Posted by Joe O Link: Daily Times Sports
on 2/1/2008, 3:50 pm
65.78.48.135
Daily Times, Softball Notebook: Dunbar’s entry into Hall of Fame is overdue
By Anthony SanFilippo
Eight years ago, we knew.
Call us prognosticators. Call it a hunch. Call it an educated guess. Call it what you will, but we knew.
The only surprise is, it took this long.
But finally, after a lot of politicking, Theresa Dunbar will be enshrined into the Amateur Softball Association of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.
It took a little poking and prodding for ASA of Pennsylvania District Six Commissioner Joe Organek to get the state committee to reconsider the rules of eligibility, but it worked.
Now the Daily Times female softball Player of the Millennium — a title this publican bestowed upon her in August 1999 — will be inducted into an elite club that features a short list of men from Delaware County.
The most recent duo — Gene McSweeney and Daily Times male softball Player of the Millennium Don Westbrook, were feted in 2001.
But Dunbar becomes the first woman from our county.
“I’m still a little nervous about it, but Joe says it’s all said and done, so yeah … it’s kind of exciting,” said Dunbar, who recently completed her 30th season playing softball in the county.
It wasn’t easy to get the star outfielder honored statewide.
Rules were in place that athletes were not eligible for Hall of Fame induction until they were retired for five years.
Exceptions were made for players who continued to play in leagues designated specifically for senior ballplayers.
Organek argued that while there are several senior men’s leagues, there are very few, if any, for women. Therefore, women who reached the age of 50 had to keep playing with younger ladies if they wanted to keep playing softball.
“I told Joe I wasn’t planning on retiring, so if he wanted me in, he was going to have to figure out how to change the bylaws,” said Dunbar.
“He got the ball rolling, they made some adjustments and the next thing I know they’re talking about me and I’m like — wow! This is the ultimate. Who would have ever thought?”
Certainly not Dunbar, who was a quality basketball player at West Chester University and later played in Europe.
But once she started playing softball, she fell in love with a new sport.
“It didn’t take long for the basketball to find its way to the back of my garage,” she said.
Sadly, Dunbar thinks this was her last season playing fast pitch, but doesn’t see herself slowing down in slow pitch.
“Simply put, she’s the best women’s player I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of softball,” said Jose Castro, who plays in an astounding eight leagues in the area.
Even more impressed with Dunbar is Joe Spina, coach of the newly crowned Del Val Youth Women’s Fast Pitch champion Chaos squad.
“Theresa is inspirational to the girls on her team,” said Spina. “She’s out there competing with these kids and hustling, always talking, always telling them what to do. She’s a delight to watch and learn from. She’s an ambassador to the game especially in this area. Just seeing her and the attitude she brings to the sport.”
And as an ambassador, she’s already lobbying for a collection of women from Delco who could easily follow in her footsteps into the Hall of Fame.
“Maybe now women like Mary Ann Curran, Dawn Scott and Barb Miller can get in, too,” Dunbar said. “If we can get one, maybe we can get a few more because we’ve turned out some really good softball players in Delaware County.”
Ever the team player.
That’s what makes her so special.
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