Sports in RI: Rhode Island Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame ’24 induction in November – John Cardullo

The Rhode Island Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame 2024 Induction dinner is only a month away!

The Rhode Island Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame has come a long way since it’s first induction dinner that took place in November of 2018. Back then it was held at the Cranston Country Club, before 325 people. The first induction saw 33 people enshrined into the Hall of Fame as either Men players, Women players, Directors, Coaches, Umpires or Sponsors.

“We inducted a larger than normal class,” said Hall of Fame member and Chairman Kirby Murphy. “We went in that direction because we felt those inducted in 2018 were very deserving. Plus, we didn’t know at the time how this Hall of Fame was going to be received, or if there was even going to be a second induction class.”

Well, there was a second class, counting the class of 2024 there will be a total of seven induction classes and a total of 153 members plus two Teams of Excellence. This year the Hall will induct 11 new members another Team of Excellence and a new special category, the “Pioneers who Enhanced and Enriched the Game of Slow Pitch Softball”.

Kirby Murphy, who was inducted in the first class in 2018 and is currently on the RISPSHOF Executive Board, is still playing softball in his early 60’s, has just come out with a senior signature bat line with Miken sports and is an advisor to Miken when it comes to bat design and promotion.

Nancy Santropadre who was inducted in 2019 is the President of the RISPSHOF and currently still an active player with the traveling women’s team called Shot’s Fired. They have been playing a national schedule the last several years and have finished several times in the top 5 in these tournament events.

Scott Sunderlin has been a fixture on both the local and national scene, is the organization’s secretary, and was inducted in 2021.

David Marland who was inducted in 2019 serves as the RISPSHOF’s treasurer and has had a long history in the men’s side of the sport, as a player, coach and sponsor.

Anthony “Cal” Calabro‘s career dates to the late 1960’s is the senior member of the board of advisors and was inducted in 2019.

The board is rounded out by John Cardullo who was inducted in 2019, as well.

Softball is played all over the world, but it is the number one participation sport in the United States, with soccer coming in a close second place. The sport which has several affiliations, the USA Softball (formerly ASA), this organization is the governing body of softball and offers the sport to the youngest of players. The United States Slow-pitch Softball Association (USSSA) is a distant second largest affiliations with the National Softball Association (NSA) and Freedom softball included in the fragments of softball affiliations that have made it to the National scene.

In Rhode Island, the most members of the Hall of Fame either played their careers in the ASA since the 1960’s or USSSA since the 1980’s. The NSA came to Rhode Island in the mid-1990’s have had players get elected into the Hall of Fame as well.

The Class of 2024

The Class of 2024 include Mitchell Kuras, Ken Bouchner, Jim Angell, Stu Crowley, Jeff Sinku and John Mello Sr. will all be inducted in the Men player’s wing. Rob Barr will be inducted as the only Umpire that will be inducted. Wayne Freitas and Robert Puopolo will be inducted as Directors and the Women’s class will have Karen “Boo” Rego and Paula Gordon as inductees. The Team of Excellence will honor the 1979 Clark & Sons Locksmiths team that was the first Rhode Island team ever to win a National Championship. The Pioneers who Enhanced and Enriched the Game of Slow Pitch Softball were the founding members of the original 50 & over league in Rhode Island. Dan Quin, Raymond Chalonne, Louis Pennacchia, Sr., John DiMaio and Pasquale DiMaio.

The Hall of Fame idea was first mentioned in 1997 when an article was published in the state’s only softball publication, The Fielders Choice. The seed was planted, and several attempts were made over the next several years to launch the Hall of Fame. It wasn’t until the spring of 2017 when a serious attempt was made and took hold to make the Hall of Fame a reality. Since that first dinner event the Hall of Fame induction dinner has grown to over 400 attendees and had to be relocated to the Crowne Plaza in Warwick. The Hall of Fame committee has had an annual Golf Outing in the Summer to establish an annual get together for Hall of Famers, their friends and supporters. The golf outing allows the Hall of Fame community to welcome those newly elected members to be the guests of honor at this event.

This year’s dinner event will be held on Saturday, November 16^th again at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick, RI. Tickets for this even are $50 per person and must be ordered and paid for in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door for this event. If you are interested in attending this year’s induction dinner, please contact ticket chairwoman Nancy Santropadre at 401-487-7184 to reserve your tickets.

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John Cardullo, sportswriter. John is a lifelong Rhode Islander. His sports experience is extensive, as a player, coach and sponsor of youth and high school sports. He has been the Public Address Announcer for the CCRI Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams. Both the Cranston East and Cranston West football, Cranston East Boys and Girls basketball for 12 years before moving onto the Central, Juanita Sanchez and Mt. Pleasant football teams. Also, Central HS Boys and Girls Basketball, Scituate High School Boys and Girls Basketball, Johnston High School Girls Basketball, Boys Volleyball, Girls Softball, Boys and Girls Soccer teams, and CLCF football.

John has been involved in Men’s softball for 61 years, starting as a batboy for his father’s team in 1964. He moved to the teams scorekeeper then became a player in 1975, and created the men’s team, Players Corner Pub, that went on to win 20 State Championships in their 35 year history. In the 1990’s he published the statewide softball magazine “The Fielders Choice” which was dedicated to all topics related to adult softball. As a feature writer, John and the publication won several media awards. In 2019 he was elected and inducted into the Rhode Island Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame which he also helped create. John is a softball umpire in Warwick, Rhode Island.

In his spare time John golfs with his life long friends on a weekly basis in season. After retiring from the printing Industry after a 45-year career, he now writes specialty sports columns for RINewsToday.com.