Published: Feb. 14, 2014
An elite club
4 area icons to be inducted into WBBA Wall of Fame on
Saturday
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
Former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Don August grew up in the
much-warmer climate of California, a state widely known for being able to
produce top-notch baseball talent.
The reason why is simple: the weather.
The weather allows most players in California to play
year-round. Other states — like Texas, Arizona and Florida — can say the same.
But here is a community in the upper Midwest with a knack of
producing top-notch baseball talent. The reason is simple: dedication.
About 13 years ago, August was hosting a baseball camp at
the West Bend Little League complex, along with Jim Gantner, another former
Brewers player, and Milwaukee Braves legend Johnny Logan.
The weather, to say the least, was awful. It was cold. It
was windy. It was rainy. They, especially August, thought there was no way a
baseball camp was going to happen.
Ah-ha!
Much to his surprise, a large contingent of young and eager
baseball players walked up to the field ready to go. August couldn’t believe
his eyes.
“These people are dedicated,” he said.
In the years since then, August has been impressed and
enjoys rubbing elbows with the baseball people of West Bend. And he’ll do it
again Saturday night for the West Bend Baseball Association’s Wall of Fame
Diamond Dinner and Benefit. The event begins with a cash bar, silent auction,
raffle and autographs at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. and the program is at
7:30 p.m. at the Columbian in the town of Barton.
The WBBA will honor four new members to the Wall of Fame:
Fran Hofmaier, John Jazak, Ilo Rauscher and Chuck Walter. They will be honored
a second time this summer when their names are written in stone at Regner Park.
“It means a milestone for me,” Jazak said. “This has put
everything in perspective.”
Jazak will be the only inductee in attendance. Hofmaier and
Walter will be inducted posthumously, and Rauscher, who lives in Texas, is
unable to attend.
Jazak wasn’t feeling well this week and was taken to the
hospital. He promised that it wasn’t nerves.
“I can’t wait to get there,” he said. “It’s not my forté.
It’s a lot easier playing baseball than giving a speech.”
Jazak admitted he’s still trying to formulate a plan for his
induction speech.
August will be the keynote speaker for the event.
“There are baseball communities. That’s what West Bend is,”
August said. “I’ve heard the stories. They talk about their Land O’ Lakes
teams. The people go way back. They have these great people.
“They’re good solid baseball teams and it comes from the
people that were ahead of them that started this transition. It’s no wonder
they’re this good in high school.”
Jazak pitched for West from 1972-75 and went on to set a
number of school records, most of which still stand to this day, including his
1.20 career ERA. In his senior season at West, he was 8-3 in 82 2/3 innings
pitched, recording 138 strikeouts, 41 walks, 31 hits and 11 runs, but only one
was earned, leaving him with a 0.08 ERA. He signed with the Chicago White Sox
in 1975 and he is a 10-time Land O’ Lakes All-Star.
“It was a part of my life,” Jazak said of baseball. “I just
enjoyed being around the game, around my friends.” Hofmaier was nicknamed the
“Southpaw Sensation.” He pitched at the University of Nebraska from 195255
before becoming a standout pitcher for area teams Slinger (1958-61), Lannon
(1962-63) and West Bend (196468). He was the inaugural winner of the Rock River
League MVP award in 1959. He died in November. He was 80.
Rauscher was a five-time Land O’ Lakes All-Star, playing for
20 seasons in the league, and was a three-sport athlete at West Bend High
School from 1950-54. In 1954, his pinch-hit grand slam led West Bend to the
Little Ten Conference championship over Mayville. He also helped the West Bend
Lithias win 37 straight games in a three-year period during the late 1960s.
Walter’s biggest contribution was the development of The Threshold Inc. benefit
game, which was played annually for more than 25 years, starting in 1956. The
goal of the game was to raise money for the Washington County Association for
Retarded Citizens. Walter died in 2002. He was 78.
“West Bend has been enriched with baseball players,” said
Willie Mueller, WBBA president and a Wall of Fame inductee. “Not many small
cities can say stuff like that. Baseball has done well in the West Bend
community.”
Jazak added, “It puts me in a very elite club and I’m proud
of that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment