Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Sunday, April 13, 2008
D.C. 'Dip' Dade: A life in baseball
While pitching in the Chicago Cubs minor league farm system during spring training in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1947, Darwin Dade threw a juggle hand curveball, better known as a sinker, that drew some attention.
“Some sportswriter said, ‘Look at that ball take a dip,’ and that is how I got my nickname,” Darwin “Dip” Dade said. “The problem with my pitch was that I couldn’t get it over the plate.”
Dade spent three years with the Cubs’ minor league affiliates. He played on teams in Janesville and Sioux Falls, S.D., among others. His days in the minors were interrupted by his service in World War II and the Korean War, and he moved to Tomah in 1958. Dade never did make it to the Major Leagues. He said that he was told he had a major league arm, but not enough control. He refers to himself as being more of a thrower than a pitcher. Dade has had a passion for baseball throughout his life, and Tomah athletics, especially baseball, probably wouldn’t be the same without him.
Dade, 80, coached the Tomah High School baseball team for 34 years, and despite stepping down from coaching, he still rarely misses a game. He also coached baseball in Sevastapol, at the semi-pro level, and nearly every level except the majors. Dade said that this would be his 64th year coaching if he was still in the dugout, with the exception of a year during World War II, and two years when he saw heavy combat in a combat infantry unit in the Korean War. Dade is working on a poster tribute to many of the men he served with. Many of those me did not make it home from the war.
“There were only six men out of 200 in my unit that weren’t killed or injured,” Dade said. “I have no idea why I am alive. I consider myself very lucky.”
Dade also enjoys working on baseball fields. There is not one ball field in Tomah that Dade did not build, rebuild or reestablish. He has built 10 fields since he arrived in Tomah, and he is proud that Tomah has great facilities to host high school play, youth play and tournaments throughout the summer. He is especially proud of his work on the LaGrange Fields that the Tomah High School softball team call home.
“It is just what we needed for the high school girls and little league teams,” Dade said. “We just didn’t have a place for the girls to play and we had to get it done. Those girls are just great. They are excellent competitors.
Dade said that he could never do it by himself. He and his wife, Jerry, have two children, and his son, Chuck, has followed in the footsteps of his father, taking care of ball fields around the city. Dade has also enjoyed working with many others who have helped improve Tomah baseball, including Howard Bloom, Ken Larson and Gary Groestein, among others.
Along with coaching and building ball fields, Dade served as Tomah’s Recreation Director, as well as 30 years as the Tomah School District’s grounds keeper. He always tried to make sure the fields were ready for the kids to play.
“I have a little theory,” Dade said. “After a kid sits all day in school and practices all week, when it is time to play, the fields should be ready if at all possible.”
Dade has had a great relationship with coaches and athletes in all sports in Tomah. He also hates to see a coach leave. He loves to see fans come out to the ballparks and he always hopes that parents are there to root for their kids. He admits that he does not like it when some parents and spectators second-guess the coaches.
“This is a great place to coach,” Dade said. “Most parents are great, but some think that they have all the answers. I wish a lot of the coaches that left would have stayed right here. Those kids hustled and did their best.”
Dade said that he will continue to be a fixture at the ballfields. He won’t miss a game, unless he is away fishing. Working with youth athletics has touched his life, and so has baseball. And he will still be rooting for the Cubs, no matter how good or bad the season.
“I don’t care who wins,” Dade said. “As long as it is the Cubs.”
All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.