• Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
BIO:
When Jeannine Bohn was named to the Greater Cincinnati All-Century Team in the year 2000 at the age of 63, one might have expected that honor would have been the exclamation point to wrap up her amazing career. But for Jeannine, it was just another milestone along the way. Since that time, she has shined on the Senior softball circuit with national powerhouses like the Michigan Miracles, Ohio Cardinals, the Sportaculars (Canada), the Great Lakers, and the Silver Buckeyes – just to name a few. Her teams have won senior titles in USSSA, LVSSA, and SSWC, and medaled in the Huntsman World Games, SPA, and Senior Olympics. And Jeannine has earned numerous individual honors, including All-World, All-American, Best Defensive Player, and Most Valuable Player. Primarily a shortstop during her sixty-year career and known as a solid contact hitter, Jeannine boasts a lifetime batting average of .638. She says that her greatest thrills in softball include pitching a no-hitter in fastpitch in 1962, being involved in a tournament winning 8-2 double play, completing a triple play in the Huntsman World Senior Games and winning a gold medal, and hitting for the cycle.
• Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
BIO:
Bobby Hays could be described as softball’s “Man for All Seasons.” As a player, he was the Most Valuable Player on both a Kentucky fastpitch (Falmouth Farm Supply in 1964) and slow pitch (Grants Lick Merchants in 1967) state championship team, and was named All-State with a Kentucky slow pitch state champion (Delaney’s Auto in 1971). Bobby was also selected Most Valuable Player when his UAW #674 team captured a Major Industrial Metro, and when his Kramer-Meyers team won a 35-over Metro. He also competed at the Open level, finishing 2nd in two Major Metros with Jay’s A. C. But most of Bobby’s success came managing in the Masters and Senior programs. His 40-over teams were ranked among the top ten nationally for six of the eleven years he played, sponsored and managed teams. From 1987 through 1991, his 40-over teams finished no worse than 4th in USSSA World play, capturing a World crown in 1988 with Bushelman Construction. The following year the tournament was rained-out with Bushelman being one of four teams remaining in the tournament. His senior teams were national runners-up three times (2000 and 2001 with Jim & Joe’s and 2003 with Estes Chevrolet), and Bobby was named to the All-Tournament team all three years. And in 2002 his Marshall Construction team won a national title and he was named Most Valuable Player.
• Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
BIO:
Not many team or individual accomplishments escaped slugger Joe Penwell’s reach during his 30-year career competing with legendary teams like Backstop/Easton, Watanabe/TPS, and EMR/Meiner’s/Worth. By the numbers, Joe’s teams amassed ninety tournament championships, including six Major Metro titles and thirteen Metro crowns overall, four State titles, and two National and two World championships. They also recorded a runner-up finish in the NSA A World, and a 4th and a 7th place finish in the ASA A Nationals, and a 5th place finish in the USSSA A World. Joe was selected to six B All-City teams and eleven Major All-City teams, was a two-time class B “Player of the Year” and Major Metro Most Valuable Player, and a two-time Major “Player of the Year” runner-up. He was selected to fifteen All-Metro teams, was named to an NSA All-World 1st team, and in 2000 was selected to the Greater Cincinnati All-Decade 1st team and to the All-Century team. Primarily an outfielder, 1st baseman and catcher during his career, Joe was a lifetime .650 hitter who belted over 2,000 home runs.
• Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
BIO:
Ray Vaughn is best known for serving as the Ohio USSSA District IX Umpire-In-Chief from 1989-2003. It was during that era that USSSA experienced its most dramatic growth in Greater Cincinnati, as registrations peaked at over 5,000 teams. And only through Ray’s extraordinary skill set as an administrator and clinician was the area’s umpire program able to keep pace with the increasing need for quality officials. Umpire registrations more than doubled in Greater Cincinnati from 151 to over 300 in just six years under Ray’s direction. One of his most significant achievements was to organize a District IX Committee which was comprised of all the Umpire Associations in the area. Each association would send a representative to an annual meeting to discuss rule changes, mechanics, training, and administrative matters. During his career, he umpired approximately 7,000 league and tournament games, mostly at Riverstar Park, where he was the assigner for 17 years. He worked the Ohio Valley Classic, plus numerous USSSA State, National and National Invitational Tournaments of all classes. He also worked 27 consecutive U. A. National Tournaments from 1994-2010. Ray worked for the Queen City Umpires (1970-1978), Ohio Valley Umpires (1979-1981), and Best Officials (1982-1983) before forming Al Goodman/Riverstar Umpires in 1984. He attended eight national umpire clinics, and conducted six national and sixteen district clinics plus countless clinics for both Riverstar and other area USSSA groups.
• Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
Bio:
Butch Whitaker’s 14th place finish in the National Home Run Hitting Contest in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1978 proved to be the springboard for the slugging catcher to land a spot in the batting order of nationally ranked Greater Cincinnati Sports/Sorrento’s. His impact was immediate. GCS/Sorrento’s won back-to-back Metros, was invited to compete in the elite “National Slo-Pitch Conference,” qualified for the USSSA World Series and ASA Major Nationals, and earned a top ten national ranking. A year later in 1981, Butch helped power the Cincinnati Suds to a runner-up finish in the American Professional Slo-Pitch Softball League. He went on to star with the Knights and M. W. Tribble, then later in the Masters program, earning All-World honors with Bobby’s Bullets both in 1986 and 1987. Finally in 1988, Butch captured a USSSA Masters World title with Bushelman Construction. During his 36-year career he won countless invitational and league titles, including the 1986 Hudepohl Hall of Fame Classic, when he was named Tournament MVP. Butch batted over .600 and belted over 2400 home runs during his career, which helped him win numerous home run titles.
• Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
BIO:
From 1969 through 1980, Chris Winter was the starting left-centerfielder and leadoff hitter for several of the most successful teams in women’s softball – all of which were from Cincinnati. After launching her career in 1969 with Hall of Fame manager Commie Currens and his legendary assistant Merle Williams, she went on to capture four Amateur Softball Association National Championships, including with Rutenschroer Floral in 1970, Riverside Ford in 1972, Sweeney Chevrolet in 1973 and Sorrento’s Pizza in 1976. The 1976 title was her most memorable, as Sorrento’s lost its first game of the tournament, then stormed back to win ten in a row – double-dipping the Rubiotts of Graham, NC in the finals in Chattanoog, Tn. In addition to winning four national titles, Chris’ teams also finished 3rd once, 4th twice and 5th once, and captured six ASA Cincinnati Metro crowns. Her blazing speed not only helped her earn a reputation as one of the best defensive outfielders in the country, but also as one of the most dangerous and successful leadoff hitters in the game. The left-handed batter hit .439 for her career, but compiled an amazing .595 OBA due to her ability to beat out slow ground balls hit to the left side of the infield. If the ball bounced more two or more times before it reached the shortstop or 3rd baseman, Chris was almost always safely onboard. And her speed forced countless errors, with anxious infielders either bobbling grounders or making off-target throws. Chris was named to numerous All-Tournament teams during her career, and in 1977 was selected a 1st team All-American at the National Tournament, when Sorrento’s finished 3rd. Her teams also won countless invitational tournaments during her career, and in 2000 she was named to the Greater Cincinnati All-Century team.
