Softball and
baseball’s favorite newspaper since 1987
Welcome to the
By
Gerry Turnberg
Central Divisional
Vice President
On behalf of
It is hard to believe that this is
the 29th year that the world’s best softball players
have invaded the
I look forward to this event with
great anticipation each year, not only for the quality of softball that is
displayed, but also for the opportunity to renew old friendships. There are
many memories of past tourneys, but what I cherish most are the lasting
relationships this tourney has created with friends from all over the country.
For those of you who are not familiar
with our program, we are very proud of the fact that
We sent over 150 teams to National
and World tournaments last fall and we are very proud of the fact that the Polars from
This past January, a crowd of over
300 gathered at
All indications reveal that
Let’s give a warm
Once again, some of the country’s finest will be calling balls and strikes at this
Jerry Marinelli
– Jerry enjoys retirement from the Post Office after 36
years of employment. Jerry has retired from umpiring but continues to be our
USSSA Minnesota State Umpire in Chief the past seven years.
Jerry umpired the 2000 and 2004 Men’s
Major World Series in
Jerry is married and has two
children, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. His hobbies include
golfing and being around softball.
Mike Fluegge
– Mike is a 22-year retired U.S. Air Force Veteran and is currently an
Independent Insurance Agent/Broker for
In 2007, he umpired the Men’s Major
World Series, the Men’s “A” and “B” World Series, and the Conference USSSA
Championships in
Mike has two sons and a daughter,
Kevin (24), Nicholas (22) and Skyler (12). He enjoys
hunting, fishing, riding his Harley Davidson Road King Classic and spending
good quality time with his parents, Ron and Mavis, and the rest of his
family.
Dave Robinson –
Dave is a high school and college football and basketball official. He played
in the first seven
Dana Erickson –
This is Dana’s 26th year
as an umpire and his 16th Dudley. He has been married to his bride, Leileni, for 27 years. He has worked numerous NIT’s and State Tournaments. Dana enjoys playing poker and
spending time with his wife. He also has worked for Center Point for 33 years.
Ken Girard
– This will be Ken’s 17th
Ken has also been a member of the MN
State high school league for 12 years doing basketball, football, baseball and
broomball. Ken’s hobbies include deer hunting and fishing and most anything out
doors.
Erick Norby
– Erick is an Assistant Principal at
Rick Alexander
– This is Rick’s ninth consecutive year in the
Mike Ellenz
– Mike is the owner of Premier Construction Services and has umpired 32 NCAA
baseball and fastpitch national championships. He has
also worked State, National and World USSSA Slow Pitch events. In 2010, he was
inducted into the USSSA Minnesota Hall of Fame. This is Mike’s seventh
Dan Marcouiller
– Dan works for
Pete Strand
Ardell
Moeller – Ardell has been married to
his lovely wife Jayne for 12 years. He has worked for Best Buy for 22 years. Ardell has umpired in two World Series, one in
Bart Peck – Bart has been umpiring for 17 years and this is his fourth
Bart has been
married for 25 years to his wonderful wife, Katie, and they have two great
kids, Alex (16) and Amanda (14). In addition to umpiring softball, Bart is also
a high school baseball and basketball official. He spends much of his summer
watching his daughter Amanda’s fastpitch team and is
Alex’s No. 1 baseball and basketball fan!
Cathy Hoffman – Cathy has two sons,
From 2008-10, Cathy
has umpired the Men’s B-E and Women’s A-D World Tournaments in
Reggie Jarrett – Reggie was born and raised in the windy city. He has four
children, Eddie (31) Reggie Jr. (27),
Reggie has umpired
numerous men’s and women’s B, C, D and E National and World qualifiers. The
past three years, he umpired the Men’s B, C, D and Women’s B, C and D World
Series in
Kevin Peterson – Kevin has worked 26 years in the automotive field as a GM
Technician. He has been an umpire for 20 years and has umpired in Nationals, NIT’s and State Tournaments. When not umpiring, Kevin
enjoys spending time with his wife, Paige, and his twin boys Nick (8) and Nate (8). This is Kevin’s third
Earl Thompson – Has been married for 25 years to his lovely wife,
Debbie. They have three children, two
boys and a girl. He works at the Anoka County Courthouse.
Earl has been
umpiring for 19 years. He has umpired NIT, World Qualifiers and Men’s Major
Conference Tournaments. Earl has coached many different levels from high
school, college, semi pros and arena football. This is Earl’s second Dudley
Tournament.
Steve Thornton – Steve is an eight-year Marine Corps Veteran. He has umpired
at all levels from football, basketball, baseball and softball. Steve has been
umpiring for 12 years. In 2010, he umpired the Mens
B, C, E and Women’s A and B World Tournament in
Steve has five children,
two boys and three girls, Jacboy (31), Mikaela (23), Imani (22), Shayania (14) and Steven (7). Steve enjoys fishing and
camping and spending quality time with his children. This is Steve’s second
Mark Dallenbach –
Mark has worked for HD – Supply – Creative Touch Interiors for the past three
years as the Branch Manager for Minneapolis & Chicago Markets. He has been
married for 10 years and has two children. He has umpired in Nationals, NIT’s and State Tournaments. He umpired his first world Tournaments
in
Chuck (Doc) Beckwell
– Chuck comes from the
He started umpiring
in 1977 and joined the USSSA in 1984 at Liberty Park of America in
He umpired a home
run derby in Tiger Stadium in 2001 where Mike Macenko
became only the 19th player to ever clear
the roof in the stadium with a home run ball. Harmon Killebrew,
the great
Doc umpired the first-ever
USSSA Conference final at the plate in 2006 and added the plate for the finals
of the Class A and Major World Series that year as well. In 2006 he attended
the USSSA National Convention and was named USSSA “Official of the Year.”
Doc was inducted into
the Michigan USSSA Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2010 he was inducted into the
National USSSSA Hall of Fame. This will be Doc’s fifth Dudley Tournament.
Tony (The Rook) Walczak –
Tony currently lives in
Tony has done
several World Tournaments including five “A”, two “B”, three “C” and “D”. He has been honored to receive the Michigan
Umpire in Chief award in 2005. This is Tony’s fifth
Duane (Drano) Posavetz
– Duane is originally from
He and his beautiful
wife, Linda, have two wonderful kids, Jason (33) and Kelly (20). He enjoys
bowling and playing golf with his wife, Mr. Rick and the lovely Ms. Anna. This
is Drano’s fourth
In addition to the
umpires who will be working the trenches, I want you to know some of the other
fine individuals associated with the Dudley/Budweiser/Easton Classic:
Jim Glasoe, our host,
is the Director of Brooklyn Center’s Community Activities, Recreation and
Service Department. Jim enjoys golf and home improvement projects in his spare
time. Jim and his wife of 22 years, Ann,
reside in Champlin. Their two sons are attending
college in sunny
Joe Ericksen,
our host, is the Recreation Program Supervisor for the City of
Warren Bellm is the
choreographer for this tournament. As the Tournament Director, he ultimately
has the responsibility of coordinating the overall effort along with Joe.
Warren himself was a
well-respected umpire for 16 years and is currently a USSSA Area Director. He
is also the Tournament Director for the Men’s Major World Series and numerous
Conference Tournaments.
This spring, he
started his second season working for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in
guest services. Warren and his wife,
Joe Bruntmyer is
a tournament assistant. Joe is the Athletic Supervisor for the Vernon Hills
Illinois Park District. Joe, who was my assistant in 2000, comes back to his
old stomping grounds to assist each year. Joe and his bride of less than a year
live in Vernon Hills.
Gregg Otten has been in
and around softball for over 40 years and is a member of our State Hall of
Fame. Gregg started OTTS Product Company, specializing in softball bat
protection equipment. Gregg, his wife, Patty, and daughter Kelsey (20) live in
Steve Cahill would normally be umpiring this weekend but a knee injury
has put him on the staff. Steve’s son, Aaron, and his wife, Sara, have a son,
Logan, who Grandpa is very proud of! Steve is employed by Goodin,
a wholesale plumbing and heating company and also works for the city of
When the voice of
softball, Ray Molphy retired a few years ago, some
thought it would leave a void in the announcing department. But the announcing
has not missed a beat with the very capable Dave Trombley.
When Ray had to catch a plane before the start of the 1998 championship game,
Dave was called to duty and he’s been behind the mic
on the north field ever since. Dave, who is 38 years old, lives in
Steve Ericson will be on
the mic on the south field this weekend. He is very
well respected in the softball world and is a member of our State Hall of Fame.
Steve is employed by
I have only
mentioned a handful of people associated with this tournament. Obviously it takes a great deal more people
than that to run a tournament of this magnitude. I salute the many employees of
the park maintenance, police, recreation and volunteer fire departments and
others who lend their time and talents to make this the best Men’s Major
National Invitational Tournament in the country.
• The following is a
list of remaining national invitational tournaments that are run by our state
office. To enter any of these
tournaments (which will all be played at BeBop’s in
Date Class Tournament
July 9-10 Men’s Open World NIT
Men’s “D” World NIT
July 23-24 Mixed “D” World NIT
July 23 Men’s “C/D” World NIT
July 24 Men’s “C/D” World
NIT
• We are going to
have a “Wood Bat” tournament sponsored by Combat Sports on Sept. 10-11. There will be two divisions: “competitive”
for players who played Class C & above and “recreational” for players who
played D & E during the summer.
Check out the
Minnesota USSSA website and view the listings of all tournaments. You can also
print out copies of numerous fliers for weekend tournaments.
National USSSA
Website Access: www.usssa.com
If I can be of any
assistance in any of your softball needs, please call me at 763.571.1305 x 108
or 1.800.862.3659 x108 or write me at:
MRPA 200 Charles Street NE Fridley MN 55432
Remember – it is
you, the player, coach, fan, and umpire that make USSSA a GREAT organization
and the place to be!