Park board backs agreement for statue of 'Red' Cadwell to be sculpted - The Daily Republic

In memory of the late Bernard “Red” Cadwell, the Parks and Recreation Board approved a contract Thursday that will allow a sculptor to begin creating a bronze life-size statue of Cadwell. When the sculpture is complete, a 24-by-28-inch bronze life-size bust of Cadwell’s face will be placed on a large stonelike structure inside the stadium near the entrance.

The agreement with the sculptor, Darwin Wolf, of Sioux Falls, calls for the city to fund the materials and labor at a cost of $11,250. According to Sports Complex Supervisor Jeremy Nielsen, the creation of the Cadwell sculpture will begin in June with an anticipated completion around August.

Mitchell Baseball Association board member Jim “Jocko” Johnston can recall the days when there weren’t any baseball stadiums in town for a brief stint during the late 1960s. Johnston had just wrapped up his first season playing high school baseball for the Mitchell Legion Post 18 in 1967 when the former Kernel Stadium was torn down.

Before Cadwell Park was constructed, baseball in Mitchell was played at the old Kernel Stadium that sat next to Mitchell High School, where the Mitchell Career and Technical Education Academy now sits. After the aging wooden stadium was torn down to make way for the addition of the former Mitchell Technical Institute campus, Johnston said there weren’t any baseball stadiums in place, leaving local baseball teams without a home field to play on until 1972.

“We didn’t have a place to play baseball, but we ended up being able to play our games out at Hitchcock Park where the new tennis courts are located today,” Johnston said. “'Red' (Cadwell) not only envisioned bringing the Cadwell Park stadium for regulation games to be played, he envisioned having the additional baseball parks that were used for teener and youth baseball.”

While Cadwell was serving on the Parks and Recreation Board during the late 1960s, Johnston said Cadwell made regular trips to Pierre to secure funding for the construction of Cadwell Park.

“'Red' (Cadwell) was always heavily involved with Mitchell baseball, and he knew we needed a baseball stadium in town because we had inadequate facilities,” Johnston said. “He was a determined guy, and he was on a mission to get a new stadium. I knew he would get it done with his passion for baseball and the community.”

Although Cadwell died in 1968, before he witnessed the first pitch and baseball game to be played at Cadwell Park in 1972, Johnston said the statue will provide a much needed history lesson for the hundreds of baseball players who compete on the field each season.

Today, Cadwell Park is revered as one the state’s premier baseball venues and has been the site of many American Legion and amateur tournaments, welcoming teams from all over the state. In August, Cadwell Park is slated to host the state amateur baseball tournament once again, where fans and teams will get to see the statue of the man who led the efforts to build the well-known baseball stadium.

“I think very few baseball players know how Cadwell Park got its name, and it will be awesome for all the players who compete in this beautiful stadium to have an understanding of where the name came from with the statue,” Johnston said.

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https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/sports/baseball/6511044-Park-board-backs-agreement-for-statue-of-Red-Cadwell-to-be-sculpted

2020-05-28 21:00:00Z
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