Five area baseball players and contributors have been selected for induction into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame at the 27th annual hot stove banquet, scheduled for Thursday, January 25, 2018, at the Salem Civic Center.
This year’s speaker will be Bobby Basham, a Franklin County native and current member of the Chicago Cubs organization. Basham will also be one of the five inductees along with David Hagan, Jon Hartness, Doug Heptinstall and Rodney Spradlin.
Spradlin was a standout pitcher for William Byrd High School and also played two years at Carson Newman College. He spent many years as an assistant and head coach for the Terriers. In 1997 he coached the Terriers to their only state championship and was named the state Group AA Coach of the Year.
Rodney is still involved in many aspects of baseball. He works for the “Baseball Factory” organization, traveling the east coast evaluating baseball players’ skills. He’s also coached the West team in the annual Virginia Commonwealth Games for the past 25 years.
Basham just completed his sixth season working in the front office for the Chicago Cubs organization, which included their 2016 World Championship season, the first for the Cubs in 108 years. He currently holds the title of Assistant Director of Minor League Operations and has held roles in Advance Scouting and Major League Strategy.
Bobby grew up in Franklin County and graduated from Franklin County High School in 1998. He was named both the 1998 Timesland baseball player of the year and the Ray Bellamy award winner for going 8-0 with a 0.77 ERA for the Roanoke Valley District champs. During his junior season he was a key contributor on one the greatest baseball teams in Eagles history — the 1997 Northwest Region championship squad that went 22-2.
Hagan is the owner of historic Calfee Park in Pulaski, where he brought in the New York Yankees as a minor league affiliate in the Appalachian League. The franchise has been the most successful in the league, attendance-wise, for the past three seasons.
In addition, Hagan sponsors Little League tee-ball, baseball and softball organizations. In 2010 he created the “Growing the Future” program to partner with the community and give back to local public schools.
Hartness, a Salem resident, earned a baseball scholarship to Virginia Tech after an outstanding high school career as a pitcher at Mills Godwin High School in Richmond. He was primarily a relief pitcher but an occasional starter, and holds the distinction of pitching the first nine inning no-hitter in Tech baseball history.
Jon joined the Tech coaching staff in 1990 and served as pitching coach for 17 years. He is currently the athletic director at Cave Spring High School.
Heptinstall is currently the State Director for American Legion baseball, and also serves as District Chairman for the state rules committee. He’s spent numerous hours of volunteer time making sure the local league runs smoothly.
Doug also coached Little League baseball for almost 20 years in the Cave Spring program, and he also coached a 13-year-old team that won the state tournament and the regionals.
In addition, local free lance journalist Bill Turner has been selected to receive the Wayne LaPierre award for contributions to the game. Bill is a regular contributor to the Roanoke Star newspaper and been involved in baseball in many other areas as well.
Tickets for the banquet are available at the Salem Civic Center box office, through members of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors or by calling President Charlie Hammersley at 540-556-0377 or Vice President Gary Walthall at 540-427-1977.
The Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame was founded in 1991 and honors players and contributors from the counties of Alleghany, Roanoke, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin and Montgomery and the independent cities located within the boundaries of those counties. The Hall of Fame building is located on the grounds of the James E. Taliaferro Complex, next to the Salem Red Sox administrative office behind the third base seating area of Salem Memorial Ballpark.