August 15, 2018 at 1:22 p.m.
Former Rhinelander MUNY softball league establishes Hall of Fame
Ceremony set for Sunday at Pioneer Park
Former Rhinelander MUNY softball league establishes Hall of Fame
Thirty-eight individuals will be inducted into the Rhinelander Municipal Softball League Hall of Fame in a ceremony that will take place at noon at Pioneer Park.
The league, known as the MUNY League, for short, was a staple of Rhinelander summers from the 1950s until it disbanded in the mid '80s. 2018 marks what would have been the league's 60th anniversary, and a group of individuals wanted to ensure the league's place in Rhinelander sports history was cemented for future generations.
"It's something that should have been done a long time ago when most of the guys were still alive, but it just never materialized," said Rhinelander alum Ken Pazdernik, president of the MUNY League Hall of Fame board of directors. "A year or so ago, we started thinking we better get it done before everyone was dead. That kind of started the ball rolling."
That involved a lot of work behind the scenes. For starters, Pazdernik said he reached out to former MUNY League players to gather input on who should be inducted. Those conversations yielded more people who should be considered. Eventually, the former players voted on the final list of 38 people who will be enshrined.
"I sent the information out to all the guys they sent to me so we could get a good cross-section of people that played over the years and get input from as many people as possible," Pazdernik said.
All of the living members of the Hall of Fame have been invited to Sunday's ceremony. Each will be presented with a commemorative medallion and will have their name on a plaque that will be put on display.
Pazdernik recalls the magnitude of fastpitch softball during the summers. Not only were the league's games well-attended, the annual tournament the league held attracted teams and fans from throughout the Midwest.
"It was the thing to do in the summertime," he said. "Anyone - especially anyone who lived on the south side of town - who knew anything about Pioneer Park, even when we were little kids, would be going over there. I think they played a couple, three times a week during the regular league and the stands would be full basically every night.
"Then when we had tournaments in the summer, that was the event of the summer in Rhinelander. Everybody in town would be there. They'd basically close off the street because there were cars all down Oneida Ave., into the grass, on to the field. The parking lot would be totally full."
Pazdernik said the Hall of Fame induction will likely be a one-time only event, unless there's a future push to add more members to the group. He also hopes that Sunday's ceremony will bring back memories for the inductees and softball fans alike.
"My vision here is once we get to Pioneer Park, the guys will have stories they want to share and will talk to the townspeople about what it was like, if they don't remember or were never there," he said. "We'll do a little ceremony, hand out the medallions and if players want to talk, they certainly can do that."
There will be a reception for the Hall of Fame inductees following the ceremony.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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