Amateur baseball hall inducts three

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Two players synonymous with Jamestown amateur baseball and a veteran of nearly 40 years will be inducted into the North Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

Cory Anderson and Wayne Hogan will be honored along with Dennis Samuels in a ceremony Saturday night at the Buffalo City Grille in Jamestown. A social is scheduled for 6 p.m. followed by the meal and ceremony at 7 p.m. Cost is $15. Tickets can be bought at the door or from Tom Gould or R.D. Brown.

All three players honored have had, and in Anderson’s and Samuels’ case, continue to have sparkling amateur careers.

Anderson and Hogan will go down as two of the most successful amateur players in state history.

Both have been apart of 13 state championship teams, including as teammates on the Jamestown Elks 995 in 1991-94, ’96-99 and 2004-05.

Anderson began his career in 1983 with Tolna and played through 1989, including a pair of state titles in 1986 and ’89. His latest championship came last year with the Jamestown Miller Chillers.

On the mound, Anderson has compiled a record of 204-57, amassing 1,966 innings. He also carries a .342 batting average, earning state tournament honors in 1989, 1992 and 1996.

Much of Anderson’s success with the Elks came while he was living in Valley City and serving as the head baseball coach at his alma mater where he played baseball and football for the Vikings. He won 274 games as head coach from 1992-2007 at VCSU, second-most all-time. He’s currently the baseball coach at Jamestown High School.

Hogan is a 1980 graduate of Jamestown High School and began playing for the Elks as a 19-year-old in 1981.

Hogan piled up 975 hits during his amateur career, including 155 home runs, 680 RBIs and a lifetime career batting average of .400. He also notched 70 victories on the mound, spending the vast majority of his career with the Elks before retiring in 2007.

Twelve of his 13 state championships came as a member of the Elks, the first coming in 1983. He played for NDSU Sportland in 1985-96, including a state title in 1986 where he earned MVP honors.

He played with a Minneapolis team in 1988-89 before returning to the Elks for good in 1990, winning state championships in 1983, ’85, ‘87, 1991-94, 1996-99 and 2004-05.

Samuels is a 37-year veteran of amateur baseball, beginning his career with Fargo Paint and Glass in 1972. He went on to a short stint with Watford City before becoming the face of amateur baseball for the Beulah Blackjaws.

At age 56, Samuels continued to shine for the Blackjaws, including a 4-for-4 game with a home run and two doubles last season for the Blackjaws in a game where the opposing pitcher he was facing had played college baseball in the spring.

He led the Blackjaws to state titles in 2003 and 2005 and continues to play for Beulah and at age 57, Samuels became the oldest Blackjaw to ever strike out a Canadian batter, doing so in a game last season.

Samuels is currently playing in his 50th year of organized baseball.

Tags: legion baseball, hall of fame, sports, hall, anderson, samuels, hogan