Although Boone has always had a nice reputation as a good baseball town, Boone High School has never had a player that made a Major League roster.
In the early 1900's, Boone was a baseball "hot spot" with a team in the highly respected Iowa State League. That league also featured teams from far and wide......Keokuk, Burlington, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Marshalltown, Waterloo and Fort Dodge. These days, that league would qualify as a AAA minor league team like the Des Moines I-Cubs are.
Many Boone team members declared Boone as their home while playing here and some even did spend some time in the Major Leagues. But, they were not home grown and not BHS graduates.
Probably the closest connection Boone ever had to a major league player was the famed Jimmy Archer. At age 21, he was a catcher on the Boone team in the Iowa State League. He was eventually signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent time with Buffalo before moving up to the American League Detroit Tigers.
After being sent back to Buffalo, Archer was picked up by the Chicago Cubs, where he spent the 1909 to 1917 seasons. He completed his playing career in 1918.
Although Archer never attended Boone High School he did marry a Boone girl, Lillian Stark, and the couple returned to Boone for visits many times and, in fact, Lillian, spent her final years in her old hometown.
Boone's original Little League park was named Jimmy Archer Field in his honor.
There are a few other Boone connections with the major leagues. Three members of the 1905 Boone Greyhounds Iowa State League team had short stints in the majors
Red Fischer played the 1910 season with the St. Louis Browns; Rube Geyer was with the Browns from 1910-13 and Ivan Howard was a member of the Browns from 1914-15 and the Cleveland Indians in 1916-17.
Pitcher Jim "Spot" Grant was born in Coalville, near Fort Dodge, and played with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1923. He, reportedly, did some time on Boone's roster and lived his final years in Madrid. Grant spent nine seasons between 1916 and 1933 in the minor leagues with 241 games pitched and a great 102-61 record.
There's also a report that Benny Meyer, Boone's first baseman in 1905, was sold to Brooklyn of the National League and spent five seasons with the Dodgers.
In those early years when the Iowa State League was pretty much a minor league "feeder" for the big leagues, other Boone area men played in that league. Walter "Baldy" Kiddie played for Ottumwa in 1924 and George "Doc" Witcraft, of the Boone/Pilot Mound area, played for Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids in 1927.
In more modern times, two former Toreador athletes seemed to have a good shot at eventual major league play.
Gary Grosnickle, BHS-53, was signed out of American Legion ball by the St. Louis Cardinals as a catcher and played three seasons with Oklahoma and Kentucky minor league teams.
In 203 games, he had 25 doubles, six triples, 10 home runs, 59 runs batted in and a .262 batting average.
Then there was Roger Dutton, BHS-63, who powered several outstanding Coach Bill Sapp Toreador teams in the early 1960's.
Dutton was an third round selection of the New York Yankees in the 1966 Major League draft. An outfielder, he had four good minor league seasons and was advanced to Syracuse, the Yankees top AAA farm team. He was termed a "good major league prospect." However, he had a terrible collision with an outfield wall which resulted in a broken neck and other injuries.
The injuries concluded a professional career that seemed destined to result in a visit to the major leagues. In fact, he had previously been invited by the big club to visit Yankee Stadium, meet the Yankee stars of that day and sit in the dugout with them.
During his career, he played with and against numerous individuals who made big league rosters. He roomed in the minors with Thurman Munson and played with and against other well known players like Jim Palmer, Larry Bowa, Carlton Fisk and Rick Monday.
In his minor league seasons he played 287 games with 24 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs, 94 runs batted in and a .233 batting average.
Perhaps Jack Mustapha was just as serious a major league prospect as Dutton, Mustapha, BHS-65, had a 30-2 Toreador pitching career with numerous no-hitters, including one that powered the '65 team to the state high school championship.
College freshmen were not eligible for varsity play at that time but Mustapha joined the freshman team at Iowa State University and pitched his team to a practice game win over the varsity. That was after he had posted an impressive win over the perennial Iowa Semi-pro State Champion Slater Nighthawk team, who, through the years, won several national championships.
However, Mustapha was caught up in the Viet Nam conflict, suffered serious injuries during that period and, as time also passed, he was never able to resume his baseball career.
Jeff Sebring was a great all-state pitcher for the Toreadors in 1993 and had two seasons in the minor leagues. As a Colorado Rockies farm hand, he posted a 7-5 record in 29 games. In just over 100 innings pitched, he had 76 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.64.
Perhaps there were others from Boone that were minor league signees as well.
Still, the short answer is...."No?" Boone High School has never produced a Major League Player.
There's an incentive for any of our youngsters currently competing in our local baseball program.
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BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Larry Pearson, 79, Charlotteville, VA. BHS-60. His parents were a well known Boone couple, Ted and June Pearson, who are deceased. Larry worked with his dad in the meat department at Fareway until obtaining a job with the GE audit staff. He worked for that company until retirement at age 57. Survivors include his wife, Karen, a son, daughter and sister Joyce BHS-64. Services will be held in Boone.........Susan "Suz" McQueen, 71, Davenport. Formerly of Boone. A doctor's daughter, she was born in Iowa City. She received a degree in civil engineering from DMACC and worked in logistics for Absolute Concrete in Slater. Survivors include two sons and four siblings, two men and two women............Diana Jane Westbrook Holden, 73, Ames. Born in Guthrie Center, the family moved to Atlantic. Atlantic HS and ISU. She married Robert "Beaver" Holden in 1970. In 1975, the couple moved to Ames where Diana joined the family business, Hap's Air Service. She started as a bookkeeper but, eventually, became the owner/President. Survivors include her husband of Ames and two daughters, including Jennifer Smalley of rural Boone........Maxine Carlson, 92, Stratford..........Elizabeth Zenor Shearer, 94, Madrid. Born in Madrid but lived most of her life in the Luther area. Luther HS. Married Harold Shearer in 1947. He died in 2015. Survivors include a son and two daughters..........Brenda L. Elsberry, 58, Boone.........Denise Brumfield, 53, Boone. Born in Des Moines.Waukee HS-85. Survivors include her mother, Naomi, one son and three daughters and three female siblings.
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