Mishawaka graduate Severa leaves coaching legacy

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Frank Severa had decades of high school coaching experience and was putting it to use again when sports came to a standstill because of COVID-19.

The 1974 Mishawaka (Ind.) High School graduate was a head coach at Rains High School in Emory, Texas (1982), and LaVille High School in Lakeville, Ind. (1998), and served on the staff of 13-time Hall of Famer Ken Schreiber at LaPorte (Ind.) High School (1993-99) as well as many other positions in baseball and football. 

Until recently, he ran his own strength and conditioning business.

Severa became a head baseball coach at the prep level for the third time when he was hired prior to 2020 at Argos (Ind.) Community Junior/Senior High School in Marshall County. Back issues caused him to step down and the pandemic kept him from coaching a game for the Dragons and Mishawaka alum Joe Kindig was hired as head coach for 2021.

Severa died May 19, 2021 at 64.

In his last coaching role, Severa established principles of success:

1. Make a commitment and honor it.

2. Develop a self-discipline work ethic.

“At some point they’ll be left to their own devices,” said Severa. “My eyes aren’t on them all the time.”

3. Accept and apply the coaching we’re offering to them.

4. Find a role on the team and develop it.

5. Develop that TEAM is greater than Me attitude.

“Get beyond the scholarship mentality and go with what’s best for the program,” said Severa.

6. Be accountable to themselves and their teammates.

Severa was a third baseman and pitcher while earning two baseball letters at Mishawaka for coach John Danaher. He was team MVP as a senior.

After taking it on the chin against LaPorte, Severa and a teammate went over to the home of the Slicers and sat on 10th Street, watching Schreiber lead his team through a two-hour practice. He would be an assistant at LaPorte for seven seasons through 1999 — the last year as head junior varsity and program pitching coach.

“There was a lot of pressure,” said Severa. “The JV was expected to win 20 games every year. 

“That was the benchmark.”

Severa was a kicker and defensive lineman for Mishawaka coach Bill Doba on the football field.

Marv Wood, who many know as the coach on the Milan state champions in 1954, was Severa’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes advisor.

“(Wood) had a huge impact on me,” says Severa, who went on to pitch at Central Florida Community College.

At Ball State University, Severa was a kicker for a football program led by Dave McClain. A B.S. in education was earned at BSU in 1980.

Taking a leave of absence from LaPorte, Severa got a masters in education at Valparaiso (Ind.) University in 1998. While at VU, he helped Crusaders head coach Paul Twenge with the baseball team.

Severa was a speaker and organizer at many clinics over the years, including the Chicago Catholic League, Bangor (Mich.) Youth Basseball Coaches, Tri-State Baseball Coaches (bringing in Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Lloyd McClendon as the featured speaker) and Cassopolis (Mich.) Youth Baseball Coaches.

He was a member of the IHSBCA, American Baseball Coaches Association, National High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Severa wrote a screenplay — “Throwback Hero.”

“The premise of the story: A floundering modern-day former baseball MVP mysteriously was up playing for the St. Louis Cardinals Gas House Gang,” says Severa. “The rub is his competition: A cocky 22-year-old rookie who schools him in baseball and life — his grandfather.”

Frank and wife Cheryl Severa had two children — Erin Manering and Frank Severa — and four grandchildren. Erin and Chris Manering have two children as do Frank and Ashley Severa. Cheryl Severa has worked for LaPorte Community Schools.

Frank Severa

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Quest for knowledge takes Hall of Fame coach, educator Siler through all of his days

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Curiosity was a part of Dick Siler’s nature.

He wanted to know things.

When you talked with him you knew he was going to ask questions.

“What have you been up to?”

“How’s your mother?”

“Can you tell me something new?”

When he got a chance, he explored historical places and books and soaked in as much new knowledge as he could.

As a coach, he wanted to break down and understand plays and positions so he could convey those to his athletes.

It’s that sense of interest that took Siler through his 84 years.

No doubt he had the sense of wonder as a boy growing up on a poultry farm near Ashland, Ohio, and playing sports on that same land. He was a catcher in baseball and wound up as a center and linebacker in football. 

Too busy on the farm to go into Ashland to play ball, a plot was dedicated for that purpose. Sometimes it was used by the circus.

“It was two thirds football field, one third baseball field,” Siler once said. “The east end zone was just dirt.

“Dad let me use a panel truck,” said Siler. “I contacted people and got eight or nine other guys and we went around and played softball or baseball — probably more softball than baseball.

“If we had two bats, that was great. Most guys didn’t have baseball spikes.”

Siler carried big diamond dreams.

“I loved baseball so much,” said Siler. “I wanted to learn and nobody was teaching me.”

When it came time to play at Ashland High School, Siler (Class of 1953) did not play varsity. Future big league catcher John Roseboro (Class of 1951) was ahead of him.

“He threw a lot harder from his knees than I could shoot a gun behind the plate,” said Siler, who was on the junior varsity as a freshman and sophomore and at the start of his junior year.

Then came a call from the varsity. He got to the game on a Farmall F-20 tractor.

“It’s the only way I could get there,” said Siler. “I had no other vehicle.

“I threw on the gear. I didn’t have time to warm up  They put me right in.”

The first or second runner got on base and went to steal.

“When I threw the ball, I felt like my whole arm went down to second base,” said Siler. “Something just ripped in there. I couldn’t get the ball back to the pitcher. They ended up pulling me out the game.

“That was the last school ballgame that I played. That was heartbreaking.”

Siler went on to coach baseball for decades, but he never threw batting practice. He caught BP until one of his knees locked up on him. The number of reps made with a fungo bat is nearly incalculable.

From north central Ohio, Siler took his curiosity to North Manchester, Ind., and Manchester College (now Manchester University), where he played football and got the knee injury to remember it by the rest of his days.

More importantly, it was at Manchester that he met Marjorie Thompson. The two wed in 1956 and wound up in her hometown of Elkhart, Ind. 

Dick took a job teaching and coaching at Jimtown High School after graduating Manchester in 1957.

His first coaching assignment was with Jimmies football. He was a coach all the way until the end, including the last 23 years as an assistant at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Ind.

The Siler family, which grew to include three children (Scott, Laurie and Julie), lived for years in Elkhart. Scott Siler was the Indiana Umpire of the Year in 2018.

Dick became head baseball coach at Elkhart High in 1968 and led that program through 1972. A split of the school sent him into a 25-year run as head baseball coach at Elkhart Memorial High School, where he also was a football assistant for many years.

The 1992 Crimson Chargers were the first Elkhart County baseball team to play in the IHSAA State Finals.

After retiring as coach and social studies teacher at Memorial (he won more than 500 games at the high school level), Siler accepted an invitation from Bethel head coach Sam Riggleman to join the Pilots staff. Margie came along as a scorekeeper. 

She fought a battle with cancer for two decades before dying in 2002. She got to live in a new house in Mishawaka for a short time. Bethel has presented a scholarship in her name and has a plaque in her honor at Patterson Field at Jenkins Stadium.

Dick Siler, who went on to be on the staffs of Mike Hutcheon and Seth Zartman, talked of his wife often. He passed away at his Mishawaka home around 1:45 a.m. Monday, July 20. 

What did he gain most from coaching all those years?

“I enjoy the kids just for who they are — seeing them grow or seeing them change,” said Siler. “I get to see the light go on — he finally gets the idea about timing and using the barrel of the bat to hit.”

Whether it was baseball, football, track, wrestling or basketball (he coached those sports, too), it was about instruction.

“I wanted to teach,” said Siler. “I wanted to tell them this is the best way to do it.

“Kids are hungry to learn if you’ll just teach them.

“Too many people do too much yelling and not teaching. Kids want to get better and they love the game.”

Siler was a founder of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association and a member of the IHSBCA Hall of Fame. He also belonged to the American Baseball Coaches Association and National High School Baseball Coaches Association. He is also enshrined in sports halls of fame in Ashland County, Ohio, and Elkhart County, Ind.

Siler said he went into coaching baseball with a football mentality.

“A kid would say to me, ‘Coach, we’re trying not to fail,” said Siler. “That was a big learning and turning point for me. I need to teach them better than just yelling.

“For some, it’s just really hard (to fail). It destroys them. They failed Grandpa. They failed Dad. They failed the girlfriend. They failed the coach. It’s a heavy burden.”

Ever inquisitive, Siler asked these questions: How do we enjoy the sport more? and How do we get there?

“You don’t do it through negativity, I’ll tell you that,” said Siler. “My son (Scott) threw a bat once when he was really young and I made him run the hills. ‘But Daddy, I’m so young.’ I probably handled it a different way and I didn’t. That wasn’t right. 

“You make mistakes. You’ve got to live with those, too.”

As a high school baseball coach, Siler was faced with having to cut down his roster.

“Only so many people can make the team,” said Siler. When he took over at Elkhart High, he could not use freshmen and still had about 125 trying out. 

Siler and assistant Randy Miller had to do their evaluations inside a tiny downtown gym.

“We tried to be as fair as we could and didn’t have a whole lot of complaints,” said Siler. “Later, I did.”

Siler said figuring out the top and bottom of the roster is the easy part.

“Some of the kids who come up are coached by people who know baseball better than a lot of others,” said Siler. “The better athletes adjust faster and better than the lesser athletes.”

While Siler could teach technique and improve upon it, he knew that “some talent is just God-given.”

Siler said the difference in a successful high school player and an unsuccessful one came down to attitude.

“I’m not much on all-ness statements,” said Siler. “Sometimes the dog wags the tail and sometimes the tail wags the dog. In my perspective, the program is more important than the individual. Period.

“If you think you are going run the program or effect the program in a negative way, you’re not going to be around. The program is what it’s all about.”

Siler insisted on a pregame prayer.

“They’ll have to fire me,” said Siler. “I’m not changing. That was very important to me.

“I live and die on the idea of ‘family first.’”

Many family members came to visit or called in Dick’s final days.

Dick Siler, who began his coaching career in the 1950’s, was an assistant baseball coach at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Ind., from the 1998 season to 2020. He died July 20. (Bethel University Photo)

Cuppy, Barmes, Upp, Uggen, Abbott going into IHSBCA Hall of Fame in 2020

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Two former big league players and three coaches will be enshrined in the Class of 2020 of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The ceremony is slated for 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, 2020 during the IHSBCA Coaches Clinic at Sheraton at Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis.

George Cuppy, a right-handed pitcher who played in the majors from 1892-1901, was selected by the veterans committee. He was born in Logansport, Ind., in 1869 and died in Elkhart, Ind., in 1922.

Cuppy won 162 games with the National League’s Cleveland Spiders and St. Louis Perfectos and the American League’s Boston Americans.

Four others — Clint Barmes, Scott Upp, Tony Uggen and Brian Abbott — were selected by a vote of the IHSBCA membership. The ballot went out in October.

Primarily a middle infielder, Barmes enjoyed 13 seasons in Major League Baseball.

Barmes is a graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School (1997), played one season each at Olney (Ill.) Central College and Indiana State University, the latter for Hall of Fame coach Bob Warn.

While at ISU, Barmes was voted all-region and all-conference after hitting .375 with 93 hits, 10 home runs, 18 doubles, seven triples, 37 runs batted in, 63 runs scored and 20 stolen bases.

He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round in 2000. He played eight seasons with the Rockies (2003-10), one with the Houston Astros (2011), three with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2012-14) and one with the San Diego Padres (2015), hitting .245 with 89 homers, 415 RBI, 932 hits, 434 runs scored and 43 stolen bases.

Barmes appeared in the postseason twice (2009 and 2013) and hit .286 in the 2013 National League Division Series.

Upp is active as the head coach at LaPorte (Ind.) High School. He is a 1986 LPHS graduate. He coached the Slicers to an IHSAA Class 4A state title in 2000.

In 21.5 years, Upp is 472-197 with five Duneland Athletic Conference titles, eight sectional championships, three regional crowns, two Final Four appearances and one state championship in 2000.

He is a six-time IHSBCA District Coach of the Year, the State Coach of the Year, and District 4 National Coach of the Year. He has been IHSBCA president and served on its board of directors and numerous committees. He is a member of the IHSBCA, American Baseball Coaches Association and National High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Upp coached the 1997 IHSBCA North All-Stars and has sent several players on the college baseball with four making it to the professional ranks.

A graduate of LaPorte, where he played and later coached with 13-time Hall of Famer Ken Schreiber, played at and earned his bachelors degree from Missouri State University. He has a Masters in Administration from Indiana University and is in his 28th year in education, currently serving as associate principal at LPHS.

Scott and Pam Upp have three sons — Kevin (who played baseball at Valparaiso University), Kyle (who played baseball at Purdue University) and Travis (who currently plays at Purdue Fort Wayne).

Uggen has been the head coach at his alma mater — Blackford High School — for the past six years after 20 at Northfield and has 476 victories, 13 conference titles, seven sectional championships, four regional crowns, two semistate titles, Class 2A state championships in 2001 and 2012 and a 2A state runner-up finish in 2013.

He has coached six IHSBCA North All-Stars, 15 all-state players and 20 have gone on to the next level.

A two-time 2A Coach of the Year, he was IHSBCA North All-Star head coach in 2006 and seven times a District Coach of the Year. He has served on several IHSBCA committees.

Abbott has been the IHSBCA executive director since 2012 and spent 21 years as a high school coach, serving at Eastbrook and Huntington North.

He amassed more than 300 wins, seven county championships, four conference titles, three sectional crowns, one regional title and a Final Four appearance in 1999. Abbott is also the pitching coach at Huntington University and has been on the baseball coaching staffs of Manchester University and Indiana Wesleyan University.

Ticket information for the Hall of Fame dinner is available through HOF Chairman Jeff McKeon at 317-445-9899 or jmckeon@plainfield.k12.in.us.

IHSBCA Hall of Fame 2020 class ballots due Oct. 31

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The ballot for the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2020 has been sent to the membership.

Each year at the state clinic in January, the IHSBCA inducts five into its Hall of Fame — four by vote of the members and one through the veterans committee.

The ballot, which appears in the October 2019 IHSBCA newsletter, features Doug Greenlee, Mark Grove, Dean Lehrman, Gary Rogers, Lea Selvey, Tim Terry, Tony Uggen and Scott Upp as coaches and Brian Abbott, Clint Barmes, Jamey Carroll, Wallace Johnson, Ray Miller and James Robinson as players/contributors.

Greenlee, retired from Kankakee Valley, coached 28 seasons (25 at KV) with 503 victories, seven conference championships, three Indiana High School Athletic Association sectional titles and two regional crowns.

He was the 2013 IHSBCA North All-Star head coach, served on several IHSBCA committees and has served as athletic director for 16 years at four different high schools. He is currently AD at Greencastle.

Greenlee is a graduate of South Putnam High School (1977), Indiana State University (B.S., 1981) and Ball State University (M.A., 1985).

He officiated basketball for more 25 years and worked four State Finals. He coached nine IHSBCA North All-Stars and had numerous players go on to college baseball. Three times his KV teams were ranked No. 1 in the state.

Grove, retired from Churubusco, earned 513 wins, nine IHSAA sectional titles, four regional crowns and a 1995 semistate runner-up. His teams won nine Northeast Corner Conference championships (four tournament titles) and two Allen County Athletic Conference crowns.

Grove sent 40 players on to college and one was drafted. He coached 25 all-staters, six IHSBCA North All-Stars and was District Coach of the Year several times.

A long-time IHSBCA member, he has served on several committees and is currently helping out at the state clinic registration table.

Grove has been a mentor to many coaches and is always a willing participant/organizer for clinics and youth baseball events.

He is a graduate of Bluffton High School and Ball State University.

Lehrman, head coach at Heritage for the past 33 years after nine at Woodlan, has posted 602 victories with 12 Allen County Athletic Conference championships, eight sectional title, three regional titles, one semistate crown, three Final Four appearances and state runner-up finish in 2007.

Lehrman is an eight-time ACAC Coach of the Year. He has also been an IHSBCA District Coach of the Year and twice served on the IHSBCA North All-Star coaching staff.

He coached football for 39 years and was head coach for six (40-26).

Dean and Janice Lehrman have three children — Camryn, Derek and Ryne — plus three grandchildren. Dean Lehrman teaches math at HHS.

Rogers, head coach at Leo the past two years after 32 at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, has 513 career wins. At Luers, his teams won four sectionals titles, one regional crown, one semistate championship and were state champions in 2008.

He was a State Coach of the Year in 2008 and was twice IHSBCA District Coach of the Year. He has served on numerous committees and is very active in the Fort Wayne baseball community. He has been a volunteer assistant at Indiana Tech for many seasons, worked with the Wildcat League for 33 years and serves on the board of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association and is a Hall of Fame member of that organization.

Rogers is a graduate of Merrillville High School and Huntington College (now Huntington University).

Selvey, head coach at Jay County the last 31 years after five years as a JC assistant, is 502-333 with seven sectional titles and three regional championships. He won five Olympic Conference titles and was that league’s coach of the year three times. The Patriots have also won one Allen County Athletic Conference title.

The graduate of Redkey High School and the University of Evansville with a Master’s degree from Ball State University has been very active with the IHSBA, serving as president, a regional representative, on numerous committees and was twice an assistant for the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series.

Selvey has coached 14 All-Stars and many players who went on to college with three taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and two others playing professional baseball in independent leagues and overseas.

He has been involved in baseball in the community, starting the junior high program at Jay County. He has been active with the Summit City Sluggers for nine years.

Lea and Denise Selvey have three children — Josh, Kyle and Kristen — and teaches science at Jay County.

Terry, head coach at South Vermillion the past 38 years after one season at Turkey Run, is 605-357 with nine Wabash River Conference titles, eight sectional championships and one regional crown. He has won 20-plus games 10 times, coached six IHSBCA All-Stars, been named District Coach of the Year twice and served as North/South All-Star Series coach and participated in numerous IHSBCA committees.

Terry is a 1973 graduate of Clinton High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball. He received his B.S. from Indiana State University in 1978 and M.S. from ISU in 1982.

Terry has helped with Little League, Pony League, Babe Ruth and American Legion teams.

He coached girls basketball at South Vermillion for 34 years with two conference titles, five sectionals and 295 wins.

Currently the South Vermillion athletic director, Tim has been married for 23 years to Kim (SVHS Science teacher). The couple has four sons — T.J. (22), Canton (20), Cooper (18) and Easton (14).

Uggen, head coach at Blackford the past six years after 20 at Northfield, has 476 victories, 13 conference titles, seven sectional championships, four regional crowns, two semistate titles, Class 2A state championships in 2001 and 2012 and a 2A state runner-up finish in 2013.

He has coached six IHSBCA North All-Stars, 15 all-state players and 20 have gone on to the next level.

A two-time 2A Coach of the Year, he was IHSBCA North All-Star head coach in 2006 and seven times a District Coach of the Year. He has served on several IHSBCA committees.

Tony and Lisa Uggen have five children — Stephanie, Christian, Brandon, Brendan and Elly. After teaching for 11 years, he served the past 16 as athletic director.

Upp, head coach at LaPorte the past 21.5 years, is 472-197 with five Duneland Athletic Conference titles, eight sectional championships, three regional crowns, two Final Four appearances and one state championship in 2000.

He is a six-time IHSBCA District Coach of the Year, the State Coach of the Year, and District 4 National Coach of the Year. He has been IHSBCA president and served on its board of directors and numerous committees. He is a member of the IHSBCA, American Baseball Coaches Association and National High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Upp coached the 1997 IHSBCA North All-Stars and has sent several players on the college baseball with four making it to the professional ranks.

A graduate of LaPorte, where he played and later coached with 13-time Hall of Famer Ken Schreiber, played at and earned his bachelors degree from Missouri State University. He has a Masters in Administration from Indiana University and is in his 28th year in education, currently serving as associate principal at LPHS.

Scott and Pam Upp have three sons — Kevin (who played baseball at Valparaiso University), Kyle (who played baseball at Purdue University) and Travis (who currently plays at Purdue Fort Wayne).

Abbott, IHSBCA executive director since 2012, spent 21 years as a high school coach, serving at Eastbrook and Huntington North. He amassed more than 300 wins, seven county championships, four conference titles, three sectional crowns, one regional title and a Final Four appearance in 1999.

He is also the pitching coach at Huntington University and has been on the baseball coaching staffs of Manchester University and Indiana Wesleyan University.

Barmes, a retired major league infielder/outfielder and graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School (1997), played one season each at Olney (Ill.) Central College and Indiana State University, the latter for Hall of Fame coach Bob Warn.

While at ISU, Barmes was voted all-region and all-conference after hitting .375 with 93 hits, 10 home runs, 18 doubles, seven triples, 37 runs batted in, 63 runs scored and 20 stolen bases.

He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round in 2000. He played eight seasons with the Rockies (2003-10), one with the Houston Astros (2011), three with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2012-14) and one with the San Diego Padres (2015), hitting .245 with 89 homers, 415 RBI, 932 hits, 434 runs scored and 43 stolen bases.

Barmes appeared in the postseason twice (2009 and 2013) and hit .286 in the 2013 National League Division Series.

Clint and Summer Barmes have two children — Cole and Whitney.

Carroll, a retired major league infielder/outfielder and graduate of Castle High School (1992), played for Dave Sensenbrenner in high school and was an IHSBCA South All-Star as a senior. He played at the University of Evansville for coach Jim Brownlee, graduating in 1996 and earning All-American that same year. His name appears 27 times in the U of E’s baseball record book.

Carroll was chosen in the 14th round of the 1996 draft by the Montreal Expos and played 12 seasons in the the bigs with the Expos (2002-04), Washington Nationals (2005), Colorado Rockies (2006-07), Cleveland Indians (2008-09), Los Angeles Dodgers (2010-11), Minnesota Twins (2012-13) and Kansas City Royals (2013).

Some career numbers are: 16.6 WAR, 1,000 hits, 13 homers, .272 average, 560 runs scored, 265 RBI, 74 stolen base, .349 on-base percentage and .687 On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS).

Carroll scored the last run in Expos history, led National League second basemen in fielding percentage in 2006 and in 2007 he scored Matt Holliday with a sacrifice fly to win the NL Wild Card game.

He currently works in the front office for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jamey and Kim Carroll have 11-year-old twins —  Cole and Mackenzie.

Johnson, a retired major league infielder/outfielder and graduate of Gary Roosevelt High School (1975) and Indiana State University (1979), also played for Sycamores legend Warn.

A co-captain on ISU’s first Missouri Valley Conference championship team and first squad to qualify for the NCAA postseason.

Johnson led the nation in hitting in 1979, hitting .502 for the regular season and .422 for his career.

He was selected in the sixth round of the 1979 draft by the Expos and was Florida State League MVP and a member of Triple-A championship teams in Denver (1981) and Indianapolis (1986).

Johnson played nine seasons in the MLB (1981-84, 1986-90) and is the Expos all-time leader in pinch hits (86). He hit .255 with five homers and 59 RBI in 428. He spent part of 1983 with the San Fransisco Giants and was also in the Oakland Athletics organization.

After his playing career, Johnson was a third base coach with the Chicago White Sox for five seasons.

Miller, an amateur baseball ambassador who died in 2017, managed the Portland Rockets for more than 30 years beginning in 1972 and won over 900 games with state titles in 1985, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2006.

More than 30 former Rockets went into coaching at the high school or college ranks. In 2000, the team’s field was named Ray Miller Field and in 2002 he became the first inductee into the Indiana Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame.

Robinson, a retired umpire of 35 years beginning in 1980, worked 33 sectionals, 25 regionals, 14 semistates and six State Finals. He umpired the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series six times times and was voted IHSAA Umpire of the Year on five occasions.

In 1994, Kokomo resident Robinson was elected to the National Federation Baseball Rules Committee and served 1995-98.

In 2002, he was named IHSAA/NFOA Baseball Official of the Year and was selected as the National Federation Distinguished Official of the Year.

He has coached Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for 10 years.

The graduate of Wood High School in Indianapolis (where he played one year of baseball) and Indiana University of Kokomo has also been a high school and college football referee, working six years in NCAA Division II and seven in the D-I Mid-American Conference.

He became replay official for the MAC and moved to the Big Ten. He was relay official in the national championship game in 2014. That Rose Bowl featured Florida State and Auburn.

James and wife Nada (deceased) have one daughter, Chiquita, and one grandson, Kameron.

Voting deadline is Oct. 31.