Gardner Joins WSL Hall of Fame

One of the finest to come out of Sheboygan, Tom Gardner, was elected to the Wisconsin State League Hall of Fame.

Gardner, the 8-year shortstop for the Sheboygan A’s, is one of six who will be inducted into the Hall on Saturday night, Jan. 25, 2014, at the league’s Annual Awards and Hall of Fame Dinner in Sheboygan.

Going into the prestigious semi-pro league’s Hall of Fame with Gardner are R.D. Boschulte of Madison, Troy Evers and Steve Schulz of the Green Bay Blue Ribbons, Bill McQueen of the Janesville Aces and Mike Pierce of the Addison Braves.

The class of six brings the number inducted to 33 since the charter class of 2007.

Starred at Oshkosh

MVP and all-conference at Sheboygan North, Gardner was also MVP, a 2-year state all-star (and one year the MVP of the state all-star game) while with the Sheboygan Legion. He went on to UW-Oshkosh where he won three letters, was named all-conference, all-Midwest region and for the first time in UW-Oshkosh history was twice named the MVP of the Division III Midwest Regional Tournament. Moving on from the Regional, he was named to the all-Division III World Series team and to the All-American team.

Sheboygan’s shortstop for eight seasons, Gardner hit .323 in the State League over that stretch and played a key role in the club’s first league title in 1991. His keen eye always had him at the top of the order and helped account for a .443 career on base percentage. In 219 games, Gardner struck out 67 times compared to 158 walks.

His best year in the league was 1993 when he hit .422 to lead the league and earn co-MVP honors. He led the league in runs scored, 35, 1990; hits, 38, 1993; doubles, 12, 1992; and assists, 82, 1991. He ranks fifth in career assists, 567, and seventh in double plays, 93.

Overall, Gardner left the A’s with an on-base average of .465 in 1,590 plate appearances.

Twice named Sheboygan’s MVP he was inducted into the A’s Hall of Fame in 2003.

“I knew Tom when he first started playing high school and Legion baseball,” said Dave Moyer, who managed Gardner in his later years with the Sheboygan A’s. “This was an important time in establishing high school baseball in Sheboygan and he was a major part of that process. He was integral to Sheboygan’s first State League championship, which was a big deal at the time. It’s hard to think of my experiences in the game or Sheboygan baseball in general without thinking about Tom.”

“I think it is an amazing honor to be included into the WSL Hall of Fame,” Gardner said. “But of course it is only made possible by the tireless workers of the Sheboygan Athletic Club so my thanks go out to each and every volunteer and fan of the Sheboygan A’s”.

Gardner now resides in Oshkosh. He has two daughters, Allison and Rachel.

Other New Hall Members

In six seasons and parts of two others, Boschulte, who played his college baseball for the University of Wisconsin, hit .352 in 134 games. That ranks him 14th among players with 500 or more plate appearances. He helped Madison’s sponsors Leske’s Supper Club and later Howard Johnson Hotel to State League Divisional titles in 1973, 1974 and 1975 and a league championship in 1976.

Boschulte hit over .400 twice. His best year was in 1973 when the shortstop hit .457 in 24 games. He also led the league in assists that year. In Madison’s 1976 championship season, Boschulte hit .341 and led the league in stolen bases.

Rarely would these rankings be compatible to one person: sixth in career home runs, first in career saves. But those are Troy Evers stats. When he had the bat, the pitcher/outfielder racked up a .350 batting average, 44 home runs, 209 hits and 166 RBI in 154 games. When he had the ball, he ran up a 27-3 record with 15 saves and a 2.21 earned run average in 228 innings.

The 5-time all-league selection led the league in home runs in 1994 (8) and 1995 (9) and in winning percentage in 1992 and 1998, 6-0 in both seasons. In addition to leading the league in home runs in 1994, he was named pitcher of the year. He was 5-0 with a 1.62 earned run average and 51 strikeouts in 50 innings.

19 Year Vet

Bill McQueen, who played in the league for 19 seasons, ranks second to his longtime teammate Tom Klawitter in just about every career pitching category including wins and strikeouts. McQueen appeared in 172 games, threw 845+ innings and posted a 68-60 record with 12 shutouts and six saves.

He led the league in earned run average (2.32) and in winning percentage (4-0) in his first season, 1988, and helped Janesville to championships or playoff appearances in 1989, 1990 and 1993. McQueen’s 4.12 career earned run average ranks second among pitchers with 800 or more innings pitched. Of his many, many good years, his best may have been 2002 when he was 4-2 with a 1.85 earned run average.

Addison’s top stick for 12 of his 14 seasons, Mike Pierce finished his career with a .316 batting average, sixth best among players with 1,200 or more plate appearances. Pierce has 77 doubles and 29 home runs among his 339 career hits to rank seventh on the career slugging list with a .488 slugging percentage.

He had several outstanding years, but his best may have been 2002 when he hit .379 and led the league in home runs (6), total bases (67) and slugging percentage (.650). Pierce hit .396 in 2008, .364 in 1998 and .358 in 2003.

Pierce played two years with Lombard, 2005 and 2006 and Lombard won titles in both seasons. He was named to the all-league team seven times.

Steve Schulz, who holds the State League record with 23 career triples, hit .339 in seven seasons with the Green Bay Blue Ribbons, and helped the Ribbons to league championships in five of them €” 1976-77 and 1979-81.

His best season was 1979 when he hit .423 with 39 hits, 21 runs batted in and six triples in 21 games. Schulz led the league in slugging percentage that year, .662, and also led that year in put outs and total chances. He was the league MVP that season.

Public Welcome

Area baseball fans are welcome to attend the dinner where the six will be inducted. It will be held Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Sheboygan Yacht Club, 214 Pennsylvania Ave. in Sheboygan. Dinner is at 7 p.m., following a 5:30 p.m. social hour. The program will begin at 8 p.m. Cost is $30 per person. Reservations and payment must be received by Jan 18. Make checks payable to Wisconsin State League and send them to WSL, PO Box 32, Sheboygan, WI 53082-0032