You remember from school that the “shot heard round the world” was fired at Concord to begin the Revolutionary War. For baseball fans, the shot heard round the world was also Bobby Thompson’s homerun to win the pennant for the New York Giants in 1951.

You might not know about the “Shot Heard Round Sleepy Eye.” We celebrated the 40th anniversary of that on May 29. As often happens in baseball, the unlikely hero that day was not one of the star players. In a game filled with some of the best ballplayers Sleepy Eye has ever produced, Dominic Sellner, a speedy slap-hitting leftfielder got the biggest hit in the biggest game.

I played softball with Dominic. At least once a year I would mention to some of the young guys, “You know, Dominic hit the biggest homerun in Sleepy Eye baseball history.” Dom is about the most unassuming person I know, and he always cringed when I brought that up.

Let’s go back to 1975. A unique set of circumstances transpired to bring most of Sleepy Eye to the ballpark on a beautiful Thursday afternoon. This was the first year that Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s was in the Minnesota State High School League. Before that, there was a large divide between public and private schools. As logical as it would have been for like-sized schools across town to play each other, it didn’t happen.

I graduated the year before, and our baseball team participated in the last Catholic/Private School State Tournament. A kid named Molitor from St. Paul Cretin was the talk of that tournament.

Coincidentally, 1975 was the last year of single class tournaments. After that, schools were divided by size. The Hoosiers-type upset where the little school beat the big school would never happen again. If you are young, you may not know how significant winning a District title was then. If your school won the District, they had to win a large number of games AND beat the big schools.

In 1975 20 teams competed in the District 10 baseball playoffs. The top three seeds that spring were Sleepy Eye Public, New Ulm Public, and New Ulm Cathedral.

Sleepy Eye Public baseball under Coach Don Boelter was strong all through the ’70s. Three times in five years, Sleepy Eye lost the District 10 championship game to bigger New Ulm. It is likely that several of those teams would have won a small school state tournament had one existed.

In 1975, Sleepy Eye had another fine season, finishing 15-3, winning their fourth Tomahawk Conference title in five years. Phil Johnson would go on to play for the University of Minnesota. Dean Deibele would have, too, if not for arm problems that came later. Those two pitched most of the innings for the Indians that spring. Dean’s ERA was an other-worldly 0.15.

The lineup was strong top to bottom; the Indians outscored their opponents 130 to 35. Al Reiderer and Loni Berberich were two of the most natural hitters you’ll ever see. Al hit .430 and was named team MVP. Loni was a five-year starter, selected to play that year in the first State All Star Game.

St. Mary’s had an inconsistent season. April was cold and wet. St. Mary’s struggled to get games in, including a triple-header at Faribault. Any game that Coach Moe Moran threw his ace Vic Helget, the Knights had a chance. But the team struggled to score runs, hitting only .187 in the regular season. The team finished 9 and 5, and was seeded seventh in District 10. No one could have predicted what lie ahead for the Knights.

The Knights first foray into MSHSL playoffs began with an 8 to 3 win over Wabasso. In that game, Vic struck out 15.

Next up was the number two seed, New Ulm Public. It was the first, last, and only time St. Mary’s has ever played New Ulm Public in any sport. The Eagles under young coach Jim Senske were a recognized state power, in the midst of playing in an incredible 19 state tournaments.

That day the little school from western Brown County prevailed. Pitching on two days rest, Vic Helget allowed three hits and struck out ten. Jeff Cook homered and St. Mary’s won 3 to 2. Not to brag on my school, but St. Mary’s all time record versus the New Ulm Eagles stands at a perfect 1 and 0.

The next Tuesday, St. Mary’s met a more familiar opponent. New Ulm Cathedral was an old rival from the DeSmet Conference. That season, Greyhounds, coached by Stan Wilfahrt, had beaten the Knights three times. But not a fourth, as Vic tossed a one-hitter and St. Mary’s won 2 to 1.

That set up the District Championship game, the first meeting ever between St. Mary’s and Sleepy Eye Public. While St. Mary’s was scratching out wins to get there, Public won three games easily, all shutouts. On the front page of the Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch, a headline sprawled across the top, “Sleepy Eye Teams Meet in Afternoon Dream Game.” Below was a photo of coaches Boelter and Moran holding and looking up at the trophy. The two coaches were good friends, teammates in the old Western Minny League. The gulf between Catholic and public schools had been wide, and it probably surprised them to be in that position.

Coach Boelter noted, “It’s wonderful that two Sleepy Eye teams emerged from a twenty team tournament. I’m sure players on both teams will give an excellent account of themselves. Let’s hope the fans do likewise.” When I was young, it was said that the players would be fine if the schools ever played. But that the fans might get out of hand. Since then, St. Mary’s and Public have played hundreds of games, and I can report that no fights have occurred in the stands.

If anyone thought St. Mary’s could win that day, they assumed Vic Helget would pitch the Knights to a 1 to 0 type of win. So when the Knights plated one run in the top of the first, their fans were feeling good. A couple singles, a walk, and two fielder’s choices brought Dominic up with two outs.

On a 3-2 slider, Dominic hit one to left. He thought it might get in the gap. When he raced into second, he saw the umpire give the homerun sign. A northwest breeze may have helped push that ball over the fence. Regardless, it was a grand slam and the Knights had a lead they would not relinquish. It was the only homerun Indians’ pitchers gave up that season.

Helget had thrown 28 innings in nine days and was wearing out by the end. The Indians scored three in the last inning, but the Knights held on to win 7 to 3 and take the final District 10 single class tournament.

St. Mary’s went on the Region 3 tournament where they lost 1 to 0 to Montevideo despite another gem thrown by Helget. The amazing playoff run saw Helget throw 35 innings, striking out 55 batters.

The streak was over. But the week when St. Mary’s beat New Ulm Public, New Ulm Cathedral, and Sleepy Eye Public will never be duplicated. All of those schools went on to win state championships as our area continues to be a baseball powerhouse. Many star players have gone to play college and pro baseball.

But 40 years ago, it was not one of those who had the big hit. Dominic told me that was the first game his dad attended that year. Andrew Sellner was a farmer, and spring was a busy time of year. As Dominic left the house that morning, Andrew told him that he was coming to the game. He jokingly offered ten dollars to his son if he hit a homer. He gladly paid.