Eight Enter - Tri-County Baseball League's Hall of Fame

From Morning Call Staff Reports

 

The Tri-County Baseball League recently added eight new members to its Hall of Fame, increasing the total to 87.

The 11th inductee class has five members from the original era, 1950-63, and three from the modern era. The league was formed from teams in Lehigh, Northampton and Bucks counties.

Here is a look at each inductee:

Gaza "Corky" Feher Bingen (1957-66): Feher was a center fielder with a shotgun arm. A contact hitter, he was always among the team leaders with a high on-base percentage. Feher was involved with organized baseball for 40 years with Bingen and other teams in different leagues as a player and a manager. He was also considered a Billy Martin type who played hard and was more worried about winning than making friends.

Terry Musselman Richlandtown (1960s): Musselman played at Moravian College for four years before coming to the league, where he established himself as a top right-handed pitcher. He threw hard but had a sharp curve.He was always among the league leaders in strikeouts and ERA. Musselman tossed a one-hitter in 1966 with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. He was the league's top pitcher in 1962 with an 8-2 record.

Norm Slotter Richlandtown (1955-66): Slotter was a second baseman and outfielder and was considered an excellent fielder. He was also a quality left-handed batter who always hit better than .300 and was among the league leaders in RBIs.

Rich Wolfinger Quakertown (1957-1972): Wolfinger was an outstanding shortstop and a pesky leadoff hitter who almost always made contact.Wolfinger regularly batted in the .330 to .345 range.

Wilmer "Pepper" Martin Richlandtown (1946-53): Martin, a slick- fielding, strong-armed third baseman, won the batting title in 1947, the same year his team won the championship. He also played for Quakertown in the East Penn League in '47.

Dan Hayes East Texas (1990-97): Hayes was a quality right-handed pitcher with one of the best curveballs in Tri-Co history. He also gave his teams lots of innings, tossing at least 56 innings four consecutive years.His best year was 1994, when he was 6-3 with a 1.99 ERA and helped lead East Texas to its only league championship.

Herb Hemerly Limeport and Stahley's (1973-97): Hemerly was one of only two players to play 25 years in the league. He finished among the career leaders in virtually every offensive category. He hit better than .400 three times and was a great all-around player who played on five championship teams.

Todd Swenk Upper Perk (1980-97): An all-around athlete who starred in three sports in high school, Swenk played 18 years with a .303 career batting average. The tall, lanky right-hander compiled a 25-9 lifetime record. He was 9-1 in 1982 and 8-2 in '83. He played on three Upper Perk championship teams in the 1980s.



  

From The Morning Call -- November 9, 2000

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