Shorty Dale is remembered as the father of Little League in St. Louis Park.
Elmer “Shorty” Dale was born on February 14, 1908 in Lebanon, SD. He came to St. Louis Park from Frankfurt, SD in 1923. In 1924 he joined the service and by 1959 he was a Lt. Colonel in the National Guard. At some point he played semi-pro baseball and tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals but was rejected for being too small (he stood 5’4″). After completing training at Dunwoody in construction engineering and highway surveying, he became an engineer for NSP in 1934, retiring in 1969. He and his wife Ruth had six boys and two girls, and lived at 4513 Minnetonka Blvd.
Shorty had been the chairman of the athletic committee of recreation, as well as on the village’s planning committee in 1952. It was due to Shorty’s efforts that Little League was established in the Park, especially honchoing the establishment of Skippy Field in 1952. In the 1960s he was a much-loved warming house supervisor at Brookside/Jackley Park. In 1971 he was the recipient of the Viking Ring Award. He started seriously losing his eyesight in 1974. At the time he was vehemently against allowing girls in organized sports, feeling that they wouldn’t stick with it. He died on May 27, 1975 at Veterans Hospital. At the time of his death his address was 3260 Yosemite Ave.
See also Little League.