For historians, the “Shot Heard Round the World” was fired at Concord to begin the Revolutionary War. For baseball fans, the shot heard round the world was also Bobby Thompson’s home run to win the pennant for the New York Giants in 1951.

Then, there was the “Shot Heard Round Sleepy Eye.” That occurred May 29,1975. As often happens in baseball, the hero that day was not one of the star players. In a game filled with some of the best ballplayers Sleepy Eye has ever produced, Dominic Sellner, a speedy slap-hitting left fielder got the biggest hit.

We will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of that unlikely event at the Sleepy Eye Brewing Company on Friday. All are invited. More than a single game half a century ago, we’ll be toasting local baseball, with roots that run deep in Sleepy Eye and the whole area.

Let’s go back to 1975. A unique set of circumstances transpired to bring most of Sleepy Eye to the ballpark on a beautiful Thursday afternoon. This was the first year that Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s was in the Minnesota State High School League. Before that, there was a divide between public and private schools. The two schools 10 blocks apart never played before that day.

I graduated the year before, and our baseball team participated in the last Catholic/private school state tournament. A kid named Molitor from St. Paul Cretin was the talk of that tournament.

Coincidentally, 1975 was the last year of single class tournaments. After that, schools were divided by size. The Hoosiers-type upset where the little school beat the big school would never happen again. People may not remember how significant winning a District title was then. If your school won the District, they had to win a lot of games and beat the big schools.

In 1975, 20 teams competed in the District 10 baseball playoffs. The top three seeds were Sleepy Eye Public, New Ulm Public, and New Ulm Cathedral.

Sleepy Eye Public baseball under Coach Don Boelter was consistently strong. Three times in five years, Sleepy Eye lost the District 10 championship game to bigger New Ulm Public.

In 1975, Sleepy Eye had another fine season, finishing 15-3, winning their fourth Tomahawk Conference title in five years. Phil Johnson and Dean Deibele would both play college baseball. Those two pitched most of the innings for the Indians that spring. Dean’s ERA was an other-worldly 0.15.

The lineup was strong top to bottom; the Indians outscored their opponents 130-35. Al Reiderer and Loni Berberich were two of the most natural hitters you’ll ever see. Al hit .430 and was named team MVP. Loni was selected to play in the first State All Star Game that June.

St. Mary’s had an inconsistent season. Any game that Coach Moe Moran threw his ace Vic Helget, the Knights had a chance. But the team struggled to score runs, hitting only .187 in the regular season. The team finished 9-5 and was seeded seventh in District.

The Knights first foray into MSHSL playoffs began with an 8-3 win over Wabasso. Vic struck out 15.

Next up was the No. 2 seed, New Ulm Public. It was the first, last, and only time St. Mary’s has ever played New Ulm Public. The Eagles under young coach Jim Senske were a state power, in the midst of playing in an incredible nineteen state tournaments.

That day the little school from western Brown County prevailed. Pitching on two days’ rest, Vic struck out 10. Jeff Cook homered and St. Mary’s won 3-2. St. Mary’s all-time record versus the New Ulm Eagles still stands at a perfect 1-0.

The next Tuesday, St. Mary’s met a more familiar opponent. New Ulm Cathedral was an old rival from the DeSmet Conference. That spring, the Greyhounds coached by Stan Wilfahrt had beaten the Knights three times. But not a fourth, as Vic tossed a one-hitter and St. Mary’s won 2-1.

That set up the district championship game, the first meeting ever between St. Mary’s and Sleepy Eye public. While St. Mary’s was scratching out wins to get there, public won three games easily, all shutouts. The headline on the front page of the Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch read, “Sleepy Eye Teams Meet in Afternoon Dream Game.” Below was a photo of coaches Boelter and Moran holding the trophy. The two coaches were good friends, teammates in the old Western Minny League.

Coach Boelter said, “It’s wonderful that two Sleepy Eye teams emerged from a twenty-team tournament.” Since then, St. Mary’s and Public have played many times, but this was the first.

If anyone thought St. Mary’s would win that day, they assumed Helget would pitch the Knights to a low scoring win. When the Knights plated one run in the top of the first, their fans were feeling good. A couple singles, a walk, and two fielder’s choices brought Dominic up with two outs.

On a 3-2 slider, Dominic hit one to left, he hoped it would get in the gap. When he raced into second, he saw the umpire give the homerun sign. A northwest breeze might have helped the ball over the fence. Regardless, it was a grand slam, and the Knights had a lead they would not relinquish. It was the only homerun Indians’ pitchers gave up all season.

Helget had thrown 28 innings in nine days and was wearing out by the end. The Indians scored three in the last inning, but the Knights held on to win 7-4. Vic’s cousin Jim had a couple of running catches in center field to aid the cause.

St. Mary’s went on the Region 3 tournament where they lost 1 to 0 to Montevideo despite another gem thrown by Helget. The amazing playoff run saw Helget throw 35 innings, striking out 55 batters.

The streak was over. But the week when St. Mary’s beat New Ulm Public, New Ulm Cathedral, and Sleepy Eye Public will never be duplicated.

Dominic told me that was the first game his dad attended that year. Andrew Sellner was a farmer, and spring was a busy time of year. As Dominic left the house that morning, Andrew told him that he was coming to the game. He jokingly offered 10 dollars to his son if he hit a homer.

Coach Moran said of the grand slam, “Dom’s a great youngster, it couldn’t have happened to a finer boy.”

Join us at the Brewery next Friday to celebrate baseball, Sleepy Eye, summer, and a grand slam.

— Randy Krzmarzick farms on the home place west of Sleepy Eye, where he lives with his wife, Pam.