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When I was growing up in Tyler, I started buying the District Tournament basketball programs that they published every year for District 9. And as I went through the programs, I would always notice that when I got to the Milroy team, it seemed like there were always two or three Dolans on each team in the ’60s and ’70s. I always wondered, "Will they ever run out of Dolans on these teams?" Well, luckily, they didn't, as the Dolan name kept popping up in every sport as their success continued. Luckily, I say, because I have gotten to know some of the Dolan family when I started covering games for the Independent, and I have found them to be terrific people as well as great athletes.
In the years that I lived in the Cities, I traveled from Plymouth to Tyler hundreds of times, and I was always fascinated by the memorials that were located on the curve between Vesta and Milroy. We stopped there many times, as my kids always wanted to go see the art made out of stones. And as the years went by, the artwork continued to grow. I later learned that these were the creation of Mike Dolan, who built it into a wonderful religious monument. But around 2010, I heard that there was also a baseball field being built right down the road in a beanfield. I kept looking for this "Milroy Field of Dreams,” but I couldn't see it from the road. Then my late friend, Stu Peterson, pointed it out to me, since I was looking on the wrong side of the road. Stu was a huge sports fan, especially for RTR, and he worked for the DOT, so he knew every road to every field. o I drove by there one day, and I was shocked to see what a magnificent field it was!! It had a green monster of its own, modeled after the famous Fenway Park Green Monster. A few more years went by, and then we would stop with our grandson, so he could imagine pitching in the big leagues when he was around 13 years old. They have since added an electronic scoreboard that would be the envy of most high school fields, and a few college stadiums. When I started covering high school games there, I was amazed when I walked into the air-conditioned press box, with several cameras to cover all the angles. My friend, Josh Goblish, was usually doing the radio broadcasts, and he showed me the ropes around that magnificent structure.
So now my curiosity is aroused, as I wondered how this all took place. And the name Bob Dolan kept popping up. I had covered some TMB games, and I had gotten to know his son, Anthony, current manager of the Irish. So I knew that I had to get some history on how this field was built, since I heard it was mostly from volunteer work and donations. I finally had a chance to catch up with Bob this week, and we sat down at Irish Yard to get the full story that was in front of us. Bob and his brother, Neil, had played and coached with the Milroy Yankees for many years. But there came a time when the coaching philosophies started to differ, and Bob was no longer the manager. At the time, his sons were still young, and Bob said, "My boys were in junior high, and I told them that eventually, they were going to play somewhere. We tried to play with the Yankees, and it didn't work out, so we took the high road and we said, we will build our own field, and build our own team. A lot of people didn't believe us, but sometimes it just makes you work harder to get it done. In 2008, we started working on the field. It was a beanfield at the time, and we started cutting out the field a little at a time. Our neighbors, the Zwaschka family, owned the land, and at the time, land was going for around $10,000/acre. They gave us a tremendous discount on the sale price, which allowed us to donate the land for the field. We had D & G Excavating come over and smooth it out for us, and we started working on it. It took us 2-3 years to get it done, and in the meantime, we played our home games over at SMSU until 2012, when we finally had it done." In all, with all fundraising from the entire family and surrounding communities, they were able to secure thousands of dollars in donations, not to mention they sweat equity that was put in this project.
Bob was able to secure a donation for the seats that were used for the Baltimore Orioles when they built Camden Yards. SMSU donated the lights from Mattke Field, and four of the poles for the lights were donated by Xcel Energy. His son, Anthony, worked at Daktronics and he found the used media scoreboard at Mystic Lake that they use now. It has to be a thrill for all the high school kids who play there to see their name lit up on the scoreboard. Even with the donations, it still cost $16,000-$18,000 to wire and install the scoreboard.
"We wanted to put something iconic on the field, so we put the Green Monster as one of our first projects," Bob added. "We are truly blessed to have a great community around us, and the support of the local businesses, fans, players, and their families make the Irish family special."
About three years ago, Bob stepped down as the manager, and his son, Anthony took over the reins. His youngest brother, Dominic, has played on the team since he was a sophomore in high school. Middle brother Lucas works in St. Cloud now, but he and rest of the family are still staunch supporters of the Irish. Bob's wife, Peggy, runs the concession stand, and the rest of the family that isn't playing are manning the tickets, concessions, or whatever else is needed. It truly is a family affair, with brothers, sisters, cousins and in-laws all participating in some capacity. With son, Dominic, set to take over the farm, Bob can now concentrate on his real job as vice president branch manager at First Western Bank in Lismore. Whenever I would go to the Irish Yard to cover a game, I would park in an open field on Bob's farm. Last year, he built a house on this section, so now I am privileged to park in his front yard!! So the Dolan name will live on for many more years, and I am sure that the success of both the Irish and the entire Dolan family will live on forever. And if you ever get the chance, take the northern turn on the Vesta curve and go for a tour of both the monument and the field. You won't be disappointed!!