The emcee for the event, Tyler Barth, thanked everyone for attending, welcoming familiar faces as well as new attendees.

Though Justin Kline, founder of the Clinton and Centre County Baseball Hall of Fame, passed away on Aug. 19, 2021, his memory was not forgotten throughout the event.

“I think one of the things in life that we strive to do is create a reputation and a legacy that will be fondly remembered. Justin certainly left a legacy of memories and stories, and we could probably all share quite a few of those stories. What a visionary he was that here we are today that the 7th class is being inducted,” said Barth.

After a brief moment of silence in Kline’s memory, Barth said, “I can hear Justin saying ‘cut the —-, let’s go.'”

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Pictured are Rod Kline and Dan Allen.

A round of laughter rang through the hall at the statement, and Barth continued the event.

As always the event began with the recognition of past inductees who were in attendance, with each of them standing to be applauded.

The 2023 Keystone Most Valuable Player Award was given to Evan Edwards. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) Edwards was unable to attend the event because his team was in Dover, Delaware for the Eastern Regionals tournament.

On Monday, Keystone Intermediate won another game 7-4, putting them in the winner bracket finals and placing them in the top 3 in the East Coast.

“(Evan) is an outstanding player. All the coaches who have had an opportunity to coach Evan had wonderful things to say about him as a talented athlete but also a great young man,” said Barth.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Pictured are Scott Day and Rod Kline.

Next came the induction of the newest legendary inductees — that is, inductees who have passed on but deserve recognition for their dedication to the sport of baseball.

Harry Lingle was the first legendary member inducted this year. His son, Fred Lingle, spoke a bit about his father’s life.

“My dad was a good ball player. He played baseball mostly for Beech Creek. He was president of the Intercommunity Little League (which) had teams in Howard, Blanchard, Orviston, Beech Creek, Salona, Lamar… at that time in the late 1950s after kids were done playing Little League, that was it. There was no Junior League then. My dad saw a problem, and he was behind the creation of the first Junior League in the area,” said Lingle.

Lingle expressed his pride in his father’s accomplishment, especially in the way he affected the lives of local children.

“It gave us something to do,” said Lingle.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Pictured are James "Jim" Gardner and his son Gage.

Steven G. Miller was another legendary member inducted. His wife, Linda, spoke in his stead.

She admitted to not knowing the details of her husband’s baseball heritage, but instead offered an account of “the man I knew.”

She spoke about his intelligence and generosity, his humor and strength.

“In addition to his family, friends, flag, country and the Grange Fair, he loved sports. Especially baseball, in particular, the Beech Creek Crickets and the Phillies. Steve walked into any athletic event where Penn State athletes took the field, court, track or mat… When he clicked on the Big 10 channel, there was no turning away if blue and white uniforms were in motion,” said Linda.

She spoke about how she fell in love with him as they bonded over their mutual love of sports, and how they always had incredible seats. She said how, despite his love of all sports, he loved baseball above all.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Pictured are Scott Zuback and James Gallagher.

“When we’d watch games, he’d sit serenely, never complaining, unlike me. When things started to unravel in the 8th or 9th inning, he was calm. Maybe he’d lean forward in his chair a little bit… He had such great faith,” said Linda.

This positivity and calmness carried on into his regular life as well, according to Linda. As he began to struggle with his health, she said he never gave up.

“When things got rough with his respiratory health he kept fighting in the batter’s box… The pitches he faced were fast and thrown hard, a challenge for any hitter, even a champion like himself. Like a determined pinch hitter who bangs out an extra base hit, he always put the ball in play,” said Linda.

She ended her speech with an emotional, “You’ve chosen well. He was the best of men and loved the game of baseball. He was the MVP of my life.”

The final legendary member inductee was Raymond “Rube” Bressler, who died at age 72 in 1966, and was an outstanding baseball player who grew up in Flemington, Pa. Sally Kline read an article about his decorated career.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS This year's plaque is pictured.

“(He) was an amazing left-handed pitcher in major league baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers. At the age of 25 he got a sore arm which ended his pitching career. After that, he became an outfielder. He spent 18 seasons in major league baseball, including 11 with the Cincinnati Reds. He retired with a .301 lifetime batting average and was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963,” said Kline.

The first of the 2024 inductees was Steve Miller.

Miller could not be in attendance because of flight restrictions due to illness, but his cousin, Randy, spoke on his behalf.

“We grew up in Beech Creek. As of right now Steve is retired. He was a high school teacher for many years in Tampa where he is now. He retired 10 years ago but he still continues to sub. After he was done teaching he started working at a restaurant. He’s like his dad, he always needed something to do,” said Randy.

He talked about his cousin’s baseball career as well, noting that he started in Beech Creek Little League with his coach Steve Shadle. He played in the Junior League as well.

Randy also spoke about how his cousin was an assistant coach at the school he worked at.

He talked about Miller’s struggle with cancer. Originally, he was given 3-5 more years to live because of the type of cancer he had.

“He’s had it 16 years,” said Randy, “They’ve got him to the age of 75.”

He thanked the committee and everyone on Miller’s behalf, and how he would have loved to have been in attendance.

The second inductee was a man who has been umpiring for 49 years, Dan Allen.

He was introduced to the crowd by Barth, who read a brief history of Allen’s life.

“Dan, I remember very clearly as one of my umpires. And he was an outstanding umpire even when he made some bad calls,” Barth joked.

Allen played four years of Little League, four years of Junior League and started umpiring at age 18. He played Centre County league for the Merchants for six years. At age 24, he umpired in Mill Hall, Lock Haven and Blanchard.

“He has umpired in the following leagues since, Little League, Junior League, Legion, Babe Ruth and many playoff leagues to include state playoffs. In total, Dan has been umpiring for 49 years,” said Barth.

The third inductee was a man Barth described as “the epitome of what baseball is,” Scott Zuback.

James Gallagher, Zuback’s childhood friend and teammate, shared detailed stats about Zuback’s career, beginning with Little League.

“Our days started in Mill Hall park playing tennis baseball. It was always fun. My cousin was one of Scott’s best friends, so those were our summer days. We usually went from 9 in the morning to around noon. That’s what we’d do until All Star practice would start,” said Gallagher.

Keystone Little League was not a sanctioned Little League team until 2001, and Zuback was on the first Little League All Star team as both a 9 and 10 year old. In Little League, Zuback won the Kooch Chu Umpire Award.

“Any team Scott is on, they’re going to win… Zoo’s high school years were from 2007 to 2010 and he left a huge mark on the program. He was a four year starter for the Wildcats… We went on to be the first team to win the first ever district championship between Lock Haven, BEN and Sugar Valley for high school baseball,” said Gallagher.

Gallagher also shared Zuback’s Lock Haven University stats. He was a four year starter for the Bald Eagles, and had an impressive lineup of career records.

Zuback is still on the Lock Haven University Individual Career Records page, currently number 9 in hits with 161; tying for number 8 in doubles with 29; number 6 in “At Bats” with 529; tied for 8 in games played with 169; number 6 in games started with 169; number 4 in walks with 68; number 2 in stolen bases with 41; tied for number 5 in sacrifice flies with 9; and number 3 in fielding percentage with a .989 (358/364).

These stats can be viewed at www.golhu.com/sports/2022/7/13/lhu-baseball-individual-career-records.aspx

“During the week of April 16 to 22, Zoo hit .727 with HRs, 7 RBIs and 7 runs scored. For these efforts, he was honored as the PSAC West player of the week. The NCBWA Atlantic REgional Player of the week (and) he was the first LHU Bald Eagle to receive this honor,” said Gallagher.

Zuback had a myriad of other accomplishments as well spanning his entire baseball career and beyond.

He took to the podium after Gallagher finished to thank the committee for the honor of receiving this award.

“One of my earliest memories was probably when I was about 7, my first year after PONY League. In PONY League the coaches pitched to you. It was pretty easy then.. You didn’t even have to swing. I stepped into the box, and I was going up against older kids. The first person I faced was (Gallagher). There I was with my knees shaking, and you’ll never guess what he did — he plunked me right in the head,” said Zuback.

Though Gallagher shared a lot of their memories together regarding baseball, Zuback still had a lot to say.

“A lot of the things I remember from baseball are not necessarily the things that you’ll see in the newspaper. The way it all started was like the Sandlot. Me, my cousin and my brother would go down to the baseball field nearly every day. The Mill Hall Little League field had all these signs that were in each panel of the fencing, and we would stay out there until we hit every single one of those panels with a different ball,” said Zuback.

He appreciated the reading of his stats, but emphasized the memories that were created from baseball. He spoke about the list of people he had to thank, and how the list was so long he would have taken up way too much time. He thanked his family — both there and not, his friends, coaches and fans.

He spoke of his grandmother who would give him five dollars for every home run he hit, and his grandfather who always had a signed ball from his home runs framed and sitting somewhere nice.

He recalled memories with Kline as well, “I know him as the mayor, that’s all I ever called him was the mayor. Getting to know him was a really great thing. (After) I had moved to Maryland, he called me up and said, ‘Zoo, we need you man.’ and I said ‘Kline, I’m about four hours away.’ He said, ‘I’ll come get you.'”

To end his speech, Zuback emphasized the importance of community. He commented that now that he lives just north of Washington D.C. with 1.4 million people in his county, he always felt like something was missing.

“It took me a while to realize exactly what this is. Coming to this place and having people come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I’m so-and-so I didn’t realize you were Scott it’s so nice to finally meet you’ that’s not something you see in a lot of different places. I want to thank everyone in the community for being able to grow up with something like that… This is an award for me but is a reflection of the community I was raised in,” said Zuback.

The fourth inductee was Coach James Gardner, whose son, Gage, introduced him to the masses.

“A few years ago I was in attendance for this ceremony to see my grandfather being inducted, to be here and to be part of inducting my father is an honor to say the least. (He) was born and raised in Howard… When he was 16 he began his campaign as a Howard Hawk while also playing Legion Ball in Milesburg. While attending Bald Eagle Area High School he started at first base for 3 years, while placing 3rd in states his senior year,” said Gage.

Gardner attended Lock Haven University after graduation and was the starting first baseman during his four years, as well as team captain. After graduating from LHU he got a special education job at Bald Eagle Area.

“He coached JV for 5 years and after coach Murnyack retired in 2001, he was chosen to be the head coach for BEA. Since receiving the head coach position it has been 23 seasons to rack up 281 wins, 3 state titles, 4 district titles and multiple league titles,” said Gage.

Gardner was also named Coach of the Year in Pennsylvania.

“This season marked a historic 25 wins, which is now the county record,” said Gage. “This is an impressive resume, but what people don’t see is the positive role model he was for a countless number of his players. Not to mention the numerous hours spent with Luke and I at the ballfield, honing in our own craft while teaching us life lessons.”

When Gardner took to the podium, he gave an emotional speech about the importance of tradition.

“I think it’s important we all know how fortunate we are with the tradition and culture we have in this sport in this area,” said Gardner, who also took the chance to thank the committee for making Justin Kline’s dream come true and for putting together a wonderful tribute to the impact the sport has had on the area.

He gave a little bit of background on his love of the sport, speaking about how he learned from watching those around him.

“After a successful college career at LHU, it was really my teaching degree that prompted my opportunity to coach a few years later. Coach Murnyack asked me to be a JV coach, and after seeking my wife’s approval and blessing — she has been supportive and understanding through all the years — ready or not I was chosen as the next head coach,” he said.

“Admittedly, I was scared. The competition that we played was so fierce. Season by season we improved. Nobody achieves success on their own — you have to be surrounded by good people,” said Gardner.

He praised his coaching staff, his assistants — many of which were not teachers.

“We could never do it without them. Their knowledge, experience and dedication has truly been amazing. I’m so blessed. The bottom line, I believe most significantly, that the kids at Bald Eagle are just the best. Looking back at my experience in High School, all I wanted to do was share that. To be able to do that so many times has been amazing. I need to thank God for the opportunities and answered prayers through all the years,” said Gardner.

The fifth and final inductee was Scott Day, who spoke about his accomplishments and how hard he worked for them.

“An outstanding athlete, and an outstanding baseball player,” described Barth who welcomed Day to the podium.

Day congratulated his fellow inductees, offering his respects and noting their accomplishments.

“I’m very grateful, and thank (the committee) very much for giving me that consideration through the years as a player,” said Day.

Though he wasn’t sure where to start with his baseball career, he told a story about playing in the backyard with his two brothers.

“(With Mike and Steve) the crick was the home run and the pine tree was a homerun also — we played in cow pastures. We’d play all day. My dad was my coach — he was very disciplined. I got sat on the bench even as a Little Leaguer more than once,” said Day.

He also offered a piece of advice he’s learned over the years, naming many different players he’d looked up to.

“I played in the Clinton League against these grown-ups. Whenever those older guys talked to you, you’re tilting your ear and listening. If they’re taking the time to come up to you and give you advice to help you out, you —- well better listen. They taught me a lot, and believe me, I listened,” said Day.

He then moved on to discuss his post-high school career, citing how hard he worked.

“I transferred to Lock Haven University and busted my butt — probably worked out 3 times a day because I wanted to be successful in baseball at a college level. I knew what it had to take to get there. First year I was there I broke the single season batting record. I was happy about that. I’m proud of what I did — I earned it,” said Day.

Day talked about how it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to play baseball with his brothers, and the support from his family.

“Not many people get a chance to play with three brothers on the same team. I had the pleasure of playing with (Steve and Mike.) Mike would come in and relieve me when I would walk 10 people, he’d come in and throw strikes,” said Day.

Day is still on the Lock Haven University Individual Career Records page, currently tied for number 9 on triples with 7.

The Clinton & Centre County Baseball Hall of Fame is located across from the Beech Creek Little League field, and is open to the public.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS This year's MVP trophy was awarded to Evan Edwards, who could not attend due to participating in Eastern Regionals.