ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602050063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
Been practicing your sliding this weekend? Your timing couldn't be better. If you went out, hope you were safe.
There may be a foot of snow blanketing the new Memorial Stadium, but next door the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame still is staging its fifth annual induction banquet tonight at the Salem Civic Center.
Liberty High School coach Jim Cutler, Virginia Tech coach Chuck Hartman, hard-working veteran American Legion baseball administrator Wayne LaPierre and former Pittsburgh relief ace Kent Tekulve will expand the Hall's membership to 24.
And somebody at some point in the proceedings undoubtedly will say, ``The Giants Win the Pennant!'' - because guest speaker Bobby Thomson's playoff homer had Giants broadcaster Russ Hodges yelling that eight times on Oct.3, 1951, at the Polo Grounds.
At a time when a Hot Stove is sorely needed, the annual banquet always is a warm occasion. This time, the local Hall expects a record house - around 625 diners.
What it really needs most is a home.
The civic center lobby has been a gracious and gratis - and prominent - home for the Hall's first few years. However, the plaque space is filled, and already there is memorabilia in storage.
Where to go? The Hall of Fame already has its first hits. Now, it is like a runner heading for third, waiting for the sign.
And the signals aren't exactly clear.
The Hall has been talking about trying to secure separate display space in a planned building, to be erected by the City of Salem, adjacent to Memorial Stadium's entrance. That structure will house the Avalanche's offices and souvenir store.
Construction on that building is due to start soon. However, the plans, near finalization, don't include any space for the Hall of Fame.
``We sent a letter, and there's a place laid out by the city. We intend to do it,'' said Posey Oyler, the only president in the Hall's history. ``We have to decide how to raise the funds to build it.''
That inning may be over.
Forest Jones, Salem's assistant city manager, said the city's plans for the Avalanche building don't include Hall of Fame space.
``We had some correspondence from Posey, but we never heard anything in concrete after that about what they were thinking after the letter,'' Jones said. ``We didn't hear for certain if they had decided exactly what they were going to do.''
It was obvious a new ballpark was being built. Shouldn't the Hall have appointed a committee to make a formal presentation to the city on its plans, and desires?
Whatever, the Hall needs to do something, and Oyler estimates that whatever the shrine needs, it will cost at least $150,000. The Hall's treasury is about $5,000, including $1,500 in a building fund. It basically lives year-to-year on the banquet.
Oyler, the longtime Roanoke American Legion coach, is the Hall's guiding force. He does most of the work for the shrine, good-naturedly, with no pay and much hassle. And he loves it.
That's good, and bad. The Hall of Fame needs more people involved. There is an 11-man volunteer board, and some of those members don't do much except show up for the eight annual meetings. Then, some of them aren't asked to do much by Oyler.
Oyler agrees the Hall needs to do more to promote itself. Other than the annual banquet and the brief presentation at a Salem game of the Ray Bellamy Memorial Award to the area's top high school player, what locals know about the Hall is hanging on a civic center wall.
Although the Hall of Fame solicits nominees for inductions from a seven-county area, it rarely hears names from outside its meeting room.
The Hall loves inducting former major-leaguers. It would like to - and should - honor more sandlot coaches and supporters who watered the game's roots here.
That might happen, if the Hall knew who those people were. Now, if it intends to initiate a fund drive, it will need another kind of help from the public.
If the desire of the Hall of Fame is simply to put on a superb banquet once a year and present one award, then it's doing a great job. However, the plan was for it to be more.
The opportunity is greater, too, but the organization needs more organization. I am intimately familiar with the situation. I was a board member for the first three years of the organization.
I resigned, but that shouldn't be viewed as non-support. The baseball Hall is a wonderful concept. I'm thrilled it's succeeded. It just gets bogged down too often in its personalities and politics.
From humble beginnings, the Hall has prospered, if not in enough minds. The names on the plaques on the wall - check them out tonight - are impressive.
And there are many more. The memorabilia possibilities for a museum are vast, too. But did anyone think to ask for a last bat, last ball, last cap, last shirt, last lineup card, from the last game at Municipal Field?
The Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame long ago has passed the rookie test. Its ability to draw 600 for dinner annually - with virtually no promotion except word of mouth and hustle by a few board members - displays home run power.
No, the Hall is more like a phenom who has only shown some flashes of what he can be. The potential is there.
It just has to put it all together - and it's time.
The Class of '96
The four inductees to the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame banquet Sunday night at the Salem Civic Center bring the Hall membership to 24. Here are excerpts from the 1996 inductees' plaques:
JIM CUTLER
He's ``Mr. Baseball'' in Bedford County, and for good reason. Cutler ranks first in victories among active Virginia High School League coaches, and was the first coach in Group AA history to reach 400 victories. The Liberty high coach enters the 1996 season with a 403-198 record in 35 years, with only four losing seasons. He began coaching at Bedford High in 1961, before school consolidation. Cutler coached in the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival and has worked three Virginia High School Coaches' All-Star games. His Minutemen won the 1977 state title. The Hampden-Sydney graduate has been honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association for his dedication and leadership. Cutler also has coached American Legion, Connie Mack, Little League and Dixie League teams. His coaching career began at age 15, when he guided a Little League team in Richlands.
CHUCK HARTMAN
Hartman became Virginia Tech's head coach in 1979, already having established his dredentials with NAIA success at High Point College. Recognized in the college game for his personable, open-door approach and aggressive style, Hartman became the ninth coach in Division I history to reach 1,000 victories, in 1992. Hartman ranks fourth among active division I coaches in wins, with 1,103, including 620 victories in 17 Hokie seasons. A Gastonia, N.C., native, Hartman has been presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Home Plate Club of Washington, D.C., He also has coached internationally for USA Baseball in Cuba, South Korea, Japan and Canada. A North Carolina alumnus, Hartman has had 59 players drafted by the pros.
WAYNE LaPIERRE
LaPierre is a legend in Roanoke Valley sandlot and American Legion baseball, and is one of the Hall's founders. LaPierre began his connections with local baseball in 1960, when he helped establish the Garden City sandlot program. Over the years, through his work with the Kiwanis and American Legion, he has helped build fields and raised funds to enable Roanoke Valley youths to play the sport. He was the longtime district supervisor for Legion baseball, and has been very active in the Roanoke Post 3 program. A retired accountant with General Electric and former administrator at St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke, LaPierre has served as treasurer and as one of the original 11 board members of the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame.
KENT TEKULVE
Tekulve's reputation as a bullpen stopper began at Municipal Field. The lanky righthander had 15 wins and 17 saves in 1970 and part of '71 with the Salem Rebels (Pirates), fanning 137 batters in 154 innings. The bespectacled Ohio native went on to star for Pittsburgh, and by the time he finished 16 major league seasons with his sidewinding delivery, he owned the big-league record for most relief appearances (1,050) and most relief innings (1,436). He also owns the National League record for most games pitched, and Pittsburgh's career saves mark (158). He finished his career with Philadelphia and Cincinnati, after setting a World Series record with three saves for the Bucs in 1979. In '87, he set the Phillies' club record for appearances in a season (90). He retired during the 1989 season. Tekulve also is a member of the Marietta (Ohio) College Hall of Fame.
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