John Blanchette

July 31, 2005

Like other sports fans, Ken Eilmes was thrilled when WGN found its way to Spokane's cable television system in the early 1980s. The Chicago superstation broadcast Cubs games all summer, and for those who hadn't been habitués of high school sports, it was a chance to see what the fuss was about the Spokane kid, Ryne Sandberg, the second baseman on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Ken Eilmes relaxes in his Spokane Valley home with his dog, Butch. Eilmes coached Ryne Sandberg through his high school years at North Central. (Brian Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)

Like other sports fans, Ken Eilmes was thrilled when WGN found its way to Spokane's cable television system in the early 1980s. The Chicago superstation broadcast Cubs games all summer, and for those who hadn't been habitués of high school sports, it was a chance to see what the fuss was about the Spokane kid, Ryne Sandberg, the second baseman on his way to the Hall of Fame.

For Eilmes, Sandberg's baseball coach at North Central, it was déjÀ vu.

"You'd see him make a certain play and think, 'Hey, I've seen him do that,' " Eilmes said. "Then he'd do something and you'd think, 'Well, I've never seen him do that.' "

Sandberg credits Eilmes with giving him a solid baseball foundation "because I didn't really start playing hardball until the seventh grade."

But Eilmes, whose NC team featuring Sandberg finished second in the state in 1978, reflects the credit right back.

"He had the tools, obviously, starting with God-given speed," Eilmes said. "But the main thing was his willingness to work and improve. He's one of those guys who got better every year and at every level. He had the capacity to learn and work, and that's all a teacher can ask for."