Dear Elkins-area residents,

I was greatly saddened to hear that the Hillbilly Hardball Classic had been taken from Elkins and the surrounding area and relocated to Morgantown. The annual event had been a large boost to the area economy since 1989.

When I took over as manager of Elkins Post 29 American Legion Baseball in 1989, I wanted to expand the program and give our local youth an opportunity to play teams from other areas.

In the summer of 1988, Elkins lost a local baseball legend in Rick Phillips. Rick was a close personal friend and his untimely death hit me hard. There was a push to start a scholarship at Elkins High School in his honor. So we started the Rick Phillips Memorial Tournament with 4 teams in June of 1989.

All of the proceeds from the tournament were given to his scholarship fund in 1989 and 1990. Through an outpouring of community support and fundraising events, the scholarship was fully funded in two years.

In the summer of 1990, we took our Elkins Post 29 team to Panama City, Florida to participate in a tournament there. We faced teams from several southeastern states and our local kids had a wonderful experience. A fellow legion coach from Weirton — Bob Sutton, had taken his team to the same tournament. Bob loved kids and legion baseball but more than anything else, Bob loved coming to Elkins. He suggested that I start a similar tournament as the one held in Panama City. I knew I had to have a “catchy” name and a logo.

With the help of local artist Brad Basil, who was then the artist at the Randolph County Sheltered Workshop, we came up with the logo of hillbillies playing baseball. I faced some backlash for stereotyping West Virginia but most liked the idea.

With the help of Bob Sutton, then Davis & Elkins College Coach Lawrence Nesselrodt, Dick Harvey and several local baseball “junkies,” The Hillbilly Hardball Classic became a reality in 1991. We started with 10 teams from West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. The tournament grew in popularity so much over the next few years that eventually we hosted 40 teams from 13 states and had worked with both Randy Tenney at West Virginia Wesleyan College and Mickey Tenney at Buckhannon Upshur High School to give us enough playing fields to guarantee the traveling teams four or five games. We later added fields in Philippi and Mill Creek to the mix.

The tournament had every hotel booked from Elkins to Weston. Restaurants, stores and gas stations were always busy for the 4-day event. The community support grew to tremendous levels. I was honored to be named the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year and named to the Board of Directors for the Randolph County Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Hillbilly Hardball Classic grew into the 2nd largest event in the area next to the Forest Festival.

There are so many folks that I could thank for the success of the tournament that worked behind the scenes. Ticket takers, grounds crew, concession workers and so on. Umpires traveled in from several states and worked multiple games each day. Fellow legion coaches that helped me attract teams from outside the area.

John Mahanes would be at the field to drag and line the field before 6 a.m every morning. Jim Gillespie at the Ink Spot who would work all hours of the night leading up to the tournament to collect rosters and advertisements for the program and make sure it was delivered to the fields prior to the start of the tournament. Bob McCoy and the folks at the Randolph County Sheltered Workshop who worked tirelessly to print souvenir T-Shirts for the teams. Chris and Jeff Broughton who always made sure to have our trophies and awards done on time. People like Vic White, Floyd Thomas, Tim Hornick, Bert Nucilli, Ken Shaffer, Mike Karlen and others who helped me coach our team in Elkins and gave countless hours to help our boys enjoy their legion baseball days. Also, several folks who were active with the American Legion Post 29 like Ron Shockey and Joe Grahame. Many local businessowners who strongly supported the tournament and our legion baseball program. People like Jim Tanner who made a lunch date with Dick Harvey for a Friday ballpark hot dog at Robin Harvey Field every year.

When I left Elkins 20 years ago to relocate for a job, my biggest concern was that the tournament would continue and would continue to be an event that the Elkins area could be proud of. The Hillbilly Hardball Classic was never about one person. It was a community event hosted by the hospitable people of the Elkins area. That is what brought people back each year.

I recently ran into a gentleman who was an outstanding player from outside the Elkins area. He had a stellar high school, college and professional baseball career. He told me that without a doubt, the most fun he ever had playing baseball was playing in the Hillbilly Hardball Classic.

I know the mayor and citizens of Elkins want to see the event return to Elkins, and many are upset that it was unexplainably taken from the area without discussion.

It is a shame that it became all about one person!

Kevin Reed

Moorefield