Griffons hold inaugural George Lyons Night

In honor of his late father, George Lyons Jr., throws out the first pitch, prior to the Griffons home contest with the Clarinda A’s on Thursday night.

Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail

George T. Lyons, a pitcher who played for two major league clubs in the 1920s, was born in Illinois in 1891. In the early 1920’s, Lyons purchased a family farm west of Nevada. Lyons married a local girl, and moved into town in 1929

Lyons, whose nickname was “Smooth,” was a local merchant, also serving one term as Vernon County Treasurer.

Lyons idolized St. Louis Browns teammate “Gentleman” George Sissler, and loved to tell of confrontations with Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, among others.

Active in local baseball for more than 25 years, Lyons was the driving force and designer behind Lyons Stadium.

Lyons loved the game of baseball and was always ready to talk about his past experiences playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns.

Lyons fondest memories of his professional baseball career, came from his seasons spent in the Pacific Coast League, where he played for the Los Angeles Angels, winning 49 games from 1921-24. While in the Pacific Coast League, Lyons played against the Babe Ruth-led New York Yankees several times.

And as of today’s date, June 22, 2017, the home stadium of the Griffons and the Nevada High School baseball team bears George T. Lyons’ name.

Lyons Stadium was established in 1947 on land owned by the Barton family.

As manager of the Nevada Red Sox, a local semi-professional team, Lyons was among those looking for a replacement field for his team after construction of the state hospital led to the demise of the old ballpark, located just southeast of today’s Marmaduke Park.

Lyons Stadium was originally constructed of wood, complete with a roof over the grandstand. The wooden fences stood approximately eight-feet tall, the center field fence was 420 feet from home plate, and the hand-operated scoreboard was located on the right field foul line.

Lyons Stadium has been home to numerous teams since its construction, including many little league teams, city recreational teams, the Red Sox, the Nevada Colonels (another semi-pro team), and the Nevada (High) Tigers since their program’s inauguration in the mid-1980s.

Lyons Stadium has survived a pair of tornados, one in 1959 and one just before opening day in the spring of 1985.

Lyons, who passed away at the age of 90, was laid to rest in Newton Burial Park, located next to the stadium.