Tag: Softball Profile

Softball Profile: Barry Christensen

Barry Christensen

Ken Muhlbeier Growing up in Marion, Iowa, Barry Christensen became accustomed to being an underdog. Usually the youngest and often the smallest kid in his baseball-oriented neighborhood, Barry was delighted to be included in the games and thrilled just to get on base. Muddy fields and a creek that marked the home run distance made lasting memories…

Softball Profile Bernnie Leland

Bernnie Leland - RR Softball 2021

Ken Muhlbeier Like many other young men, Bernnie Leland enjoyed listening to his grandmother tell stories about his father. His father’s story, however, is quite unique. While still in high school, he was recruited to play shortstop on the city men’s team from Cashton, Wis. In 1938, that same team took up a collection to…

Softball Profile: Ron Carpenter

Ron Carpenter

Ken Muhlbeier Every winter in upstate New York, the freezing of the local ponds in Elmira would signal the start of another season of neighborhood hockey games for Ron Carpenter and his brothers. Combined with various other sports such as baseball, football, and volleyball, friends and neighbors joined together to enjoy a kind of neighborhood Olympics.…

Softball Profile: Ron Hunt

Ken Muhlbeier Few people are aware that the Tilt-a-Whirl carnival ride was invented in Faribault, Minn. Even fewer people were able to enjoy sitting in the deteriorated ride seats outside the boarded-up plant with Ron Hunt and his little league team-mates after practice. With his dad coaching, Ron endured the oversized, all wool uniforms and…

Softball Profile: Greg Schneider

Ken Muhlbeier Before he was honored as an Honorable Mention All American linebacker, and before he was named to the All-Century Team at the University of North Dakota, Greg Schneider was a concession boy carrying a cooler and selling ice cream sandwiches at his father’s softball games in Grand Rapids, N.D. “The problem was, I owed…

Mike Rains: Softball Profile

Ken Muhlbeier It is not difficult to understand how the Anaheim Angels would be the favorite team for young Mike Rains. Growing up in Orange County, Calif., would probably be a sufficient influence but his story has a much more interesting twist. Mike tells us that he lived near Angels stadium but there was one special…

Softball Profile: Bill Schaible

Softball Profile: Bill Schaible

Keith Bradley Just outside Flint, Mich., is the small town of Swartz Creek. It was here that Bill Schaible first played little league baseball. Like many other youngsters, his lack of success prompted him to turn his attention to other endeavors. “In four years of playing I think I got one hit,” he remarked. Golf,…

Softball Profile: Tony Haffer

Ken Muhlbeier Born in the borough of Queens in New York City, it’s little wonder that Tony Haffer’s earliest baseball memory occurred in 1956, when his uncle just about swallowed his cigar leaping out of his chair. “He did it, he did it!” he exclaimed! “He” was N.Y. Yankee pitcher Don Larsen, and what he…

Softball Profile: Paul Lewinski

Paul Lewinski

Ken Muhlbeier Before Paul Lewinski became “Mr. Softball” at Robson Ranch, he was a struggling little league player in Schenectady, New York. When asked what position he played in little league, his response was “anywhere they could hide me.” Paul admitted he spent a good deal of time worrying less about performance on the field…