This year marks McQuade Charity softball tournament number 47, and there might be some people who can say they’ve attended all of them, but only one man has been on the field at every tournament.
Mandan Native Allan Ziemann is the only person that has umpired every tournament since 1976. Ziemann recalls the first McQuade event needing just 15 umpires, and now it has grown to 110 umpires.
He says the officiating crews are always shown great respect, which is something that started with Sam McQuade and has been passed down for generations.
“It’s the incredible comradery and the atmosphere that the McQuade family has brought to this tournament,” Ziemann said. “They bring in umpires from all over the country. Teams have grown to hear of this tournament. We have two teams here from Guam, we have teams from all over the country that come to support this incredible charity.”
Ziemann says he plans to umpire at least until the 50th anniversary tournament.