Last Hall of Fame Banquet

Since the late 1930s the Tacoma Pierce-County Baseball-Softball Oldtimers Association has been dedicated to recognizing and honoring the many players who have been instrumental in the growth of baseball and softball in our community over the years. Sponsored by the Tacoma Athletic Commission, Columbia Bank, and the Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club, a banquet is held in the spring to honor baseball and softball players, coaches, umpires and sponsors who have made significant contributions to the game.

In the past, these get-togethers have been very informal gatherings of fans, pros, amateurs, duffers and all people interested in America’s favorite pastime–BASEBALL! In the mid-fifties the banquet was held at the old “Firs” nightclub out on Pacific Avenue. Dill Howell and John Heinrick were the heads of this occasion. Then, in the sixties, with a great assist from the T.A.C., the next banquet was held at the Top of the Ocean Restaurant in Old Town. The get-togethers were held there until it burned down (no fault of the Oldtimers).

The gatherings then moved along with the T.A.C. to the 9th and Commerce location for about ten years. Here, Frank Ruffo, Rudy Tollefson, Harold Smith, Dan Walton and others, joined Heinrick to organize the affair. A lapse of four years followed until a committee again organized a get-together in 1985 at the Poodle Dog Restaurant in Fife, led by the hard-working Joe Hemel. The Poodle Dog was our home for the next five years.

The Oldtimers made the move to accommodate more fans by hosting the banquet from 1990–98 at the Puyallup Elks. From 1999–2009 our annual banquet was held at the Tacoma Elks Club and in 2010 and 2012 it was hosted at the Affifi Masonic Center. In 2013, the biggest function ever, featuring the 60th anniversary of the Cheney Studs baseball teams, was held at the McGavick Conference Center in Lakewood. In 2015, 2017 and now again, in 2022, we return to the McGavick venue for “The Last Hurrah!” Why is this the last banquet of the Oldtimers? Simple. We’re running out of true Oldtimers and there won’t be anyone left to celebrate with so we hope to go out in a blaze of glory!!

We are indebted for the continued support by our major sponsors–in particular the Tacoma Athletic Commission, Columbia Bank, the Tacoma Rainiers, the Ben B. Cheney Foundation, Connelly Law Offices, Kellie Ham Type & Graphics and Cascade Print Media. All have been very generous supporters and deserve to be recognized for their community service. Please be sure to let them know how much you appreciate it the next time you have the opportunity.

Today’s banquet promises to be another outstanding recall of the great moments in both baseball and softball in Tacoma and Pierce County. We are welcoming some of the finest athletes every to play, coach, umpire, and sponsor here. For some the recognition is long overdue.

Our list of talented Hall of Fame inductees with their outstanding list of achievements can be found on our website at www.oldtimerbaseball.com and in this souvenir program and will make for good reading. Be sure to take time to read about the incredibly talented inductees this year as well as those in the past. With-out a doubt, the National Past-time has been well-represented in Tacoma-Pierce County! In closing, remember… May continuing good health be your lot until the Great Umpire in the Sky dismisses you to the Clubhouse.