Dreams of playing college baseball came true for high school boys at Allen Community College. Those dreams and the accomplishments of the young men were celebrated at the first Red Devil Diamond Club Baseball Hall of Fame banquet Friday night.
Two men who were Red Devil baseball pioneers, a Red Devil team that has not been equaled since its run to the 1983 JUCO World Series, the only ACC player taken as a Major League Baseball first-round selection and an ever-faithful Red Devil baseball fan were in the inaugural class of the RDDC Baseball Hall of Fame.
“If Judith Bragg were here she’d be wearing a black fan skirt, a red Allen County sweatshirt and her ever-present smile,” said Becky Nilges, who presented Miss Bragg into the Hall of Fame. Bragg died in 2001 but left a lasting legacy of being the No. 1 Red Devil baseball fan.
As Nilges delivered story and snippets of Judith’s devotion to the college baseball program, there was laughter and tears by those “baseball boys” who shared the memories. Judith, who was an instructor and coach at ACC for almost 20 years, kept ACC baseball players full of apples and oranges and breakfasts through three decades — 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Two high school seniors — one from Iola and one from Garnett — became friends as freshmen at Allen in 1970. Elliott “Chief” Bass grew up in Iola and Michael Whipps of Garnett loved baseball. They both played summer baseball.
Maybe over a game of catch — neither one is for sure when it came about — the two decided to step up to the plate. They went to the college administration with a plan in place for a college baseball team. They made the arrangements to play games on the Iola city ball diamond at the park.
“Don’t give up on your dreams. We wanted to play college baseball. We did that. I had a dream one night that I was a mortician but after a visit to the funeral home it was not for me. Whoever would have thought I would end up in the forensic side of medicine,” said Bass.
The college also stepped up and got a hit, agreeing to have a team in the spring of 1971. Uniforms and equipment were purchased and the yell “Play Ball” was heard and Red Devil baseball was launched.
Speaking of launching — no other team in Red Devil baseball history has launched more home runs than the 1983 team. Those Red Devil boys hit 93 home runs and won 47 games on their way to a third-place finish at the JUCO World Series.
Records still stand that were set the spring of 1983. The team had power at the plate, power pitching, speed and defense.
Allen head coach Val McLean talked of that 1983 team and its many accomplishments Friday.
“We were a close team. We still are,” said first-baseman Dan Christie. “We just had a special group of players who all wanted the same thing — to play baseball and win games.”
Eleven players for the 1983 team were on hand Friday to receive a Hall of Fame tile and bask in the memories of that special season.
The youngster of the inductees is David Proctor who came to Allen as, in his words, a raw kid who needed to develop into a baseball player. Proctor became an All-America pitcher as a sophomore in 1988. He signed with the New York Mets at the end of that season after they made him their No. 1 pick of the June draft.
Proctor spent six years in the Mets organization. He never made it to “the Big Show” but he does not regret those years as a professional baseball pitcher. He was an all-star selection and helped the Binghamton Mets win the AA World Series in 1992.
What a night!
There will be more like it. The Red Devil Diamond Club is an ACC baseball alumni club that plans to continue honoring those boys of spring.
