8 inducted into Tri-Co Hall of Fame

From Morning Call Staff Reports


The Tri-County Baseball League recently added eight new members to its Hall of Fame and also honored those who stood out during the 1993 season.

The Tri-Co's Hall of Fame inductees were: from the original era, William "Nellie" Benner, Haviland "Nick" Frankenfield, Mike "Stubby" Hudock, Jake Mowery and Mitchell Roksewicz; and from the modern era, Chip Friday, Dave Keeny and Joe Turri.

A summary of each inductee's career:

BENNER -- Played in the Tri-Co 16 seasons (1938 to '54) and was a mainstay of the Richlandtown A.A. pitching staff. He tossed the team to a title in '47 and wound up winning close to 125 games in his career.

FRANKENFIELD -- Played in the Tri-Co from 1945 to '55 and helped Spring Valley win league titles in '54 and '55. The infielder was a switch-hitter with power.

HUDOCK -- The Hellertown High and Moravian College product played with Hellertown's entry in the Tri-Co. The outfielder and pitcher wound up with a career batting mark close to .300.

MOWERY -- The versatile third baseman, shortstop and pitcher worked out with several Phillies' farm teams and played in the Tri- Co for Sporing Valley. He was one of the league's best hitters and pitchers.

ROKSEWICZ -- A player for Hellertown and Bingen in the Tri-Co, Roksewicz was an excellent hit-and-run man, who also delivered some power.

FRIDAY -- Played in the Tri-Co 17 seasons (1973 to '89) in Quakertown. He finished with a lifetime batting mark of .273. In 1984, he hit .394 with 22 RBI. He was elected league secretary in 1988 and served as vice president from '89 to '92. He's still the league's statistician and serves the league in many official and unofficial capacities.

KEENY -- The Upper Perk shortstop played seven seasons for George Bonekemper's powerhouse and won the league batting title in '79 with a .415 average. He was also the league MVP the same year. He hit .441 in '78, .382 in '82 and .356 in '83 and finished with a career mark of .350.

TURRI -- Played 15 seasons for Ishky Fatzinger's Allentown A.A. and Limeport clubs. He was voted the Tri-Co's top pitcher in '77, '82, '83 and '84. He finished with a lifetime mark of 65-25. Most notable were his perfect seasons of 7-0 in '77, 8-0 in '83 and 7-0 in '84.

"Joe was the guy I gave the ball to in the big game, and the bigger the game the better he pitched," said Fatzinger, who won five league championships with Turri as his ace.

The Hall of Fame selection committee consists of Chuck Ciganick, Don Rosenberger, Sr., Leo Williams, Bob Ravier, Jerry Labanz, Ishky Fatzinger and Bill Fatzinger.

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The 1993 Tri-Co award winners were led by league MVP Bob Drumbore, who pitched and slugged Gilbertsville to another league championship.

Drumbore was 5-2 on the mound with a 2.88 ERA, while at the plate hit batted .407 and led the league with 33 RBI.

The league batting champ was Quakertown's Kevin Kershner, who hit .429. The Home Run king was Stahley's Mookie Smith, who slugged eight. Silver Creek's Jason Young was named the top pitcher with a 9- 2 mark, 55 strikeouts and a 2.37 ERA. Upper Perk's Bob Graber was the strikeout champ and George Horn, manager of the surprisingly successful East Texas Longhorns, was named the league's "Manager of the Year."

Special merit awards were presented to umpire Dick Serfass and the Lehigh County Department of Recreation. Kevin Hutter of South Whitehall was tabbed as the Tri-Co's "Most Courageous Athlete."



  

From The Morning Call -- October 31, 1993

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