Althaus honored by Wood Bat Invitational

by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News

For more than three decades, I have covered the American Legion Wood Bat Invitational at Hidden Valley Park and other venues in Eastern Jackson County.

The first event I covered was 37 years ago, and this past weekend I covered the 36th annual event (there was no Wood Bat Invitational in 202 due to COVID).

I have been on hand for games that ended when the sun rose over the left-field fence (due to massive rain delays), watched t6he noe-defunct Blue Springs Rod's Sports A's dominate the tournament and Jim Moran's Blue Springs Post 499 Fike club win the tournament he co-founded with the late, great Ron Johnson.

I've eaten my fair share of Fike Burgers, lost more pairs of shoes than I can remember during those famous Wood Bat thunderstorms - and there were many of them, including a doozy Friday night.

I received a surprise phone call from Moran early last week, telling me that I was going to be inducted into the Wood Bat Invitational Hall of Fame.

Since my retirement, I've received many honors, and this ranked among the top.

I was supposed to receive my plaque in a pre-game ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Friday. And as my wife Stacy and I sat in our car outside of Jim Moran Field at Hidden Valley Park, I got a phone call.

It was from Moran, who said thunderstorms, hail and high winds were 5 minutes away and the ceremony had been canceled.

Stacy and I were disappointed, but I met with Moran Saturday and received the plaque, which will find a place of honor in my office.

I want to thank Jim and everyone who voted for me. Quite an honor for a guy who joins a group of Hall of Famers like Albert Pujols, Alex Gordon, Brian McRae - who all played in the Wood Bat Invitational - and coaching icons like Rooney, Moran, Gary Parker and my eighth grade physical education teacher Clyde Kubli.

The memories are plentiful, and it was fun writing about those icons and other American Legion players and coaches. Thanks for allowing me to be a member of the Class of 2025.

Jim Moran, the general manager of Blue Springs Post 499 Fike and the co-founder of the Wood Bat Invitational, left, presents a Wood Bat Invitational Hall of Fame plaque to Bill Althaus, a former Examiner sportswriter and columnist. Althaus has covered all 36 Wood Bat Invitational events and wrote a story on the first tournament that appeared is USA Today. Althaus recently retired but is still doing freelance work for Grain Valley News. Photo courtesy Jim Moran
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