It would seem improbable today. Nine boys in one family who all play baseball?
But it happened in 1915. The Sorlien boys from Bode, Iowa, came to Decorah and took on the Luther team in a memorable baseball game that was noted across the Midwest. The Decorah Public Opinion claimed at the time that it was likely a national record for brothers on one team.
What happened 100 years later was improbable too.
Late this past July, descendants of the original Sorlien nine, along with their spouses—totalling 159—traveled to Decorah from 15 states and one foreign country. They aimed to relive the game and show that baseball and tradition still ran strong through their family.
Forty-two members, ages nine to 73, suited up and tossed baseballs, preparing for the game in the sunshine, while the other Sorliens—and related Blanchards, Kvales, Skatruds, Larsens, and more—cheered them on in the stands.
“If those guys are watching this from above they won’t believe what happened,” said Dale Pedersen of Algona, a grandson of Albert Sorlien, one of the original nine. “This many offspring and they all play ball like them.”
Pedersen played ball in high school and college decades ago, but his aging “frozen shoulder” kept him in the dugout as his younger relations—wearing special “Sorlien 9” jerseys and hats bearing an S—ran onto the field.
“Albert played left field and was the best hitter. My brother Wayne is 62, and he’s out there in left field,” Pedersen said.
The memories were thick as infield dust.
The Sorlien brothers worked hard on the farm but really wanted to play ball. They constructed their own baseball diamond near the home place and after chores played every night until dark. Father John Sorlien, an immigrant from Norway and a successful farmer, brought home baseballs and mitts from his travels to sell cattle.
The boys would stick the floppy old mitts in their back pockets and pull them out to play catch when the work horses needed a rest.
They treasured those old mitts and baseballs for years, said Lois Sorlien Fossen, daughter of Olvin, another of the original nine, one of five generations at the reunion.
“What hurts most is watching pro baseball games—which I do every day— and they use a new ball after every pitch! In our family, our baseballs and softballs were saved and used year after year, and they were harder each year from being wet and used so much.”
Henry (class of 1905), Carl (1907–8), Oscar (class of 1912), Arne ’21, Olvin ’22, and Leon ’21 were good enough to play for Luther during their time at the college. Rounding out the Sorlien nine were brothers Magnus, Jim, and Albert. Arne, Olvin, and Leon were inducted into the Luther Athletic Hall of Fame.
What got them there was hard work and a love of the game. Even when their father died in 1907 and the boys and mother Bertha had to work hard to hold the farm together, they still managed to play ball, making up a good portion of the Bode town team for years.
Their notoriety spread. Luther got wind that Oscar was set to marry in Decorah in 1915 and all nine brothers would be together again, so the Sorliens were challenged to a game.
Ranging in age from 15 to 32, they put forth a memorable effort. Tied 1-1 in the 11th inning, a ball hit by James Sorlien rolled under a car. With no ground rules, he ran all the way home. But Luther came back in the bottom of the inning and scored two runs on four errors to win the game 3-2.
The Sorliens soon got offers to form a barnstorming team but played only a few more games together. By then, many were successful bankers and farmers. Olvin and Arne, a star pitcher, got professional baseball offers but chose to finish college.
Baseball stayed with the family in the years that followed, though.
Arne’s son Arne Jr. ’51 preferred winter sports, but baseball was so vital to the family that he taught his own children the game, including daughter Susan Sorlien ’73, a Luther Board of Regents member, who helped organize the reunion and today lives in Florida.
“I will never forget my father holding a baseball in front of our eyes, moving it to the right and left, training us to watch the ball,” she said.
In later years, Olvin became a pastor and organized games after services in the church yard. Others taught their offspring the game as the family spread across the U.S.
So they took to the field with great enthusiasm this past July, organizing a game with recent alumni of Decorah High School, who served as cheerful substitutes for the college team, which was done with its season.
A choir of family members sang the national anthem. It was not a low, murmuring rendition of the song, but typically strong Norwegian-Lutheran harmony.
Dennis Blanchard (grandson of Arne Sr.) gave the dugout pep talk. The Roanoke, Va., 55-year-old had his own successful stint playing baseball in a high school state tournament, while son Michael pitched in college.
“I know everyone has been working out for six months to get ready for this. I can tell by the physiques,” he said to laughter. “One hundred years ago we lost; today we have to make up for that.”
Michael Blanchard took the mound, his uncle Steve Blanchard ’69, of Iowa City, announcing the game from the press box.
“It’s just a good game,” said Steve, 68, noting his son Matt and grandson Chase, 9, play baseball competitively. “Baseball has given us a rallying point.”
Sorlien grandmothers tune into games every day and Sorlien great-grandsons suit up for Little League every summer. The game goes on.
Along with their affinity for baseball, the Sorlien family also inherited the tradition of a Luther education. Forty family members have attended, and that tradition helped grow the branches of the family tree. Oscar wasn’t the only one to meet his wife here in 1915, said Kris Frank ’72, a granddaughter of Oscar. “My grandparents met and married at Luther, and so did my son Derek ’97,” she said. Several other family members met their future spouses at Luther as well.
As the game progressed and the Sorliens fell behind 4-0 in the fourth inning, Frank and the rest of the family ramped up their cheers in the stands.
Maren Jones, granddaughter of Olvin, lives in Australia and is into sailing but brought along daughter Megan, 33, to learn to make traditional Norwegian flatbread lefse and understand the game of baseball. In turn, Megan taught the Americans cricket.
Caleb Kvale ’19 carried on the baseball tradition behind the plate, as the great-grandson of Arne. Kvale, 18, was a catcher for Decorah High School and this fall becomes the 41st family member to attend Luther.
“Baseball is great because it’s such a fun game to play,” he said. “It’s a sport for everybody.” Including Sorlien women. Amy Feiman of Denver, Colo., played softball for Sam Houston State.
“I just love the game,” she said. “It sounds corny, but there is something about the smell of grass and dirt. That’s why we do this, for the love of the game.
The Sorliens rallied for two runs before losing 4-2. Then oldest and youngest Sorliens charged the field to play a bit more on their own. Like the first nine brothers, they didn’t want to leave the ball field.