Herb Schaper has been a long-time contributor to amateur baseball in New Ulm.

Recently, the New Ulm Baseball Association (NUBA) unanimously voted to nominate Schaper for induction into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame this fall.

And we are asking for your help with a letter of support and endorsement from you by May 25 to illustrate his dedication to baseball and the community.

Schaper has been involved in amateur baseball in Minnesota since the 1940’s when he was a ballshagger and sold ice cream bars at Johnson Park before doing the Public Address, scorekeeping and later becoming the NUBA president.

Schaper’s lists of accomplishments include contributing to the State Amateur Baseball Tournaments held in New Ulm in 1953 and again a meager five years later in 1958.

He also chaired the 50th and 75th anniversary celebrations of Johnson Park and was key in creating 21 videos honoring each of New Ulm’s championship baseball teams.

You do not put that much work into a project unless it is a labor of love and dedication.

He also had the foresight to begin saving New Ulm’s Amateur baseball history and because of his foresight and passion for preserving those memories, he has archived over 5,000 historic pictures and records on his “New Ulm Sports Central” website.

Schaper was also the Sports Editor of this paper in 1953 and he started gathering much of the history now found in the state amateur tournament books.

Schaper also started the New Ulm Baseball Hall of Fame and had a hand in restructuring the New Ulm American Legion Hall of Fame. He also worked with the late Victor Reim to form the New Ulm Bowling Hall of Fame.

He is also the originator of the New Ulm Club Athletic Banquet which just completed its 64th consecutive year – the longest running type of banquet in Minnesota.

Schaper has been involved in many community, church and business organizations as well.

I have been covering sports at The Journal for over 30 years and have sent letters of endorsement for three other people in that time. Schaper is at the top of that list of people I have endorsed and I sincerely hope that he is selected. He is worthy of that honor and I hope that the selection committee feels the same way.

Please address the letter to Mr. Bob Karn, Secretary, Minnesota Baseball Association Hall of Fame. You can mail the letter to Bob Skillings, 36 Woodland Drive, New Ulm, MN 56073 no later than May 25.

LOGJAM IN THE TOMAHAWK EAST: It is early in the amateur baseball season, but there is a logjam in the standings of the Tomahawk East League.

Eight of the 12 teams are at 1-1 with Stark on top at 2-0 followed by Gibbon at 2-1. New Ulm Brewers, Sleepy Eye, Springfield, St.James, Hanska, Essig, Searles and Courtland all at. 500 with Lamberton at 1-2 and Leavenworth at 0-2.

Six of those .500 teams face of against each other today when Sleepy Eye plays at St. James and the Brewers go to Searles. Both of those games have 2 p.m. first pitches, while Hanska is at Essig for a 7:30 p.m. meeting.

Courtland has a 5 p..m. game today in Leavenworth, while Lamberton heads to Springfield for a 7:30 p.m. contest. Stark and Gibbon are off today.

Get out to your local park and support your team.