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Union County Baseball Hall of Fame to Induct New Members at 80th Annual Hot Stove League Dinner, Feb. 21

The Union County Baseball Association will induct five new members into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame and honor local student athletes for their achievements in 2015 during award ceremonies on Sunday afternoon, February 21, in Clark.

The 80th annual Hot Stove League Baseball Dinner on Feb. 21st begins at 1:00 p.m. at the Gran Centurions banquet hall, 440 Madison Hill Road, Clark NJ 07066. The dinner is sponsored by the Union County Baseball Association, in cooperation with the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation.

During the afternoon awards ceremonies, the UCBA will induct five new members into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame: Joe Alvarez of Elizabeth, Ray Crepeau of Linden, Walter Englehardt of Elizabeth, Bruce Henderson of Rahway, and Damien Kane of Roselle.

Sparky Lyle, best known to baseball fans in Union County for his seven-year stint as a relief pitcher for the New York Yankees, will be the special guest speaker. The celebrated southpaw will always be remembered for his clutch pitching in big games for the Yankees and his book about those days in pinstripes, “The Bronx Zoo.” Younger fans will recognize Sparky Lyle as the manager par excellence of the Somerset Patriots ballclub during their first 15 years in Bridgewater (1998-2012).

Tickets for the dinner are $50 each. Proceeds will help fund the Union County Summer Youth Baseball League for youngsters 8 to 15 years, and the Fall Wood Bat League for teens.

Since 1937, the Hot Stove League Dinner has been the primary fund-raising effort for the Union County Baseball Association’s summer and fall programs. Over the years, the awards dinner has honored many local and national baseball luminaries – including Phil Rizzuto of Hillside, Don Newcombe of Elizabeth, Joe Collins of Union, Jeff Torborg of Mountainside, Willie Wilson of Summit, and Elliott Maddox of Union.

Tickets for the 80th Annual Union County Baseball Association Hot Stove League Dinner on Feb. 21st are available from the Union County Baseball Association by visiting www.UCBA-NJ.org. For more information, please call Jim Iozzi at 908-917-2523.