In 1954, when Ben Bradbury Cheney founded the team that would bear his company’s name, he couldn’t have imagined his creation would become one of amateur baseball’s most storied franchises. The “Studs” nickname came from Cheney Lumber Company’s specialty – the 2×4 studs used to build homes and structures across the Pacific Northwest. (Taken from “Once a Stud, Always a Stud, how a 70-Year-Old Team Became Baseball’s Most Enduring Brotherhood,” as found on the National Baseball Congress website.)
As the 2026 baseball season approaches and the Ben B. Cheney Foundation reflects on its 50th year of grantmaking, we are proud to recognize one of Ben Cheney’s most enduring legacies: the Cheney Studs baseball team. An amateur baseball team about to enter season 72, the Cheney Studs are now the third-oldest team in the National Baseball Congress (NBC), and they continue to represent a tradition built on excellence, mentorship, loyalty, camaraderie, and many other qualities that foster the bonds of brotherhood.
These qualities also reflect the life and legacy of Ben B. Cheney, characteristics we continue to honor and benefit from today, and ones we see reflected in the team’s current GM and Head Coach, Barry Aden.
Read this story of tradition, loyalty, brotherhood, and of course America’s favorite pastime as captured in a recent article from “Once a Stud, Always a Stud: How a 70-Year-Old Team Became Baseball’s Most Enduring Brotherhood” at: https://nbcbaseball.com/seattle-studs-brotherhood/.
