Carbon Cal Ripken Press Release
Baseball in Carbon County has deep history, starting with many immigrants that migrated to work in the coal mines and live in the local coal camps. Most of those coal camps are now old block buildings or foundations were houses once stood. Each of the coal camps put a baseball teams together and would play against each other in the Carbon Coal Leagues; teams like Hiawatha, Sunnyside, Raines, Colombia, Kenilworth, Castle Gate, Spring Glen and Price. Other coal camp teams came and went through the years.
With us to start the 2018 season is one of those coal camp players, Ron Jewkes. Ron is 90 years young and started with youth baseball in 1941 at the age of 14. Ron has been playing the great game of baseball or watching his kids and grandkids playing the game in Carbon County for over 77 years. Ron played for Kenilworth Coal League, where he has lived since he was born.
Ron has always known how important baseball is to his kids and started them playing as soon as he could. Ron’s oldest son, Ronnie Jewkes, played baseball for Helper WBBA. In 1967, Ronnie was able to play in the WBBA World Series and was a part of winning the championship, something Ronnie will never forget.
Second son Jeff Jewkes also started playing for Helper WBBA at a young age and with tons of practice and ambition to want to make it to the big leagues. Jeff also got to play in the WBBA World Series, where he smashed a home run. Jeff went on after playing for Carbon High to play for CEU then with Colorado State University.
Ron’s grandkids also played for Helper WBBA and Carbon High, including Gianni Jewkes, Dr. Nick Hansen, Chris Hansen (was part of the Carbon High School state champion team in 2001 and 2002), Triston Armstrong and Noah Armstrong.
Ron knows how important the history of baseball is to Carbon County and has personally put together the baseball room at the Helper Museum, where he continues to work to this day. If you want to know about the history of baseball in this county, go see that spectacular exhibit and talk with Ron for a moment.
2018 started a new chapter in youth baseball of Carbon County with Mr. Ron Jewkes throwing out the first pitch of the season.