First 8 enter Tri-County League Hall of Fame

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call


Stars and legends from the Tri-County League's past and present were honored last night at a combination Awards/Hall of Fame Banquet at the West End Youth Center.

The league honored its top batting and pitching leaders from the just-completed season and then turned back the clock to salute eight men who have long since hung up their spikes, but definitely left their mark on the amateur baseball league. The first group of inductees into the Hall of Fame included Glenn Balliet, Jim Bevan, Jerry Labanz, Scott Myers, Bob Ravier, Dennis Robison, Stan Slotter, Sr., and Leo Williams.

The league has divided its history into two periods, the original era -- from 1950 to 1964 --and the modern era from 1964 to the present. In the first year, four men from both eras have been inducted. Here's a capsule summary of each man's accomplishments:

BALLIET -- A player in the league for 23 years, including 17 years at Silver Creek, Balliet finished with a lifetime batting mark of .278. He hit .354 in 1981 and had a strong '78 campaign when he hit .302 with a league-high 26 RBI. Balliet has served as a league treasurer and has also umpired in the league.

BEVAN -- A 16-year veteran in the league, who shined with both the bat and arm, Bevan posted a lifetime batting mark of .340 and a winning percentage on the mound of .658. Bevan was 5-2 on the mound in 1978 and hit .420, then came back in '79 with a 6-1 slate on the hill and .356 mark at the plate.

LABANZ -- The former Emmaus, Macungie and Limeport righthander may best be remembered for one day in the 1950 season when he pitched all 18 innings of a doubleheader and won both games. In the first contest, he tossed a two-hit shutout and then came back with a six- hitter in the 7-2 nightcap. He won the pitching title in 1958.

MYERS -- Playing 15 years with Quakertown and one with Boulder Valley, Myers compiled a .308 lifetime mark. In 1974, he hit at a .386 clip and in '82 he came back with a .333 season. In 1975, he was the MVP of the league's All-Star Game.

"It's nice to get an award after you've finished playing," Myers said. "It's nice that people remember you."

RAVIER -- Involved in the league for 23 years as a player-manager at Bingen and a league secretary, Ravier helped to keep the league going when it stopped operating for one year in 1969. He kept meeting with other league officers to keep the interest alive and the league returned in 1970 and has been going strong since. On the field, Ravier's top year was 1958 when he batted .340.

ROBISON -- The current manager of the Quakertown Blazers and Pennridge High School, Robison has a long history as a winner in baseball. He was in the Tri-Co as a player for nine seasons with Richlandtown and Perkasie, batting a league-best .491 in 1974. He wound up with a .423 lifetimemark, second in the league's history.

SLOTTER -- A member of Quakertown High's state championship baseball team in 1937, Slotter played in the league from 1950-67 and was a consistent .300 hitter. Slotter was known for "giving everything of himself" as a player and manager and continued his involvement into his late 40's.

WILLIAMS -- In one way or another, Williams has been involved in the league for 39 years. As a manager, he guided Hellertown to league titles in '58, '59 and '61. He served as a league vice president from 1962-84 and was the league's statistician from '64-'88. Williams remains in the league as its commissioner.

"It's just nice that all of these guys who put in so much time as a player, manager or whatever, are being recognized for their hard work," said Chuck Ciganick, the Hall of Fame Committee chairman. "We think this thing is going to catch on and grow in prestige as the word gets around.

"We had no problem in coming up with players from what we call the modern era because we have complete league statistics from 1964. We do have a problem with getting players from prior to 1964 because we don't have stats. So, if anybody has a player that they know is deserving of this honor from the original era, we would like to hear from them in a letter or phone call."

Players must have participated in the league for seven years and must be out of the league three seasons to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

As for this year's winners, Matt Smull of Silver Creek (8 home runs), Ted Steiner of Emmaus (.432 batting average), Limeport's Bill Fatzinger (27 RBI), Quakertown's Bob Drumbore (7 wins) received awards. Gilbertsville's Scott Evans was named the Most Valuable Player, G-ville's Scott Mutter and Quakertown's Tom Hartman shared the Pitching Award and Dave Ernst of Emmaus was named Manager of the Year.



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- August 19, 1990

Copyright © 1990, The Morning Call