Rushville’s Field of Dreams
By Heidi Beguin for Sheridan County Tourism

Nestled in the southwest corner of the little town of Rushville, Nebraska, sits an emerald green surprise to anyone driving by along Highway 20. In a town of around 780 people, there sit big, bold white letters atop a stadium, proudly announcing to the world that this is the home of the Modisett Ball Park.
​The baseball field is kept in top shape by the employees of the City of Rushville. White lines run straight from base to base, ending at the bottom of the baseball diamond at home plate. Sitting a safe distance behind the plate and covered with protective netting is the stadium. Wooden bleachers and steps that lead up to the announcer’s crow’s nest are protected by the wooden roof, keeping the crowds dry in case of a rain delay.
​To either side of the stadium sit aluminum bleachers, for those happy to sit in the sun. Next to each of these bleachers are the dugouts, identical in every way, including a special message painted on the wall specifically for the players.
​“I played baseball there when I was in 5th grade,” Rushville Utilities Superintendent Kirk Beguin recalls. “Modisett is a part of the history of Rushville. The way it started, Modisett Ranch, the brothers,” referring to Mayre Modisett, who built the first Modisett Ball Park with a combination of the brothers’ money. Albert had passed away five years prior to the groundbreaking of the original Modisett Ball Park in 1940.
​But before the ball park became a reality, a player named Gene Leahy was hired to play baseball in Rushville. He was a great player and would eventually become a scout for the Chicago Cubs, among other professional teams, according to the book Extra Innings The Story of Modisett Ballpark. He is also credited with bringing the Milwaukee Braves Baseball School to Rushville.
​“I remember hearing stories about the Milwaukee Braves summer camp,” Rushville resident Kris House says. “My father, Bill Holstein, was very involved with getting that organization to come here and all of the preparation it took, beforehand, getting kids housed with families, getting the umpires, and all sorts of things.”
​“I was just a little sister who ran around asking what are all these people doing in our house? We had some of the head coaches of the Braves stay with us. Of course, Gene Leahy was instrumental in getting the professional baseball teams here. Gene and my dad were very close friends, so that was the connection there. I think the whole town of Rushville supported that baseball school. To the west of Smitty’s Bar, there used to be a building, and that was the head office of this summer baseball camp that would come to town,” House says.
​Chris Heiser, former mayor of Rushville, agrees that Modisett has always been an important facility for Rushville. “Absolutely. I think there are so many memories that boys have on that field, from the time when Vic Clark was coaching there to when my dad was trying out there in the 60s. There are so many memories out there that people will never know about.”
Heiser’s dad, John Heiser, had a strong interest in the baseball school. Heiser explains, “In 1963, he was technically one year too young to be invited, but he was a really good Legion baseball pitcher. He got to go anyway, and the pitching coach was very impressed with him. They said, we want you to come back next year for a formal tryout. But 1963 was the last year of the baseball school in Rushville.”
​After years of use, the ball park began to deteriorate. It wasn’t until John Gottschalk, who had also known Gene Leahy and also played ball at Modisett, received a call from Chris Heiser asking for assistance in restoring the ball park, that any major restorations were completed.
​Before lifting a finger, Gottschalk issued a challenge to the citizens of Rushville.
​The challenge was, “We had to meet John Gottschalk’s goal of raising $100,000 in 13 weeks, in order for him to foot the rest of the bill. He just never thought we’d get there,” House says. But the community proved they could do it.
​According to Beguin, “Gottschalk then loaded up an architect and an engineer, flew out here and decided what they were going to do to the park. He played here, so he wanted to keep it.”
​Since Gottschalk’s restoration in 2014, numerous teams have gotten to play on the field. Never has the famous phrase from the movie Field of Dreams been more suitable – “if you build it, they will come.” Several times in recent years, district and state baseball has been held in Rushville, as a slew of the men who had a hand in building and influencing the ball park must have been smiling down upon the preparations, gathering crowds, opposing baseball teams, and even the officials.
​Scott Bidroski, co-head coach, along with Rob Close, for the Security First Regulators, says, “I think it’s the best ball park in this half of the state. When I look at that field and I drive by it and I see it, I’m very proud that that is our home ball park, that we get to go out there every day, and that’s where we get to practice.”
​“You take for granted how beautiful the park is and how cool it is that not only do you get to play there, but you get to practice there, and that’s your home. So, it’s very much a sense of pride and also just a little bit of awe to get to go there every day, and it’s ours.”
​Megan Janssen, Rushville teacher and mom of a current Regulators baseball player, thinks the field is more than just a place in Rushville. “It’s more than history. To me, it’s a living presence. It signifies what can happen when people come together, when they’re passionate about something, and in turn allow great events to happen because of the love of a game or sport or whatever it may be. And Modisett Ball Park is truly the field of dreams, in my opinion.”
​Everyone has a Modisett story, and a connection to the ball park, whether it’s playing on the field, making the call to get help with restoring it, having some part in the baseball school, or even just enjoying being a spectator.
​Beguin, who coordinated plans with Gottschalk, the architect, and the engineer, says, “The best was being part of the rebuilding process and also coaching the first game after the remodel with my son being the starting pitcher.”
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Bidroski says, “Everybody comes in and says, this place is unbelievable.”
​“As a grandmother with a grandson who lives, eats, and sleeps baseball, I hope someday his team from the middle part of Nebraska gets to come out here and play on this field,” House says. “I would really like for his Legion baseball team to come here so he could say that he played on the field that his great-grandfather had a hand in helping construct.”
​Year after year, people remain devoted to baseball. “Witnessing the pure joy that kids gain from hitting a great hit or striking someone out or even witnessing the joy that they get from watching their teammates complete a good play, that is what baseball is all about,” Janssen says. “But the best part,” she adds, “is the connection the community gains too from coming together to watch the boys play.”
​Bidroski has a different take on the game. “Baseball as a sport teaches our young men how to fail. If you get a hit three out of ten times, you are a major league hitter, so that means you have failed seven of those ten times, and as we know in life, things don’t always go our way. Being able to not succeed at something in life, but then say to yourself, okay, I’m going to put the work in. I’m going to get back to it. I’m going to figure out a way to succeed, and then finding that route and becoming successful after failure, I feel, is the key component to life.” He adds, “Not to mention, the game of baseball is the best sport in the world.”
​House mentions the quote printed in each of the players’ dugouts. “That was a must from John Gottschalk after it was remodeled. He said, here’s the final thing I want done, and it’s in the dugouts. John wanted those players to internalize that saying.”
His message still stands in both dugouts, in a bold, easy-to-read font for all future generations. “Do your best today, honor this historic field and this competition, win with humility, lose with dignity, sportsmanship always.” -John Gottschalk