Ambassador News
(Article written in local newspaper - April, 2024)
Oshkosh Ambassadors start 33rd Season
The Oshkosh Ambassadors 65 team will be kicking off the 33rd consecutive season of play for the Ambassadors Senior Softball Club. The team will be playing in the Northern Championships in Minneapolis, MN. April 30th - May 2nd .
The Ambassadors will be fielding 5 teams again this year. The 50’s squad managed by Gary “Fish” Herring, 60’s managed by Eric “Buck” Bockhorn, 65’s managed by Dennis “Weeze” Wesenberg, 70’s managed by Bob Mathe and the 75’s squad managed by Russ Rutz.
The teams will be traveling to tournaments in Waterloo IA, Rochester MN, Little Canada MN, Quad Cities IA, Milwaukee WI, and possibly Las Vegas, Ft Myers, and Phoenix.
Thanks goes out to our many sponsors who help pay the entry fees to all the tournaments.
If you are interested in playing on one of the teams or helping with sponsorship, please contact Jerry Diemel, Club President, at 920-233-0735 or go to our website and fill out a player application form at www.oshkoshambassadors.com
(Article written in local newspaper - October, 2022)
2022 SEASON ENDS FOR OSHKOSH AMBASSADORS
The Oshkosh Ambassadors 2022 season concluded with having five teams (50’s;60’s;65’s;70’s and 75’s) compete in 7 tournaments across Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Highlights of the season included the 70 AAA team at Winter World Championships in Phoenix, AZ playing eleven games in three days including 4 games coming through the consolation bracket on the last day to finish in 2nd Place, losing both of their games to the eventual tournament champions. Other highlights included a 1st place finish in Quad Cities Classic for the 70’s and a 3rd place finish for the 60’s in the same tournament. The 60 team was also invited back to play in the Tournament of Champions Tournament in Florida in February.
At the end of the summer circuit after the Rochester 10,000 Lakes Classic several players from the 65-team roster announced that they would be breaking away from the Ambassador family and forming a new team “The Wisconsin Northerners”. We wish them luck on their inaugural 2023 season. As a result of this splitting of the roster and players aging up to the 70’s team Al Retzlaff the manager of the team is recruiting players for next year’s roster, if you will be 65 or older in the next calendar year ending 12/31/23 give Al a call at 920-379-5118 for a try-out. The 75 team will also need to add to their roster as long-time manager Marty Meyers is moving on from managing and returning to just playing the game we all love.
As is always the case we are looking for players from age 50 to 80+ every year to continue their playing days or knock off the rust and rekindle their love of the game. There are three leagues in the area to reawaken that urge to compete again. Tri-county Senior League 50 plus, plays Wednesday mornings in Oshkosh, Neenah, and Green Bay. A Monday night 45 plus league in Oshkosh and a 45 plus league on Tuesday nights in Omro. Contact Jerry Diemel at 920-509-1864 or 920-233-0735 or Mike Muehrer at 920-216-1997 for information on these opportunities.
If you see any of us out and about over the next several months supporting our sponsor restaurants, please come up and talk with us and let us share with you the fun of playing a kid’s game again.
SOFTBALL IS A GAME SENIOR SOFTBALL IS A PASSION
(Article written in local newspaper - June 2019)
Oshkosh’s Mr Ambassador:
Oshkosh Senior softball will forever owe a debt of gratitude to Ed Anderson. Although he passed from this life recently, Ed's tireless work and dedication will live on as long as The Oshkosh Ambassadors have a say in it.
Ed was the Oshkosh Ambassador Founder, organizer, fundraiser, recruiter and manager. He was a very focused, determined man and a stickler for detail who was the solo pilot of The Oshkosh Ambassadors from their inception.
Senior softball after 1980, began to lessen in opportunities for older players aged 50s, 60s and 70s. They had softball in just one, 35 and over league. Players seemed doomed to stop playing. Legend has it that in the late 80s, Senior Softball in Oshkosh really began with a phone call to Ed Anderson from his friend Dick Naslund. An Oshkosh resident, Dick was out in Las Vegas and relayed all about the Senior softball games and Tournaments going on out West. Ed and Dick along with many other top players in the area formed a 55s team that participated in several tournaments, including Las Vegas, for several years.
In the mid 90s, as The Ambassador players grew older, Naslund and several players organized a 60+ Team, in addition to the Oshkosh Ambassador 55+ Team. The 60+ Team called themselves the Oshkosh Old Stars. Ed Anderson continued to develop the Ambassadors, who eventually formed a 60+ team and a 65+ team. This was in addition to the original 55+ Team. Anderson’s assistant and All-Star outfielder, Bob Hoffman states that “Ed did everything, including uniforms, tournament registration and all travel logistics for the entire team”. Ed’s family was also omnipresent for cheering on each event. In the late 1990s Ed took on another huge venture in starting an Annual Oshkosh Senior Tournament and named it “The Badger Classic”. Ed’s Team players agree that he was a tireless worker who always saw things through to fruition. Hoffman adds “Ed was a great manager who loved the game and the players”.
After that, Ed began to visit Florida more and more and eventually decided in 2004, it was time to move on but he wanted his vision to live on. A Board of Directors was formed and it currently has nine members. The Oshkosh Ambassador Organization today has 80+ players on 5 Teams in various age groups. The Ambassador’s have over 35 sponsors and have hosted “The Badger Classic” in Oshkosh for 20+ years. This all became possible because of Ed taking the ball and running with it. Ed Anderson’s wonderful contributions and developments with the Ambassador’s will always be remembered. It is in his honor that the Ambassadors are renaming The “Badger Classic”. The tournament will now be known as “The Ed Anderson Memorial Badger Classic”.
Many of today’s players still have fond memories of Ed Anderson and hopefully the newer players will continue to hear and appreciate all that he’s done for Senior Softball. And every Ambassador player should know that in every game they play, Ed is just beyond 3rd base, waving them home to victory. Ed, you were truly blessed and now the Ambassadors are. Thanks Ed
(written by Ambassador team member Dan Davis)