{"id":106116,"date":"2018-03-27T15:40:10","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T20:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/?p=106116"},"modified":"2018-03-27T15:53:59","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T20:53:59","slug":"sleepy-eye-says-good-bye-to-a-legend-duke-cook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/sleepy-eye-says-good-bye-to-a-legend-duke-cook\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleepy Eye says goodbye to a legend: Duke Cook"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Babe Ruth Dedication – August 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Leavenworth Girls Softball Reunion- Summer 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sleepy Eye lost a great one March 20 when the legendary Duke Cook made his way to the big ball park in the sky. The lives he touched were countless in so many areas, but he was most influential on the ball field…baseball and especially softball.<\/p>\n

Pictured above is just a small handful of the lives he touched with his coaching talents at Leavenworth. In 1956 Duke started a girl’s fast pitch softball team in the small community and coached up until the end. He also helped with the Sleepy Eye High School softball squads for many seasons. Duke coached all ages of girls with patience and precision.<\/p>\n

He also had a great love for the game of baseball. His talents earned him an induction into the Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.<\/p>\n

Duke was the inspiration for the Baseball and Softball Museum in the former parochial school in Leavenworth. He was very proud of all the pictures, news articles and memorabilia that he had put together.<\/p>\n

He was avid fan of sports in general and loved following all the local high school sports, attending games on a regular basis to show his support for the youth of not only this community<\/p>\n

but the surrounding area as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Duke was also a proud veteran, a U.S. Marine from 1953-1956, who attended every Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day ceremony.<\/p>\n

Below are just a few comments found on Facebook about how special Duke was:<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bev Petersen\u00a0Oh what a guy he was !! The whole Sleepy Eye community will miss his presence at ALL their sporting events !!<\/p>\n

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Holli Pederson Hansen\u00a0So sad! He will be missed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Karla Bauer\u00a0Duke I will NEVER FORGET YOU !!!! You were the greatest coach EVER !!! So sad:(.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lynn Mathiowetz Hoffman\u00a0Such fond memories playing under his coaching… God bless him and all he brought to the community throughout his life! So many blessed because of him!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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GayLynn Harmace\u00a0One of a kind! No one will ever take his place. Rest In Peace Duke<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Suzanne Holland\u00a0Very kind man, RIP Duke!!!!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Robert P. Carlson\u00a0Such a nice man\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n
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Sarah Bruggeman\u00a0So sad\u00a0\"\"\ud83d\ude41<\/span><\/span>\u00a0You will be greatly missed Duke! Lots of memories coaching our softball team!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Barbie Walden Gruenhagen\u00a0Duke was one of a kind! Here’s to playing ball in heaven!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Linda Weber\u00a0A quiet, unassuming man. But oh what influence he brought to alot of his players and others who were not his players. Never a harsh word. Kind and gentle. There were a few of your players at heaven’s gate to welcome you home!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sylvia Ruiz\u00a0He was a great person. He will be missed.\u00a0He gave it all to the youth of the area!!! What a gift we had<\/div>\n
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Ann Marie Sturm-Leshovsky\u00a0He was the best. No doubt in my mind. Rest peacefully, Duke!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Kienlen Sellner\u00a0This world would have less problems if there were more Dukes in it. RIP to a wonderful person!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dohn Schroepfer\u00a0My neighbor for part of my childhood, and all of my adult life. THE nicest, most genuine man I have ever known. And the most supportive sports fan in history, ANYWHERE!!! My condolences to all his nieces and nephews. Such a special man.\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lana Grunst\u00a0I met Duke when he assisted with SE 7th\/8th grade girl\u2019s softball. What a great guy!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mary Groebner\u00a0Oh, condolences to his family and friends. He was such a constant known in my life when growing up, always so kind. I hope he\u2019s in heaven catching my dad (Bill) up to what he missed since his passing many years ago.<\/p>\n

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Amber Thom\u00a0He was a wonderful man! Loved by all.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Linda Seifert\u00a0He will be missed for sure!!!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Willy Schauman\u00a0A true gentleman and sportsman! RIP Duke.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Gregg Mathiowetz\u00a0What a great guy! Once of the nicest guys to all the players. We are all better people because our lives were touched by Duke!<\/p>\n

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John-Carol Falk\u00a0Such an Awesome Guy!!! And so much passion for the game!!!\"\"<\/div>\n

Carrie Prechel<\/a>\u00a0He was a kind, gentle man. Will be missed greatly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Jane Vidlund Juntunen\u00a0He meant so much to so many…\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Laura Kuebler Horman\u00a0Best ball gamer around! Still remembered me playing softball 25 years after the fact! God bless you Duke!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Janet Kramer\u00a0Such a sweet, loving man!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Karen Voge\u00a0RIP Duke A very special man to so many!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dorinda Roiger\u00a0\"\"\u00a0you will be missed by many<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sandy Brinkman\u00a0The ballparks and gymnasiums won\u2019t be the same…such a kind soul.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Linda Hesse\u00a0Mark & I are sad to hear that Duke is gone!\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Martin Sellner\u00a0Everyone I think can say that there is only great memories from this great person!! He will be sadly missed!!!<\/p>\n

Garrett Freeman\u00a0Such a great man can remember him from my Dad coaching softball and sisters playing…he could be found in any area small town watching or helping coach these young girls with a game he truly loved. RIP Duke<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Michelle Schaeffer\u00a0No one better or kinder. We were all for fortunate for having known him. A man who truly only knew how to be kind.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sara Lee Evers\u00a0RIP a fan and so encouraging to so many kids<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Gloria Lendt\u00a0I remember him at games and his coaching. Rest In Peace Duke<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Joleen Price\u00a0He thaught me how to throw a softball overhand back in the 60s……he followed and supported girls softball for so many years….Rip Duke<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Catherine A. Haala\u00a0Duke … thank you for being a wonderful loving man, softball coach and life coach … the world needs more of you!\u00a0\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

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Charlotte Wheeler\u00a0So many wonderful memories playing ball for Duke. I\u2019m glad to have known him!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Marie Fredrickson\u00a0I know. He knew everyone\u2019s name & was always so kind<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pixie Wegner\u00a0He will certainly be missed<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nicole Helget\u00a0I have visited Duke’s museum in Leavenworth. Along with being a great fan and supporter of baseball and softball in southern Minnesota, he was a historian and archivist. His collection is a treasure trove of baseball and softball artifacts: newspaper articles, photographs, balls, gloves, tickets. It belongs at the Minnesota Historical Society for a special viewing.<\/div>\n
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Nancy Kissner\u00a0A sports legend!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Shawna Turbes Sellner\u00a0He was always so kind, supportive, & friendly. He won\u2019t be forgotten.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Christi Gemmill\u00a0He is one extraordinary guy for sure. We will all miss him but what a field to be playing on he has now<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Beth Zuhlsdorf\u00a0He sure enjoyed the sports! Great coach and fan!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Emily Johnson\u00a0Oh Duke\u00a0\"\"\u00a0sorry to hear he has passed. He was the absolute best!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Kaitlin DuChene\u00a0He was a wonderful person who had so much love for everyone. His passion for sports and coaching reached so many people. I feel very lucky to be receiving end of his softball tips when I was little playing Hanska to high school. The many players he cheered for and took the time to know as people should feel blessed to have an example of kindness and what it means to be a good person.<\/div>\n
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Amber Waibel\u00a0So sorry to hear of Duke\u2019s passing! What a great guy he was!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Heather Haala\u00a0What a great guy all around!!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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BrianAlexa Krzmarzick\u00a0\u00a0He was the sweetest guy ever! Always remember him during summer softball handing out little ornaments to us!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Chelsey Karow\u00a0Duke was seriously one of the nicest guys! And always our number one fan! So sorry to hear about you, and your families loss.\u00a0\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Douglas Deborah Brandl\u00a0a huge loss for Leavenworth and surrounding communities… he was a great guy…. had a hi and s smile for everyone …he will be missed<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Colleen Braun\u00a0What a wonderful Life!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Geri Lynn Swenstad\u00a0\"\"\u00a0I\u2019m so sad to hear this!! One of the best humans I\u2019ve come across! He literally was an icon! I\u2019m so sorry for you and your family\u2019s loss\u00a0\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

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Stephanie Trevino\u00a0Duke was one of a kind and will always be remembered along with ur grandpa\u00a0\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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JudyandJim Sellner\u00a0\u00a0Duke was a AWESOME man and great neighbor. Always thought of the kids in every sport he was there. He will be greatly missed. Hugs<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tina Jones Meine\u00a0One of the greatest men I have ever known!
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Holly Miller\u00a0What an amazing man that touched so many lives!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Jessica Suker Weilage\u00a0He was such a good guy. Glad to have known him!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Casie Braulick\u00a0\u00a0He lived such a good life! What an amazing man. You\u2019ve got another angel in the outfield!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lacey Braulick\u00a0He was such a nice man!!! Always had a smile on his face!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Samantha Leite\u00a0\"\"\"\"\u00a0Duke interrupted so many of\u00a0Darla Remus\u2019s practices and always made them more fun<\/div>\n
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Laurie Zuhlsdorf\u00a0Great man everyone loved. He will be missed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Suzanne Jensen\u00a0I am so so sad for all of SE but happy for his reunion in heaven! Thank you Cook\u2019s for sharing him with our community. One of a kind.\u00a0\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Paula Ziegenhagen\u00a0So sorry for ur family loss. He was a great n friendly man. Love seeing him at games n saying hi to<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nancy Windschitl\u00a0He was a true sports fan and an amazing school coach to so many girls in SE. Truly one of a kind. RIP Duke<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Deanna Johnson\u00a0Prayers for you & your family. You couldnt find a nicer guy then him!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Michele Borth\u00a0He was such a great fan!<\/div>\n
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Samantha Saenz\u00a0\u00a0I can literally hear his laugh at his picture. What a sweet guy he was<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mary Lou Mathiowetz\u00a0All of these comments are so true; he definitely was a great man!!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Julie Schumacher\u00a0We will miss him dearly! He was so wonderful, always helping get young kids envolved in ball!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sleepy Eye lost a great one March 20 when the legendary Duke Cook made his way to the big ball park in the sky. The lives he touched were countless in so many areas, but he was most influential on the ball field…baseball and especially softball. Pictured above is just a small handful of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-25 09:08:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106116"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106168,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106116\/revisions\/106168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}