Art Bustard -
Bustard began his Perky career as a Skippack outfielder in 1946. But
after an eye injury suffered in a quarry in 1952 robbed him of his
playing days (except for an occasional pinch-hitting appearance
following the advent of the batting helmet), Bustard became the overseer
of the franchise, even using personal funds to keep the franchise
afloat. He played the role of team owner, GM and manager from 1953 until
1975. But his role as Perky visionary may have had a more lasting
impact. It was Bustard who championed Perky expansion and who first
suggested attempting to attract a Norristown franchise. He helped do
away with the five-mile radius rule, which stopped franchises from
recruiting players from beyond a five-mile radius of their designated
boundary without written permission. And during the gas crises of the
1970s, he helped institute the point system in the standings which is
still used today.
George Hoffman –
Hoffman was the long-time overseer of the North Wales/Nor-Gwyn franchise
(1967-90), a man who by all accounts lived for the Perky League, and
died at age 58 after leading Nor-Gwyn to its last Perky in 1990 - the
lone Perky win not won by either Norristown or Collegeville since 1982.
Hoffman played under Floyd Cash at Lansdale in the 1960s, but once he
took over the Ambler franchise and moved it to North Wales, he was a
Nor-Gwyn man forever, even winning a playoff game over Collegeville with
a pinch-hit in the 1986 postseason - at the age of 53. He died shortly
after his North Wales defeated Norristown in the finals in 1990.
Vic Alderfer -
Alderfer, who graduated from Souderton in 1947, played football and was
manager of the baseball team. He served in the Air Force and was
involved heavily in baseball. He owned and operated
Harleysville for 39 years‚ from 1954-1993, after returning from military service
in Korea. He also worked behind the scenes and has been the league treasurer since 1998 and was also a former league
VP. He is synonymous with the Harleysville franchise. After Franconia became
Harleysville, Alderfer became overseer, owner and GM of the Hornets and guided
their fortunes from 1955-1993, even managing the club from 1955-60. A devoted
Perky man, Alderfer has seen Harleysville win league titles in 1957, 1959 and
1975. Vic was a member of the North Penn-Souderton Sports Hall of Fame committee
and the Harleysville Community Center. He also served on the Lower
Salford Township Planning Commission and on a number of other government
boards, but many remember him outside the meeting room. He was always
there working the fields at the Harleysville complex. Along with local
government and area sports, Alderfer was also a member of several
service organizations, a volunteer for Harleysville Ambulance Squad and
the treasurer of the Montgomery County chapter of the National
Association of Postmasters.
Carl Wismer –
The Perky League would not have been the Perky League without Wismer,
who seemed to know and be known by every single player in his 30 seasons
as an umpire. Was a fabulous athlete at Souderton High School, Wismer
was a fabulous athlete, the first four-letter winner at Souderton High and had two try-outs with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Was a
fixture in the league for 40 years. Affectionately known as “Wiz‚” Carl played
for Souderton, Lansdale and Harleysville from 1960-1972 and managed Harleysville
from 1968-1972. He was always known as the nicest guy in the league. After his
playing days‚ he umpired in the Perky League for almost 30 years until his death
in 2001..
Bob Arner -
Bob graduated from Penn State in 1960 and played three years of varsity
baseball and freshman basketball. He was the Pennridge High School
varsity baseball coach from 1965-1980, winning seven league
championships which attaining a 77% winning record. Bob had signed a
professional baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956 and
spent a month at the Class D Dublin, Georgia minor league team before
deciding to attend Penn State. For the Nittany Lions, he pitched in the
College World Series. He was a 1955 graduate of Lehighton High School,
an All-League basketball player and honorable mention footballer his
senior season. Bob is a member of the Carbon County Sports Halls of
Fame. Played for Souderton from 1962-80. He won the pitching title in
1975 and helped win three titles for Souderton. He has been a
long-time area basketball official and baseball umpire. He started
umpiring in 1982 and retired in 2006.
Floyd Cash -
Art Bustard once called Cash, "the greatest Perky coach of all time,"
and few would argue. He is known as “Mr. Baseball” in Lansdale. Cash
managed the Lansdale Tigers from 1947 until his death in 1976. During
that time‚ the Tigers won seven Perky playoff championships. He started
out as a player in the 1920’s as a left-handed catcher. but after taking
over the Lansdale franchise from his son Tom in 1950, was a player,
manager and "Mr. Tiger" for three decades.
Charlie Romanoski
- Graduated from Sell-Perk in 1932. He lettered in football and
baseball. He played 11 years for the Sell-Perk Greenjackets. He played
baseball for various community league teams in the Perkasie and North
Penn area. Romanoski founded the Souderton Warriors just after World War
II. In 1946 he helped organize the Perky Valley Twilight League.
"Souderton's Grand Old Man of Sports" played some 35 years and into the
1970s. Charlie pitched full time for the Warriors from 1946-57.
This intimidating left-hander was known as "The Roman," He also
managed/coached/sponsored the team up until the 2000s. They won 3 Perky
League playoff championships. He cans still be found taking care of the
field "Romanowski Field", named after him. He was chairman of the Bux-Mont
Junior Legion Baseball League for 30 years. In 1946 he helped organize
the Big Six Football League. He was a coach and player for seven years
and was instrumental in the development of the Souderton Midget Football
Association where he coached for over 25 years. He helped start the
Souderton Midget Baseball League in 1948. In 1980 Charlie was inducted
into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the
Montgomery County Community Coaches Honor Roll.
Bob Strimel -
Strimel wore many athletic hats until his death in 1998, including the
one of champion table tennis player and the president of the
Philadelphia Tennis Association - feats made even more amazing
considering he was born without a right hand. But the Perky League was
also a major beneficiary of "Strim's" time and efforts. Strimel was the
franchise owner and manager of the Lower Gwynedd (now Ambler) franchise
for over 20 years and served as league president from 1995-97. A Norristown native, Mr. Strimel graduated from Norristown High School
in 1933 and later from Temple University, where he majored in
mathematics and minored in physics and chemistry. He began a 57-year
affiliation with Tinius Olsen Testing Machine Co. in Willow Grove in
1941.Over the years, he received 20 patents, including one for a machine
that can test the hardness of 3,000 tennis balls per hour. His
memberships included the American Society for Testing Materials, which
cited him in 1987 for 25 years of service and in 1941 made him an
honorary fellow. Mr. Strimel was a former president of the Philadelphia
Tennis Association, a member of the Upper Merion school board from 1950
to 1956, a former director of the Norristown YMCA and a director of the
Lower Gwynedd Little League for more than 20 years. He had been a
director and general manager of the Lower Gwynedd Senior Baseball team. In the 1940s, he was a
Pennsylvania table tennis doubles champion and won numerous Montgomery
County tennis titles. He was tennis chairman at Plymouth Country Club
from 1956 to 1971. In the mid-1960s, he helped establish the Gold Cup, a
Philadelphia- area development program for indoor junior tennis. The
Philadelphia Tennis Association presented him its Seymour Coren Memorial
Trophy in 1970 for his contributions to the development of tennis. 
Wilson "Wils" Kulp - Player (1948-73 for Graterford
first and then Collegeville) and manager
(1974-75) for 27 years with Collegeville. Was widely considered the greatest
hitter to ever play in this league. He won his first batting title with
Graterford in 1954 (.446 average). He later won four batting titles with
Collegeville, 6 HR
titles and in 1966, he captured the triple crown batting .494 with 9 HRs and 33
RBIs. He also was the MVP of the All-Star game that year. He took over the
managerial reigns in 1974 and led Collegeville to the championship as they
defeated North Wales in the finals in four games. 
Art Landis – Played for Franconia in 1948
and 1949 before they moved to Harleysville and eventually became manager in
1974, he was still an active pitcher for the Hornets,
pitching until 1978 (at the age of 48). He stayed with the team for three more
years pitching batting practice before finally retiring in 1981. During his stint in
the Perky League, he won six pitching of the year trophies, turning in an 8-1
record in 1952, an 8-0 record in 1955, a 9-3 mark in 1957, a 14-2 record in
1961, an 8-1 season in 1966 and a 6-1 mark in 1968. He also finished second one
year with a 13-2 record. He threw four no-hitters and accumulated 143 wins. He
managed Harleysville to the Perky League Championship in 1975 as they defeated
North Wales in the finals. He only took over managing because no one else would
do it.
Tony Cianciulli - Owner of the Norristown
A’s franchise (1980-2007) that has won seven straight titles. He brought back
Norristown as a league franchise in 1981 after many years of not having a team.
He was a great GM and he went out and got the best players to help his team win.
This was evident in the fact that in the 29 years has been the owner, the A’s
have been to the finals 22 of those years winning 15, including a league record
7 in a row from 1996-2002 in which the team had a 215-36-5 record including
playoffs.
Jesse Hodges – Was one of the most imposing
physical specimens and feared slugger for Lower Gwynedd (now Ambler) in the
1970s and 1980s. He served as an Infantry Officer in the US Army 7th Special
Forces Group (Airborne) out of Fort Bragg, NC and 5th Special Forces
Group (Airborne) in the Republic of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War
(serving two tours of duty). He
went to Temple University and was named to the All-American Baseball team in
1967 (one of two Temple players ever); hitting .387 with 8 homers and 36 RBIs in only 28 games.
He also earned three masters Degrees from Temple and was inducted into
their Athletics Hall of Fame. He signed a free
agent contract with the New York Yankees and spent one year in their farm system
before the military called. He spent
his career as a Professor at Montgomery County Community College for 37 years.
He received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award from MCCC and was
awarded Professor Emeritus in Psychology and History. He still found
time to play in the Perky League and like most things in his life, excelled. He
led the league in home runs in 1986 for Lower-Gwynedd belting out 13 homers
along with 31 RBIs and also had a .375 average. 
Dave Kurtz
– Was called the “Babe Ruth” of the Perky League. He played in the Perky
League from 1972-99 with Collegeville and then came out of retirement to
lead the Norristown A’s to two straight titles in 2001-02 before
retiring for good. He racked up 18 championships and two batting titles
in his career. Playing for both the Collegeville and Norristown
(’01-’02) organizations‚ When Kurtz finally took the uniform off, he had
been a part of 18 Perkiomen Valley Twilight League championship teams -
Collegeville (16), Norristown (2). Kurtz won two batting titles, four
playoff MVP awards and was a first team All-Perky League selection 13
times.
Randy Kurtz - Began his prosperous Perky
League career with Dave in 1972‚ will now enter the Hall of Fame alongside his
younger brother. After spending his opening year (1972) with the old Perkiomen
Township team‚ Randy moved on to Collegeville in 1973‚ where he won 12 championships
– nine of which were as a player/manager. Randy collected two batting titles and
was an 11-time All-Star. He batted .509 in 1985.
Ed Seiple - Was a teammate of the Kurtzes‚
playing for Collegeville from 1975-1989. The team went to the finals 14 of the
15 years that Seiple played. Seiple’s continual production and exceptional
defense at the short stop position landed him in several All-Star games. He was
a catalyst and an example of what he did can be described in the 1987 season as
he hit .423, scored 40 Runs, stole 20 bases and for good measure, smacked a
couple home runs too. He could do it all. He was
a lifetime .346 hitter with an on base percentage of .426.
Ron Moorehead - Entered the league as a
member of the Collegeville team‚ but switched over to Skippack during that
season to get more playing time. It proved to be a great move for Moorehead‚ who
became a five-time all star and the 1980 league MVP during his tenure. With
Moorehead as their leadoff hitter and centerfielder‚ Skippack went to the finals
four times‚ and won the championship in 1982. he was named to the all-league
team 5 times.
Alex DiNolfi - Played his entire 17 year
career with the Norristown A's from 1981-1997. Known for his excellent speed and
defensive instincts as the premier centerfielder in the league; he was a natural
Doubles Hitter and recurrent number two hitter. He never won a batting title.
But was always on the top-10, coming in second in 1990 (.462). He batted over
.400 four times and led Norristown to 10 league championship series, winning 4
of them. He came so close in 1992 with a .473 average, but just failed to make
the minimum plate appearances quota. He could beat you so many ways: here is an
example of one of his typical seasons: 1987 (.340 average, 5 home runs, 25 RBIs,
32 runs scored, 11 doubles and 19 stolen bases)
Vince Elsier – He started out as a crafty
pitcher for Skippack before heading over to be a player/manager for Harleysville
up until 1988. He was named to replace Bill Leggieri as Manager of the
Norristown A's in 1989, a position he held from 1989-2005. When he retired
as Manager of the A's after the 2005 championship win, he was the winningest
coach in Perky League History with 579 wins. Led A's to record seven (7) straight
Perky League Championships. The team won 9 Championships in a ten year stretch
(1996-2005). He led them to ten (10) championships overall and also captured 11
regular season first place finishes. He
appeared in two other finals and lost, which means that the powerful A's only
missed out of playing in the finals five (5) times in 17 years under the reigns
of Elsier.
Gregg Vermeesch - Played 14 seasons and won
11 championships from 1977-1990 with the Collegeville Colonels (Collegians). A
consummate number three hitter who combined high batting averages with
run-producing power. He led the league in home runs half a dozen times, was
named an All-Star more times than he can remember and won the league batting
title in 1981 (.492). He also set the league HR record in in 1985 with 13 that
stood well into the 1990’s. In 1978, had 11 RBIs in a single game (3 HRs, 2 of
them Grand Slams).
Alan Frick –
Alan graduated from Pennridge High in 1967. He played football (three
letters) and baseball (two letters) and earned first team All Bux-Mont
League for two years on the diamond as a third baseman. He graduated in
1972 from East Stroudsburg where he earned first team honors in 1970 and
second team in 1972 at the hot corner, captaining the college’s baseball
squad as a senior. Played for Charlie Romanowski
at Souderton from 1971 to 1988, His rookie year (1971) with the Warriors
was his finest, hitting .418 at the plate, leading the league in batting in
addition to being named as the Perky League MVP. In the 17 years he played, he never hit below .300 at the
plate, winning playoff championships with the Warriors in 1972 and 1976. he
became a player/coach towards the end of his career. He is now an umpire for
both the Suburban One and Pioneer Athletic Conference leagues. Al is also a
member of the Tri-County Baseball Hall of Fame (1991 Inductee) where he won two
batting titles and had a .405 career average playing for Perkasie. He
coached Pennridge Midget Football from 1973-1976 and has been a PIAA
football official from 1982-present. Alan recently officiated the AAAA
2005 State Championship football game. He has also been a baseball
umpire from 1975-present and umpired the 2001 Class A State Championship
final game.
Paul Dewey Goetter –
Graduated from Lansdale Catholic in 1960 where he starred for the
baseball tem all four years. Moved on to LaSalle University and played
three years, leadingd the team in Home Runs (4) and total bases (37) his
junior year and graduating in 1964. He was a
player/manager for Lansdale for 19 years. Was an outstanding defensive
third-basemen and also a great pitcher. Lansdale won six titles (1960, 62, 65,
67, 68, 69) during his playing days. He was third in the league in batting in
1967 (.375) and then went on to win the league MVP award in 1970 going 9-3 as a
pitcher and then won the Pitcher of the year award the following year in 1971
with an 8-1 record. He took over the managerial reigns in 1976 after Floyd Cash
died and managed up to and including the 1978 season before retiring.
Ed Butch Denczi – Was one of the original
Norristown A's that played in their first season (1980). Started out as the
shortstop and then moved to catcher. He played for the A’s from 1980-84, then
signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates right before the Perky season and
played minor league ball in 1984-85. He re-joined the A’s in 1986 becoming one
of the premier power hitters in the league as he batted .439 with 11 HRs and 56
RBIs. He won the league’s triple crown in
1987 (.475, 11 HRs, 41 RBIs). After sitting out part of the 1988 and 1989 seasons with severe back
problems, he came back in 1990 to lead the league in home runs with 11 (he also
batted .409 and drove in 40 runs). In 1991, he hit .384 with 5 HRs, and 28 RBIs.
He batted .320 with 4 HRs, 29 RBIs in 1992 and still
maintained a 300+ average until he finished up his
career in 1996 as a first basemen hitting .328 with 4 HRs and 18 RBIs.
Charlie Prediger –
Charlie played football, basketball and baseball at North Penn High
School and graduated from Bordentown Military Institute, Bordentown,
N.J. in 1965. Football: Offensive end and punter All Bux-Mont Honorable
Mention, 1964. Basketball: First Team all Bux-Mont, 1964; Honorable
Mention in 1963; Second leading scorer in Bux-Mont (20 points per game)
in 1964; Co-Captain in 1964; Named MVP for NPHS in 1964; Starting lineup
for Bordentown Military Institute; State Champions in New Jersey
Independent Schools, 1965. Baseball: Bux-Mont Champs 1962, 1963, and
1964. Named First Team All Bux Mont 1963-1964; Undefeated 1964 (only
second undefeated team in Bux-Mont history; 16-2 pitching record; 0.46
earned run average; 169 strikeouts in 122 innings; Member East-West
American Legion All Star Team (winning pitcher, 1964); MVP, NPHS in
1964; Six no-hitters, two for Jenkintown in the Pen-Del league, three
for Lansdale Tigers in Perky League, one for North Penn High School. He
pitched for the
Lansdale Tigers right out of High School in 1965 (4-0 record) and 1966
(5-0 record). In the two years he pitched for Lansdale, he threw three
no-hitters. Then signed a contract and played for six years as a pitcher for the
Red Sox Minor League system. Achieved AAA Status and played for
Louisville for the International League. He came back to the Perky League
in 1972 and played with
Lansdale and finished 2nd (7-2) in the 1980 pitching award and then in Harleysville up until 1983 and then joined the Collegeville franchise and became
part of their 1980’s championship dynasty pitching up until his early 40’s.
Other honors: Montgomery County High School Athlete of the Year, 1964;
Drafted by Baltimore Orioles, 1965; Re-Drafted by Boston Red Sox, 1967;
Inducted into North Penn-Souderton Area Hall of Fame also.
The Lansdale Reporter Newspaper- The
Reporter has given exceptional coverage for the Perky League, and it's been a
huge asset for the community and local sports in general. When the paper first
started in 1870, the very first edition had a baseball box score in it, so that
shows the commitment to baseball has always been there from Day One. Coverage of
the league goes back to the early days in the 1920's and '30's, and again in the
'50's following a short hiatus for the league due to World War II. But it was in
the 60's and '70's that coverage of the league, and other local sports, changed
for the better, thanks in large part to Dick Shearer, Charley Myers
Chris Loschiavo- Played the majority of his
career with the Norristown A's starting in 1981, Then, after several years away,
a return with Upper Merion and another comeback at Plymouth. He played for
Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, Montgomery County Community College and then
for St. Joe's University. In 1986, after baseball had taken him to the
point where he signed a contract to play for the New York Yankees and reached
Class AA, Loschiavo became the youngest Division-I baseball coach in NCAA
history when, at 23, he took over the reins for St. Joseph’s University. He
still holds the career record for wins by a St. Joe's coach with 184 in his
10-year stint. In 1999, was inducted into the St. Joseph's Baseball Hall
of Fame. His attachment to the Perky League spanned three decades.
Loschiavo was a perennial all-star at second base for the A’s, and hit over .400
every season in the '80s, including such numbers as 1982-(.442); 1983-(.455);
and even into the 90's (1991-.473).
Jim Bergey– Began his Perky League career
as a 16-year old pitcher for the then Franconia AA and promptly led the league
in pitching (5-1). After Franconia became the Harleysville Hornets, he helped the
Hornets win regular season titles in 1953 and 1954 before realizing his ultimate
dream by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955. Bergey would pitch in the
minors for almost two years before returning to the Perky League to play and
later manage the Hornets for several more years.
Bob Pellechio – Was a member of the
Norristown A’s from their first game in 1980 to the day he retired in 2004. He
was a jack-of-all-trades as he earned all-star honors at five (5) different
positions: second base, short stop, third base, left field and designated hitter
and was the All-Star game MVP in 1986. He was also a member of the Norristown
squad that won a league record seven straight playoff titles from 1996 to 2002.
Jim Randolph- Signed by the St. Louis
Browns in 1953, he would spend five years under contract. He would play at
Thetford Mines in Quebec, Canada; York, Pennsylvania; Aberdeen, South Dakota and
Vancouver, Washington. And so became a long journey of getting his college
degree and then a Master's degree from West Chester State Teachers College (now
West Chester University).
Working the laborious jobs at Allenwood Steel and Goodrich Tire. And in that
decade from the mid-1950's to the mid-1960's playing baseball for the Norristown
franchise in the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League . . .And he made the
Norristown franchise great. In 1957 the Norristown All-Stars as they were known
then had been last in the standings. In 1958 this inductee joined the team and
Norristown finished first but lost in the Playoff Finals. The next year the
Armitage Hotel would sponsor Norristown who accordingly changed the Team name to
Armitage. They finished second in the standings and lost in the Playoff Finals.
In 1960 they would finish first in the regular season, but get knocked out in
the semi-finals. In 1961 they would get a new sponsor and change the name again
- this time to the Norristown Sportsmen Club. Three times the charm as
Norristown won the Playoff Championship. They would win the Championship again
in 1963 and, in 1964, win both the regular season and the Playoff Championship.
All totaled, Randolph played 8 seasons for Norristown. Three Team name changes.
Five different Managers. One constant presence behind the plate. His Teams
appeared in six Playoff Finals series winning three of them. Additionally they
won the regular season title three times. And while our records are incomplete,
for the years we do know about . . . In 1960 he finished third in the League in
hitting with a .385 average while knocking in a co-league-leading total of 5
home runs. In 1963 he finished third in the league in hitting again with .356
average and hit .369 in 1964. In his final year of 1965 he batted an even .300.
But Jim Randolph wanted to coach and when he had earned his degrees he went back
to his Alma Mater and was an assistant baseball coach to Jim Lytle at Shaw
University.In 1971, he moved back to this area and started the baseball program
at Montgomery County Community College. His Teams won back to back Community
College State titles in 1980 and 1981 and Montgomery County Community College
has placed a lot of baseball players into the Perky League. By the count of
current MontCo Coach Lou Lombardo there are 38 former or current Mustangs on
Perky League rosters in this 2011 season. And there are at least four former
ballplayers who played under this inductee at Montgomery County Community
College that are already in the Perky League Hall of Fame and, to a man, they
all have said that Mr. Randolph improved their abilities on the baseball field.
A coach he wanted to be - a successful coach he has become. A member of the Shaw
University Hall of Fame and a winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Montgomery County Coaches Association.
Paul Lepre - Lepre played a total of 16 seasons in the Perky League,
spanning from 1980 to 1996. He played first for Norristown, then Trooper
and finally with Collegeville. Lepre won five crowns, four with
Collegeville and one with the A’s. Lepre Won the league MVP in 1992. he
batted .427 and had a 7-3 pitching record. Lepre has the rare
distinction of playing in the championship series for three different
franchises: Norristown, Trooper and Collegeville. He was there nine
times in all. A pitcher, first baseman and outfielder, Lepre was the
league MVP in 1992 when he hit .427 with seven homer and 37 RBIs. He
also won seven games on the mound that summer. He spent his first seven
seasons with Norristown before moving over to Trooper in 1987, where he
began as just a player and became the player-manager in 1989 when the
team reached the championship series. Back in the day he was
playing in 2-to-3 different leagues," said Lepre, who was the Perky
Pitcher-of-the-Year runnerup in 1986 (8-3), 1992 (7-3) and 1993 (5-1)
while double-shifting as one of the most feared sluggers in the circuit
from his first-base slot. “I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t love
the game.” After sitting out the 1990 and 1991 seasons to manage the
J.P. Mascaro American Legion team and umpire in the Perky League, the
love resurfaced when Lepre returned to the field as a player with
Collegeville in 1992. Long-time friend Mike Creciun had taken over the
managerial duties from Randy Kurtz, and it was an easy sell. All Lepre
did was help the White Sox run off four more championships.
Todd Moyer - Moyer played in 14 seasons, his Perky career
also beginning in 1980 and ending in 1995. He never wore any uniform
other than Collegeville’s. Moyer was one of the many Perky League
players who came through the Boyertown baseball program, migrating to
Collegeville for Perky games. After three seasons in the league, Moyer
was signed to a minor league contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates,
spending 1983 and part of 1984 in the Pirates farm system. He would
return at the end of the ’84 season, in time to help Collegeville beat Lepre’s Norristown team in the finals. Moyer also missed the 1986 season
when he spent a year helping coach the Boyertown Legion program. His
first MVP season came in 1982 when he hit .468 with 8 homers and 35
RBIs. In 1989 he would win the triple crown, hitting .459 with 12
homeruns and 41 RBIs, capturing his second MVP. He also won four games
as a pitcher. The following year, he once again won the league MVP
Award, again leading the circuit in hitting with a .476 average, 31 RBIs
and winning three games on the mound. Moyer won 10 total championships
with Collegeville. The big guy from Boyertown could do it all on the
playing field, as evidenced by the fact that he played all nine
positions on the field with equal proficiency. The league actually
created a special utility player position on its all-league team to
accommodate the versatile Moyer. As he began showing in 1981, Moyer
could also pitch, winning two games and saving the other on the mound as
Collegeville swept Norristown for the title.
Dave Webb
- He was a self-taught batter who patterned his left-handed swing
off former Phillie Johnny Callison. A student of the game he listened to
innumerable broadcasts as a kid and imagined how he would position
himself on the field or how he would write a lineup if he were a manager
of a big league team. Because of a late birthday he was always a little
younger than the rest of the guys around him and as he recalls he got
his start playing baseball in a sandlot with much older kids from his
West Norriton neighborhood. By the time he got to American Legion he
knew exactly what to do with his bat and led the League in hitting with
a .488 average even though he had started the season as a 15 year old.
His second year he again won the batting title and in his third season
of American Legion he finished second. And by that time in 1967 he had
graduated high school and was in the Perky League as well at age 17
manning left field. Now let's be clear, he was manning left field at
Hallman's Grove. And that is a whole different thing altogether. For
those of us who remember playing at the Grove, left field was a bit . .
. shall we say, "submerged." If you fielded a ball by the fence in the
left field corner chances are that your infielders would be lucky to see
you at all. All they would see was a thrown ball coming back at them.
But the kid knew the game and turned out to be a very smart defensive
player. In 1969 he challenged for the League batting title hitting .420
but fell back to fourth place in the last week. Always with a keen eye
for a walk he was among the league leaders in on-base-percentage his
entire career. In 1977 the Skippack Team had a number of injuries and
finished the season dead last with a record of 3-19-6. And it was
during this abysmal season that founding Manager and Perky League Hall
of Famer Art Bustard turned over the reins of the Skippers to this
inductee and he took on the unheralded tasks of field maintenance,
fundraising, and recruiting players. The very next year he would manage
a Team that would complete the last to first regular season finish with
a 20-8 record and make it all the way to the Playoff Finals Series. A
best of five contest between Skippack and Collegeville. Now Collegeville
had won the Championship the year before but in the words, of this
inductee they were not yet great. Skippack jumped out to a two games to
nothing lead in the series. Collegeville came back and won the next two
games and then the fireworks began. Game Five. Now this current
post season saw a new version of Skippack play an eleven-inning
nothing-nothing tie against Pottstown which the Times Herald called the
"Greatest Game Never Played." In 1978, game Five of the Playoff Finals
should have been titled "The Greatest Game Never Finished." Back and
forth over four innings each Team took the lead. In the top of the fifth
inning with the light fading Skippack took the lead 12 to 11 and had the
bases loaded. A few more runs for safety; get Collegeville out in the
bottom of the inning and they would own the Championship. Unfortunately
for Skippack time was not on their side and the game was called on
account of darkness. The next game started but was rained out. Finally
the seventh game of the best of five series began and Skippack went up
early with a Grand Slam by Phil Leggieri. And Skippack held that lead
even though Collegeville battled back to a 4-3 score. Then late in the
game with bases loaded for Collegeville and two strikes on Perky League
Hall of Famer Eddie Seiple it happened. Pitch after pitch. Foul Ball
after Foul ball. A Twelve pitch at bat . . . and then the ball sailed
over the left field fence. Skippack visibly sagged and thus began the
torment from the other side of the field, "You Can't Beat Us!" It was as
painful a baseball moment for this inductee as there ever was. While he
may not look it, he is a very emotional competitor. A man who once
emptied the entire Skippack bat rack and equipment onto the field in
protest of what he perceived to be a bad call. A man who when his first
son was born swore he'd hit a home run his first time up and did it. A
man who will admit that the day he had to take his uniform off for the
last time he cried. He would guide his Skippers back to the Playoff
Finals the next two seasons where they would face Collegeville again and
again....
Glenn Webb - Hitting home runs was all he thought of when he stepped
into the batter's box. And he hit a bunch. He came out of Methacton High
School in 1971. A three sport letterman in football, basketball and
baseball who was a first Team Suburban 1 All Star Catcher. He helped
lead his Lower Providence-Worcester American Legion Team (then sponsored
by Neilson's Real Estate) to a championship and then quickly established
himself as a Perky League all star behind the plate with the Skippack
Skippers. All was good in his baseball world except for one small
dilemma - this man hated to catch. His father wanted him to catch
and so he did, but he really just wanted to play the outfield. But for
four plus seasons there he was toiling behind the plate and taking his
frustration out on baseballs with his bat. Three times over the course
of his career he led the League in RBIs. Twice he led the League in Home
Runs. He was a Perky League All-Star at three different positions -
Catcher, Right Field and Designated Hitter. This inductee along with
teammates Sonny Seibert, Paul Gadziki, Phil Leggieri, Perky League Hall
of Famer Ron Moorehead, Joe Matteo brother Dave Webb constituted a
potent lineup that could unleash runs in a hurry and home runs in
bunches. For six or seven years their combined homerun totals over the
course of a season averaged out to at least one per game. Three or four
times there were back to back to back home runs as well as a couple
Grand Slam/Home Run combinations. As a consequence Skippack became known
as "Skip Jack" for all the balls that were jacked out of the yard.
Sometime in the late 1970's Major League Baseball began its ad campaign
- "Baseball Fever - Catch It!" At Skippack, they had T-shirts printed up
that said, "We Caught It at The Grove!" And this was very apt. As for
most of its history, "The Grove" did not have a fence. You hit the ball
as far as you could and ran as fast as you could. This inductee
remembers a game in the early 70's when he was catching and
Collegeville's Wils Kulp smacked a ball that hit about three
quarters of the way up the trunk of a tree in dead center field about
400 feet from home plate. Ronny Weikel the centerfielder hurdled into
the bushes and was lost from sight. Out flies the ball and two or three
relays later this inductee tagged Wils out at the plate. "I felt like
dropping the ball," he remembers, "I mean how far do you have to hit a
ball to get a homerun." As for his own home run totals . . . he
credits the rest of the lineup. "They had to pitch to me," he explains.
Look who was behind me. In 1985 with a youth movement afoot at Skippack
this inductee decided to retire. Pat Mascaro who had been a teammate of
his in American Legion called up one night to see if he would be willing
to manage the young franchise at Trooper. To this our inductee said,
"No." The next night Pat called again and asked if he wanted to coach.
And again he said, "No." The third night Pat called again and asked if
he would play. The lure is strong. And so this inductee suited up one
last season and finished out his career at Trooper adding at least one
home run to his record - a Grand Slam. Like his brother before him, this
inductee appeared in six Perky League Finals Series. Unlike his brother
this inductee Won the Playoff Championship with Skippack against
Collegeville in 1982. 
John King - A Member of the Upper Merion high School Hall of Fame
and also Brown University Hall of fame. He played football, basketball
and baseball at Upper Merion High School and was Team Captain in all
three sports. All League in Football and Baseball. He was two times the
batting champion of the Suburban One League. All State in baseball, he
was selected to play in the Pennsylvania American Legion All-Star game
when he played for Upper Merion Legion. He was a phenomenal athlete.
After graduating High School in 1975 he started his Perky League career
with a bang. His very first at bat he hit a home run and he just kept
right on going. He had played third base, first base and catcher in High
School but in the Perky League he was a catcher . . . much to the relief
of his teammate Glenn Webb who then finally got to just play in the
outfield. And this inductee was a Great catcher. Strong arm, great
defensive skills and a presence behind the plate that made runners think
twice about scoring from second on a single. He attended Brown
University in the Ivy League where he was a four year starter. He was
three time All Ivy League playing second base, third base and catcher.
In his senior year in 1979 in his final at bat he hit a home run.
Unfortunately the game was called on account of darkness and the home
run extinguished from the records. The loss of that home run cost him
the batting title. And no, not the Brown University batting title or
even the Ivy league batting title - it cost him the national Division
One College Baseball batting title. As it finished in 1979 he led the
nation in slugging and home runs per game average while finishing second
in the nation with a batting average of .495 When he graduated he held
19 school records one of which still remains today. That of highest
slugging percentage in a season with a mark of .699 He owned the career
record for homeruns in the Ivy league for 32 years before it was broken.
The man could hit. So you can imagine his surprise when he was not
drafted into Major League Baseball. He was sure that he belonging at a
higher level and wondered what the scouts saw that he didn't. But with
his usual good-natured aplomb he handled this defeat like he always does
by just moving forward. He married his high school sweetheart.
They settled down in Emmaus, PA and he took a job at Proctor & Gamble
and made the trek to Skippack for Perky League games. And it is a good
thing he did. A scout did take notice of him and recommended that he go
to an open tryout for the Yankees in Florida. So in March of 1980 he
paid his own fare, boarded a plane, set off for Florida and found 159
other guys wanting the same chance he did. After one day of practice a
list went up and cut the 160 guys down to 80 guys. He made the cut. The
second night another list went up with only nine names. He had made the
cut. The nine were whittled to four and this inductee was told to report
to the Yankees Regular Minor Spring Training Camp. All he had wanted to
know if he had been good enough and the answer came in the form of a
minor league contract. He went from Ft. Lauderdale Class A to Class AA
(double-A) at Greensboro, North Carolina where his roommate was Don
Mattingly. When the Yankees decided to freeze all minor league players
instead of moving him to Triple A as he had thought, he took stock of
his life and decided to stop chasing the big league dream and return
home. And the Yankees' loss is the Perky League's gain. In 1978
this inductee won the Perky League batting title with an average of
.407, led the League in Home Runs with 8 and was the Most Valuable
Player. In 1982 when he and his teammates finally threw the Collegeville
monkey off their backs he again hit .407 and led the League with 9 home
runs. In 1983 he again had the most home runs with 12. In all he led the
League in home runs three different times. In 1985 after deciding
that it was time to retire from playing he came up one last time at the
end of the season and just to make a point jacked his last homerun out
of the park. Modest, unassuming he likes to keep things all in
perspective. He is justly proud of his accomplishments and played by a
code which was very simple, "Never show anybody up." Everyone who
remembers him from his playing days recalls him as a gentleman on and
off the field and rightfully so. With his playing days behind him he
still wanted to be a part of the Perky League and was unanimously voted
in as President of League. An office he held for a decade.
Denny Ames - Graduated from Lansdale Catholic in 1974 whose baseball
team won three straight Suburban Athletic Conference Championships in a
row. He was first team All-League and, at the time, his High School
Coach, Rich Fertig stated that, "[He] has a million dollar arm. he has
as much velocity on his fastball as any high schooler I've seen." And he
saw success in American Legion as well. Because of where he went to high
school he found himself on the Hatfield Legion Team. When the other
teams saw what they were facing they were left with no choice but to
act. You see, this inductee was didn't live in the Hatfield area. And
when the other teams figured that out he lived in Cedars he was forced
out to the JP Mascaro American Legion. But now the kid with the rocket
arm who had known nothing but success took his arm up the street to
Montgomery County Community College where Perky League Hall of Famer and
Montgomery County Community College baseball coach Jim Randolph brought
him back to earth by proclaiming that pitchers are "non-athletes."
Reasonable minds may differ, but the truth is this inductee discovered
that his fastball / curveball combination would only take him so far.
Recruited by Manager Art Bustard to come play at Skippack in the Perky
League this inductee turned out to be reliable and dependable for four
or five wins a season. And combined with a potent offense behind him his
fastball was still enough. But if you truly want to be a pitcher it
takes more than just some heat. He knew that and worked on his off speed
stuff. And the point could not have been made more clear to him than a
time early in his career in a game at Harleysville. While on the mound
he found himself shaking off the catcher several times. Perky League
Hall of Famer Carl Wismer who was umping behind the plate, noticed the
extra shake-offs and yelled out to the mound, "Hey, you don't have that
many pitches." But over the years the curve ball improved and then along
came the slider. This inductee credits his teammate Walt Gadziki with
teaching him how to throw it. The slider proved to be the pitch that
would complete him as a Pitcher. And as a pitcher this inductee had fun
in the Perky League. He finds it amusing that he got to pitch against
both Jamie Moyer and John Smiley. And on a Skippack Team that produced
any number of homerun hitters he is proud to say that he jacked one out
at Harleysville to bring his career total to one. This inductee had a
number of memorable games against Collegeville as well. Most notably in
the 1978 finals series when Skippack went out to a 2-0 lead one of those
games saw this inductee pitch a 7-0 shutout that included 10 strikeouts.
In another year he pitched 11 innings to secure a no-decision. As such
he was invited to go with Collegeville on their journeys to the York
Invitational Tournament. But it was in 1982 that he helped secure for
Skippack what they had long wanted. A Championship. In 1982, Perky
League Hall of Famer Dave Webb was replaced as Manager by Ron Moorehead.
Some new faces were brought in including another young Montgomery County
Community College pitcher who is on the field tonight in the Norristown
Dugout Perky League Hall of Famer Vince Elsier. A little bit older
and uncertain of where they were going as a Team, Skippack lost an early
season game to their dreaded rival Collegeville. After the game, the
Skippack players lingered after the game and decided amongst themselves
that they were tired of losing to Collegeville. This year was going to
be theirs. And just like that they began to believe. And a big part of
that belief came from this man on the hill. He posted a record of 7-2 in
the regular season and was named Pitcher of the Year. In the post season
he was unbeatable and when Skippack and Collegeville finally met in the
Playoff Finals he helped stake them to a two games to none lead in the
best of five series. Of course four years earlier they were in that same
situation and by the time seven games had come and gone they had come up
short. And when game three started out as bad as any nightmare can be
they needed to call upon that new found belief in themselves. In
game three, Collegeville jumped out quickly to a nine run lead and it
wasn't until the sixth inning that Skippack got going. Doug Slotter
singled, three walks got in a run, Tony Tornetta and Perky League Hall
of Famer Glenn Webb singled in a runs and then Ron Moorehead followed
with a Grand Slam. Skippack was back. In the top of the seventh
Skippack went ahead by two and in the bottom of the seventh they brought
in this man to save them. The light was fading and you could see
the headlights on the street, but the home plate Umpire declared, "We're
gonna play it till it's done." Three outs later it was and Skippack had
climbed the mountain. 
Bob Altieri - Credits his father for teaching him the fundamentals of
baseball and the right way to play the game. He spent many a night in
the back yard fielding and hitting with his father, but he is also quick
to credit his coaches in Conshohocken Little league for their
instruction of the game by teaching him how to play all the positions on
the field. A standout pitcher and shortstop he made his presence felt in
the Conshohocken Base Ruth and American Legion programs, hitting his way
to notoriety and leading his teams into tournament play year after year.
In one American Legion game, he hit 3 triples. He won an American Legion
batting title at the age of 16. At Plymouth Whitemarsh
High, Bob garnered MVP honors in his junior year and in his senior year
was chosen to play in the prestigious Carpenter Cup played at the old
Veterans Stadium. Moving onto Delaware Valley College, he was named Most
Valuable Player of the baseball team in every one of his four years and
selected as 1st team All-Conference in every season as well. During his
senior year at Delaware Valley College, he received the Ned A. Linta
award for his contributions off the field to the athletic department
where he ran intra-mural football and basketball programs. Honing the
organizational skills he knew he would need when coaching. He became an
assistant coach under the legendary Hank Demito at his alma mater
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School helping to secure the State title in
1994. He then became the assistant baseball coach at Delaware Valley
College from 1995 to 1999 and then became the head coach in 2000 at the
age of 32 where he remains today.
Recruited out of American Legion by Perky League Hall of fame manager
Vince Elsier to play at Harleysville, Bob began his Perky League career
in 1987. Splitting time between the two leagues he appeared in 11 games
as pitcher and shortstop with a batting average of .474. He Played all
nine positions during his perky league career and was selected as a
league All-Star at 6 different positions and Played a total of 22
seasons with five different teams: Harleysville Hornets 1987-1989, Upper
Merion Vikings 1990-1992, Lansdale Tigers 1993-1995, Norristown A’s
1996-2005 and 2007 and Collegeville Black Sox 2012-2013. He was also the
Player/Manager of Lansdale 1994-1995 and Player/Manager of Norristown
1996.Won a league batting champion in 1995 with a .529 average, was a
2-time league MVP runner-Up: 1995 and 1997, 3-time batting title runner
up. Winner of 11 Perky League Playoff Championships, (including a league
record 7 straight) and 3-time Playoff championship runner ups. He played
on teams that won the Harrisburg Memorial Day Tournament 3 times,
Harrisburg Firecracker tournament 4 times and York Colonial tournament 3
times. I want to give credit to Bobby Altieri for writing much of the
information on the 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees on the Norristown A's Web
Site-Thank You Bob.
Mark Brockell - Brockell was an All-State player at Elkton High
School in Maryland who was a four-year starter and four-time All-County
selection. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles twice, but never
signed. He played against the Norristown A's a number of times in Area
Tournaments. At one of the Firecracker Tournaments, Vince Elsier,
Norristown A's manager asked Mark if he would come up and play in
Norristown with them, but Brockell lived in Delaware. And one day, he
called Manager Vince Elsier up and said he wanted to make the trip up
from Delaware and play with the A's. What he did in his career may never
happen again in the history of this league. He won the League Triple
Crown winner 3 times. He won 5 batting titles, including a record that
may never be broken, in 1999, he batted .610. he had 61 hits in 100 at
bats, including 10 Doubles, 15 Homers, 51 RBIs and scored 41 Runs. And
the most amazing thing is he struck out only once. He was walked 22
times and finished with an on-base percentage of close to .700. His
slugging percentage was .800. Brockell also won the league's HR title 5
times and the RBI crown 7 times. He was part of 9 Perky League
Championship teams with the A's and was selected to the leagues all
league every year he played in the league - 11 straight times
(1997-2007). When the league mandated the use of wooden bats in
2005, it was thought that all the offense would go out of the league,
but Brockell won the Batting Crown in both 2005 and 2006, including the
triple crown in 2006. Aluminum or Wood. He is remembered as one of the
greatest players in league history. A power hitting third baseman with
strong defensive skills Played his entire 11 year career with the
Norristown A’s from 1997-2007. He is the only player in league
history to win five batting titles, Including 3 triple crown and 3
league MVP awards When he won Triple Crowns, he didn't just win them, he
exploded his way to them as evident by the numbers of his triple
crown seasons. To put it into perspective, the triple crown has only
been achieved 10 times in Perky League history, Nobody has ever won it
more then once. Mark won it three times. 1998, .515 average, 11 HRs, 41
RBIs. 1999, .610 average, 15 HRs, 61 RBIs and to prove the aluminum bat
wasn't the reason he could hit, when the league mandated the use of
wooden bats only in 2005, Brockell went out in 2006 and won the triple
crown for the third time; .447 avg, 4 HRs and 35 RBIs. He made the
All-Star team every single year he was in the league. He also was the
Player/Manager of the Norristown A’s in 2007. Winner of 9 Perky League
Playoff Championships, (including a league record 7 straight) and 1
runner-up. If you were to look at Marc Brockell's Stats over the ten
year period he played full time with the A's (annual stats bottom of
page), you would see that he finished his career with 60 home runs,
close to 350 RBIs and 300 Runs scored, including close to 70 Doubles. He
was walked close to 160 times. His ten year average would be MVP
States for ANY year. Average (42-90, .465 average with 35 RBIs, 30
Runs Scored, 6 HRs, 7 Doubles and 16 Walks. His On Base Percentage would
be over 0.550. Not many in the History of this league can claim numbers
like that. Maybe the Legendary Wils Kulp or Dave Kurtz or ..... the list
is very, very small.
Eric Fisher- Eris Fisher starred at Plymouth Whitemarsh and was one
of the stars of the 1994 PW team that shocked even themselves by
claiming the Pennsylvania State PIAA High School Championship. Fisher was the winning pitcher and
drove in the game-winning run in the state-final game. He later went on
to star at Eckerd College in Florida and spent two seasons in
independent ball with franchises in both Sioux Falls, S.D. and
Allentown, where he played against the likes of future Detroit Tigers
catcher Matt Nokes, the infamous J.D. Drew and current San Francisco
Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong. He was a gifted and athletic shortstop
with a cannon arm, who could hit for power and average And was also an
outstanding pitcher. Began his career out of high school in 1994 where
he played 2 seasons with the Lansdale Tigers, Before moving to
Norristown A’s in 1996. He Played a total of 15 seasons: 1994-97;
2000-08,10 and 12. Led league in batting in 2002 (.493) and his 13
doubles were tops too. Became Player/Manager of the Norristown A’s
2006-07. He was a Perennial Perky All-Star. He won 8 League Championships in his
career, including 7 in a row with the Norristown A's. He was great
athlete who could pitch and hit and the higher the stakes, the better he
played. This is evident by the fact that of the 8 titles he won, 4 of
those times, he was the Final Series MVP. He also played on 4
Championship series runner-ups.
Frank Monastero - After starring at Bishop Kenrick, Monastero was
signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians and spent a year in the
Indians organization where one of his friends was Jim Thome, and he
played against future Braves Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. He was a pure
hitter. Frank was the heart of the greatest Norristown A’s dynasty. He
is remembered as an explosive run producer who could win a game with his
bat or his speed. He was a loyal and generous teammate. Played a total
of 19 seasons with four different teams: Harleysville Hornets 1988-89;
Upper Merion Vikings 1990-92; Lansdale Tigers 1993-95 and Norristown A’s
1996-06. Was League MVP in 1995 with a .494 average and also led the
League in hits (41), runs (34) and stolen bases (18). After Lansdale had
been beaten beaten by Collegeville in the 1995 final series, he joined
the Norristown A's the following year in 1996 and they proceeded to win
7 straight titles. He led them to two more for a total of 9 League
Championships. He also was a 3-time Playoff championship runner up. Was
league MVP Runner up and Second in batting title with .456 average in
1999. Won League batting champion in 1991 (.489). In 1996 was 3rd in
batting with .402 average, 2001 again led the league in hits with 43,
2002 was 5th in batting with .446 average, 2003 was 4th in batting with
.488 average and in 2005 was 5th in batting with .400 average. It seemed
that every year when the league stats came out, Frank Monastero could be
found in the list of Batting leaders. He was a League MVP Award
recipient and three-time MVP Runner-up. He also played for teams that
won 3 Harrisburg Memorial Day Tournaments, 4 Harrisburg Firecracker
tournaments and 3 York Colonial tournaments. Frank had a rare
combination of speed and power that may never be equaled again. He has
been the Owner of the Norristown Diamonds Perky Franchise since
2012-present. Not surprisingly, he coaxed legendary Manager Vince
Elsier to come out of retirement and Manage the Diamonds. Now he can be
called a Championship Owner also as the Diamonds captured the league
title in 2013, after losing in the final series in 2012.
Tom Christy - Tom Christy began his career with the North Wales
Whalers in 1984. He had been a four year starter at West Chester
University. He pitched a game against Jaime Moyer in American Legion and
had won. He had compiled a 13-2 record at North Penn High School while
striking out a school record 136 batters. And while a tryout with
Pittsburgh didn’t pan out, he made a name for himself in the Perky
league. He was one of the most
dominating pitchers around. He will go down as one of the greatest
pitchers in this league's history. Twice he flirted with perfect
games taking them into the 7th inning only to have them turn into 1
hitters. He led the league in Strike Outs over 5 times. He
accumulated the most strikeouts in league history. Played a total of 20
seasons with three different teams: North Wales Whalers/Nor-Gwyn Packers
1984-85, 1988-1997, Norristown A’s 1998-2000, Souderton Warriors
2001-2004 and finished his career where he started in 2005 with the
Nor-Gwyn Packers In 1994, his 3 hit shutout and 12 strikeouts over
Lansdale was followed by a one hitter and 15 strikeouts against Trooper.
In 1995 he was named Perky league pitcher of the year with a record of
8-1. In 1998 struck out 16 batters in a 7 inning game against Lansdale,
prompting his then head coach Perky League hall of famer George Hoffman
to exclaim, “Why couldn’t he had gotten the other five”. Counting
regular and post season games from 1998 into 2000, Was undefeated over
the span of 22 games, including a perfect 8-0 season in both 1998 and
1999. Also in 1998 he helped the
Norristown team to win the Colonial York tournament and was named
outstanding pitcher of the tournament. He was a Two-time pitcher
of the year in 1995 and 1999, while finishing runner-up in 1998. The only thing Tom Christy had to prove was
whether he could be better on a team like Norristown. Yes, his Nor-Gwyn
team had miraculously won the playoff championship over Norristown in
1990, but even he had to admit that too often he was pitching to get
four or five out an inning. And so in 1998 he said yes to the idea
perhaps he could still be even better, he then moved to Norristown.
He was a Perennial Perky League All-Star. Winner of 4 Perky League
Playoff Championships and 1 runnerup.
Dan Chieffalo - The "Chief", as he was often called, Dan Chieffalo
was a standout in his hometown of Scranton, earning All-Region honors at
Bishop Hannan High School and All-American honors at the University of
Scranton. He won the 2000 league batting crown with a .541 average, he
also hit 8 HRs and had 36 RBIs. He was runner-up MVP that year. He was
always in the Top-10 in just about every offensive stat. And yes, he
too, was part of the Norristown dynasty winning 9 Perky League Playoff
Championships, including a league record 7 straight. He Played a total
of 9 seasons with Norristown A’s: 1995-2006.
2015
Fred Faison - While the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League finals was
far too short, at least it produced a memorable Hall of Fame induction.
Fred Faison, all of 64 years young, who stopped playing for Collegeville
just one season ago, went in by himself, a fitting tribute to a man who
spent 38 years in the league - all as a player. “It feels pretty good,
but I don’t know that it’s all sunk in yet,” said the living legend. “It
was nice to be recognized that way, and it was nice getting texts from
guys like Todd Moyer, who said, ‘Welcome to the club.’ Faison said
he first heard of the induction back in March when Collegeville owner
Carl Meixner called him with the news. “I’d been joking with (former
league president) Ben Enters about when I was going in, and he’d always
tell me that I had to stop playing first.” Faison finally did that this
year, stepping aside when the preparation for the season became just too
much to endure. “In recent years, the getting-in-shape part of playing
was getting harder,” he said. “It got to be that chore wasn’t worth the
effort to keep playing.” As for memorable Perky moments, Faison
said championships like those in 1977 (his first of a record 22) were
always memorable, but it was the players he played with and against over
the years that made the run special. “What I remember best are the guys
I shared the dugout with at Collegeville all those years,” he said.
“Ninety-nine percent of the guys I played with were the best teammates
you could ever ask for. “The guys I got to play with and got to know are
more memorable than any game or championship we won.” As for his future,
Faison said he’ll take things a day at a time. “It was a good run,” he
said. “These days I’m just happy to be alive, and I can’t wait for the
next day.” Faison added that he has an itch to become a coach,
especially at the lower levels of baseball. “I’m going to try and coach
Little League next year,” he said. “I thought I’d prefer coaching at the
Junior Legion level, but I think I can help more at the Little League
level, and I think that would be more gratifying.” And while some would
like to see Faison suit up one more time, he said that prospect is
remote. “I’m pretty sure there’ll be no comebacks,” he laughed. After
winning 22 League Championships, a record that may never be beaten. He
was human though, he lost in the finals four times.
2016
Robert 'Corky' Cutberth - Corky Cuthbert played with Lansdale for 15
seasons (1960-74) and led the Tigers to six championships (1960, 62, 65,
67, 68, 69). He was a three-time batting champion, in 1960, he batted
.462, outdistancing the next hitter by .54 points. In 1968, Cutberth hit
.392 to win his second batting crown. Then in 1970, he won his last
batting championship with a .426 average. He also led the league in Home
Runs with 7.
Barry Troster- Troster played with Lansdale from 1963-70 and with
North Wales from 1971-80 and won five Perky championships (1965, 67, 68,
69, 71). He was a two-time Pitcher of the Year (1974, 1975) and in 1977
was the league MVP and batting champion (.500). Troster is one of only
two players to win both the batting title and the Pitcher of the Year
award. In 1974, Barry Troster was the Pitcher of the Year award for the
Perky League with a 10-0 record. He also batted .416 on the year.
In 1977, he was the league MVP with a .500 Batting Average and a 7-1
pitching record. He later coached both baseball and girls basketball at
Upper Dublin High School. He graduated from North Penn High School in
1962 and is inducted into the North Penn Hall of Fame. He was Team
Captain, MVP and All Bux Selection in Basketball and Baseball. He went
on to Ursinus and played both sports there as well, was selected to the
All-Middle Atlantic Conference team three of his his four years. He led
the MAC in hitting and was MVP in 1966. He scored 1358 points in
Basketball and was later inducted into the Ursinus College Hall of Fame
for Basketball and Baseball.
2017
Here is a little story told by Hall of Famer Bobby Altieri about the
beginnings of the A's Dynasty:
When the 1998 season rolled around Bob lobbied Vince to bring Frank
Monestero on board. As a pitcher, Bob had trouble getting frank out in
legion and thought he would be a great addition. And it was. It led to a
great infield combination, a life-long friendship and being God-parents
to each other’s kids. Together Bob and Frank would move to the Upper
Merion franchise as Vince had departed to Norristown and Upper Merion
was closer to Conshohocken where Bob was from and an easier commute for
Frank who was now at West Chester University. Frank got drafted in 1990
by the Indians and spent most of the season in Single A ball splitting
time between the Gulf Coast league and Appalachian league. In 1991 Frank
was back with upper Merion which was the Indians loss and the Perky
League’s gain as Frank batted .489 and won the league’s batting crown.
And who was runner up? It was Bob who batted .474. And in the push-me
pull-you bond that would characterize their days later at Norristown,
where Frank led the league in hits and doubles. But the most important
part of the story is that solidified the core of Upper Merion and in
1992 helped the Vikings get to the playoff finals where they were
promptly swept away by some team from Collegeville.
In 1993, this duo moved to Lansdale at the request of Bob’s brother in
law. In 1993, Bob finished third in the batting race and again led the
league in hits. Frank finished 6th in batting and again led the league
in stolen bases. In 1994, Bob became the manager of the Lansdale Tigers.
Bob’s brother Matt and several of his friends were on the
Plymouth-Whitemarsh baseball team and they were a very talented bunch.
Talented enough that they won the State title. Having been coached by
Bob as a member of the state team a young Eric Fisher remembers it like
this. It wasn’t a question as to if and where we were going to play in
the perky league- we were told. Fish split time at Lansdale as he was
still playing Legion ball at Whitemarsh where he had been pitcher of the
year in 1993 and would be Offensive Player of the year in 1994. But the
young talent made an immediate impact as the Lansdale team went to the
playoff semi-finals but lost to Nor-Gwyn. In 1995, bob won the league
batting title with a .477 average and led his team to the playoff finals
only to be swept once again by Collegeville. All Frank did in 1995 was
win the league MVP award leading the league in hits, runs and stolen
bases. At the conclusion of the 1995 season Bob and Frank journeyed with
the Norristown team to the York Colonial tournament and did what any
good manager would do and look around and assessed his current team.
Lansdale had the runs to compete but they needed some more veteran
pitching. Playing with Norristown, he saw a team that had pitching but
could use some young power at the plate. And a proposition was made;
discussed; accepted and the Norristown team was born. As player manager
of Norristown in 1996, Bob struggled a bit as he juggled playing with a
managing amidst the great expectations of victory and his batting
average dropped a hundred points. And, while batting .382 ain’t too
shabby, frank finished 3rd in the league batting race hitting .402. But
in the end it was all worth it as Norristown defeated Skippack for its
first Championship in five year and his first championship in 10 years.
Marc Brockell
HR BI Avg
2B H AB R BB OBA
1997 played only part time.
1998 11 41 0.515 10 52-99 30 20 0.605
1999 15 51 0.610 10 61-100 41 22 0.680
2000 4 28 0.429 11 39-91 30 21 0.536
2001 4 22 0.449 11 40-89 33 20 0.550
2002 6 42 0.516 9 47-91
31 13 0.577
2003 6 27 0.400 1 38-95
33 12 0.467
2004 5 37 0.379 11 36-95 27
6 0.416
2005 2 36 0.488 8 42-86
20 17 0.573
2006 4 35 0.447 3 38-85
18 10 0.505
2007 2 12 0.329 2 23070 17 16
0.453
total 59 331 0.462 66 416 901 280 157 0.542
Some Moments in time .........
FIRST EVER
PVTL All League Team: 1969 (selected by secret ballot of managers)
P - Barry Troster, Lansdale 5-2, 53.1 IP, 59 Ks, 8 BBs
P - Dave Livezey, Harleysville 8-3, 72.1 IP, 56 Ks, 25 BBs, 8 Sacs
P - Jim Berry, Skippack 8-3, 74.2 IP, 45 Ks, 31 BBs
P - Tom Barrow, Souderton 9-6, 94.1 IP, 88 Ks, 33 BBS
C - Steve Miller, Harleysville 37-79, .458, 11 HRs, 30 RBIs, 29 Rs
C - John Carrado, Lansdale 32-95, .337
1B - Ken Fidler, Skippack 30-81, .370, 8 2Bs
2B - Leo Schnalzer, Harleysville 22-78, .282, 8 SBs
3B - Paul Dewey Goetter, Lansdale 24-80, .300
SS - Ben Hammel, Lansdale 18-80, .225
LF - Dave Webb, Skippack 29-69, .420
CF - Corky Cutbert, Lansdale 28-86, .326
RF - Wils Kulp, Collegeville 31-72, .430, 24 BBs
Utility Players
IF - Steve Moyer, Harleysville less then 65 PAs
IF - Dave Seitz, Souderton 23-76, .302
OF - Gerry Hunsicker, Collegeville 38-83, .458
OF - Ron Erb, Souderton 19-61, .292
1974
PVTL All League Team
First Team
P- Charley Prediger, Lansdale (6-2, 0.99 ERA)
C - Bob Stewart, Lower-Gwynedd (.393)
1B- Mark Hollenbach, Souderton (.418)
2B- Mark Eddinger, Collegeville (.365)
3B- Dave Kurtz, Collegeville (.314)
SS- Eddie Oswald, North Wales (.368)
OF- Barry Troster, North Wales (.416, 10-0)
OF- Ron Erb, Lansdale (.509, 7 HRs, 28 RBIs, 14 SBs) - Triple Crown
OF- Bobby Plank, Lansdale (.343)
Second Team
P- Barry Troster, North Wales (10-0, 0.90 ERA)
C- Boby Hager, Souderton (.243, All Star MVP)
1B- John Baker, Skippack (.390)
2B- Denny Robison, Souderton (.307)
3B- Al Frick, Souderton (.300)
SS- Bob Marberger, Lower-Gwynedd (.333)
OF- Rich Rodegherio, Souderton (.348, 9-0)
OF- Craig Levengood, Collegeville (.247)
OF- Scott Houser, North Wales (.340)
1977 PVTL All-League (selected by the Managers)
P - Frank Speilman, Collegeville 7-1, 57.1 IP, 31 Ks, 28 BBs, 1.72 ERA
P - Tim Todd, Collegeville 8-2, 65.1 IP, 34 Ks, 19 BBs, 1.50 ERA
P - Glen Sypherd, Perky Township 7-3, 62.0 IP, 64 Ks, 53 BBs, 2.36 ERA
P - Rick Budweg, Lansdale 8-4, 70.1 IP, 63 Ks, 58 BBs, 3.00 ERA
C - Steve Miller, Harleysville 23-57, .403, 16 RBIs, 18 Runs
1B - Scott Houser, North Wales 41-87, .471, 34 RBIs, 9 Runs
2B - Ed Seiple, Collegeville 21-59, .356, 8 RBIs, 12 RUns
3B - Al Frick, Souderton 28-75, .373, 26 RBIs, 18 Runs
SS - Phil Butler, Souderton 35-79, .443, 23 RBIs, 25 Runs
SS - Craig Eddinger, Collegeville 24-57, .421, 11 RBIs, 24 Runs
OF - Greg Vermeesch, Collegeville 25-77, .325, 16 RBIs, 16 Runs
OF - Tom Mastromatto, Lower Gwyndedd 36-87, .413, 21 RBIs, 20 Runs
OF - Dave Strawhacker, Lower Gwyndedd 22-58, .379, 4 RBIs, 13 Runs
OF - John Cunningham, North Wales 32-81, .395, 18 RBIs, 26 Runs
OF - Barry Troster, North Wales 31-62, .500, 17 RBIs, 17 Runs
1981 All League Team (selected by the Managers)
P - Tommy Williams, Collegeville
P - Gaylen Royer, Collegeville
P - Charlie Prediger, Lansdale
P - Paul McKernan, Jr., Norristown
C - Scott Lanz, Collegeville
C - Jay Price, Souderton
1B - Doug Slotter, Skippack
2B - Bob Pellechio, Norristown
3B - Joe DeFusco, Collegeville
3B - Butch Denczi, Norristown
SS - Ed Seiple, Collegeville
OF - Alex DiNolfi, Norristown
OF - Greg Vermeesch, Collegeville
OF - Randy Kurtz, Collegeville
OF - Keith Alderfer, Harleysville
OF - Ron Moorehead, Skippack
Top-50 sent in by un-named person
P - Tom Christy, North Wales
P - Art Landis, Harleysville
P - Bob Arner, Souderton
P - Jim Bergey, Harleysville
P - Charlie Prediger, Lansdale
P - Carl Wismer, Souderton
P - Denny Ames, Skippack
P - Roy Gaugler, Schwenksville
P - Tom Barrow, Souderton
P - Frank Spielman, Collegeville
P - Jared Lenko, Collegeville
P - Brandon Bruno, Plymouth
C - Butch Denczi, Norristown
C - John King, Skippack
C - Steve Miller, Harleysville
C - Jim Randolph, Norristown
1B - Dave Kurtz, Collegeville
2B - Frank Monastero, Norristown
2B - Chris Loschiavo, Norristown
3B - Jesse Hodges, Lower-Gwynedd
3B - Alan Frick, Souderton
SS - Ed Seiple, Collegeville
SS - Eric Fisher, Norristown
SS - Tom Szilli, Collegeville
IF - Bob Pellechio, Norristown
IF - Carl Motts, Souderton
OF - Matt Altieri, Collegeville
OF - Glenn Webb, Skippack
OF - Dewey Goetter, Lansdale
OF - Greg Vermeesch, Collegeville
OF - Randy Kurtz, Collegeville
OF - Corky Cuthbert, Lansdale
OF - Ron Moorehead, Skippack
OF - Alex DiNolfi, Norristown
OF - Ron Erb, Souderton
EH - Wils Kulp, Collegeville
EH - Marc Brockell, Norristown
UT - Al Warner, Nor-Gwyn
UT - Bob Altieri, Norristown
UT - Dan Chieffalo, Norristown
UT - Todd Moyer, Collegeville
UT - Paul Lepre, Norristown
UT - Dave Webb, Skippack
UT - Barry Troster, North Wales
UT - Jim Fazio, Collegeville
UT - Matt Sperling, Norristown
UT - Fred Faison, Collegeville
UT - Walt Maute, Schwenksville
UT - Bob Warren, Collegeville
Perkiomen Valley Twilight League All-Star Games
