It was five decades ago that an "awe-struck bunch of kids'' from north Omaha accomplished so much playing the game they loved.

The baseball team from Omaha North High School reached the American Legion World Series in 1961 and finished third in the nation. Later this month, team members will get together for a 50-year reunion to share memories.

And, oh, what memories they have.

"It was totally uncharted territory for us,'' team member Ken McEwen said. "Reaching the Series was a different world because that was something that you just dreamed about."

It might be hard to believe in these politically correct times, but the North team was sponsored by a brewery. Players proudly wore the name "Storz" on the front of their wool uniforms and didn't give it a second thought.

"Back in those days, you were just happy to have a sponsor,'' team member Bud Fox said. "You're not going to see breweries sponsoring teams anymore, but it was common back then.''

Fox also remembers the banquet held at the Storz Brewery, which would eventually close in 1972, to celebrate the team's success.

"They bought us jackets and treated us great,'' he said. "My dad thought the best part was getting to have some cold Storz beer right out of the tap.''

That 1961 team had its share of notables, including:

» Bob Churchich, a three-sport standout who went on to play quarterback at Nebraska.

» Dan "Rook" Taylor, who joined Churchich in the Vikings' fabled "Four Norsemen'' football backfield.

» McEwen, who batted .548 that season and received a plaque as the nation's leading hitter.

» Ed Mello, a hard-throwing left-hander who went on to sign a professional contract with the Houston Colt .45s.

» Dave Underwood, who would parlay his knowledge of the game to become the head baseball coach at Creighton in the early 1980s.

But team members are quick to point out this bunch wasn't about individuals. The group played as a team, and that was the key to reaching the World Series.

"We played hard, but we had a lot of fun,'' McEwen said. "We were an awe-struck bunch of kids once it came to the Series, but we didn't let that stop us.''

The team played its games at Fontenelle Park and often celebrated a victory by visiting the local Goodrich ice cream store for malts. Head coach Ken Bauermeister usually picked up the tab.

"They cost a quarter apiece back then,'' Underwood said. "It's a tradition I've carried on with my grandsons that play baseball, but the cost of those malts has gone up quite a bit since.''

That malt-powered Storz team was a force in 1961 and won the state championship. Then it was on to North Dakota for the regional tournament in Minot.

For most of the players, that regional trip was the first airplane ride of their young lives.

"That was kind of scary,'' McEwen said. "It seemed like the plane wasn't flying much higher than treetop level most of the way.''

The team maintained its focus, defeating a team from Wisconsin in the regional final to earn a berth in the Legion World Series. It was held that year in Hastings, Neb., which meant no airplane ride for the relatively short trip.

But there was that train ride that also included players from other World Series-bound teams that can't be forgotten.

"A bunch of guys from the New Jersey team got most of us involved in their poker game,'' McEwen said. "By the time we got to Hastings, they had all our money.''

Like the somewhat harrowing airplane ride, losing their lunch money wasn't going to distract this team from playing ball. Growing up in north Omaha, playing baseball was what they had known most of their lives.

"It was a lot simpler time back then,'' Fox said. "It didn't take much for us to get a game started.''

Team member Dan Sorensen said camaraderie was built from the fact many of the players had grown up together — some dating to kindergarten.

"You'd leave your house in the morning with your ball, glove and bat," he said. "And then you'd go home at night. We even had scorebooks to keep track of our games."

While the Storz players have fond memories of the World Series, there was one incident that reminded the players that even high school baseball in the early 1960s could have an ugly side. The Montana squad had an African-American on its roster, and the coaches from the Mississippi team were ordered home by their school district.

"The schools wouldn't let them coach against the kid,'' McEwen said. "That was something we had a hard time understanding.''

The Storz team went to the Series with high hopes, and a newspaper story during that time explained why. It said the squad had "pitching depth, hitting power, fielding skill and, more important, team spirit."

That spirit was inherent because the Omaha team hailed from one high school. Most of the other teams at the Series resembled All-Star teams, coming from various high schools within that city.

"It was so neat that we all came from North High," Sorensen said. "We were very proud of that fact."

As for the Series, the Storz team got off to an unexpectedly rocky start and lost its first game 6-4 against Colonial Heights, Va. McEwen had a one-hitter through seven innings, but a potential double-play ball in the eighth turned into a costly error that led to four unearned runs.

That opener was big news in Omaha, and the story ran on the front page of The World-Herald. Storz got back on track in its next two games, defeating a team from Connecticut (5-1) and avenging its loss against the Virginia squad (6-3).

But the end of the line came in a frustrating 10-7 setback against Cincinnati. Storz failed to score in the top of the first after loading the bases with none out, and the team went on to suffer its season-ending second tourney loss.

Still, the squad's third-place finish in 1961 was the highest for any Nebraska team since the Omaha McDevitts won the national championship in 1939 — the only state team to accomplish that feat. The Pepsi's team from Omaha Ryan High School would finish as the national runner-up in 1965 and the Gladiators squad from Omaha Northwest was third in the nation in 1985.

This year, P.I. Midwest (Omaha Creighton Prep) and Grand Island Home Federal competed in the Central Plains Regional but came up short of the World Series.

"Our pitching carried us a long way,'' Underwood said. "We thought finishing third was a great accomplishment, and we were all pretty proud that we had represented Omaha that well.''

Fifty years later, Fox says most of the players from that Storz team are "still kicking." That includes malt-purchasing head coach Bauermeister, a former teacher at North who plans to attend the 50-year reunion to be held Aug. 24 to 26.

"It's always fun to see the team again," Fox said. "We really were a close bunch.''

That reunion will include a tour of North High School, a golf outing and a social evening when players from opposing teams also will be invited.

It's been several years since the team has gotten together, so McEwen said he wouldn't be surprised if those World Series stories have gotten slightly more exaggerated as the players fondly stroll down memory lane.

"I'm guessing by the end of the reunion, we'll be saying that we somehow won the Series," he laughed. "That was a great time in all of our lives, and one that we'll never forget."

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