|
2020 NEBRASKA BASEBALL HALL OF FAME NEWS RELEASE
Some of Nebraska's great baseball players will be soon be inducted into the Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame. Five players, a coach/manager and a media/manager will enter the ranks as some of the state's best. The induction banquet will be held in Beatrice on February 9, 2020 at the Country Cookin Restaurant and Event Center, 8th and Court Street. Doors will be open for the social hour and museum tours at 3:00 P.M. with dinner/auctions/presentations beginning at 5:00. Tickets for the celebration are $30 for adults and $15 for students. They may be obtained from HOF board members or by contacting:
Larry Bornschlegl 1319 W. Cademon Cir Lincoln, NE 68523 402-469-4789
INDUCTEES WILL INCLUDE: Johnny Hopp- Hastings, played semi pro ball in Nebraska while still in high school. He broke into the major leagues with the Cardinals in 1939 and ended his major league career with a .296 overall average. In 1941 he hit .303 and was 8th in the National League MVP voting. In 1946 with Boston he earned an All Star selection. He passed away in 2003.
Shawn Buchanan- Omaha, had an outstanding career at the University of Nebraska as well as leading the Beatrice Bruins semi pro team in offensive categories in both 1989 and 1990. Signing professionally with the Chicago White Sox, Shawn played for four years and was a teammate of Michael Jordan. He retired from the professional ranks in 1995.
Dale Hendrickson-Kimball, was a “born” pitcher leading the Gering Legion team to a state championship at age 16. Dandy Dale signed with Milwaukee right out of high school after pitching for the Chadron town team. He pitched in the Oklahoma State League where he went 49 innings without giving up a run of any kind and 79 innings without giving up an earned run. Teammates at spring training included names like Spahn, Burdette, and Aaron.
Gene Faszholz-Seward, grew up in California and signed professionally, playing eight years in the Cardinal organization and ending up in Omaha. His lifetime professional batting average was .307. He enrolled at Concordia University in Seward where he was an all conference performer in basketball but was ineligible to play baseball but he did coach the team. He played semi professional ball in the Blue Valley League where he left his mark with the Seward club.
Bobby Mancuso-Omaha, an all around athlete at Creighton Prep, chose to play baseball and was named a Collin-Orcutt All Star, All-Metro and Nebraska All State. He went to Colorado to play but then transferred to Iowa State after Colorado dropped it's program. As a senior he hit .344 and was named Academic All Big 8, All District, All Region and All American. Professionally he played in Italy and for the Omaha Merchants. He has played for the Omaha Indians in the Roy Hobbs Senior World Series from 2016 to the present time.
Bill Fagler,- Lincoln, Manager/Coach is truly a lover of baseball. Bill was the founder of Babe Ruth baseball in Lincoln. Hundreds of kids benefitted from his efforts and he was inducted into the Babe Ruth National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. He was coach of many legion players as well as at Lincoln Northeast and Nebraska Wesleyan where he has the most wins in Wesleyan school history.
Bryan Cook-Beatrice, representing the Media, is a long time lover of athletics. He was KWBE's sports director for 20 years and 16 times a Nebraska Associated Press winner. Bryan broadcasted games for teams all over southeast Nebraska including SCC, Beatrice Bruins and legion teams from many small towns. He loved baseball and could make a slow game come alive in the minds of listeners. He has served Nebraska high school athletics so well that he was awarded the coveted Nebraska School Activities Association Distinguished Service Award. He was also a distinguished veteran who received the “Quilt of Valor” for his service to his country.
|
