Athletes carry on father's legacy at American Legion World Series

In 1992, Chris Meier was playing for Fargo (N.D.) Post 2 when they hosted the American Legion World Series .

Thirty-two years later, his twin sons Landon and Bo are on the Post 2 team playing in the 2024 ALWS in Shelby.

“He’s always talked about playing Legion baseball,” Landon Meier said of his father. “And what was really cool for him was that in 1992, they played the World Series when it was at our home stadium (in Fargo).

“It’s just cool that we get to continue the legacy and play in a World Series like he did.”

Adding to the legacy is that one of the assistant coaches to legendary Fargo head coach Jerry Harter in that 1992 season is current ALWS assistant field manager Jeff Miller. Harter is one of the country’s all-time winningest coaches with a 1,199-524 record from 1967 to 1995 and eight state titles and three ALWS appearances.

“I watched them play in the Little League program where their dad coached,” Miller said. “They’re definitely proteges’ of their mom and dad. Their dad was a great leader in the Post 2 program in the early 1990s.”

Back in 1992, Chris Meier was Fargo’s leadoff batter and left fielder. He batted .387 to rank second on a team that had a team average of .327 and featured eight players who hit .300 or better.

It was a season in which Post 2 would finish with a 65-12 overall record and sixth place in the ALWS when it used a double-elimination tournament format.

Fargo’s biggest challenge that season may have come from nearby Jamestown, which Post 2 edged 5-4 in the North Dakota state tournament title game in Bismarck. Jamestown featured future No. 1 overall major league draft pick Darin Erstad, a .492 hitter with 18 home runs and 86 RBIs and 10-2 pitching record that summer for Post 14. Erstad, now head coach at the University of Nebraska, would go on to become a 2002 World Series champion, two-time major league All-Star and three-time Golden Glove winner for the Los Angeles Angels.

Chris Meier and Post 2 would go on to roll through the 1992 regional with a 5-0 record before going 1-2 in the ALWS.

“He’s just told this story about how he hit the ball really, really hard,” Bo Meier said of his father’s Legion experience.

When Landon Meier and Bo Meier began their athletic careers, their father exposed them to a diversity of sports as each played football, hockey, baseball, basketball and soccer.

“We both had a passion for football and baseball right away and had some success right away,” Bo Meier said. “Once I started throwing harder, I felt baseball was my ticket to play in college and I focused more on baseball.”

After the ALWS, Landon Meier will enroll at North Dakota State and play free safety for the Bison’s 17-time national champion football team. Bo Meier will pitch for Iowa Western Community College, which just won the Region 11 title and last season drew a No. 1 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll.

Miller admits he’s happy to see a team he used to coach advance to the ALWS, and even happier to know some of the players on the team.

“Watching these guys come back to the World Series when I’m part of the Legion staff is just tremendous for me,” Miller said. “I’m happy for them and the entire Fargo team.”

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Athletes carry on father's legacy at American Legion World Series