Dess Schnur

This is the fourth in a series of articles profiling the 2011 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.The name Dess Schnur is synonymous with baseball in Butler County.Schnur, 68, has played for and coached championship teams at Pullman Park. He won 423 games as manager of the East Butler American Legion team, served as president or vice president of the Butler County Legion League for 24 years and has been operations manager at Pullman Park since 2008.That body of work — covering more than 50 years — has landed Schnur into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.He will be one of seven 2011 inductees honored at the organization’s annual banquet April 30 at the Butler Days Inn.Schnur follows his son — 2009 inductee Curt Schnur — into the Hall.“To be in there with my son means more to me than anyone will ever know,” Schnur said.Already a member of the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame, Schnur was nominated for induction by Center Township Athletic Association president John Link.“Mr. Schnur is one of three men responsible for successful baseball in Butler County over the past 50 years, the other being Mr. George (Red) Slater and Mr. Ron Zawrotuk,” Link wrote in his nomination letter.Slater was inducted into the Hall in 2009.Schnur’s baseball resume is ongoing. He played in local leagues from 1950 through 1965 and was a member of the championship Butler Eagles team at Pullman Park in 1956.He coached the East Butler Legion team to a record of 423-188 — a .728 winning percentage — 10 county championships and 11 state regional invitations.“I’ve lived to work in baseball and my family made that possible for me,” Schnur said. “I’ve put billions of hours in and that’s because of people who have influenced me and supported me.“That goes all the way back to my parents, Ches Marburger, Jim McKinney, Red Slater, Dan Cunningham ... There are so many others.”Schnur was co-founder of the North Butler County Pony League in 1980. He chaired the East Butler Baseball Association renaissance program from 1983 through 2009.Those volunteer projects included renovation of Speed-O Field and the construction of a memorial monument to honor the memory of EBBA alumni who have passed away. The black granite stone monument stands 10 feet high and was dedicated in June of 2001.“One project led to another (with the renaissance plan),” Schnur said. “But I’m most proud of that one. When you can honor the memory of dedicated people, you do it.”For years, Schnur defended the format of the Butler County AmericanLegion League, which fielded as many localized teams in the county as possible.“We wanted to provide as many kids as possible the opportunity to play baseball,” he said. “Investing in kids’ lives early can pay big dividends in the end.”Schnur coached his East Butler team in the final Legion game at Pullman Park — the 2007 BCAL championship game — prior to the renovation of that facility.Now operations manager at Pullman Park, he was instrumental in the playing of 133 games there last year. By the end of April, 48 games will have been played there this year.“I still believe in my heart that baseball is all about God-given talent,” Schnur said. You can’t teach a kid to throw harder or run faster.“You can teach him to get the most out of his ability and enjoy playing the game.”Tickets are $20 for the 6:30 p.m. banquet and are available at Bill’s Beer Barn, Snack ‘n Pack and the Moses Jewelers at the Clearview Mall in Butler, Parker Appliance in Chicora and Saxonburg Drug.