The Farley Babe Ruth Tournament and Queen's Pageant has humble beginnings but soon turned into a popular mid-summer event.

Back in 1962, Glen "Bud" Gibbs and Bob Scherrman were the Farley Babe Ruth Teams' coaches. The tournament was started as a means to raise money for bats and balls. There were eight teams in the original tourney, including Bankston, Farley Reds, Farley Giants, Epworth, Holy Cross, Peosta, Pleasant Grove, and Rickardsville.

Team managers selected umpires and the umpires volunteered their time. The Farley ballpark was located west of the County Maintenance Building until 1970 when the present ballpark was completed on the northeast corner of Farley.

Farley American Legion Post 656 has been able to continue sponsoring the Farley Babe Ruth Teams, donate a money to local organizations through proceeds from the tournament. The tournament committee consists of seven to eight Legion members. The Legion Auxiliary also plays an important role in the tournament--organizing the queen's pageant, operating the concession stand and maintaining the tournament's history. (A special thank you to all those above for supplying the information for this web page.)

Click here for a list of past queens.

Admission in 1962 for adults was 50 cents, high school students 25 cents and grade school students 10 cents. Newspaper articles called the tournament aa tremendous success as large crowds turned out to see home teams in action. The next year eight more teams were invited to the tournament. In 1964, a teen queen pageant was added and approximately 1200 fans attended the ceremony. Approximately 1000 fans attended at the ball park in a decorated hay wagon. Present candidates ride in convertibles.

1962
Andy Hollenbach, Farley, 15 strikeouts in one game.
Championship: Rickardsville defeated Farley Reds, 11-4

1963
Paul Scherrman, Frley, ws named Most Valuable Player and received five other awards. He had a batting average of .571 and threw a two-hitter in the final game.
Championship: Farley Giants defeated Farley Reds, 8-2

1964
Bill Hollenbach, Farley, was named MVP, had the most triples and the most hits in the tournament. Loras Ries, Farley, had 21 strikeouts and allowed four hits for the consolation game win in 15 innings. It was a four-hour game. Losing pitcher was Dick Frasher, Cascade, who struck out 20 players.
Championship: Dyersville Americans defeated Bernard

1965
Ron Lucas, Holy Cross, had 40 strikeouts in the tournament, the most doubles and was named the MVP.
Championship: Holy Cross defeated Petersburg, 12-0

1966
Lloyd Koelker, Petersburg, was named the MVP with 30 strikeouts in the tournament.
Championship: Petersburg defeated Farley, 5-3

1967
John Palmer, Farley, was named MVP. He had 14 strikeouts and allowed four hits in the championship game.
Championship: Farley defeated Petersburg, 16-1

1968
Jim Tegeler, Dyersville Nationals, was named MVP. He pitched two games allowing seven hits and striking out 24 players.
Championship: Dyersville Nationals defeated Holy Cross, 7-3

1969
Frank Dardis, Peosta, was named MVP. In the championship game, he hit a grand slam, had two other hits and drove in a total of five runs.
Championship: Peosta defeated Worthington, 8-0

1970
MVP Ron Hess, Dyersville Americans, had the most runs batted in and the most stolen bases for the tournament.
Championship: Dyersville Americans defeated Peosta, 1-0

1971
Paul Wessels, Bankston, was named the MVP for his fine all around play. He had the most hits and the most RBI.
Championship: Holy Cross defeated Cascade, 7-3

1972
Tom McDermott earned MVP honors.
Championship: Peosta defeated Farley, 11-9

1975
MVP awarded trophies to Scott Harris, Gary Weydert and Ron McCarthy.
Championship: Rickardsville defeated Dyersville Nationals 10-9

1976
Randy Dunkel, Earville, had 17 strikeouts in one game and 28 strikeouts in the tournament. Dave Michels, Balltown had the most doubles and hits. Kevin Schmitt, Balltown was named the MVP with the most runs batted in.
Championship: Balltown defeated Dyersville Americans, 16-7.

1980
Kevn Kraus, Farley, was named MVP.
Championship: Hopkinton defeated New Vienna.

1981
Nick Vorwald, Holy Cross, was named MVP. He had 36 strikeouts in three games and seven hits in the tournament.
Championship: Epworth Cubs defeated Holy Cross, 5-0

1982
Glen Naber, New Vienna, threw a no hitter and was named the MVP. He won three games and had 36 strikeouts.
Championship: New Vienna defeated Luxemburg, 10-0

1984
Kevin Digmann, Dyersville Legion, batted .375, and had 23 strikeouts and six hits including a home run in the championship game. Ed Delaney, Pleasant Grove, had 16 strikeouts in one game and 26 strikeouts in the tournament.
Championship: Dyersville Legion defeated Dyersville Americans.

1985
Mark Kramer, Epworth, had 16 strikeouts in one game and 38 strikeouts in the tournament. Jeff Offerman, Petersburg, had 16 strikeouts in one game.
Championship: Rickardsville defeated Epworth, 10-8

1986
Dennis Jaeger, Dyersville American, was named MVP. He struck out 13, allowed two hits, and had three hits including a triple and a home run.
Championship: Dyersville Americans defeated Epworth, 10-1

1989
Bernie Schieltz, Holy Cross, won one game, had 18 strikeouts and was named the tournament MVP.
Championship: Holy Cross defeated Farley, 4-2

1990
John Link, Dyersville American, threw a no hitter in the first round of the tournament. He was named MVP and had 14 strikeouts.
Championship: Dyersville Americans defeated Farley, 7-2

1991
Sean Dardis, Peosta, had three wins, 15 strikeouts in one game, 37 strikeouts in the tournament and 4-for-9 at the plate. He was named MVP. His dad, Frank, was awarded the MVP in 1969.
Championship: Peosta defeated Farley, 9-1

1992
Kris Kremer, Dyersville Legion, was named MVP. He had 23 strikeouts for the tournament. He had a .636 batting average with four walks and seven hits.
Championship: Dyersville Legion defeated Pleasant Grove, 5-3

1994
Eric Lehmann, Epworth, was named MVP. He had three wins, 25 strikeouts, and a batting average of .333.
Championship: Epworth defeated Dyersville Legion, 4-3

1995
Dave Beckett, Dyersville Legion, was named MVP. In the championship game, he struck out 16 and had three hits.
Championship: Dyersville Legion defeated Farley, 14-0

1996
The MVP went to Nic Ungs, Dyersville American, and Jeremy Petsche, Farley. Ungs had a batting average of .727 with two singles, five doubles, and a triple. He also pitched the last inning of two separate games. Petsche pitched three games for Farley and had 33 strikeouts.
Championship: Dyersville American defeated Farley Legion, 14-4

1997
Sam Kurt, Cascade, struck out 21 batters in the tournament and was named MVP.
Championship: Cascade defeated Farley Legion, 8-7

1999
Kyle McDermott, Cascade, pitched two wins and had a batting average of .500. He was named the tournament MVP.
Championship: Cascade defeated Dyersville American, 5-4

2000
Chris Conlon, Key West, was named MVP. His triple in the championship game helped to tie the game that Key West eventually won.
Championship: Key West defeated Epworth, 12-7

2001
The Farley Legion Babe Ruth Team ended the season 17-1, losing to Peosta in the tournament's championship game.
Championship: Peosta defeated Farley, 13-7

2004
Ben Cooper, Dyersville American, was named the MVP. He pitched two winning games and had five hits. Mike Conrad, also from Dyersville American, had seven hits in the tourney.
Championship: Dyersville American defeated New Vienna, 12-7

2005
Austin Brown, Rickardsville, was named the MVP for his fine all-around play. Sam Scherrman, Dyersville Legion, had the most hits and shared the most doubles award. Dale Wilgenbusch and Dennis Brehm, coaches for the tournament champions Rickardsville, were part of the Rickardsville team that won the tournament 30 years ago. This year their sons were part of the winning team.
Championship: Rickardsville defeated Dyersville Legion, 13-6