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BRAINERD, Minn. - One day last week, Brainerd Warriors baseball coach Lowell Scearcy presented Brainerd activities director Charlie Campbell with an autographed ball.

The inscription on the ball said: "I feel it's the right time to call it a career. Go Brainerd. Lowell Scearcy."

After 51 total years as a coach, 49 in baseball, including 46 at Brainerd High ÍáÍáÂþ»­, Scearcy made his retirement official after a 10-0 loss to St. Michael-Albertville in the Section 8-4A final game at Cold Spring on Thursday, June 7. He hangs up his uniform No. 24 second in victories in Minnesota State High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ League baseball history.

Scearcy, who turned 73 June 5, has been contemplating retirement for years. He said he believes now is the time.

"I just don't have the energy to do what I did 30 years ago," Scearcy said. "To be fair to the kids, I would need to be able to do that again."

He departs after winning 19 Central Lakes Conference titles and 11 section championships. His Warrior teams made 11 state tournament trips winning state titles in 1995 and 2000, finishing second in 1996, finishing fourth once and capturing two state consolation titles.

After a 13-5 season in 1973, his first in Brainerd, his next two Warrior teams went 5-10. After that, the Warriors finished under .500 only three more times and finished an even .500 just once.

Scearcy believes starting a VFW baseball program shortly after he moved to Brainerd was instrumental in the Warriors' success. He credited Duane Doucette and Frank Thompson for helping him start that program, which he coached for more than 25 years, guiding it to 10 state tournaments and three state runner-up finishes.

"There was a missing link here between Pony League and Legion," Scearcy said. "Not very many kids could make that jump so kids were sitting a summer or two without playing. When VFW kids got to the high school level, that's when we started to improve.

"That's kind of been the program that's carried us throughout the years."

Moving from Memorial Park (now Mills Field) to Adamson Field in the late 1970s also gave the program a boost. Adamson Field was renovated in the late 1980s to include lights, a grandstand, concession stand, storage shed and batting cages. Scearcy organized a committee that included Maynard Ketterling, Dick Howard, Jon Haapajoki and Russ Anderson, soliciting the funds to make the renovation project happen.

Countless volunteers donated manpower and construction materials and equipment to the project. Scearcy singled out the efforts of Todd Thompson of WW Thompson Concrete Products, who donated cement block, and Ketterling, whom Scearcy called a "phenomenal" fundraiser.

Service clubs, the Brainerd Sports Boosters Club and other organizations donated funds. The city of Brainerd donated the parking lot across the street from the ballpark, which in 1998 was named the "High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Field of the Year" by the Minnesota Baseball Coaches Association and was picked as "National High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Baseball Field of the Year" by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

"It wasn't because we had the nicest field in the world," Scearcy said. "I think it was the story behind our field, how it came to be. That's why we won."

As can be expected following a half-century career, Scearcy had a lengthy list of people to thank, starting with his wife, Diane, and ranging from former Pillager superintendent Fillmore Pfeifle, who hired him in 1967 for his first teaching job, to players, assistant coaches, media and bus drivers. Scearcy singled out "Big Larry" Borsch of Reichert Bus Service for driving Warrior teams to games for more than 30 years.

Family

Lowell and Diane celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary June 3. Scearcy said Diane and his children, Ryan and Kim, have been "amazing" putting up with the hours a coach keeps.

"Diane's spent 51 years of not seeing her husband but knowing he was on a ballfield somewhere because the first 40-some years I coached year-round, and then I refereed many years of football and basketball," he said. "Basically, I was never home."

Scearcy estimates he coached more than 125 seasons of football, basketball, baseball and other sports and played in, coached or officiated more than 4,500 athletic contests. He is a member of five halls of fame and is past president of the Minnesota State High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Coaches Association.

Assistant coaches

Scearcy has compiled a list of 60 men, past and present, who have coached Warrior baseball. Casey Stengel, Keith Peterson and Jay Sannes were, or have been, with him the longest. "Casey was kind of a mentor for me, trying to keep me out of trouble," Scearcy said. "He always was very even keel which I wasn't. I owe a lot to Casey.

"Later Keith and Jay. Keith's been with me 30-31 years, Jay in the 20s. Those two have been a great help, not only with the high school team but with all the summers they put in working with the kids coming up."

Athletic directors

Scearcy worked for four athletic directors-Kermit Aase, Ron Stolski, Todd Selk and now Campbell.

"Kermit could always find money somewhere," Scearcy said. "He would take a file out of one drawer, put it in another one and say, 'We're all set.' He was very easy to work with.

"Ron was just all in for the kids. Whatever you needed for the kids, Ron made sure you had it.

"Todd Selk was great, and great for baseball. If there was any kind of controversy about anything, Todd would stick up for Brainerd until the bitter end. I always felt like I owed him for that. He battled for us.

"Charlie, there's not a nicer guy anywhere than Charlie, or an easier person to work with. He's just in there on overtime, on overdrive all the time. With new (school facilities) coming up, he still will be for a few more years."

Activities secretaries

Scearcy said secretaries in the activities office are the people behind the scenes who get the job done. He pointed out the three most recent secretaries he has worked with-Bren Whirley, Kathy Sullivan and Michelle Hilborn.

"I know those ladies make their bosses look good a lot of times," Scearcy said. "You go up to the office and they're juggling phone calls, people are standing in line, they're selling tickets, you name it. They're juggling all that at the same time."

Groundskeepers

Steve Shellum and Brandon Beach have worked or continued to work closely with Scearcy through the years to keep Adamson Field manicured.

"No matter how stupid an idea I had they would do their best," Scearcy said. "They would get me sod if I wanted sod. They would even come up on a Saturday or Sunday and help. They would make sure we had the equipment we needed. How they did that sometimes I don't know. They've never been anything but good."

Mentors

Former New Ulm coach Jim Senske, who ranks third on the all-time MSHSL wins list, and former Staples coach Jerry Riewer, were coaches Scearcy relied on for guidance and advice on teaching baseball skills.

"They were my mentors," he said. "They were guys that when I needed advice on something I would call them and say 'How do you guys do it?' They had completely different personalities so it was great to get it from two different angles many times."

Players

More than 170 of Scearcy's former players have gone on to play collegiately, 31 played in the Minnesota All-Star Series and nine played pro baseball. Sixteen former players have become high school baseball coaches. Five coached at the college level. One is now director of medicine for the Colorado Rockies.

"It's been a lot of fun being around the kids," Scearcy said. "I think they keep you young. In fact, my wife says I still act like a little kid. I don't know if that's true, but I think in a way they keep you young."

Scearcy pointed out that Dan Carr, one of his former Verndale players, is the winningest coach in the history of North Dakota boys basketball.

Riding off into the sunset

Scearcy leaves a winning tradition and one of the state's top programs, which he hopes continues.

"I hope it just continues to get better," he said. "I certainly hope the program remains strong. Whoever they hire for the next coach, I hope he can keep it going and step in and make us a powerhouse."

The Scearcys have a cabin in Wisconsin where they hope to spend more time. Lowell also has a few other interests.

"I want to spend as much time on my motorcycle as I can until the time comes that I say, 'You know what? I'm not getting back on that thing,' and I hope that's not yet," he said. "I'm not a real big traveler, but my wife may overrule that. We may be doing more than I think.

"I didn't retire with the thought of traveling actually. You know that I've been talking about it for a few years and it just dawned on me that the time is right. I don't want to stay around too long."

Lowell Scearcy

Head coach: Brainerd 46 years, Verndale 3 years

Career record: 764-323 (.703)

Age: Turned 73 Tuesday, June 5

Career victories

Through Thursday, June 7

1-Bob Karn, St. Cloud Cathedral, 782-304 (.720), active

2-Lowell Scearcy, Brainerd, 764-323, (.703), active

3-Jim Senske, New Ulm, 707-171 (.805), retired