March 2013 ISSUE - Lake Fairways Estates A 55+ Adult Community ...

played for Joplin, MO.
Mark Ford, who helped organize and develop the
league, thought that the champs should have a trophy,
so he generously donated one. He was the manager of
Del Tura, and the league was named in his honor after
he passed away in 1995. Lake Fairways finished in 2 nd
place with a 10 win and 4 loss record. Ken Palazzo was
the manager for our 1 st three years.
In 1996 Marty Barrett took over as manager of the
so-called “Ben Gay” boys. Lake Fairways again came in
2 nd place in the first year of playing games in Cape Coral
at the Northwest Softball Complex.
The information gets a bit sketchy, but it is known
that Marty Barrett was the manager during the 1996,
1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons. In the 2000 season
Lake Fairways one 3 and lost 18. Leading hitters
were David Shultz. 609 and Jerry Amstutz.600.
Jim Dinsmore became manager in 2001 and led the
team to 14 wins and 7 losses. Shortstop David Shultz
led the team with a.742 batting average and set the all
time Lake Fairways homerun record with 8. Although
he only played one year, the consensus among the “old
timers” is that outfielder Gene Storey is the best player
to ever suit up for Lake Fairways. While playing against
Herons Glen, manager Dinsmore made a strategic
move and switched Gene from left field to right field
with a tying run on 3 rd base, 1 out, and a left hand batter
coming up. The batter hit a line shot to right, Gene
caught it, and made a great throw to catcher Bob
Dreyer for the last out. Lake Fairways won the game 9
to 8, ending Herons Glen’s 44 game winning streak.
In 2002 “Dizzy’s” team finished with 18 wins and 5
losses. David Shultz again led the team with a .672
average.
Keith Oldham assumed the manager position in
2003 and had a record of 7 wins and 9 losses. Jerry
Albee lead the hitters at.628, and Wayne Kidd hit.564.
Keith improved the team to a 12 win and 6 loss
record in 2004. Beef O’ Brady’s became the post game
“hot spot” to appease the wives, and Keith accepted
their offer to sponsor us. Leading hitters were Ken Etycheson.629,
Don Stargell.585, Dan Girard.561, Tony
Emanuele.551, Gary Bender.542, Scott Werling.510.
In 2005 Jim Dinsmore returned to the manager’s
position and led the team to a 12 win and 7 loss season.
Outstanding players on that team were shortstop
Tony “Silk” Emanuele and pitcher Kenny “Quickpitch”
Eytcheson. “Silk” hit for power and a high average and
had an outstanding arm. “Quick Pitch” hurled an unheard
of 3 shutouts that season. The most noteworthy
development of the season was the rotating post Beef
O’ Brady’s Crown Royal parties initiated by “Founding
Father” Art Klaviter.
In 2006 manager Dinsmore’s team finished in 2 nd
place with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses. Leading
hitters that season were “Quick Pitch” Eytcheson.628,
“Hammer” Mason.583, “Silk” Emanuele.556, “Scrap
Iron” Werling.553, “Puck” McNamara.510.
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In 2007, manager Jim Dinsmore’s final season,
Lake Fairways again finished in 2 nd place with a record
of 16 wins and 4 losses. Leading batters in manager
Dinsmore’s lineup were “Poopsie” Albee.551, Angelo
DelValle.542, “Roadrunner” Shultz.511. At the end of
the season, a softball committee was formed to provide
some needed structure to the team. Members of the
first group were manager “Scrap Iron” Werling, “Quick
Pitch” Eytcheson, “Roadrunner” Shultz, “Puck”
McNamara, “Hammer” Mason.
In 2008 Scott “Scrap Iron” Werling became playermanager.
The team finished in 2 nd place with a record
of 17 wins and 3 losses. Leading hitter were Tom
“Smooth” Dabbs.643, David “Roadrunner” Shultz.635,
Tony “Silk” Emanuele.619. The softball committee
members took on defined rolls this season. “Scrap
Iron” Werling was in charge of selecting players for the
team, making batting lineups, and all things game related.
“Scrap Iron” was also responsible for bidding the
house painting jobs and organizing the crews. “Quick
Pitch” Eytcheson assumed the duties of chairman.
“Roadrunner” Shultz, as social chairman, searched for
post game restaurants and sponsors, and organized
team parties. “Puck” McNamara was responsible for
organizing set-up and clean-up crews for group events
at the club house. “Hammer” Mason was the uniform
and equipment procurer, Informer news correspondent,
and team Historian. “FF” Klaviter came on board
as Treasurer for the group.
Scrap Iron’s 2009 team again finished with a record
of 17 wins and 3 losses. Newcomer Jerry “Rifle”
Kelly led the hitters with a.698 average. “Smooth”
Dabbs finished at.611.
Another 2 nd place finish occurred in 2010. “Scrap
Iron’s” charges won 15 and lost 3. Pounding the ball at
a.721 clip, George Sams led the hitters. “Smooth”
Dabbs slugged out a.627 average.
2011 turned out to be player-manager “Scrap Iron”
Werling’s last year as manager. For the 6 th year in a
row Lake Fairways finished in 2 nd place with a record of
17 wins and 3 losses. Leading hitters were “Smooth”
Dabbs.610, “Rifle” Kelly.571, “Scrap Iron” Werling.560.
“Redman” Kraby joined the committee as the new setup
and clean-up contact person. “General” McReelis
took charge of the painting team.
Wayne “Captain” Kidd assumed the managerial
reins in 2012 and led the team to 16 wins and 3 losses,
good for a 3 rd place finish. Leading batters were “Scuba
Honey” Huss.621, “Woodrow” Bender.595, “Ace” Durbin.583,
“Scrap Iron” Werling.566. The highlight of the
season was beating the Rookies 3 to 2 and ending their
59 game winning streak.
A “Big Thank You” goes out to Jim Steele, Keith
Oldham, and Nancy Dreyer for their help in gathering
information and “FF” Klaviter for publishing.
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