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.
2016 Legends Remarks (Smith, Cruea, Naylor) IP: 76.243.37.193 Posted on June 19, 2016 at 10:15:20 AM by Scott
Today is a chance to say “Thank You” to S.W. Ohio Softball Legends and celebrate their contributions to the game. Each of these Softball “Legends” has contributed in ways large and small to the game and we appreciate all they have done.
I’d also like to say Thank You to Eric Walters and Donnie Brewer for agreeing to host this important event on the USSSA tournament calendar. Donnie helped put the event together but is with his son at a baseball tournament right now, so Eric will be helping to make our presentations of both a plaque honoring these Legends and a special Legends’ shirt for each honoree…which we hope they will wear when they join us at next year’s Legends inductions.
Speaking of joining us…we like to call it The Gathering of Legends and many have been able to join us today.
I’d like to introduce:
From our first year, 2006: Lou DeSaro Jim Zink the late Flip Lucas
The late Floyd Bedwell Ray “Rainbo” Allen the late Bev Weng
From our second class in 2007: Henry McBeth Dan DeWitt Sandy Payne
Steve Larrick Dennis Helmig Steve Crews
From the class of 2008: Don Keys the late Gene Fout Lynda Hart
Charles Crawford Perry Ogden George McKinney
From the class of 2009: Abner Orick Earl Smith Judy Peele
Dave Melampy Mike Bartee the late Tony Huesman
From the Class of 2010: Denny Wombold Jan Deters Ken Booher
Mike McNutt Pete Nance Don Rinker
From the Class of 2011: Chris Mantz Tim Haley
Jodi Eickemeyer the late Louie Stoll
From the Class of 2012 Frank Navarre Steve Barrett
Terry Smith Marilyn “Sporty” Lovett
Vern “Moon” Miller Rick Ratliff
Gene “Tink” Detillion
From the Class of 2013 the late Butch Kieninger Dave Webber
Steve Earley the late Dan Tuttle
Betty Brenner Bob & Vicki Darden
Mike Bostick Legendary Sponsor: Rick Westendorf
From the Class of 2014: Dan DeClaire Robert Benavides
Mike “Hollywood” O’Hair Ralph Warner
Steve Fryman Steve Wolaver
Legendary Sponsor: Bobby Fisher Distributing
From the Class of 2015: Jamie Vickers Mark Thompson
Ronnie Ladd Miles McPhearson
Mike & Barb Denney Jim Willis
Legendary Sponsor: C&L Carpet (Carl Sharpe)
I’d like these Legends who are here with us today to please step forward now for a group photo.
And, now ladies & gentlemen, the class of 2016:
Our first Greater Dayton Softball Legend for 2016 is well known to many in the older generation of softballers in the local softball scene. He’s been a player; a team manager; and an umpire. He started the game right out of high school in 1984 with one of the biggest names in local softball C& L Carpet, then through the years he played with such teams as Koreo Inn, Cruise-Thru Carryout, Sloopy’s, Trophy Shop, and most notably, his own Miami Valley Merchants. That last team was known for competing at the highest levels and playing in the Dayton City Championship Division I finals in 7 of 8 years and winning it four times. For a time in Dayton Softball, the most successful teams in the game included Orthopedic Associates, First Capital, and Miami Valley Merchants. Their rivalries were well documented both on and off the diamond. The Miami Valley Merchants roster included such well-known names as the late Todd Cole, Brian Cracraft, John Bailey, Joey LeMasters Billy Korb, Ricky Weng, Brett & Carl DiSalvo, and Roger Downing, just to name a few. Upon his retirement from team management, this Legend eased over into officiating, where he worked both local games and championship play at all levels including high school where he has worked state championships in both softball and football and at the college level where he has worked fast pitch at Ohio State, Notre Dame, Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Ball State, and numerous other schools here and elsewhere. We don’t see him as much as we’d like in slow pitch anymore…but, as you can see, we don’t hold that against him now. For all of that, his most significant contribution to the game may be something that was started almost 20 years ago now and touches many, if not most, in the softball community. A tool which both leagues and tournaments and everything in between use to share information with one another is the Dayton Softball Message Board. Our first Legend of the Game for 2016 launched it…Ladies & gentlemen, please welcome our first Legend of the Game for 2016, from Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Brandon Smith.
Our next softball Legend of the Game has had success at multiple aspects of the game. As a team manager he has successfully guided teams at the lowest levels of the game and progressed over the years into higher and higher levels. Starting at the Men’s E level his teams won a State Championship and a City Championship. In subsequent years, his teams have won both ASA and USSSA Nationals and multiple marquee events like the Memorial Tournament, the Stephanie Spielman Benefit Tournament, the City Slam in Cincinnati, and the ridiculously early Bash for Cash a whopping 6 times. Maybe most impressive, however, was his team’s 2013 Men’s Class C World title won in front of the cameras at Disney. He takes great pride in his ability to scout out and promote players to ever high levels in the game, including four former players who are now playing at the A level in Conference USSSA. In recent years, he has helped develop and manage a league and tournament program at Montgomery County’s Art Van Atta Park, which led him to serve as a USSSA-GSL Area Director for the Greater Dayton area.
Although unable to be with us today, one of today’s tournament directors, Donnie Brewer, asked me to share this note with everyone here today. It reads:
“Hello everyone,
Congratulations to the 2016 honoree's. I am very upset that I'm not able to be here with you today.
I just want to take a moment and talk about my friend Mike Cruea.
Mike, I use to hate you!
When I first started in the game your team was established, young, ####y, & loud. But most annoying, you won, you won a lot, and I hated it. But it pushed me as a coach. It pushed me to make my team better. To get to the level where I thought I could compete with you. When I finally thought I had the team to do that, you go out and win a #### ring lol. Thanks!
Over the years I got a chance to get to know the real Mike Cruea. Not the ####y Cooper coach that I wanted to beat every weekend but the guy that loves this game that we play as much as anyone. The guy that loves his friends as much as he loves his own family. The Mike Cruea I know will do anything for anyone at any time.
Mike you have accomplished a lot in softball in a short amount of time. All the rings, (Fist full of them) tourney win after tourney win, tournament director, park manager, headlines rep, but I want to celebrate Mike Cruea the person.
I'm very happy to call you my friend, and I no longer hate you lol.“
Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the newest member of the Dayton Softball Legends: Mr. Mike Cruea.
Ladies & gentlemen, our next Legend of the Greater Dayton Softball scene made the switch from umpiring baseball to softball in the heart of Ohio USSSA’s old District IV which included Hillsboro, Wilmington, Washington CH, and his hometown of Sardinia. You may recall that Sardinia is also the hometown of another of our Softball Legends, Dan DeClaire, who was recognized at last year’s ceremonies and is here with us today. Suffice it to say that this umpiring Legend clearly did more ball games than he could ever do in baseball and may actually have called more ball games than any umpire in the history of Ohio USSSA. He estimates, and many of us here today can attest that this umpiring Legend would easily exceed 500 ball games each year during his prime and we estimate that he has called more than 12,000 ball games over a 33-year umpiring career. In 2001 alone, he called 950 ball games! More than that, this umpiring Legend was known for seeking out the most competitive games between the most competitive teams he could find. That zeal for calling games for the best led him to work State, NIT, National, and World Tournaments not just here in Ohio, but in neighboring states and at Disney, where he worked every year from 2007 until 2012. He has been a fixture at all the major private parks in the Cincinnati area, and seeks out games as well in both Dayton and Columbus areas regularly. He is well known for his hustle and vocal method on the diamonds. In addition, he has served as both a District UIC and an Area Director for Ohio USSSA. We are joined by several family members today, including his parents, Maynard and Joan Naylor.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the newest member of the Dayton Softball Legends, from Winchester, Ohio: Mr. Jeff Naylor.
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