Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame Class of 2014
By TOM GIFFEN and GLENN MILLER
Roy Hobbs Baseball
RHWS 26
The Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame will honor 14 members of the Class of 2014 during 2 Induction ceremonies during the 2014 Roy Hobbs World Series.
The Induction Ceremonies will be held on Tuesday, November 4, and Sunday, November 16, the first at Ellen and Tom Giffen’s home, the second at Pincher’s Marina Sports Grill in Downtown Fort Myers.
The Class of 2014 honors players, coaches, managers, administrators, and organizers whom the Trustees cited for outstanding contributions to the Game of Baseball, their teammates and baseball colleagues.
The 14 honorees bring the membership of the Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame to 31 in its first 2 years.
“We believe the Class of 2014 embodies the principles upon which the Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame was created, and they exemplify the Hall of Fame Mission Statement,” the Trustees said in their August announcement. “The Class of 2014 continues to demonstrate the high standards set with the inaugural class in 2013.”
“I am looking forward to the Induction Ceremonies where I can personally congratulate each of these individuals and thank them for their Baseball passion and their contributions to the game we know and love,” Roy Hobbs President Tom Giffen said.
“We want to thank those who took the time to nominate the individuals considered,” he said. “The breadth of experiences, accomplishments and contributions to Baseball of the nominees is impressive. This Class embodies a love of the game, nurturing teams and teammates as well as excellence on the field.”
The Class of 2014
Roger Begue of Uniontown, Ohio
Bill Clary of Fort Mill, S.C.
Bill Devine of Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tommy Faherty of Robbinsville, N.J.
David Mathews of Tacoma, Wash.,
Rick McGalliard of Barberton, Ohio
Joe Monari of Justice, Ill.
John Morris of Swannanoa, N.C.
Vito Ruscio of Tinley Park, Ill.
Tom Scull of Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Mic Stump of Fircrest, Wash.
Dutch Van Wey* of Truckee, Calif.
Joel Weinstein of Monterey, Calif.
Richard Winstead of Kodak, Tenn
* – notes posthumous honoree
Roger Begue
Bill Clary
Bill Devine
Tommy Faherty
David Mathews
Rick McGalliard
Joe Monari
John Morris
Vito Ruscio
Tom Scull
Mic Stump
Dutch Van Wey
Joel Weinstein
Richard Winstead
The Class of 2014 selection process started with a committee that took the nominations and interviewed the nominators and the listed references. Their reports were coupled with the nomination forms and forwarded to the existing members of the Hall of Fame and to the Board of Trustees, who reviewed more than 80 pages of data before casting their ballots.
“We believed from the beginning that members of the Hall of Fame should have a voice in the election process, and their insight was very helpful,” Giffen said. “And we are very appreciative of the work done by the review committee, which really amplified the information on the nominees.”
The Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame, an offshoot of the Roy Hobbs Foundation (a 501c3 organization), was established by Roy Hobbs owner and President Tom Giffen during the summer of 2012. He solicited a core of volunteers to comprise the Trustees, whom he entrusted to create the Hall of Fame, its mission, its guidelines and oversee the selection of the first class of honorees. Each of the Trustees agreed to the project and agreed that no Trustees should be candidates for the Hall of Fame while serving.
The Trustees crafted the following Mission Statement:
“The Roy Hobbs Baseball Hall of Fame is established to recognize and honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the game of baseball through their involvement with Roy Hobbs Baseball, the Roy Hobbs World Series and their local leagues and teams. Individuals shall have made contributions as players, coaches, managers, sponsors, umpires and administrators. Those contributions have been made both on and off the field of play; however, a prime consideration for recognition is the individual’s contributions to the game, their teammates and their baseball colleagues.”
The 2013-2014 Trustees of the Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame are: Chairman Denny Brown (California) and members Joe Caligaris (Ohio), Jerry Harris (Alabama), BJ Johnson (Illinois), Kevin Marden (Massachusetts), Carl Rakich (Ohio), and Tom Giffen of Roy Hobbs.
(Complete biographies will be included in the Roy Hobbs Hall of Fame Induction program and on the Roy Hobbs website after the World Series.)
Here is a brief look at the Class of 2014, as compiled by Glenn Miller:
Roger Begue, 57, of Uniontown, Ohio – Started playing baseball at 12 … former minor league pitcher … adult baseball in 1983 and has had a long Roy Hobbs career that includes playing for the 1998 Akron A’s, who won the Open Division … Featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd in 1998 … Team MVP for Youngstown Astros in 2011 World Series.
Bill Clary, 61, of Fort Mill, S.C. – Started Little League in 1960 …Played at Malone University in Canton, Ohio. Started playing Roy Hobbs in 1991 … Player/manager of the Charlotte Kings from 1989 to 2013, leading the Kings to World Series Open Division titles in 1992, 2003 and 2005 … Key figure in promoting Roy Hobbs in Charlotte area.
Bill Devine, 57, of Pittsburgh, Pa. – Played in the NAIA World Series for the Point Park University … Began playing Roy Hobbs in 1994 and led Pittsburgh team to Open Division championships in 1995, 1997 & 1999 … Player/manager of 7 Roy Hobbs World Series championship teams in 3 age divisions.
Tommy Faherty, 70, of Robbinsville, N.J. – Played on the varsity at Patterson High in Baltimore … Has been involved in adult baseball since 1971 … Has been playing Roy Hobbs since 1989 … Won his first World Series that year the New Jersey All Stars in the AAAA 40-plus division …. And has been organizing his Wonderboys team for 19 years, competing this year in the 70-plus Timeless division.
Dave Mathews, 69, of Tacoma, Wash. – A 25-year veteran of the Roy Hobbs World Series … has contributed to 10 championships and twice has been his team’s World Series MVP …. Helped found the Tacoma Cascades and Washington Titans teams … Started playing baseball at age 42.
Rick McGalliard, 61, of Barberton, Ohio – Has played and managed in Roy Hobbs for 21 years …He has played in the World Series for all those years … He does more than play, working behind the scenes to raise money and organize and has helped make participation possible for players who couldn’t otherwise afford to play … He’s also an outstanding defensive shortstop.
Joe Monari, 63, Justice, Ill. – Played at Argo High and then joined the Army … Has played Roy Hobbs in the Chicago area and has played in the World Series since 1990, when it was played in Orlando … Has been a key figure in making the Oak Lawn League a success … He also has coached youth teams.
John Morris, 62, of Swannanoa, N.C. – Has been involved in youth and adult baseball in western North Carolina for the past 40 years …He builds and maintains fields in the area … Recruits adult players and raises money to help some players participate in the World Series … Has been to every Roy Hobbs World Series in Fort Myers with the Asheville Sox or Carolina Rockies.
Vito Ruscio, 59, Tinley Park, Ill. – Has been a player and manager in the Oak Lawn Roy Hobbs League for 25 years … Has been a player/manager in the World Series for 23 years … He has been a World Series MVP and has had the highest batting average in his division numerous times … Has made the Chicago Giants a force in Roy Hobbs … and was one of the original Hall of Fame trustees.
Tom Scull, 66, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. – Played at Miami Dade Community College, where he roomed with future Yankee Mickey Rivers … In the 1998 World Series he hit 2 homers for the New Jersey White Sox 30s, 3 for the Newark Eagles 40s and 2 for the New Jersey Dodgers Masters. … Has played in every World Series except the first.
Mic Stump, 63, Fircrest, Wash. – He was nominated for the Hall as a player, coach, manager, sponsor and administrator … Has been involved in Roy Hobbs for 24 years … He’s compiled a 420-108 record as manager since 1995 … His teams won AAAA titles 6 times in 7 years between 2005 and 2011.
Dutch Van Wey of Truckee, Calif. – Attended USC on baseball scholarship but also played football and was a linebacker in the 1963 Rose Bowl … Managed many teams in the Roy Hobbs World Series between 1989 and 2009 … Involved for decades with youth and adult baseball in California … Died in 2010 while pitching in a practice game.
Joel Weinstein, 76, of Monterey, Calif. – Ran track and cross country and played hockey in high school and hockey in college but started playing baseball in 1991 at a Red Sox fantasy camp. … That led to Roy Hobbs. … Founded the New England Red Sox in 2000, and has been bringing teams to the World Series every year since … Director of Sea Otter Baseball Festival in Monterey, and an original member of Hall of Fame trustees.
Richard Winstead II, 54, of Kodak, Tenn. – Key person in starting adult baseball in Kodak area … The Reds have been attending the RHWS for 20+ years … and bring teams in 2 age divisions almost every year … President of the Kodak/Knoxville league … survived a debilitating 2011 accident that took almost 2 years of recovery before he could play again, but never stopped promoting, managing and nurturing his teams and league.