110 fans, 56 hours means it's Baseball ’Round the Clock time

Over the chants of “Hey batter, batter” and the clink of bat against baseball, a cuckoo clock sounded this weekend at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, waking spectators from afternoon naps.

More than 110 die-hard baseball fans cheered players for 56 hours in the annual Baseball ’Round the Clock contest, held this weekend in Wichita.

The cuckoo was their cue to let officials know they were still in the stands.

“They are the best of baseball fans,” said Chris Ross, Wichita Wingnuts and National Baseball Congress spokesperson.

“There’s a lot of bags under their eyes out there. Some of the folks . . . are pretty tired.”

The three-day contest started at 5 p.m. Friday. Participants proved their dedication to the sport by checking in during random calls at 17 baseball games played over the weekend. Many slept in tents pitched in the stadium’s parking lot to avoid missing early check-in times, Ross said.

The contest is part of the 77th annual National Baseball Congress World Series tournament, which runs through Aug. 13.

First-timer Dyane Watts, 21, of Wichita joined a mass of contestants wearing bright green wristbands checking in at the stadium Sunday evening. She came to the ballpark with family to cheer on the Haysville Heat.

She said she planned to be one of the last fans standing.

“It’s fun,” she said.

Baseball ’Round the Clock contestants checked in for the day at 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Most stayed at the stadium until 3 or 4 a.m., Ross said.

Each time a cuckoo clock sounded, participants had 10 minutes to have a card punched at check-in points around the stadium. Check-in times were kept secret.

“They have to be on their toes,” Ross said. “We could have it in the first two innings or the ninth. They never know.”

Contestants who missed a check-in were disqualified.

Sunday night, contest survivors each won a T-shirt. Also up for grabs in a raffle drawing Sunday night were 53 prizes including a flat-screen TV, a bicycle, tents and a Las Vegas vacation.

Coleman Factory Outlet and Twin Peaks restaurant sponsored the contest.

More than 160 people showed up to start the contest Friday night, said Brian Turner, group sales director for the Wingnuts and NBC. By Sunday, about 50 had quit.

“It’s the heat that’s keeping them away,” Turner said.

Steven Shaad, general manager of the NBC tournament, started the contest in 1990. He wanted to keep fans cheering for ballplayers, even at the tournament’s late games, which start after midnight.

“It’s a great Wichita tradition,” Ross said.

For the past five or six years, Wichitan Tony McDonald, 47, has shared the tradition with his son.

The contest is worth it despite the sun, heat and lack of sleep, he said, because the pair spends 56 hours watching baseball — a game they love.

“It’s a father-and-son kind of thing,” McDonald said.

This story was originally published August 8, 2011 at 6:25 AM with the headline "110 fans, 56 hours means it's Baseball ’Round the Clock time."