Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium was going, going, almost gone. Old teammate helped save it

By Steve Doerschuk The Repository

(Editor’s note) Joe Sidor and Skip Riser have been mainstays in the Ohio MSBL for decades.  On May 7, in celebration of a $5 million makeover, Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium was rededicated and extolled as a community asset safe for decades to come.  Below is an article written by Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository newspaper outlining the history of their efforts.  Sadly, Skip recently passed away but Joe continues on with the effort and forwarded us the article below.

“Not so long ago, before the stadium was even 20 years old, Munson Stadium was going, going, almost gone. Joe Sidor and Skip Riser were co-captains of the team that saved the famous captain’s ballpark.

Both of them were old baseball players suiting up at twice the age Munson was on that stunning day when his jet crashed near the Akron-Canton airport. They weren’t Thurman Munson, but one of them, Riser, had been Munson’s Lehman High School teammate. Both applied a lot more than just playing ball to saving Munson Stadium.” (Read more)