WICHITA, Kan.--The National Baseball Congress is proud to announce Barry Aden, Bob Considine, Dick "Chief" Twyman and George "Lefty" Van Brunt as the 2011 Class of the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame.
Barry Aden, like many NBC Hall of Famers, has dedicated his life to the game of baseball as both a player and a Manager in the Pacific Northwest.
As a pitcher he won semi-pro games in his teens, twenties, thirties and forties and compiled a career 100 and 32 record. With a few of those coming here at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in the NBC World Series.
But his numbers are even more impressive managing in the Pacific International League for 22-seasons for both the Tacoma Timber’s and Seattle Studs. His current record as a manager is 755 wins and 330 losses, that’s nearly a .700 winning percentage.
Those win totals have also earned his teams 13 Pacific International League Championships and 15 various tournament championships.
This is his 16th trip to the BaseballSavings.com NBC World Series and 10th consecutive year, and with the Studs two-and-oh record he now has an NBC World Series record of 50 wins and 30 losses. Which includes 11 top ten finishes, of which three are Runner-Up finishes.
He has also seen several of his past players make to the big leagues. Which include Justin Baughman, Randy Choate, David Riske, Willie Bloomquist, Nyger Morgan, Justin Leone, Sean White and the NBC’s 2009 Graduate of the Year Tim Lincecum.
Bob Considine, for many years, dedicated his life to NBC semi-pro baseball in the South Central Kansas area as a Manager and Commissioner while still performing his duties as a lumber broker for continental timber.
Considine managed teams such as the Hutchinson Broncos, Halstead Cowboys, Bowers Homes and Wray Roofers, and occupied the position of Jayhawk League Commissioner since 1976. As the Jayhawk League Commissioner Considine established the Jayhawk League as one of the more prestigious Summer Collegiate Baseball Leagues in the Country with 9 Jayhawk teams winning the NBC National Championship, including the Liberal Bee Jays in 2010 and El Dorado Broncos in 2009 and 12 teams finishing as runner-up.
Considine recently passed on May 18th, at the age of 83 and will be tremendously missed by the National Baseball Congress and The Jayhawk League.
Dick "Chief" Twyman suddenly passed away in January of 2011 dealing a tragedy to the Twyman/Heat family and the baseball world. Chief was a good man and did a lot for the community and baseball world. We lost a great man, a loving father, a supportive general manager, a teacher of life and baseball to thousands of young men that had the honor to play for him. He was a huge ambassador of the City of Havasu, City of Haysville, and the National Baseball Congress. Chief will be greatly missed, BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.
In 1993 The Heat began with hopes of building a competitive baseball team comprised of elite college-level athletes. Chief was co-owner and general manager of the Heat. Building a world class team didn’t take long at all. Chief and his son Rick and the Heat team had many accomplishments in the last 18 years including the 1996 US Open Championship, 8 Pacific Southwest League Championships, 1 Jayhawk League Championship, 8 National Baseball Congress Regional Championships, 8 top ten finishes in the NBC World Series, 5 Sweet Six finishes in the NBC World Series and 3 “Most Popular Team in the Country” Awards. One of the biggest accomplishments and award of all being the “2007 National Baseball Congress World Title” which Chief was voted the Manager of the year.
In 18 seasons Chief Compiled 612 wins and only 119 losses. He helped 122 players move on to play professional baseball with different organizations.
Some of his players currently in the big leagues are:
- Morgan Ensburg (Houston Astros)
- Mike Gallo (Houston Astros)
- Fernando Cortez (Kansas City Royals)
- Dennis Sarfate (Milwaukee Brewers)
- Sergio Romo (San Francisco Giants)
- Bryan Peterson (Florida Marlins)
- Craig Gentry (Texas Rangers)
Chief was also a driving force and President behind the NBC Pacific Southwest League. Chief made sure from 1998 to 2009 that the PSWL was one of the strongest leagues in the country. Former teams like the Havasu Heat (currently the Haysville Heat), Casa Grande Cotton Kings and the Palm Springs Power were a few of the founding teams in the first season of 1998.
Outside of baseball Chief was a very giving man. Every Christmas he sponsored a different family in need and sometimes more than one family was sponsored. He would take care of the family with presents, dinner and a Christmas tree. Chief always donated his time and donated the heats time for garbage day, or stories with the kids in after school programs, and much more. He wanted to make sure that the boys that were on the Heat team also learned how to give back to the community and people in need. Boys all over the country will tell you stories of what they have learned from Chief, not only on the baseball side but in life as well.
George “Lefty” Van Brunt was involved with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots since their inception in 1969. In his 42 years with the Pilots he served as pitching coach, General Manager and most recently as a funding and facilities manager.
During many trips to the NBC World Series in Wichita Lefty would always go the extra mile to put a smile on a persons face with a joke or piece of candy. He touched many lives with his Glacier Pilots including Randy Johnson who played in Anchorage during the 1984 summer. One of the most legendary stories about lefty was the time he was catching Randy Johnson in the bullpen prior to a game. A fastball got away him and hit Lefty in the foot and when he stood up, he was hobbling. The Big Unit had broken Lefty’s big toe.
Lefty was a big part in the 5 NBC National Titles and 6 NBC Runner-Up finishes prior to his passing on May 24th at the age of 78.
On behalf of NBC President/General Manager Josh Robertson, NBC Operations Manager Casey Walkup, NBC Tournamnet Director Jerry Taylor and the rest of the NBC we would like to welcome and congratulate Barry Aden, Bob Considine, "Chief" Twyman and "Lefty" Van Brunt into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
