Adam Black
The Ashland Beacon
It was a home run for 14 baseball players as they were inducted into the CP-1 Hall of Fame.
With a 90 percent chance of rain, inductees and organizers had high spirits that the rain would hold out until after the ceremony, which took place at the Central Park Baseball field.
“How many of us haven’t had a rain delay down here,” CP-1 Hall Of Fame Organizer Mark Maynard said.
Friends, family, and inductees all came out to the field for the event, where they each spoke at the podium about their honor, and sharing stories from their times on the Central Park fields. “We are excited that this is the fourth annual CP-1 Hall of Fame
ceremony,” Maynard said. “We have about 50 Hall of Famers already but we want to get to 100.”
The 14 inductees to the CP-1 Hall of Fame consisted of players from little league teams in the 50s, then the 60s and 70s including Larry Stevens, a hard-throwing pitcher during the early days of the Tomcat Dynasty Era in the 1960s. Stevens, who came in a wheelchair because he is suffering from a disease that has also taken away his ability to communicate, was able to share what an honor it was to be inducted. He had the crowd laughing after he broke off the line of the day when in his broken sentences was able to clearly get out: “I got a hit off Bill.”
Many other inductees shared their stories with short and sweet thank yous to their families and friends, with several getting choked up when giving thank yous to deceased parents. “It meant so much to me to see them there,” Larry Castle said. “I want to thank my parents for pushing me and giving me one of the best times of my life.”
Once the ceremony was finished inductees received a plaque and baseball with their names on it and mingled among friends and family at the event. Several inductees also gathered at dugouts at the field to see their names engraved on a brick built into the dugout.
“This has really been a great day and I’m so honored,” Castle said, “To hear all these stories and see teammates again it feels like we never left.”
Once the venue cleared out a downpour of rain came rolling into the area, making several to believe that God was watching out from the event. “I have no doubt in my mind that this ceremony was supposed to happen here at the field,” Maynard said. “He was looking out for us today.”