Dan “Gunner” Genovese stands at the plate, awaiting a pitch for the Westfield Wheelmen. (JEFF HOCKENBERRY PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – It is fitting that one local baseball historian once again finds himself smack dab in the middle of another historic moment in the sport.
On Friday night, Dan “Gunner” Genovese, 58, of Westfield will join a select few in being inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame’s “Class of 2020”. The event will take place at the Hadley Farms Meeting House in Hadley at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s a big surprise,” Genovese said. “Thinking about what I’ve done with my research of the game, writing the books, the Wheelmen and playing in all the different leagues, I’ve become an ambassador to the game.”
Genovese helped put Westfield baseball on the map as a Babe Ruth Baseball All-Star outfielder for the city’s 13-year-old team in 1975. It was the league’s first trip to a World Series that was held in Morristown, N.J.
“That was a great thing for the game … for the younger generations,” Genovese said.
Genovese went on to play for former Westfield High School and American Legion baseball coach Jim Jachym, a 2019 Western Massachusetts Hall of Fame inductee.
“Jim is and was a great coach,” Genovese said. “He would give you the evil eye, and you really had to perform for him. If you didn’t care, that’s where you understood your standing.”
Dan “Gunner” Genovese will be inducted into the 2020 Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday. (THE WESTFIELD NEWS FILE PHOTO)
Genovese fell down quite a few times in his playing days, and found himself benched for it, sort of.
“I struggled hitting the curveball, bailing out,” Genovese said, “so coach Jachym put a bench behind me. The first couple of curveballs I fell, but I stood there, took the hit and learned.”
Genovese further established his role as a Whip City ball player, diving deep into the city’s baseball history. In the early 2000s, inspired by Harold Seymour’s “The Early Years,” he published two books on Westfield baseball history, “The Old Ground – Volumes 1 & 2.” In 2006, he brought back the Westfield Wheelmen Base Ball Team, a vintage base ball team that played a rugged style of baseball which harkened back to the 19th century.
“This was a team that was born out of a passion for the history of the game,” Genovese said, regarding his vintage base ball team.
Genovese was awarded the city’s Historical Commission’s Annual Westfield Preservation Award in 2010.
Today, Genovese plays for the Wheelmen and several other leagues, including Tri-County, Quabbin Valley Over-30 League, 25-Over WMass Wood Bat League, Springfield Old Timers Softball League, and fall and summer softball for Westfield and Agawam.
For tickets to the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame banquet, visit valleybluesox.com or call 413-533-1100.
