MWL1 Cedar Rapids Kernels

Three chosen for Cedar Rapids Baseball 2009 Hall of Fame Class

Published on January 13, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Cedar Rapids Kernels News Release


Three individuals have been selected for induction into the Cedar Rapids Baseball Hall of Fame at the 13th Annual Hot Stove Banquet on January 29, 2009. They are Rocky Colavito, Jim Fanning, and Bob Dolphin.

Rocky Colavito played fourteen seasons in the major leagues from 1955 to 1968 with six teams (Indians, Tigers, Athletics, White Sox, Dodgers and Yankees) posting a career .266 average, 374 HR and 1159 RBI. He is best known for being one of only three players to hit four home runs in one game in consecutive at-bats against Baltimore on June 10, 1959. That year, he led the AL with 42 HR and was second with 111 RBI. Colavito played in six All-Star Games and was a starting outfielder in five. A native of New York City, he was elected to the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2006. He resides in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Born in Chicago and raised in Iowa, Jim Fanning played college baseball at Buena Vista University and received a Master's Degree in physical education at the University of Illinois before beginning his professional baseball career. He was signed by the Cubs in 1950 and played for the Cedar Rapids Raiders in 1952, hitting 16 HR and driving in 81 runs in 120 games with a .272 BA. He played just 64 games for the Cubs over four seasons before retiring as a player in 1957. He was the assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers (1964-67) and was named the first GM of the Montreal Expos in 1968. Fanning moved back into the dugout as the Expos' manager for the 1981 season and led the team to their only NL division title. His career managerial record is 116-103 for three seasons. He was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 and resides in Dorchester, Ontario with his wife and two children.

Bob Dolphin has been a member of the Cedar Rapids Ball Club's Board of Directors since the 1960's, serving as Secretary, Vice President and President. A native of Dubuque, Bob found his love of baseball with his father, who was a groundskeeper for the Dubuque minor league teams, and he became a life-long Chicago Cubs fan. He attended Loras College and St. Thomas College in St. Paul, MN and moved to Cedar Rapids with his wife, Beverley, in 1956, where they raised four children and are the proud grandparents of eleven. As a member of the Board of Directors, he has had the privilege of meeting many great players and managers that have played in Cedar Rapids. Bob has worked tirelessly at promoting professional baseball in Cedar Rapids, knowing it was great for the community. After more than 40 years, he still looks forward to another season of coming to the stadium for baseball games.

The 13th Annual Hot Stove Banquet will be held on Thursday, January 29, starting at 5:30 pm at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel in Cedar Rapids and features a live and silent auction to benefit the Kernels Foundation and dinner with the featured speaker to be former major league pitcher Jim Abbott. Tickets are $37.50 in advance and $45 at the door. Corporate tables of ten are available for $350 and children 14 and under are $20. Tickets can be purchased by phone, in person at Dale and Thomas Popcorn Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium, or on-line at www.kernels.com .

The mission of the Cedar Rapids Ball Club Hall of Fame is to honor those individuals who, through extraordinary personal effort, have furthered the existence, quality or preservation of professional baseball in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Hall of Fame is located in the Bimm Ridder Diamond Shop at Veterans Memorial Stadium and is open during all Kernel home games, normal store hours, or by special appointment.

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Midwest League Stories from January 13, 2009


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