Note: This is the first of a three-part feature.
For more than 30 years, John Pannell has devoted summers to the Bartlesville American Legion/summer baseball program.
Pannell has known the Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians from every vantage point — from looking up in awe as a bat boy at the strapping players; from finding a vantage angle to watch the games when he didn’t have the price for a ticket, as a member of the Examiner-Enterprise Braves (17-U), the feeder team for the Indians; from excelling as an Indians’ player; from being a Braves’ assistant coach, a Braves’ head coach, and Indians’ assistant coach and an Indians’ head coach.
Much of Pannell’s life, especially his summers, have revolved around the little patch of baseball heaven known as Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium/Rigdon Field.
“I used to go with to the (Legion) games with my dad all the time,” Pannell recalled. “I remember those late nights, falling asleep on his nap. I remember chasing ground balls … working as a batboy and helping run the (push button) scoreboard. … There were some intense games.”
Pannell’s passion for baseball, both as a player and as a coach, is a lifelong love affair.
“What I loved is we had a radio in our dining room,” Pannell said. “At night, my dad and I could lay on the floor and listen to Jack Buck and the St. Louis Cardinals’ games.”
A lot of kids grow out of their love of the game, throwing their glove and cleats in a cardboard box to be hidden in the rusty treasury of yesterday’s memories.
But, Pannell’s affection has grown deeper for baseball and for the enjoyment and opportunities with which it blesses every generation.
Very few people, if any, have given so much during a period of so many years to Bartlesville summer baseball.
In fact, this year, Pannell reached a new milestone: Becoming the longest manager/head coach in the Indians’ history.
He is in his 12th campaign (2003-10, 2020-23), which surpassed Al Solenberger (1964-74) and Stan Walton (1989-99). A couple of other long-serving skippers include Anthony Towers (2011-19) and Bartlesville Legion program founder James MacGregor (1936-46, on and off as manager, coach and assistant coach).
(At the first-ever Legion practice, held in late spring 1936, 37 boys showed up to try out for the new team. The newspaper reported that MacGregor expected another 15-to-20 “stragglers’ to join the workouts on the second day .)
Throughout the years, the Legion program attracts a large number of the cream of the crop of Bartlesville youth.
It was more than 30 years ago, Pannell arrived as a full-fledged player in the program.
This was during the era when roster spots were brutally hard to earn and many a broken-hearted boy trudged out the front gate, his equipment bag sagging, because he didn’t get picked. The final cut was often listed on a piece of paper and taped somewhere on a lobby wall in the stadium for boys to see.
Pannell displayed his special potential by earning a varsity spot his sophomore year for the Bartlesville High baseball team.
During this time, he began playing Legion ball in the summers with the Examiner-Enterprise Braves, a 17-and-U team just one step below the Indians.
“I was a Braves for two years,” batting .300 each season, Pannell said.
As mentioned, the competition to earn a spot on the Indians — and even to maintain it — could be herculean.
For that reason, many, many talented players like Pannell had to bide their time until they were upperclassmen to get a chance to play for the Indians.
Pannell’s turn came in 1993, his senior year. He brought his own brand of skill, athletic savvy, talent and moxie to the squad.
He was part of a contingent of powerful weapons for the 1993 Doenges Ford Indians with Joel Estes flying around the basepaths like a supersonic rocket, stealing 71 bases and scoring 59 runs; Jared Howard batting .351, with 13 doubles, five homers and 47 RBIs, eight sacrifice flies and 25 steals; Doug Lane batting .329, with 45 walks, 31 steals and 24 RBIs; and pitcher Adam Roberts with a 13-2 record, 11 complete games and a 2.32 ERA.
Pannell’s numbers were also prolific: .376 batting average, 14 doubles, six triples, 6 home runs, 24 walks, 9 steals and 62 RBIs.
The Indians awarded Pannell in its postseason award-giving as the Player of the Year and also with the Justin Schwartz Sportsmanship honor.
Next up, Panel prepared for college ball.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians coach John Pannell in 12th season