BANKERS HISTORYby Howard Hagen, Head Coach and Founder

In 1984, Hagen   made a huge decision to form his own select Team and compete in the 13-14 year old Koufax League.  Our players were selected from the local area the first couple of years however we soon began attracting players from a much broader area.  Our Club had a very competitive spirit and we began winning Tournaments both in and out of the Local Area.   Naturally, in 1986 we moved up to Mantle 16ULevel to compete against the strongest competition available  and to compete each year  in the AABC State and Regional MantleTournaments.     We had  good players and once again very good success,  so in 1988 we took these players plus added a few other key players and began our first year at the 18 Under Connie Mack Level.  We were very successful  from the beginning  and continued to build the reputation of the Bankers at the 18 & Under Level.  After the 1989 season ( our second at the 18 under level ) I was certain this was the age level  I wanted to continue coaching as the gratification was tremendous.  In  our  first two years I saw twenty  of our players leave our program and go  on to College to continue their education along with  baseball and most of them on scholarship.  Ten  went to 4 year Universities with Eight  going to Division One Schools (3 to  UW, 1 to WSU, 1 to Oklahoma St,1 to San Diego St, 1 to Portland St, and my own son Jeff to Gonzaga ).  The other Two went to George Fox and Eastern Oregon as student athletes.  Ten Bankers went to State Junior Colleges.  We also had a player drafted and signed by the Phillies in the 7^th  Round.

The first two years at the Connie Mack level (88 & 89) were definitely learning years for the Bankers since we won and played well with local competition and in local Tournaments, however when we  advanced to  Regional Play  the California or Arizona teams would generally dominate other competition including Bank.  With a goal of Winning a Connie Mack Regional and EARNING a bid to the World Series I knew some changes had to take place or we  would  have to be content being a local powerhouse team and not advancing beyond the State Tournament.  My plan was two fold—1.) Bring on a Recruiter to get top talent,  & 2.) Play the top teams in the USA prior to the Regionals.  In 1990 Coach Tom McCabe joined the Bankers and took on as one of his many roles that of Recruiter with “no boundaries”.   Tom and I were Co-Head Coaches and built the program together thru what we called the” Decade of Dominance” of the 90’s.  The Bankers program was built to National Recognition as an Elite Connie Mack Baseball Club with 10 State Championships and just as many Regional Tournaments against the best baseball Clubs in the United States.  In 1999 the Bankers became the first Washington State Connie Mack Representative to win a State Tournament and win a Western Regional against a California Club and advance to Farmington New Mexico to the World Series. The Banker Dream was realized and all the hard work and dedication of that group of Bankers and the Alumni was a reality!!

When looking at the History of the Bankers, it is ALUMNI that have given the Bankers the strong positive reputation it deserves and have set the STANDARD HIGH.   Also critical to the success of our program are the coaches that have invested their time and talents to help young men learn the game of baseball and grow as Men.  I would like to recognize all the coaches/consultants or  volunteers that have been in the program   5 or more years.  On behalf of our players and their parents THANK YOU for investing your time and talent into their lives in a positive manner.

Joe Karp--------- 22 years

Tom McCabe---    15 years

Ray Moody ------- 13 years

Mike McCabe----- 11 years

Mark Yoshino-----   7 years