By MIKE MASTOVICH
George Arcurio Jr. will watch with pride tonight as the AAABA Hall of Fame inducts its 15th class at the Pasquerilla Conference Center.
Arcurio envisioned a AAABA Hall of Fame years before he was inducted into the inaugural Class of 1994.
In his 28th consecutive year as president of the Johnstown Oldtimers, Arcurio was a driving force in the creation of the hall of fame and had a role in establishing a permanent home for the hall in one of the buildings behind the right-field bleachers at Point Stadium.
“I am very proud of the Hall of Fame,” said Arcurio, 78. “No. 1, we’ve got the only amateur baseball tournament like this with 64 years. No. 2, when the players come here, the Oldtimers pick up the tab for everything.
“In other cities they have to pay to go into a tournament. Here, they live like they’re in the Waldorf-Astoria,” Arcurio added, referring to the luxurious New York City hotel.
Tonight, the Hall will welcome Johnstown’s Dee Dee Osborne, the successful former manager and GM; former New Orleans MVP Wayne Pietri; and former Philadelphia standout Ruben Amaro Jr. Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Friend will be the featured speaker.
Osborne led local AAABA teams to 541 regular-season wins, 11 straight regular-season titles and four AAABA Tournaments in 21 seasons as a manager or general manager. He said none of that would have been possible without the dedication of Arcurio and the Oldtimers.
“(Tonight) there will be a table of my former kids who went on to play in college, the pros and even the majors,” Osborne said. “I’m going to have them stand up. It will be an honor to introduce those kids to Junior. That would be the best honor we could bestow on him.”
Among those former AAABA stars who will attend as Osborne’s guests are Joe Vitko, Mike Holtz, John Rocco, Eric Dinyar, Ross Kott, Quenteen Robinson, Jimmy Mayer and current Delweld GM Chris DelSignore and manager Rick Roberts. Gene Pentz, another former major leaguer who once helped Osborne as a coach, also will be present.
“Some 400 kids went through and played professional baseball after the AAABA Tournament,” Osborne said. “Without Junor and the committee that wouldn’t be possible. Junior is the past, present and still the future face of the AAABA.”
Former New Orleans manager Joe Scheuermann, a member of the Class of 2007, appreciates the Hall and its many historic photographs, baseballs, bats, trophies, tournament programs and other memorabilia.
“It’s a very nice tribute to the people who have dedicated themselves to the tournament as well as the guys who’ve had great tournaments in Johnstown,” Scheuermann said.
Arcurio’s next goal is to make the Hall of Fame exhibit more accessible to the public. The room typically is open before and during tournament games.
“There is a lot of history to see,” Arcurio said. “We have books, photos and memorabilia from years past. The remodeling job has really been terrific.
“I wish more people would see it. There have been a lot of added attractions. People who come in from out of town can’t get over what they see. We want to keep this going so that when we’re dead and gone people still will be able to come in here and see it. This is always a great asset to the people of this city. Everywhere you go, you mention the AAABA and people know about it.”
