American Legion Baseball celebrated its centennial birthday in 2025, and although the party didn’t start in Alaska until 1953, seven decades is still worth commemorating as The Last Frontier has produced a plethora of MLB draft picks, no-hitters and walk-offs in that time.

We’ve seen it all. However, nothing compares to the home run race of 1989, otherwise known as the year of the big fly.

Eight players hit at least five homers, three belted seven or more and Service’s Willie Edwards edged West’s Boyd Sumner 9-8 for the home run title. For two months, Edwards and Sumner were locked in a legendary long-ball battle as the two centerfielders took turns taking opposing pitchers out of the park in the state’s all-time greatest dinger derby.

Three times Edwards and Sumner homered on the same day and once they went deep in the same game.

Both players had one home run on May 24, two on May 29 and four on June 12. In late June, Edwards hit four bombs in five games – including two in one game – to take a commanding 8-5 lead before Sumner hit three homers in four games to pull even on July 10.

Two days later, though, Edwards mashed his ninth tater to lead off the fourth inning in an 8-1 win over Chugiak to give him the lead for good. Sumner broke his wrist two weeks later to guarantee the home run title for Edwards, who doubled as the top pitcher in the state. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound rocket right-hander posted a 9-1 record to go with nine homers and 49 RBIs in arguably the greatest individual Legion season in Alaska history.

In an interview Edwards did with local baseball buff Chris Pobieglo two decades ago, Edwards was asked about his legacy with Service Post 28 and how he’d like to be remembered.

“I guess that I played the game hard and was a threat every time I came to bat,” Edwards said.

A quarter of a century later, his legacy has stood the test of time. A star among all-stars, Edwards was the guy other players wanted to emulate. The ball sounded different off his bat and his fastball had more zip than most pitchers. He was a five-tool Legion player, a walking highlight reel and imposing figure with a smile that lights up a room.

Edwards showcased his next-level skills in the summer of 1989 during Legion’s heyday in Alaska. The mid-to-late 1980s was an era that produced the game’s biggest names and biggest games.

In 1985, Service’s Gary Lowry hit a record 10 home runs, Chugiak’s Mac Cherry won a record 16 games and teammate Dave Anderson had a record 64 RBIs.

In 1988, Kenai’s Marshall Boze struck out a record 21 batters in a game, Chugiak’s Reece Elliston became the first Alaskan in 32 years to hit three home runs in one game and Bartlett’s Darryl Lowe matched the state record with 10 homers, including four grand slams.

In 1989, Edwards, Sumner and Co. fueled a league-wide power surge of the likes we’ve not seen before or after. In addition to having a dozen players hit four or more homers, four dudes hit two in one game – Chugiak’s Mike Cruz and Jim Simmons, Palmer’s David Kolberg and Edwards.

AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL
1989 Home Run Totals
9 – Willie Edwards, Service
8 – Boyd Sumner, West
7 – Sean Van Sickle, Service
6 – Les Henrickson, Dimond
6 – Tim Voges, Bartlett
5 – Mike Cruz, Chugiak
5 – John Miewes, Wasilla
5 – Jim Simmons, Chugiak
4 – Jack Campbell, West
4 – David Kolberg, Palmer
4 – Allyn Lawrence, Chugiak
4 – Troy Lovdahl, East

Back then, there was no high school baseball, no turf fields and no pitch count. Games went nine innings and all the best kids stayed home to play, so the competition was off the charts. Hitters ruled the day and home runs were common, no matter what fields the games were played on, although there wasn’t much variety by today’s standards.

Most of the action took place in Anchorage at Kosinski on the upper (K1) and lower (K4) fields, which is where our story begins. It was May 22. Opening day. Sumner hit his first homer in an 11-10 loss to East in 10 innings while Edwards went 3-for-5 and had the go-ahead single in the eighth inning in an 8-7 win over Dimond.

Two days later, Edwards hit his first home run, a grand slam, and had six RBIs as the Cougars made quick work of Wasilla 23-5.

On May 29, both players went yard for the first time on the same day. Edwards hit a two-run shot in the third inning in a 7-4 setback to Dimond as Service suffered its first loss while Sumner launched a solo shot in the fourth as West topped Bartlett 12-10 for its first win.

On June 12, Edwards and Sumner faced off for the first time and both sluggers hit their fourth home runs in Service’s 14-4 win. At that point, they shared the league lead with Cruz and Les Henrickson of Dimond.

On June 19, Edwards blasted his fifth to climb into a tie with Cruz.

On Summer Solstice, Edwards and Sumner homered on the same day for the third time; Edwards hit No. 6 to kickstart a six-run comeback in a 9-8 win over Bartlett while Sumner led off the game with dinger No. 5 in West’s 17-14 win over Dimond.

Edwards must have taken notice because a week later he hit two home runs – Nos. 7 and 8 – along with a double in a 14-3 win over West. That gave him a three-homer lead over Sumner, Cruz, Voges and Henrickson.

Sumner responded with a power surge of his own as he collected an extra-base hit in five straight games with a triple, home run, triple, home run, home run sequence, starting July 6, when he hit his sixth homer to lead off the game in a 15-7 loss to Wasilla.

The next day in Kodiak his two-out triple kickstarted a rally that produced a win and the day after that he hit a game-tying, two-run home run in the seventh inning in the second game of a doubleheader that finished in a 5-5 tie because West had to make its flight back to Anchorage.

On July 10, the left-handed Sumner crushed a three-run opposite-field shot in a 24-16 loss to Dimond to pull even with Edwards for the league lead. It didn’t last long. Two days later, Edwards went ahead for good.

On July 12, Edwards regained sole possession of the home run lead after belting his ninth dinger to lead off the fourth inning in a 7-1 win over Chugiak.

A week later, Sumner laced two doubles in a 20-11 loss to East. At the district tournament, though, Sumner’s season came to an end after he broke his wrist following a collision with East first baseman Rick Mueller on a bunt pop up near the foul line.

Edwards never hit another home run, but his pitching helped Service make a deep playoff run.

At the district tournament, he picked up a save and winning decision on back-to-back days to punch his team’s ticket to the state tournament.

On Day 1, he struck out 15 batters in a 9-0 win over Fairbanks. On Day 3 in the loser’s bracket, he doubled in the tying run and scored the go-ahead run in eighth inning as the Cougars beat Kenai 11-8. The game was scheduled to start at 4 o’clock but was delayed nearly four hours because of rain and then lasted 4 hours, 42 minutes, ending at 12:22 a.m.

Later that same day, Service’s season came to a close after a 10-9 loss to Chugiak, ending Edwards’ epic year. He narrowly missed the state’s all-time home run record but did hold off an elite class of sluggers to win the home run title.

This year’s Legion state tournament runs July 25-30 at Mulcahy Stadium, with the champion advancing to the Northwest Regional in Billings, Mont. The regional winner moves on to the World Series.