
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 30, 1993                   TAG: 9311300097
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From staff reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BUENA VISTA PAYS TRIBUTE TO MANUEL

Buena Vista native Charlie Manuel, who spent six years in the major leagues and also has had a distinguished baseball career as a manager, was honored Monday night in ceremonies at Southern Virginia College for Women.

Manuel, a Roanoke County resident, was the featured speaker at a fund-raiser for the proposed Laurel Youth Park in Buena Vista. One of the two baseball fields will be named for Manuel, who was a three-sport standout at Parry McCluer High School.

Manuel, who recently was named hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians, managed Class AAA championship teams the past two seasons at Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League and Charlotte in the International League.

"There've been so many athletic greats to come out of Buena Vista," city recreation director Ronnie Coffey said, "but, as far as I know, only one who played in the major leagues."

Manuel played for Minnesota and the Los Angeles Dodgers before going to Japan, where he had some of his greatest success, including winning a Triple Crown.

Coffey said his group hopes to raise $25,000 in cash and $25,000 in labor costs, and the state has pledged a $50,000 matching gifts. The complex would include a football field.

In other sports in the region:

The Roanoke Express shuffled its roster Monday, signing Russian center Oleg Santuryan and trading right wing Gerry Daley to Louisville for defenseman Paul Ohman.

Santuryan, 23, left Chatham of the Colonial Hockey League to join the Express. In the Russian Elite League, he played with current Express players Lev Berdichevsky and Oleg Yashin.

by CNB