
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 16, 1993                   TAG: 9312160122
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EX-YANKEE TO SPEAK IN SALEM

Tommy Henrich, a member of seven World Series champions and part of the New York Yankees' winning tradition that stretched from the 1930s into the '60s, will be the guest speaker at the Roanoke-Salem Baseball Hall of Fame's annual Hot Stove Banquet.

The dinner, scheduled Feb. 13 at the Salem Civic Center, is accompanied by the Hall's induction ceremony. Five inductees, bringing the local baseball shrine to 15 honorees, will be announced next month. The banquet begins at 7 p.m., after a social hour.

Henrich, 80, played 11 seasons for the Yankees from 1937-50, a period interrupted by three years (1943-45) in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. A lifetime Henrich .282 hitter, he primarily played right field alongside legendary center fielder Joe DiMaggio. Henrich finished his career at first base.

The Yankees played in eight World Series during Henrich's active years, losing only in 1942 to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Massillon, Ohio, native, nicknamed "Old Reliable," played in the Series in 1938, '41, '47 and '50, batting .262.

Henrich was involved in one of the best-known plays in World Series history. In Game 4 of the 1941 Series with two outs in the top of the ninth inning and Brooklyn leading New York 4-3, Henrich swung and missed at what would have been his third strike to end the game. Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen missed the ball, and the Yankees rallied to win 7-4 and take a 3-1 lead in a Series the Yankees took in five games.

Tickets for the third annual Hot Stove Banquet go on sale Saturday at the Salem Civic Center box office, the Roanoker Restaurant on Colonial Avenue Southwest, Gary Oyler Insurance on Brambleton Avenue Southwest and Meadow Spring Land & Realty on Main Street in Rocky Mount.

Tickets are $25, or $180 for a table for eight.

by CNB