BROOKINGS – The late Jacob L. “Jake” Langland was considered by his teammates on the Aurora American Legion baseball team and the  Aurora A’s to be a “first-class third baseman” (.429 batting average) and a friend. 

He played two years for each team and he co-managed the Legion team in 2007. 

For the Langland family, Aurora baseball has been a family affair. Jim Langland, Jake’s father, managed the Legion team in 2008 and 2009. 

Now Jake, who died from a heart attack in June, will be honored at 5 p.m. Saturday in Aurora with the dedication of Langland Field and a food-and-drink fundraiser for money for the city to be set aside for future youth baseball teams in Aurora.

“Jake was a good friend of mine,” said Alex Ohm, the driver behind the fundraiser. “I was looking for a fitting tribute. We had joked about naming the field after us when we were in high school. I had bought a motorcycle and it was just one of those ha-ha’s, ‘If this doesn’t go well, you should name the field after me.’

“Well, that was a hundred years ago. When I found out the news (of Jake’s death), it started the wheels turning. I reached out to my old baseball coach.

“He was a lot more involved with Aurora baseball throughout the years, so he put me in touch with the right people in the city (of Aurora) and we started talking about what could be done.

“It’s not just naming the field, but what can we do to support youth baseball in Aurora moving forward, because it’s undergone a pretty major expansion. Depending on the year, sometimes they can field a team and sometimes they can’t.

“Certainly there isn’t a lot of extra money, especially with all the flooding and the problems the area has had, for baseball.”

Among other things, Ohm cited the “desperate need of a new scoreboard which hadn’t worked in several years and had kicked the bucket a long time ago.”

Ohm, a senior project manager at Daktronics, where he has worked for 12 years, had found a new LED baseball scoreboard on the “scratch and dents return list” that fit Aurora’s needs.

“We hope in advance of the dedication to raise a little money that will be dedicated to the city of Aurora and earmarked for future youth baseball needs,” he explained. Such needs could include umpires, coaches and field maintenance.

Ohm extended thanks especially to “the city of Aurora for their extreme generosity in allowing us to do this and to Daktronics for seeing a need.”

The fundraiser, from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, will include the sale of hot dogs, burgers, pop and raffle tickets.

Ohm is “calling all friends of Jake Langland, former A-ballers, classmates and anyone who likes to eat grilled food. The city of Aurora has graciously allowed us to dedicate ‘Langland Field’ in honor of our first-class third baseman and friend, Jake.”

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.