Triggers were “The Indians of Cleveland”. Only one Styrian club survived the baseball boom of the 90s: the “Dirty Sox” from Graz.
GRAZ. They wore names like “Royals”, “Styrian Oaks”, “Coal Diggers” and “Flying Circus”, but as the only baseball club in Styria they should only die Grazer “Dirty Sox” left over. “At the beginning of the 90s there were five or six clubs and even a separate Styrian league for a short time,” says Peter Heissenberger, youth coach, secretary and and and with the “dirty socks”.
However, as the baseball veteran emphasizes, these were “not real sports clubs”, but rather larger groups of friends. Due to a lack of youth work was over for many after a few years when the initial enthusiasm ebbed away. “You could say it was a kind of ‘healthy shrinking’ because there was no foundation. In 1998 only the ‘Dirty Sox’ were left,” remembers Heissenberger, who held the racket at the “Royals” until the two teams merged had swung.
Film heroes and new home
Peter Heissenberger sees an important reason for the popularity of the sport at the time in the success of the baseball comedy “The Indians of Cleveland” (1989) with Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes and Charlie Sheen as players of the “Cleaveland Indians”. The ball game, which is still popular in the United States, was also shown on the sports channel (later Eurosport) and on DSF (Deutsches Sportfernsehen).
Renaming of the “Cleaveland Indians”
After long-standing debates about cultural appropriation and racism, the Ohio major league baseball team has been naming it since 2021 “Cleaveland Guardians”. In addition, the logo, which shows a comic book style Native American, was changed to a stylized “C”. The club, founded in 1894, went by various names (including the “Bluebirds” and “Lake Shores”) until 1915 when the name “Indians” was chosen.
Were even in the old in the 80s Federal Stadium Liebenauwhere the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium was opened in 1996, hit home runs and stole bases, the “Graz Royals” originally played on one pitch am Schwarzlseewhere the Daviscup hall is located today.
Since 2019, the “Dirty Sox” have had their home, around 400 meters northeast of the GAK training center in Weinzödl, im Ballpark Grazwhich baseball players share with athletes from the fields of cricket, ultimate frisbee and flag football.
Until then it was a long way from the original place between Straßganger Straße and Harter Straße (1998-2013), where a housing estate was built, like Heissenberger, who also on the board of the “Ballpark” association sits, explains: “We didn’t have any home games for two years. After that we played our home games in Wels and trained with the GAK Juniors. It’s a miracle that we survived that.” Last year, the Dirty Sox not only survived, but also celebrated a milestone anniversary.
Currently, 31 years after founding, the association has a total of 50 members with its international “combat team” and the youngsters. Interested parties of all ages, including career changers from other sports, are always welcome with the baseball players, says Heissenberger. For more information and to contact the club, baseballgraz.com.
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