Rohlinger headlines WBBA WOF class

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: March 6, 2018

Rohlinger headlines WBBA WOF class

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043

When Adam Rohlinger got the call he was going to be inducted onto the West Bend Baseball Association’s Wall of Fame, his initial thought was, “Wait a minute. I’m still playing.”

“I’m supposed to be old and retired, probably 10-15 years by then,” Rohlinger added.

That’s not how the West Bend Baseball Association saw it.

“He went through four or five surgeries with his legs,” said WBBA president Willie Mueller. “In our baseball family, we had Mike Mueller who played for the (Atlanta) Braves, we had Ryan Rohlinger; you had me.

“Adam Rohlinger, if he wouldn’t have gotten hurt, he would’ve been right with us, if not more.”

On Saturday night in front of an estimated 250 guests at The Columbian in West Bend, Rohlinger, was part of the eighth class of the WBBA’s Wall of Fame along with TJ Fischer, Bob Kissinger, Bob Meyer and the late Mark Scholz.

“It means everything to me,” Rohlinger said. “Playing 30-plus years in West Bend, that’s all I know; born and raised in West Bend. I’ve been playing baseball for 30-plus years in West Bend. This is truly an honor for me. I can’t be happier.”

In addition to the five inductees, several members were given postseason awards.

Longtime WBKV radio personality Bob Bonefant received the President’s Award; Johnny Arnold of the Brookfield Blue Sox and Travis Thompson of the Sussex Cardinals were selected as the recipients of the George “Doc” Kraemer Man of the Year Award; and Brad Rindfleisch received the Mark Scholz Award of Merit Scholarship.

Jed Justman received the inaugural Prudence Pick Hway Philanthropy Award; and the West Bend West baseball team received the WBBA Special Achievement Award in recognition of its state championship season.

Matt Schubert and Rohlinger were honored as the Washington County Daily News Amateur Baseball Player of the Year and Manager of the Year, respectively.

It was also an emotional night as memories of three people who were well known for their generosity and zest for helping people were recalled — all of whom died in the past year.

Thompson’s acceptance speech was moving, often stopping to stay strong as he talked about his late wife, Kate, who died of brain cancer May 31. Scholz died in February 2017, and he was remembered for his contributions to the community. And the memory of Bob Pick II, who died Feb. 16 and was inducted onto the Wall of Fame in 2017, wasn’t far from many attendees’ minds.

Mueller, a man known for his role as the mean New York Yankees pitcher “The Duke” from the 1989 film “Major League,” admittedly cried several times throughout the evening.

There were also plenty of laughs.

While Rohlinger, who plays for and manages the West Bend 7 UP, picked up two honors, he may have gotten the unofficial joke of the night award. During his acceptance speech, he thanked several of the coaches he’s had along the way. His final thank you went to another coach, his mom.

He thanked her for being there for him for his first pair of cleats and his first cup.

Rohlinger was honored to go in with a class of people who did what they did for baseball on and off the field, including Fischer, who played six years of baseball with the Boston Red Sox organization.

Rohlinger was previously inducted into Concordia University’s Hall of Fame. Mueller said Rohlinger was as gifted as any of the professional baseball players before him to come from West Bend.

“Doug Gonring would tell you that, physically gifted, Adam Rohlinger was the best,” Mueller said. “Adam had surgery after surgery after surgery. Look at Concordia. The stats he put up at Concordia University. He’s in the Hall of Fame there. That’s how good he was.”

When he was told why he was being inducted,

Rohlinger understood and graciously accepted it.

“I don’t feel out of place,” he said. “It’s truly an honor. It’s a little different that I’m still playing the game and be on the Wall of Fame. But I can get used to them saying, ‘Adam Rohlinger. Wall of Fame.’” Also Saturday, Rohlinger found out Justman — one of his veteran teammates with the 7 UP — might retire.

“I heard it through the grapevine; he never told me officially,” Rohlinger smiled.

Remembering a community icon

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 20, 2018

Remembering a community icon

Bob Pick II, a familiar face to many in Washington County, passes away at age 76

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043

As a freshman on Kewaskum’s varsity baseball team, Bille Lehman didn’t know who Bob Pick II was. But he got an interesting introduction.

Pick got on a school bus, carrying his scorebook and folding chair because he kept the scorebook for the Indians’ baseball team. Once on the bus, Pick did his usual thing: tell a joke to lighten the mood or ease the nerves the players might’ve had for the upcoming game.

The jokes were ... well ... dirty.

In a bit of disbelief, Lehman said, “I guess this is our stat guy.”

However, it was just what the team needed. They laughed and relaxed.

“Bob’s jokes in reality weren’t that funny,” said Craig Larsen, board member for the West Bend Baseball Association. “It was how he delivered them and how he pulled them out of thin air. That’s what made them funny.

“Bob had the ability to come through with anything. He’d crack a joke like you wouldn’t believe. You couldn’t help but laugh, and smile, no matter how lame the joke was.”

That was just one aspect of Pick’s personality, described by Jason Piittmann, Kewaskum High School athletic director, as quirky.

But, Piittmann also said Pick had a “heart of gold.”

On Friday evening, Pick passed away at age 76, leaving a huge hole in the heart of all who had the opportunity to meet and know him.

Pick, who also served in the Navy, was a regular sight at high school events — sports and nonsports

— not just in West Bend or Kewaskum, but throughout Washington County.

It wasn’t unusual for him to go to more than one event in a single day. He also offered to help whenever he could, such as keeping the scorebook for baseball games or helping at crosscountry meets, no matter the level.

And this was all done without any family connections to the athletes.

He carried on a legacy of giving and support to Washington County communities started by family members before him. The Pick Award, named after Bob’s grandfather, Carl Pick, has been given to East and West high school boys student- athletes for more than 80 years to honor their achievements on and off the playing field or court.

A similar award is also presented to student-athletes at the University of Wisconsin- Washington County in West Bend. The Pick name also graces the football stadium at West Bend high schools.

“He loved high school sports and their importance to a community and the individuals,” Larsen said.

Doug Gonring, a winner of the Pick Award and Kewaskum High School’s baseball coach, said it was an honor to win the award, which is commemorated with a watch.

“He was so proud of his family and where he came from,” Gonring said. “I think he took great pride in letting everybody know what his family did. I

don’t think he had to do it. He was extremely proud of his whole family.”

Within minutes of Pick’s passing, support poured in from phone calls, text messages and social media posts.

“Everybody has a good story about Bob,” Larsen said.

Two years ago in Florida, on a whim, Larsen decided to go watch a University of Florida and Jacksonville University baseball game. Guess who was there?

“I saw Bob Pick of all people,” Larsen said. “I got the biggest hug I ever got in my life.”

The common thread from people who have shared memories of Pick since his passing was he was everywhere.

“You always saw Bob regularly and not just during certain seasons,” Piittmann said. “He was a special guy. He had a love for everything around high school athletics, county schools especially. He was always at something.”

When Lehman graduated from high school, Pick attended his graduation party.

“It just shows that he cares,” Lehman said. “He treated those players like his sons. I’m certain I’m not the only graduation party he went to. He cared about the community and the team he worked for.

He embraced being a part of it. He brought a positive light to everyone who knew him.”

While he was known as someone who was always around, he also had an uncanny ability to remember the smallest details.

“He remembered players, stats from guys who played in the late 1980s,” Larsen said. “The guy could rattle off stats from a single game. It was crazy. I remember talking to him about a West football game from 1996.

“Bob remembered everything, small things about you. You had to feel appreciated; like you mattered. He truly cared about you. That’s special.”

But there is one other thing Pick will be remembered for, especially those associated with baseball in southeastern Wisconsin at all levels.

“It was the prettiest scorebook I’ve ever seen,” Larsen said. “His penmanship; attention to detail, he was the master of being able to tell a story through a game sheet.”

Pick was the scorekeeper for Gonring’s teams spreading more than 20 years of baseball.

“It was incredible friendship,” Gonring said. “And he loved the kids. It made him feel like he was on a team.

“He will be missed.”