ZANESVILLE — Another class of area baseball players and contributors will be recognized by the Muskingum Valley Old Timers.
The organization will hold its 37th Hall of Fame Induction on July 15 at the VFW on Putnam Avenue. Pictures will be at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 then the presentation of each inductee.
The 2024 class includes Mike Carpenter, Elvin Culp, Steve Hartmeyer, Kenny Legats, Jeff Harris, Dr. Charles Thomas, Mike Mayle, Virgil Ray Caton, Jason Clark, Zanesville American Legion Post 29 and the Home Plate Award.
Mike Carpenter
Carpenter started his passion for the game as a bat boy for the Junior Pioneers from 1972-77. He played for Goss Supply & Zanesville Nationals All-Stars in 1982; the Zanesville Eagles from 1983-84; the Junior Pioneers from 1985-86; and the Senior Pioneers from 1987-1993. He was also lettered for Zanesville High School.
Elvin Culp
Culp's baseball career started with his dad on the family farm, and soon after, Seymour West from Armco Steel saw him and a couple other boys playing catch so they formed a team of boys from around the Sonora area. They played Adamsville Little League on a Sunday afternoon, winning 23-1 with Culp being the starting pitcher and his introduction to organized baseball.
Culp played several years for Sonora and pitched for Rosecrans High School for two seasons. He also was a member of the Zanesville American Legion team, played for Bob Wolfe and the Juniors for three seasons and was on the Seniors for two seasons.
Steve Hartmeyer
Hartmeyer contributed at all levels during his baseball career, starting with Pepsi Cola in the Babe Ruth League in the 1970 through 1972. He moved up to the Sophomores from 1973-74 then the Juniors from 1975-76 and the Seniors from 1977-83. He also lettered three years for Zanesville and played three seasons for Muskingum College.
Ken Legats
Legats was born and raised in Akron, and enjoyed collecting Cleveland Indian baseball cards, as well as others, including a Satchel Paige card and nine Mickey Mantle “rookie” cards. He enjoyed listening to games on the radio and going into Cleveland to watch games. He graduated in 1966 from the University of Akron with a dual degree in Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics and History and Government.
His first job was teaching mentally handicapped boys for four years. While at Weaver School, he was asked to interview for a Superintendent position with Starlight programs in Muskingum County, and he took the job in 1969, becoming the youngest superintendent in Ohio. He served our community for 35 years.
In 1972, Dave Greiner from the Ohio State University Athletic Department called and asked Legats to come up and talk. The talk was the beginning of Special Olympics in Ohio, and the first Special Olympics competition was held at Zanesville High School as 37 counties participated. The finals were held at Cleveland Stadium before a huge crowd, and the following year Ohio Special Olympics began at Ohio State Stadium with Eunice Kennedy Shriver as our guest.
Legats' greatest joy was his two sons, as he loved watching and helping them with all activities, especially sports and mentoring as a “father to many.” He never missed a game and spent years coaching many teams and helping the Old Timers. His coaching jobs included VFW Team and Conn’s Potato Chips teams, Allied Office Products, Zanesville Americans and Sertoma. He was a board member for Y-City Midget League Board from 1977-1983 and also helped with the Babe Ruth State Tournament, including hosting players.
Jeff Harris
Harris starred for Maysville High School from 1963-1967 where he was a four-year letterman, highlighted by a 9-1 record on the mound as a senior. He also played for the 1965 Springfield Lions Babe Ruth Baseball where he contributed to the State Championship, hitting .379 (.500 in the state tournament) and was 10-1 on the mound.
He also played for the Juniors from 1967-69 where he had an average of .332 in 1969, including a .687 clip during the AAABA tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He hit .340 over four seasons with the Seniors (1970-73) and was a four-year letterman for Muskingum (1968-71) where he led the team in hitting at .391, eighth in the conference, hits, runs scored and doubles. He was selected for the All-Ohio Conference team and in 1971 was named team MVP.
Dr. Charles Thomas
Thomas was an outstanding athlete at Zanesville High School and Ohio Wesleyan University at the turn of the last century. A native of Weston, W. Va., Dr. Thomas was a three-sport star at ZHS, graduating in 1902, and went on to OWU to play football. He was eventually recruited to play baseball for the Battling Bishops by Branch Rickey, the same man who, as general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers four decades later, signed Jackie Robinson.
Rickey acknowledged his memories of witnessing the racism toward Dr. Thomas, the lone African American athlete on the OWU football and baseball teams, inspired him to integrate Major League Baseball. Like the legendary Robinson, Rickey remembered how Dr. Thomas handled himself publicly with great grace, even though behind the scenes he showed his frustration for not being accepted due to the color of his skin.
After leaving Ohio Wesleyan, Dr. Thomas began studying dentistry at Ohio State while also playing baseball professionally in the Negro Leagues and running track and playing football at OSU. He opened his first dentistry practice in St. Louis before moving to Albuquerque, N.M., where he became one of the first African American dentists in the state, practicing for 40 years. He died in 1971 at age 90.
Mike Mayle
Mayle shined on the mound and at the plate during his career. He started with Rankin & Rankin in the Y-City Little League from 1977-79, earning three All-Star selections, including being the only 10-year old on the all-star team in 1977. He was on the FOP team in Babe Ruth Baseball from 1980-82 and then lettered three years for Zanesville High School under coach Donis Toler. As a senior, he was a All-COL selection, going 4-4 with a 2.85 ERA and hitting over .300.
Virgil Ray Caton
Virgil Ray Caton graduated from Roseville High School in 1948 and excelled in all athletics, being all league in baseball, football and basketball. Caton was drafted into Major League Baseball with the Philadelphia A’s in 1951 and signed by the legendary manager Connie Mack. Two weeks later, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served two years during the Korean Conflict.
Before his military service, he pitched for a local team Green Top Taxi, for whom he threw a no-hitter in Washington Senator Stadium during a national tournament. He also pitched in the national semifinals for Green Top Taxi, winning 2-1, then turned around and pitched the next day in the championship game, losing 3-2. Caton returned from the military and had his first son, never pursuing a pro career. He pitched locally for semi-pro teams until the age of 45.
Jason Clark
Clark, who played for Roseville from ages 13-16, joined the organization in 2004, and for the next 20 years, he coached throughout the years. He has been one of our greatest volunteers and was at all our fund raisers throughout the years. Clark was instrumental in rebuilding the Charlie Deveney Practice field and maintains it to this day. He has been a board member for the last 10 years and was president for one year.
Zanesville American Legion Post 29
In 1970, the Zanesville American Legion started sponsoring the Zanesville American Legion Senior and Junior Baseball teams run by the Muskingum Valley Old Timers. Many veterans have come through the MVOTA System over the years, with Zanesville American Legion supporting them all the way.
Back in the early 1990s and 2000s, the Legion went another way, and it took the past commander Eddie Grimes and MVOTA past president Pat Bollinger to get the American Legion back to the Zanesville area. The MVOTA currently runs the legion program under the new commander Mike Watts and two great coaches, Heath Watton and Pat Corder.
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