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Fullerton Flyers Professional Baseball Team

The Fullerton, California, Amtrak Station

looked different than normal on January 27, 2005.  The brand new Fullerton Flyers were welcomed to town and introduced to the community.  "Name the Team" awards were made and attendees could purchase team hats and shirts as well as pick up ticket order forms.

--Photos by Carl@TrainWeb.com
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Click any picture to see a double-sized copy.  Click BACK in your browser to return to this page.

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The Platform side of the Fullerton Station.
The Santa Fe Express Cafe was the location
of the festivities.
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Street side of the station, with
TrainWeb.com up the steps on the
second floor.
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Miss Fullerton candidates:
Chelsea Blaisdell, Fullerton College;
Golden Baseball League mascot, Nugget;
Erin Smith, CSUF;
Rebecca Joyce Pulido, CSUF;
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Nugget posing for photos.

All Aboard:  Fullerton Flyers Arrive at the Station

Fullerton's Professional Baseball Team Introduces New Name and Logo

FULLERTON, CA  January 27, 2005:  Fullerton's new professional baseball team has arrived at the Santa Fe Depot Station!  After going through hundreds of entries, the winner of the 'Name the Team' contest presented by Vons was the FULLERTON FLYERS.  The official announcement was made today at a public event held at the Depot in Fullerton's  historic downtown.  The Fullerton Flyers, one of eight charter teams in the new Golden Baseball League, will begin play in May 2005.

Press Release by Nicole Faires, Dir. of Public Relations
714-526-TEAM
nfaires@goldenbaseball.com

TomElliott        DSC03696.JPG

Tom Elliott, Past Times Collectibles, Fullerton, won the team name contest and $500.

The new team's office:
2461 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Ste. 102
Fullerton, CA  92831

714-526-8326


The Golden Baseball League [http://www.goldenbaseball.com/]Cities for the 2005 Season:

Chico, CA
Nettleton Stadium, Chico State University

Fullerton, CA --  http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Fullerton/default.aspx
Goodwin Field, California State University, Fullerton

Long Beach, CA
Blair Field, City Of Long Beach

San Diego, CA
Tony Gywnn Stadium, San Diego State University

Mesa, AZ
Hohokam Stadium, City Owned

Surprise, AZ
Surprise Stadium, City Owned

Yuma, AZ
Desert Sun Stadium, City Owned

Tijuana, MX
Cerro Colorado Stadium


Estimated League attendance during 2005 season based on 45 home game schedule is 500,000– 700,000.

####

Golden Baseball League Names Ed Hart as General Manager of Fullerton Flyers

Fullerton's native Hart to lead the new Fullerton Team
"Ed has been involved in baseball for many years and really understands the business side of the game.  He is a Fullerton native and a perfect fit for this marketplace," said Dave Kaval, Co-founder and CEO of the Golden Baseball League.

"I know that this team will be a success and I am so proud to be a part of it from the ground up." said Hart.  "I simply love baseball and couldn't be more pleased with the opportunity to bring the game to Fullerton, My hometown."



####


Stadium


Goodwin Field (CSUF)


Name: Goodwin Field
(The stadium, formerly known as Titan Field, became Goodwin Field in 2000 in honor of benefactors Jerry and Merilyn Goodwin.)

Year Opened: 1992

Capacity: 3,500

Address: 800 North State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA

Directions:
From the Orange Freeway (Highway 57): Take the Nutwood Ave/Chapman Ave exit toward Fullerton, turn right on Nutwood Ave and arrive on North State College Blvd and the campus

Additional Highlights:
Home to the NCAA College World Series Champion Cal State Fullerton Titans
Underwent a $3 million renovation in 2001
On-site clubhouse with locker rooms, coaches offices, umpire quarters and a VIP viewing and entertainment area
Has hosted multiple NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals over the last four years
Home to the Kia Baseball Bash, a three day collegiate tournament

--http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Fullerton/subcontent.aspx?SecID=223

####


Golden Baseball League names Garry Templeton as Team Manager


12/6/2004

DSC03687.JPGThe Golden Baseball League announced today that Garry Templeton has been hired as the Team Manager of the league’s charter team in Fullerton, CA.

“Garry Templeton fit exactly what we were looking for as we searched for the field manager for the Fullerton team.” said Kevin Outcalt, GBL Commissioner. “He is an experienced manager in both major league farm systems and independent minor leagues.  He is from the area, knows Fullerton well and much of the local baseball community, and he is enthusiastic about building and leading a team in a league with a centralized structure that lessens the disparity of clubs that is so prevalent throughout the minors.  He is a fine developer of baseball talent and will be a tremendous asset for the league.”

As a player, Garry Templeton was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round of the 1974 draft.  He played sixteen seasons in the major leagues as a switch-hitting shortstop with the Cards, Padres, and Mets, reaching the World Series in 1984.  He was a three time major league All Star during his career, garnered a  pair of Silver Slugger Awards, led the NL in triples a record three straight years, and was the first player ever to have more than 100 hits from each side of the plate as he led the league with 211 in 1979.

“Garry is a hit machine” said Ric Sisler, General Manager of the Fullerton team who knows a few things about hits, “He is a hit with his players, fans, and specially with kids in the communities wherever he has been.  We are very fortunate to have him onboard as we establish professional baseball in Fullerton.”

Garry began his managing career in the Anaheim Angels farm system in 1998 as he led the Cedar Rapids Class A team.  He stayed as a manager in the Angels systems for the next three years progressing to the Erie AA, Edmonton AAA, and Salt Lake City AAA clubs.  Sixteen members of the 2002 Anaheim Angels World Championship team played for Garry in the minors.  In 2003 and 2004 Garry led the Gary Railcats of the Northern League as their field manager.

####

First 13 Players Signed

By Nicole Faires

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Fullerton Flyer Rich Pohle or La Mirada with "Miss Fullerton" candidates,
Left to right: 
Rebecca Joyce Pulido, CSUF;
Chelsea Blaisdell, Fullerton College;
Erin Smith, CSUF.

Watch March 19, 2005, at Sunny Hills High School to see if Rebecca, Chelsea, or Erin become Miss Fullerton!

FULLERTON, CA, DECEMBER 21, 2004:  Fullerton’s new professional baseball team announced today the first thirteen players to make up its roster.  The Fullerton team, which will receive its name in January, will send a total of thirty players to spring training in May 2005, and operate with a 22 player roster during the baseball season.

“This was a great draft for Fullerton, as we acquired a lot of experienced ball players and some fresh young rookies” said Garry Templeton, Fullerton Team Manager. “I am anxious to work with each of these young athletes.”

Seven of Fullerton’s players were signed before the league wide tryout by the Golden Baseball League and placed on the Fullerton team.  The other six players on Fullerton’s current roster were drafted at the GBL tryout camp on December 14th and 15th at Goodwin Field on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

The GBL used an internet-based tryout registration and invitation process that generated almost 1,400 player sign-ups from ten countries and over 40 states.  Over 300 top players arrived from 33 states, including players from Canada, Japan, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic to attend  the two-day tryout at Goodwin Field at Cal State Fullerton --  the site of the GBL Fullerton team.  Of those, more than half had professional experience in the independent, A, AA, or AAA levels of the minor leagues.  In addition, several major league teams had scouts attend as did the Mexican, Korean, and Japanese leagues.

Nick Belmonte of Independent League Consulting, who has organized and ran most of the independent minor league tryouts over the last five years, ran this camp.  “This was by far the most successful tryout that I have ever been involved in, or heard of, in my 14 years of running these events,” said Belmonte.  “There was a tremendous amount of experienced players, but I was most excited about the rookies that showed up.  There are a number that we selected that were overlooked in the college draft last June and will probably be acquired from the GBL by a major league organization very early in the season.”


The following players were picked-up by the GBL prior to the tryout camp:

Sean Walsh, who was drafted by the Phillies in 2001 and played A and AA ball for them, he had previously starred as a third baseman for North Carolina State University.

Ben Fox is a left-handed Pitcher who was drafted by the Padres is 2001.  Prior to that, he played at Dixie Junior College in Utah.

Rich Pohle is an Orange County resident who played ball at Fullerton College before being drafted by the Phillies in 2001 and then picked up by the Mariners in 2002.  Pohle most recently played for the Inland Empire 66ers in the California League.

First baseman and outfielder, Pete Zamora.

Catcher Travis Hopdon.

Daniel Flores most recently from the Arizona Mexican League, is a former pitcher at Cal State Domiguez Hills, and is originally from Campbell, CA.

Scott Anderson is a pitcher out of Hillside Baptist University who has also played in the Northwest League.


The following players were drafted by Garry Templeton at the GBL tryout camp:

Left-handed pitcher Robert Mason, a Covina native who now resides in Walnut, CA, was drafted by the Braves in 2001 and played three years in their farm system.

First baseman Tim Thurman, who is originally from Orange, CA, was drafted by the Orioles in 2002 after playing at Cal Poly Pomona.

Shortstop Jose Rodriguez of Colton, CA, played one year of independent ball in the Frontier League.

Pitcher Darren Heinrichs spent two years playing pro ball in both the Central and Frontier Leagues after attending and playing at Texas Pan-American University.

Craig Green, a Bakersfield, CA native, played at Bakersfield College before pitching two years in the Chicago Cubs’ farm system.

Joey Cress is a pitcher out of Brevard College.

The GBL will be holding additional tryouts, both at a league-wide level and Fullerton specific.  Information regarding those tryouts will be available at www.goldenbaseball.com in January 2005.

“I am thrilled to receive this opportunity as it combines two of my greatest loves – baseball and southern California,” said Templeton.  “Being close to home and working in a true baseball town at the premiere baseball university where I spent many hours with Augie Garrido developing my abilities many years ago is not only exciting, but also greatly satisfying as it gives me a chance to repay the game and the community as our Fullerton team drives to a championship season!”

####


Golden Baseball League Ownership Group

The Golden Baseball League has secured equity financing from the following syndicate of esteemed investors.  These investors are committed to making the Golden League successful and growing the business into the premier family entertainment provider in California and Arizona.  Their backgrounds include entertainment, management of Fortune 100 companies, real estate and professional sports.  Their combined net worth is in excess of $1 billion.

Tim Draper – Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson

Timothy C. Draper is the Founder and Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. His original suggestion to use "viral marketing" in web-based e-mail to geometrically spread an Internet product to its market was instrumental to the successes of Hotmail and YahooMail, and has been adapted as a standard marketing technique to hundreds of businesses. He was an original venture capital investor in Parametric Technology (PMTC), Tumbleweed Communications (TMWD), Overture.com (OVER), Digidesign (AVID), Preview Travel (TVLY), Four11 (YHOO), Combinet (CSCO), and Redgate (AOL).

As an advocate for entrepreneurs, he has been published in The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Examiner, San Jose Mercury News, Upside, The Red Herring, and the Congressional Record. Mr. Draper is also the creator of Tim Draper's BizWorld, a course used to train young entrepreneurs. He served on the California State Board of Education and launched a state wide cyber-initiative on school choice for the California General Election in November of 2000.

Mr. Draper has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Pat Sajak – The Wheel of Fortune

Pat Sajak is world renowned for his role as the host of the popular game show, ”The Wheel of Fortune.” The nighttime version of the show went on the air in September 1983, and it has been the number one program in syndicated television ever since. Pat and his co-host Vanna White have become pop culture icons in their twenty year run on television.

Pat has a weekly radio show, “The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour." It can be heard on Fridays at Noon Eastern Time (9am Pacific) on MLB.com Radio. Some of the guests over the past few months have included Tony LaRussa, Don Baylor, Joe Buck, Steve Stone, Ron Santo, Bill Buckner, Jon Miller, Brooks Robinson, Jackie Autry, Torii Hunter, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Ralph Branca, Jack Morris, Tony Gwynn and Tommy Lasorda.

Pat has three Emmys, a Peoples’ Choice Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Michael McElroy – Northrop-Grumman Corporation

Michael McElroy is a twenty-five year veteran of the high technology industry, having served in various operations and sales roles at companies like Northrop-Grumman and AT&T.  He is currently Director of Field Service Management and Operations for Northrop in the Northwest US with a focus on delivering IT solutions to a variety of customers.

Mr. McElroy is originally from New York and is a lifelong Yankees fan.  While living in New York, he was instrumental in developing an entire Division III collegiate program at Briarcliff College.  He moved to Brentwood, California in 1996, where he resides with his wife, Diana and their two children.  Mr. McElroy currently coaches the Brentwood Yankees, an eighteen to nineteen year old American Legion team in the Delta region.  He hopes to someday bring a GBL team to the Delta region of Contra Costa County.  Mr. McElroy plans to run for the local school board this coming November.

(Others, not listed here, you can read about at:  http://goldenbaseball.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=126


--http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Fullerton/

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Nick Barkley, Assistant General Manager of Operation
pitching in to sell hats and shirts.
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Glen Klevens, Assistant General Manager
of Sales and Marketing.

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Souvenir Fullerton Flyers
hats and shirts were available.

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Ticket ordering forms for
Season and Mini-Plan Packages
were available as well, from BrianDelehoy,
Director of Ticket Sales.
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Team Manager Garry Templeton (left)
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Anaheim Amtrak Station Manager,
Susie Brown. She and her
family are big Baseball Fans.

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Visit the Fullerton Flyers Homepage for more information and to order tickets. 

http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Fullerton/ or http://fullertonflyers.com

[ Carl Morrison's TrainWeb Page |  TrainWeb.com Homepage ]

Corrections and Additions welcomed by Carl@TrainWeb.com