McClure uses diamond success as means of joining Butler County Sports Hall of Fame
This is the first in a series of articles on the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame’s 2022 inductees
HUMMELSTOWN — Ben McClure played for what he insists was the best baseball team in Butler history.
He then spent many years trying to discover guys who could eventually play baseball at the highest level.
That combination has landed McClure, 80, into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. He is one of 12 to be inducted during the organizations’ annual banquet at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Lyndora American Legion Hall. McClure is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
McClure played for the first Pony League team in Butler in 1953, then in the initial Butler Prep League from 1955-57. Both teams played at Pullman Park.
“The 1957 Butler Prep League all-star team was the best baseball team ever assembled in Butler,” McClure said. “We finished second in the national tournament held in Munhall that year. We had a ton of pitchers and great hitters.
“We wound up having a Prep Grads team that played in the Eagle County League. While we never won the league, we were very competitive. The adult teams couldn’t stand the fact that a bunch of 18-year-olds could stay with them. They hated it.”
But McClure loved baseball. He always volunteered to organize and promote the development of Butler baseball. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in education.
Looking for work as a teacher, he landed a job as a social studies teacher at Lower Dauphin High School — and his baseball career jumped to another level.
“I graduated from college in 1962 and teaching jobs were hard to find in Pennsylvania,” McClure recalled. “Lower Dauphin had an opening, I applied and I got it.”
He took over as the school’s baseball coach in 1966, staying in that position until 1979. McClure amassed a won-loss record of 167-66, winning seven league championships in 13 years. He organized an entire Lower Dauphin league for his team to play in.
“We had a bunch of good players. I wasn’t a magician or anything,” McClure said of his coaching prowess.
During his coaching years, McClure came across Tim Thompson, a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals, who asked him if he knew of any top prospects in the area. He referred him to Redland and mentioned Greg Gross.
Gross was drafted in the early rounds by the Houston Astros and wound up with a lengthy career as a major league outfielder. Shortly thereafter, McClure began working with Thompson as a part time scout for the Cardinals and did so from 1972-82.
He went on to become an area scout for the Toronto Blue Jays for 16 years, a pro scout for the San Diego Padres from 2000-05, for the Kansas City Royals in 2006 and the Milwaukee Brewers from 2007-15.
“I was able to find a few guys that went on to the majors, but it’s tough for players to get all the way through,” McClure said. “Tommy Herr went undrafted and had a long career with the Cardinals. Woody Williams and Ryan Thompson were two of a few guys who played for Toronto briefly.
“Scouting was almost year-round. You’d start in Florida during spring training when a lot of college teams were playing down there. My territory during the season was Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia. Cincinnati was always a hotbed for major league talent.”
McClure is already a member of the Pennsylvania American Legion Sports Hall of Fame, Pa. Sports Hall of Fame And Middle Atlantic Baseball Scouts Association Hall of Fame.
“This one means the most to me,” he said of the BCSHOF. “It involves the people I grew up with. I left here in 1962. It feels incredible and special to be remembered like this.“
Tickets for the banquet are $30 in advance and will soon be available at Parker Appliance in Chicora, Saxonburg Drug, the Butler Radio Network, Maddalon Jewelers in Zelienople and at www.bcshof.com. Tickets will be $35 at the door.
