole story. Buckley has always been a baseball town, so it was not unusual for a lot of fans to
show up for the high school games. These games were going to prove to be a little
different especially for Scott Garrelts and Mark Scheiwe.
It all started at a baseball game between Wellington and Buckley-Loda. Wellington had a good pitcher by the name
of Jeff Sollars and a major league scout was in attendance at the game. As luck
would have it, in that game Buckley-Loda pitcher, 16 year-old Scott Garrelts struck out 22 batters in a seven-inning game.
The extra man who struck out was necessary because of a passed ball, allowing a runner to reach first base. Needless to say, the pro scout took notice. Following that eventful game, the word got around and for the
rest of the spring as well as the next year, there were numerous pro scouts as well as college coaches in attendance at the
ball games. Not only did the scouts take an interest in Scott, but Mark Scheiwe who was also a pitcher for B-L. It was reported that 17 major league scouts were in town during the season to watch the two of them pitch.
Fans showed up in record numbers also. It was hard to imagine that pro scouts would be paying this much attention to two baseball
players from as small a high school as Buckley-Loda.
In the June major league free agent draft, the dream of every baseball player was attained when Scott was drafted
in the 1st round by the San Francisco Giants and Mark went in the 15th round to the Chicago Cubs. As a side note, Jeff Sollars, the Wellington player; was drafted in the 11th
round by the St. Louis Cardinals, but decided to attend Bradley University.
Scott went
on to have a 9-year career in the major leagues mostly with the San Francisco Giants. Mark encountered arm problems and was
never able to play in the major leagues, but did continue his baseball career with the Buckley Dutch Masters."
Boys' Track & Field
The Rocket thinclads had one male athlete earn all-state honors at the IHSA State Class A Track Meet. His
great accomplishment is listed below.
1980-81 Dana Bentz
200 Meter Dash 8TH Place!
Girls' Track & Field
The Lady Rockets were great competitors as well. Mona Martin saw to it that the lady
tracksters of Buckley-Loda High would have something to be proud of from the State Meet as well. Mona became B-LHS' most decorated
track athlete with medals in the shot put during three consecutive seasons in the early 1980's. Her great accomplishments
are listed below.
1982-83 Mona Martin
Shot Put 2ND Place!!
1983-84 Mona Martin
Shot Put 3RD Place!
1984-85 Mona Martin Shot
Put 3RD Place!
Great job Mona Martin!!
Girls' Basketball
The Buckley-Loda High School Lady Rockets competed in basketball as well. Not all of the seasons were
of a great many wins, but the program had some great games and moments. Coach Sue Benear led the Lady
Rockets from 1973-74 through 1979-80. Coaches Heiselmeyer, Jim Zenner, and Robert Freitag
all spent time at the Lady Rockets helm. Coach Bill Sarver led the team from 1984-85 through 1986-87. The
only season of a .500 or above winning % is listed below.
1986-87 7-7 Coach Bill Sarver
Girls' Volleyball
The Lady Rocket netters faired quite well in certain seasons of their existence. Coaches of the
Lady Rockets volleyball program included Sue Benear, Pat Meece, Debbie Samuelson, Lynn Saxsma, Dean Brucker, and Robert
Freitag. Coach Bill Sarver doubled as the volleyball coach from 1984-85 through the 1987-88
season. His records at B-LHS are listed below.
1984-85 9- 6 Coach Bill Sarver
1985-86 11-
6 Coach Bill Sarver
1986-87 14- 3 Coach Bill Sarver
1987-88 13-
7 Coach Bill Sarver
Good Athletes
A lot of really good athletes played for Buckley-Loda High School. Especially baseball players. The
ones mentioned below played professional sports or were college starters and played more than two years for
a major college team. There may very well be others that did go on to college sports or were exceptional athletes, but to
mention all of them at this time would be a great task. Some of those players wound up playing with the Buckley Dutch Masters,
a semi-pro team that competed in the Eastern Illinois League for a number of years.
Scott Garrelts would be the most famous as he was a Major League Pitcher for well over nine
years & made the National League All-Star team, representing the San Francisco Giants. Mark Scheiwe
pitched in the Minor Leagues for the Chicago Cubs, Don Hackerson pitched for University of Illinois,
Preston Jordan played center for Illinois State, and Brian Martin was a starting
guard for Illinois Wesleyan University.
Famous Graduate
As you can above, a number of notable athletes came from Buckley and Loda. Even though her sport wasn't
offered when she attended Buckley HS, Eunice Wilkening played for the "Redheads" professional
girls' basketball team. In 2006, the town of Buckley celebrated its' 150th birthday and wrote this passage about
her in their sesquicentennial booklet.
"Eunice, who now goes by the nickname Rusty, is a 1958 graduate of Buckley-Loda
High School and had a short career as a member of the “All American Redheads”, a professional exhibition basketball
team based in Arkansas.
According to an interview in a 1960 edition of the Paxton Record,
she stated that as a nine year old, she got a basketball and hoop for a Christmas present. She put it up and just started
playing a sport that would give her a chance to be a professional athlete.
She attended a Redhead’s game when she was in high school and after graduation received a call from their manager
who asked her to join the team. The team traveled throughout the country playing against semi-professional, high school, and
local talent. The teams they played were composed of men, and they played men’s rules. Women at that time played by
“half court” game rules, and did not normally play the whole court game. They played an average of 200 games per
season and never won less than 100. As she stated the women won through their skills, not just though the chivalrous default
on the part of their opponents. A game was played in Buckley against a men’s team in January of 1960.
She was also
an avid softball player in those years and played with the Bradley Comets and the Memphis Diamonds, both amateur teams." (courtesy of Carol Krumwiede)
If You Have ANY Information To Share...
...regarding the many successes and accomplishments of Buckley-Loda High School please forward the
information to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also write to us at:
Illinois HS Glory Days
6439 N. Neva St.
Chicago, IL 60631
