Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 24, 1994 TAG: 9401240034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: TWO FORMER MAJOR-LEAGUERS LENGTH: Long
The Hall's annual Hot Stove Banquet, including the induction ceremony, is Feb. 13 at the Salem Civic Center. Dinner begins at 7 p.m., preceded by a social hour with cash bar.
The guest speaker for the shrine's third annual dinner is Tommy Henrich, the former New York Yankees right fielder (1937-50) who played in five World Series and four All-Star games.
Humphreys grew up in Bedford County before pitching in the majors and coaching Virginia Tech. Maxwell won a Piedmont League Triple Crown for the 1949 Roanoke Red Sox before spending 14 seasons in the majors as a hard-hitting outfielder.
In addition to Humphreys and Maxwell, the inductees are former Salem Pirates favorite Pablo Cruz; longtime Franklin County amateur baseball fixture Boyd "Hawkbill" Hall; and the late Jack Dame, who was instrumental in establishing a pro franchise in Salem.
Here are the inductees' biographical sketches, from their Hall plaques:
\ PABLO CRUZ: The Pittsburgh Pirates' scouting supervisor in Latin America, Cruz was regarded as the Salem Pirates' most popular and most recognizable player in the club's first two decades.
Cruz, a native of the Dominican Republic, signed with Pittsburgh in 1965 and began his career as an infielder with Gastonia in the Western Carolinas League. He first played for Salem in 1968, batting .246 as the Pirates' shortstop. He rose to Class AAA with the organization in 1970-71. Cruz returned to Salem in 1974-77 to finish his career as a player-coach. He batted .294 for his five Salem seasons, with 38 stolen bases, nine home runs and 183 RBI. His .326 average for Salem's 1974 Carolina League pennant-winning team nearly won the batting title.
Cruz's leadership and guidance also was crucial to the Latin players who came through the Pirates' franchise in the Roanoke Valley.
\ JACK DAME: The longtime manager of the Salem Civic Center, Dame was the general manager of the Salem club in the Appalachian League and president of the Salem Athletic Club.
Dame and Hall member Ralph Richardson worked closely as founders of the franchise. After a bout with tuberculosis as a teen-ager, Dame was unable to participate in sports, so he devoted his considerable energy to organizing and promoting.
Dame began in baseball management in 1949 with a semipro team from Salem and was the guiding force of the club in the 1950s and '60s in the Appalachian League, as the franchise moved toward Carolina League membership. He was named minor-league executive of the year in the late '50s by The Sporting News, and was Appalachian League business manager of the year several times. He also was general manager of the first Salem Rebels hockey club and served as a Salem city councilman. Dame died in August 1983, at age 61.
\ BOYD "HAWKBILL" HALL: A major presence in Franklin County baseball since the 1920s, Hall is known and honored for his volunteer work for the sport.
After playing semipro ball, Hall helped form county leagues in which he coached for two decades. He founded an umpires' association and called games himself. He built fences at several fields, dragged diamonds with his personal vehicles and purchased bats, balls and uniforms for teams. He also sold concessions from the back of his truck.
Hall, 87 at his induction, is a father of 11, including eight boys. "We needed one more boy for a baseball team," Hall often said of he and his late wife, Edna. Hall worked 41 years for a furniture company and also farmed corn and tobacco to support his family.
\ BOB HUMPHREYS: Humphreys grew up in Villamont and graduated from Montvale High School and Hampden-Sydney College before reaching the majors.
Humphreys, 55, pitched in the majors for five clubs - Detroit, St. Louis, the Chicago Cubs, Washington and Milwaukee - in nine seasons (1962-70), compiling a 27-21 record and 3.36 ERA. Half of his career was spent with the Senators. His two seasons in St. Louis included one inning of perfect relief in Game 6 of the 1964 World Series for the champion Cardinals.
Humphreys' unusual "rocking-chair" windup and his competitiveness were his trademarks. Later, Humphreys coached Virginia Tech to a 135-60 record from 1974-78, including two NCAA Tournament berths. In 1979, he returned to pro baseball with the Toronto organization, where he worked as a minor-league instructor and manager. Humphreys, who lives in Arizona, is starting his 11th year as coordinator of player development for the Brewers.
\ CHARLIE MAXWELL: A 14-year major-leaguer with Boston, Baltimore, Detroit and the Chicago White Sox, Maxwell started his pro career with the Roanoke Red Sox from 1947-49. He began as a pitcher, but because of his hitting ability was moved to the outfield at Class D Wellsville, N.Y., in '47.
For the RoSox in 1948, Maxwell batted .294 with 12 homers and 65 RBI. The next season, the outfielder won the Class B Piedmont League's Triple Crown with a .345 batting average, 29 homers and 112 RBI. It was written that Maxwell's prodigious homers at Maher Field "used to bomb the tennis courts at South Roanoke Park."
The left-hander batted .264 during his major-league career, with 148 homers, and he starred as the Tigers' left fielder from 1956-60, averaging 24 homers and 82 RBI per season. Nicknamed "Old Paw Paw," Maxwell, 66 at the time of his induction, has homes in Michigan and Florida.
The five inductees were chosen in voting by the Hall's 11-man board of directors. Nominations are accepted from the public. To be considered, a person must have been a player, manager/coach or contributor to the sport in a seven-county region - Roanoke, Bedford Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin and Montgomery, and the independent cities within those boundaries.
The five 1994 inductees will bring Hall membership to 15 - including nine former major-leaguers.
Tickets for the Hot Stove banquet are $25, with a table seating eight available for $180. Tickets are on sale at the Salem Civic Center box office, in Roanoke at The Roanoker Restaurant on Colonial Avenue Southwest and at Gary Oyler Insurance on Brambleton Avenue Southwest and in Rocky Mount at Meadow Spring Land & Realty Co.
by CNB