The Bloomington Bobcats, once an institution in summer-collegiate baseball, are being revived for the 2016 season and will compete in the Midwest Collegiate League, playing out of O’Neil Park.
The Bobcats have been on hiatus since 2002. The team, which has been a fixture off and on since the 1960s, will return to the diamond for the 2016 MCL season.
“The proximity of the teams and the caliber of baseball made the Midwest Collegiate League very appealing,” Bobcats General Manager Mike Brown said. “I know it’s fantastic baseball. (Commissioner) Don Popravak has been extremely helpful in getting us up and running and giving us a lot of ideas. This is a chance for kids from Bloomington-Normal to play really good baseball against kids from around the country.”
The Bobcats were originally run by legendary Illinois Wesleyan University baseball coach Jack Horenberger. Ben Alsene, who ran the team from 1982-2002, gave Brown his stamp of approval to bring the Bobcats back.
Read the rest of the January 26, 2016 storyby Kevin Reichard in Ballpark Digest at: http://ballparkdigest.com/2016/01/26/new-for-2016-bloomington-bobcats/