DAYTON TO CINCINNATI SOFTBALL TALK! Best Of Luck to all teams and players, tournament directors. This board is for Coed, E teams to the most competitive of teams and for the enjoyment of all that visit. Best of Luck to the Dayton area softball community, hope that softball one day can come back to the great game that it once was. MVM.................In memory of the great ones to play the game, Also Doug Riley and Todd Cole we will always miss you. Great guys....Both played alot of softball with me, Miami Valley Merchants, Two of the finest people you will ever have a pleasure to know.
2015 Ohio USSSA Hall of Fame Inductions IP: 76.243.37.193 Posted on November 9, 2015 at 01:36:31 PM by Scott
Columbus, OH. - Another class of ten distinguished slow pitch softball figures comprises the 2015 class of inductees into the Ohio USSSA Softball Hall of Fame.
Elected by the Ohio USSSA Board of Directors and being inducted are: Mr. Steve Blanchette from Willoughby, Mr. Tim Haley from Wilmington, and Mr. Larry Garrard from London in the Male Player Category; Ms. Sandy Edwards from Columbus, and Ms. Lyn Rose from Orgonia in the Female Player Category; Mr. Dan DeClaire from Sardinia, Mr. Jeff Hague from Columbus, and Mr. Tom Rowan from Cincinnati in the Team Manager Category; Mr. Don Keys from Wilmington in the Executive Category; and Mr. Joe Kiradjieff from Cincinnati in the Sponsor Category.
The ten will be inducted during the 4th annual Ohio USSSA Hall of Fame ceremonies and banquet planned for Sunday, 6 December, 2015 at Embassy Suites Columbus - Airport, located at 2886 Airport Drive, Columbus, OH, 43219.
This year’s class brings the Ohio USSSA Hall of Fame to a total of forty distinguished members in the seven categories for outstanding contributions to USSSA softball in the state of Ohio.
Steve Blanchette, a Willoughby, Ohio native, played with some of the best known elite teams in softball including Steele’s Sports, Cleveland Competitors, Non-Ferrous, and Stewart’s out of Pittsburgh. This highly efficient power hitter was a virtual MVP award machine from the late 1970’s until the late 1980’s. His Non Ferrous team won the Men’s Major World Series in 1986 and he was one of 54 players chosen for the 1989 US Olympic Festival. He was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Ohio Softball Hall of Fame in 2000.
In the Female Player Category, from the site of the Party on the Hill and World Famous Devil’s Staircase Motorcycle Hill Climb… Oregonia, Ohio, Ms. Lyn Rose played for such notable teams as Famous Recipe, McGlaughlin Oil, and the great Empress Chili. A highly versatile offensive and defensive player, Lyn could hit for average or with power (300 HRs) and it resulted in countless MVP and All-Tournament and All-World selections over a 23-year playing career. She is a member of both the USSSA National Hall of Fame and the Greater Cincinnati Softball Hall of Fame.
Mr. Tim Haley, from Wilmington, comes from a true softball family. Following in the footsteps of his late father, who was an early member of the great Lima Steele’s, Tim distinguished himself with such teams as Ohio Players, Danny’s Drilling, Carroll Marathon, Jay’s, R&D, DuBois, Columbus Pipe, and Steele’s Sports. He has played in 38 states and appeared in all the legendary tournament of his day, including the Agler, the Stroh’s, the Thoroughbred, and Smokey Mountain Classic. In such marquee and multiple association championship events, he has won far too many All-Tournament and MVP awards to list. He has been elected to the Clinton Co. Hall of Fame, Dayton & Ohio ASA Halls of Fame, and was named a Southwest Ohio “Legend of the Game” in 2011.
Mr. Joe Kiradjieff, from Cincinnati, for more than a decade (1986-1997) sponsored one of the most renowned of all USSSA women’s teams, Cincinnati’s Empress Chili. Empress Chili recorded an astounding 683 wins vs. 187 losses (.785 winning percentage) in the highest level of women’s play offered. They won three consecutive Women’s World Tournaments, appearing in the finals of that event 6 times in a dozen years. The steadfast generosity and support of this Ohio sponsor has seen no less than 8 Empress Chili players enshrined in the USSSA National Hall of Fame.
Ms. Sandy Edwards, from Columbus, played a 28-year career with such well-known women’s teams as McGlaughlin Oil, Maher Insurance, Aqua Science, Possum Holler, and UPI out of Cookeville, TN. She was an adept infielder, but played wherever the team needed and was MVP and/or All-Tournament in multiple NITs, National, and World Tournaments. She was inducted into the Columbus Softball Hall of Fame in 2007 and named as a USSSA Columbus Softball “Legend of the Game” in 2015.
Mr. Dan DeClaire, from Sardinia, has played, coached, sponsored, and served as a director. Over the span of a 35-year softball career, his teams played in over 4500 games and won over 3000. He sponsored Master’s teams for 13 years with those teams winning multiple State Championships, 3 World Tournaments and finishing runner-up in another three World Tournaments. He takes pride in having the longest running single sponsored Men’s B team in Ohio softball history. Dan served on the Ohio USSSA Board of Directors from 1986 until 1993, was elected to Greater Cincinnati Softball Hall of Fame in 2006, and was named a Southwest Ohio “Legend of the Game” in 2014.
Mr. Jeff Hague, from Columbus, started playing Class E ball more than 30 years ago and moved in only one direction, toward the pinnacle. Over the years, his teams won 126 tournaments and over 2100 games. Hague’s teams won 13 World Championships, including one in Class B, six in AA, and another six in Major play. One of those teams, in 1995, was the only AA team to ever capture the USSSA Major World Series. He was instrumental in the creation of BATS in Columbus and has helped countless players in the Columbus area by his support of Columbus Parks & Rec, BATS, and the Columbus Softball Hall of Fame.
Mr. Tom Rowan, from Cincinnati, had a 10-year managing career which saw his teams compile a 746 vs. 243 win-loss record at the highest level of men’s play. His teams included Dase’s Place, Savannah Café, and Greater Cincinnati Sports, and he served as the manager for two professional softball team franchises: the Cincinnati Suds in 1981 and Lima Steele’s in 1982. His teams were multiple winners of Cincinnati ASA Metro titles, USSSA National Championships, and over a three-year span (1977-1979) his teams competed in USSSA World Series…reaching the winner’s bracket finals in 1997. Tom is a 1994 inductee into the Greater Cincinnati Softball Hall of Fame.
Mr. Larry “Monk” Garrard from London, played the game for 31 years for such notable teams as Springfield Pabst, Steele’s Sports, DuBois Chemical, and Springfield Stroh’s. Monk was a power-hitting USSSA pitcher who had an estimated 2000 wins against 200 losses on the mound and pitched no less than five 1-hit games. He was a consistent tournament batting leader and All-Tournament selection and was the MVP of the 1983 Stroh’s Tournament, USSSA’s most prestigious early NIT.
Mr. Don Keys from Wilmington has more than 40 years invested in the game. As player, team manager, umpire, sponsor, park manager, and USSSA Director he has excelled at everything he has done. His playing & managing days reach back to fast pitch in 1958 with NCR and Middletown Post Office and he continued playing slow pitch until 1998 with Lebanon Bombers, Kendrick Movers, Meeks Construction and his own D.K Trophy teams. This longtime owner of D.K Trophies in Lebanon estimates that his record 1400 wins against 450 losses may also include a record number of recycled trophy parts. Don runs both outdoor and indoor softball programs for teams all around the tri-state area. He was named a USSSA Southwest Ohio “Legend of the Game” in 2008, and is being inducted into the Butler Co. Softball Hall of Fame on 15 Nov 2015.
This year’s Ohio USSSA Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and banquet affords an opportunity for softballers from around the State of Ohio to gather, enjoy the rich history of Ohio USSSA softball, and celebrate the worthy of inductees in the class of 2015.
Ceremonies begin at 1pm with a ####tail reception featuring a cash bar. The banquet begins at 2pm, with induction ceremonies immediately to follow.
Tickets for this event can be purchased for $45 each from the following:
Scott Kuhnen, P.O. Box 31038, Dayton, OH 45437 (937-429-0029)
Jerry Pinoni, 7810 Chicory St. Blacklick, OH 43004 (614-560-0625)
Mark Linnemann, P.O. Box 18153, Erlanger, KY 41018 (859-991-3860)
Tickets must be purchased in advance. Please send check made out to “Softball Hall of Fame” and tickets will be mailed to you.
We hope you will consider joining us at this special softball event to honor and congratulate our newest Ohio USSSA Hall of Fame inductees.
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