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Chester County Press

Baseball standouts to be inducted into local hall of fame

01/07/2014 05:17PM ● By Acl

By Steven Hoffman

Staff Writer

Mickey Morandini, a former all-star second baseman with the Philadelphia Phillies, will be the guest speaker at the 34th Kennett Old Timers Baseball Hall of Fame Banquet that will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18 in the Red Clay Room of the Kennett Fire Company.

“I think he's going to be a very good guest speaker,” said Bob Burton, president of the Kennett Old Timers Baseball Association. Burton explained that, in addition to his playing career as a Phillie, Morandini is now managing in the team's Minor League system, and helping to develop the next generation of players.

Morandini has always been a fan favorite.

He was a member of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies team that not only won a lot of ballgames, but an enduring place in the hearts of Phillies fans everywhere. That team was comprised of a band of boisterous brothers—Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Dave Hollins, and Lenny Dykstra among them—known for its rowdiness and hard style of play. Those heroes of Macho Row won 97 games, finishing first in the National League East and defeating the vaunted Atlanta Braves for the N.L. pennant. Morandini played second base and batted near or at the top of the order for the 1993 team that made it to the World Series after finishing in last place the year before. In all, Morandini spent nine of his eleven Major League seasons in a Phillies uniform. He collected 1,222 hits and posted a batting average of .268 during the course of his career. On Sept. 20, 1992, Morandini became just the ninth player in Major League history to turn an unassisted triple play. The avid baseball fans in attendance at the banquet will have the opportunity to ask Morandini about the triple play and the memorable 1993 season. Attendees will also celebrate the accomplishments of talented local baseball players.

“We have a really good class this year,” said Burton of this year's inductees.

This year, there are eight inductees: Tim Barnes, Edwin Colon, Glenn Davis, Gary Entrekin, David Ferrell, Scott Fowler, Dave Hons, and John Peet, III.

Tim “T-Bone” Barnes, a resident of Elverson, was a pitcher on the Coatesville High School team. He also played little league and in the Caln Farm, Babe Ruth, and Senior Babe Ruth leagues. In 1978, he joined the Coatesville Adult Baseball League, where he played for 25 years. He was part of ten championship teams during that span, and Barnes earned Championship MVP Awards in 1997 and 2007.

Playing in the Kennett Men’s Senior League from 1995 to 2000, Barnes was a member of the championship team five times and was named Pitcher of the Year twice—in 1996 and 1999. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Delaware County Baseball League in 2003. In 2009, he was part of the MSBL Fall Classic championship team, and in 2013, he played on the Tri-State Baseball League squad that won a league championship. Barnes was named team MVP.

Like Barnes, Edwin Colon was a standout in Men’s Senior Leagues in the area. Colon was born in Patillas, Puerto Rico. He grew up in the Kennett area playing in the Babe Ruth League and American Legion, where he was an all-star outfielder. Colon also wrestled and played soccer at Kennett High School. He was a catcher on the Cecil Community College team in 1980. He went on to earn a degree in English Literature from West Chester University. In 1990, he was a distinguished honor graduate and became an Army Sergeant. He was an honors graduate of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) School in 1997. He earned a law degree from Widener University School of Law in 2003.

Glenn Davis was a shortstop, second baseman, and pitcher for Garnet Valley High School, where he earned the Sportsmanship Award in 1978. He played on the 28-and-over Blue Rocks team that won a championship and on the 2013 Tri-State MSBL championship team.

Davis went on to coach numerous Brandywine Youth Club baseball, soccer, and basketball teams, including the Concord Legion 13s, which he coached to the 2007 State Championship.

Gary “Monk” Entrekin grew up in Coatesville playing on the Coatesville Little League, Babe Ruth League, and American Legion teams. He was an All-Ches-Mont League selection in high school and later earned the Charles Hemming Scholarship for a varsity baseball player at West Chester University. 

Entrekin earned professional tryouts with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, and Cincinnati Reds. He went on to be a four-time all-star in the West Chester Adult League, where he played on three regular season championship teams. He was a three-time all-star in the Kennett MSBL, and had a cumulative batting average of .412 from 1991 to 1996.

Entrekin has also been a manager and coach. He served as a manager and player on the Kennett MSBL 30-and-over team. The team compiled a 63-14 record from 1991 to 1996, and over a ten-year period the squad won five regular season titles and four playoff titles. He managed and played on the Kennett team that won the Fall Classic National Tournament in Florida.

David Ferrell played first base and pitched for the Springfield High School baseball team. He was also a standout at the University of Delaware, where he was a pitcher. In 1992, he joined the Kennett Men’s Senior League and has excelled. He was a part of several league championship teams. In 2002, he earned the league’s Cy Young Award by compiling a 6-0 record with 100 strikeouts in 57 innings.  He also played on the annual National Senior Men’s Baseball Fall Classic Tournament in Florida for 15 straight years. The team only missed the playoffs once and won the tournament one year.

Ferrell, also a standout soccer player, was a 1993 inductee into the Springfield High School Hall of Fame in the second year of that hall of fame’s existence.

Ferrell considers his best baseball years and memories to be those from the Kennett Senior Baseball League because it was competitive and challenging, but also because of the friendships and relationships that developed.

Scott Fowler was born in Washington D.C. but his family eventually moved to Oxford where he played baseball, football, and basketball for Oxford Area High School. He was a pitcher and catcher and played varsity baseball starting as a sophomore. He was voted the team MVP in 1979 and the next year Oxford tied Kennett for the regular season title. Oxford then defeated Kennett in a playoff to win the Southern Chester County League title, the school’s first championship since 1949.

As a graduate student at Penn State, Fowler had the opportunity to coach high school football at Danville, Pa. This led him to start a teaching and coaching career. He moved to Virginia Beach and started teaching high school biology and has been teaching and coaching ever since. In 2001, he accepted a position teaching at Norfolk Academy, one of the oldest independent schools in the country. 

Dave Hons was a teammate of Fowler's on the Oxford Hornet squad that won the Southern Chester County League title. Hons was the starting second baseball for Oxford from 1978 to 1980, and was the co-captain of the championship team. He led the league in batting with a .432 batting average and was named team MVP as a senior. He was voted as a first team all-league selection in 1980 and was also named MVP of the Southern Chester County League in 1980.

While also at Oxford, Hons was a three-year player on the varsity football team, and was voted the MVP of the team as a junior and Best Offensive Player as a senior. He broke a school passing record with 253 yards in one game.

He participated in several professional tryouts and played Division1 baseball at Towson University in 1983 and 1984. He went on to work in professional baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies Class A Minor League Peninsula Pilots. He was also the general manager of the Chicago White Sox Class A Minor League team in 1986 and 1987.

John Peet, III started his baseball playing with the Marple Newtown Little League, where he was a shortstop and pitcher. He went on to star in the Marple Newtown Babe Ruth League, the Marple Newtown American Legion, and the Taft School. As a high school player, he was a first baseman, catcher, and pitcher. He earned a spot as the catcher with the University of Virginia.

Later, Peet was a standout with the Media Delco League team, the West Chester Adult League Team, the Kennett MSBL League team, the Delco League MSBL team, and the Tri-State MSBL over-50 League. He has earned many awards through the years, including numerous all-star team berths. He was selected as the MVP of the Kennett MSBL League twice, Pitcher of the Year once, and earned the Player of the Decade Award.

Peet coached KAU ball for five years and was the All-Star Team coach two times. He also started the Kennett Junior Legion program and was a coach for three years.

Burton, whose father helped start the Kennett Old Timers Baseball Association, said that he always looks forward to welcoming a new class of inductees. Burton's Barbershop in Kennett Square is a shrine to local baseball history. 

Burton said that one thing that could make the annual banquet better is for more of the men who have been inducted to return to support the new class of inductees. In addition to celebrating the accomplishments of this year's inductees, there will other offerings for baseball fans to enjoy.

“There's a nice silent auction with a lot of baseball memorabilia,” Burton said. “The dinner is very good. It's just a nice, casual night. There's a lot of baseball talk. You can learn a lot about baseball just by talking to others—these are all baseball people.”

Tickets for the banquet can be purchased at Burton’s Barber Shop at 105 W. State St. or by calling 610-444-9964.