The Oldtimers Bats and Balls Association last week honored four people at its quarterly meeting at Randi’s Restaurant & Bar, 1619 Grant Ave. in Grant Plaza II in Bustleton.
Receiving the Pickles Kennedy Award were Joe Hindelang, Tommy Greene and Brent Celek.
Hindelang played baseball and basketball at Abraham Lincoln and Temple, played minor league baseball for the New York Yankees and later coached baseball at Philadelphia Pharmacy, Lafayette and Penn State.
Greene was traded, along with Dale Murphy, by the Atlanta Braves to the Phillies in 1990. He threw a no-hitter in 1991 against the Montreal Expos. He went 16-4 in 1993, and was the winning pitcher when the Phillies defeated the Braves in the sixth game of the National League Championship Series, sending them to the World Series. He is now a post-game TV analyst for the Phillies. Asked whom the toughest batter was he faced, he said Pirates catcher Mike “Spanky” LaValliere.
Celek was a fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati by the Eagles in 2007. A tight end, he retired after the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. He told the crowd he thinks the victory changed the city forever. He won the 50/50, and donated the money back to the Oldtimers.
The award is named in memory of Bill “Pickles” Kennedy, a former star basketball player at Lincoln and Temple. Kennedy spent a year with the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors, then played minor league baseball for several years in the Pirates organization.
The Chuck Newns Recognition Award was presented to Roger Gordon, a former Common Pleas Court judge and Princeton basketball player who has coached for the Phillies RBI youth baseball program.
Others attending the luncheon included 94-year-old Bobby Shantz, a former American League Most Valuable Player; Joe Scarpati, a former pro football player best known as the holder for Tom Dempsey’s then-NFL-record 63-yard field goal in 1970; former Phillies outfielder Doug Clemens; former Phillies shortstop and coach Bobby Wine; and Sean Landeta, who punted for the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Stars.
The Oldtimers group consists of former athletes and officials. Members meet four times a year at Randi’s. Lunch costs $11.
The next meeting is Feb. 12.
For information on the group, call Jack Purdy (215-968-0404) or Ron March (609-209-0849), or visit www.batsandballs.org. ••
