Submitted photo A photo of Doug Radloff in an Essig Bluejays uniform from his playing days.

NEW ULM — On Saturday, September 21 at the Kelly Inn and Convention Center, Essig’s Doug Radloff will be formally inducted into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.

Radloff will become the fourth person from Essig to be inducted, joining Louis “Jackpot” Holm, Terry Helget and Radloff’s father Verne into the Hall of Fame.

“I was a little surprised,” said Radloff, who played youth baseball in Essig and then played 28 seasons with the Bluejays in the Tomahawk East League.

Radloff, who grew up less than a half mile from the Essig baseball park, also coached the Essig Rookies, Peanuts, Junior Bi-County and the Bluejays in the Tomahawk East League.

He also served on the Essig Baseball Association Board of Directors for 37 years and was involved in all improvements to the baseball and softball fields in Essig.

Radloff said his fondest memory as a part of Essig baseball was when he coached the 2003 Essig team to their first-ever state tournament appearance.

“Getting our team picture taken with our Essig uniforms on. For me, I had been drafted before for the tournament. We repeated that state appearance in 2004.”

He said as a kid he remembered watching players like Vic Helget, Droopy Helget and Terry Steinbach.

“They were players that I really admired. I got drafted in 1987 by Sleepy Eye and I got to catch three of the guys I really worshiped in Dean Brinkmann and Vic and Droppy Helget.”

Radloff said his best memory came in the 2003 state tournament when his relatively unknown Essig baseball team played a heavily-favored El Rosa squad in the opening game of the tournament.

“They (El Rose) showed up with three school buses full of fans and pom-poms. We came with 40 people there. They had two really great pitchers in Ethan and Aaron Vogt — they were each 6-foot 5 and threw 90 miles an hour. And we clobbered them. We hit them all over the park. And after the game I remember one of them coming up to me and telling me that he has not been hit like that all year. And where is Essig? I told him it is between New Ulm and Sleepy Eye on Highway 14. Then he asked me if all of our players are from New Ulm High School and I said yes and we eat fastballs for lunch and you should have thrown your junker.”

Radloff said that year Essig went 2-3 in the state. “We got beat 2-1 by Green Isle who won [Class C] that year.”

Radloff said that for him to be in the Hall of Fame along side Dean Brinkmann, Jeff Cook and Ken Kuck is special.

“They were not only great ballplayers but guys of great character,” he said.

Radloff said one player on the field that he played with and patterned himself after was Terry Helget.

“He played the game the right way and we pushed each other to be better,” Radloff said.

And to be in the Hall of Fame with his father is very special.

“I think that there is only one other father-son in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “That is pretty cool. My dad helped me with everything since I was a little kid. I learned everything from him. And I think that is pretty neat that a town of 35 people have four in the Hall of Fame.”