Fan District Softball League Hall of Fame

The FDSL Hall of Fame plaque

The Fan District Softball League, which first began playing a regular schedule of games under the FDSL banner in 1975, established its Hall of Fame in 1986. The first class inducted was selected by the 12-team outfit’s designated team representatives/captains. 

To be eligible for the Hall that initial year one had to have retired from play and be considered to be among the league's founders. Ten names were selected as the first class of Hall-of-Famers.

The same rule held true in 1987, when six new names were put on the original plaque in a second column. However, by 1988, a few of those who had been inducted into the Hall had un-retired. So, in 1988, eligibility to the Hall was opened up to anyone who seemed deserving; in a third column nine names were added to the original plate, filling out the space on that large plate.

Those already in the Hall got to vote, as well as the usual captains. The meetings to select new inductees were always quite lively, as were most FDSL meetings. That's enough said on that topic. However, after discussion, the voting process and its result were probably no more twisted than any hall of fame’s way of choosing worthy names.

For 1989 six additional names were added on a small plate under the original. The class of ‘90 included seven names. In 1991 no vote was held. In ‘92 the last five names were tacked on to the list. No one remembers if there were any more Hall of Fame meetings.

In all, 41 players and two umpires were tapped. That finished list, as it stands, leans heavily toward guys who made significant contributions to the league in its early years. Thus, a few guys who came along in the last six or seven six years, who maybe ought to have been considered, probably weren't given their due. So it goes... 

The 43 men who were inducted into the FDSL’s Hall are as follows: 

Ricardo Adams, Herbie Atkinson, Howard Awad, Boogie Bailey, Yogi Bair, Jay Barrows, Otto Brauer, Ernie Brooks, Hank Brown, Bobby Cassell, Jack Colan, Willie Collins, Dickie deTreville, Jack deTreville, Henry Ford, Danny Gammon, Donald Greshham, James Jackson, Dennis Johnson, Mike Kittle, Leo Koury, Jim Letizia, Junie Loving, Tony Martin, Kenny Meyer, Cliff Mowells, Buddy Noble, Randy Noble, Henry Pollard, Artie Probst, Terry Rea, John Richardson, Jerry Robinson, Larry Rohr, Billy Snead, Jim Story, Hook Shepherd, Pudy Stallard, Durwood Usry, Jumpy White, Barry Winn, Chuck Wrenn.

The Fan District Softball League folded after the 1994 season. It had lasted 20 years, which was a wonder in itself. There are plenty of true stories from those years at Chandler Ballfield that are almost unbelievable.

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