BUFFALO TWP — Chuck Sarver described him as “a baseball person.”

Dess Schnur referred to him as “genuine.”

Jim Lokhaiser described him as a “good family man.”

Ralph “Sonny” Westerman Jr. was all of those things and more.

A baseball coach for more than six decades, longtime Eagle County League commissioner and founder of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational, Westerman left behind a legacy unparalleled in this region.

The Buffalo Township resident died recently at 88.

“Just a reliable guy who participated in all levels of baseball,” county legion baseball icon Schnur said. “Down in Freeport, he's practically a god.”

Westerman was humble to the end. There was no public viewing prior to his funeral.

“Good thing ... it would have taken three or four days to get everybody to pass through the building,” longtime county baseball enthusiast Lokhaiser said. “That man was loved that much.

“He never had a bad word to say about anybody and nobody ever had a bad word to say about him.”

Sarver was one of more than 20 people to speak publicly at Westerman's funeral.

“They had a microphone set up and one right after another, people would come up and share a Sonny Westerman story,” Sarver said. “I didn't wear a tie to the funeral service, just to honor him.

“Sonny was not a suit and tie guy. He was a working man and he wore working man's clothes.”

Former Butler and Slippery Rock high school football coach Clyde Conti played legion baseball for Westerman years ago. Westerman was inducted into the American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968, the first of five Hall of Fame inductions during his lifetime.

He coached the Freeport legion team to the state finals in 1970 and brought the state legion playoffs to Freeport the following year.

“My image of Sonny is of him in his work clothes, dragging that (Swartz Field) infield, getting ready for the ballgame,” Conti said. “He loved the game of baseball and was so well-respected.

“He was a mountain of a man. His daughter, Jody, told me her mother lost the love of her life and she lost a hero.”

Westerman referred to batting gloves as “sissy gloves” — and he had anything but a sissy handshake.

“He was a hulk. When he gripped your hand, you felt it,” Conti said.

Former Eagle County president Dan Cunningham said Westerman was “never one for batting gloves. He was an old-school guy who believed in baseball being played the right way.”

Cunningham added that Westerman was “one of those people you could depend on. He was always involved.

“You don't find too many people like that around anymore.”

While coaching legion ball in Freeport, Westerman kept a barber's chair behind the backstop at Swartz Field.

Any player arriving for a game who did not have his hair cut to legion specifications received a trim from Westerman before going on the field.

“That wasn't Sonny's rule. That was Sonny playing by the rules. That's what he did,” Conti said.

Ernie Westerman, one of Sonny's sons, fondly recalled those days.

“If a guy came in here with hair down to his shoulders, it was getting cut. Simple as that,” Ernie Westerman said. “(Former Pittsburgh Pirate first baseman) Sid Bream was one of them. Sid got his hair cut in Freeport.

“Those were legion rules and you were going to play by the rules. Wear your hat right, uniform tucked in ... Dad was a stickler for that stuff. He taught us how to play the game the way it's supposed to be played.”

He wanted others to experience baseball that way as well — thus forming the Freeport International Baseball Invitational. That event, which has attracted youth baseball teams from all over the world, is entering its 23rd year.

The FIBI takes place July 17-23 on a number of fields in the Freeport area. Sarver said a plaque honoring Westerman will be presented to his family during the FIBI's annual Old-Timer's Game.

That game wll soon be referred to as the Sonny Westerman Classic.

“Next year, we're planning a much more extensive tribute to Sonny at the Freeport International,” Sarver said. “This year, we just didn't have enough time.

“We're already getting teams calling about the 2018 event and we want as many teams as possible to come back to help honor Sonny.”

Sarver took the reins of the FIBI from Westerman a number of years ago. No standings or records are kept during FIBI games. Teams come for the pure joy of playing baseball.

“It's an honor and a challenge to be at the head of that now because it will always extend Sonny's legacy,” Sarver said.

“I mean, look where he's taken that thing. Some Japanese players taught my son a curve ball when he was 11. How cool is that?

Ernie Westerman said the growth of the FIBI through the years “has been incredible.” He said the only time a team from the Bronx leaves there is when it comes to Freeport.

“They'd wear their hats a little different ... Dad would smile at them. He was glad they were here,” Ernie said.

Westerman and wife Marilyn were married 69 years.

“When you'd see Sonny, Marilyn was always right there with him,” Cunningham said.

That support spilled over to baseball.

“My mother always backed him,” Ernie said. “She soaked up so much about baseball, from Little League through the majors, she could coach any team right now. My sister (Jody) was always helping out at the games. We're a baseball family.

“Dad coached my teams from Little League on up. We won because we practiced all the time. Other teams were lucky to practice once a week. We practiced in our backyard. Our field there was big enough, we practiced every night.

“Our legion team played 60 games a year. Practice and playing made us better,” he added.

Sonny Westerman is gone. His impact will be felt for years.

“When he met you, he gripped your hand and you had a friend,” Sarver said. “He would do anything for you.

“He was a blessing to be around.”