Gaiser

This is the last in a series of seven articles profiling the 2010 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.CHICORA — Finally, Don Gaiser is a Hall of Famer.A baseball player for more than three decades — and the third baseman on a 1935 national championship team — the former Boyers and Chicora resident will be one of seven inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame at the banquet April 24 at the Butler Days Inn.Gaiser died in 1977 at 68."He should have gone in a long time ago," said Jack Gaiser, his brother and former teammate. "Don was quite a ballplayer ... a great hitter."At 38, Gaiser hit .469 to lead Chicora to the Butler County League championship in 1948."Dad could always hit," said Don's son, Dennis Gaiser. "And when baseball faded a little bit in the late 1930s and early '40s because of the war, he took up golf and became a fine golfer."Gaiser won the 1942 championship at Ridgeview Golf Club, which now is called St. Jude Golf Club, but his true claim to fame came in baseball.He arrived in Petrolia in 1933 to get a job with and to play baseball for Daugherty Refinery, which assembled many of the prime ballplayers in the area to work and to play ball for the company."They brought players in from all around," Jack Gaiser said. "Don was one of the best on that team. He was a slick fielder, too, mainly at third base."Other local "recruits" included Lud Smith, Chuck "Red" Wigton, Don Evans and the Garbark brothers: Mike, Bob and Art. Mike went on to play with the New York Yankees while Bob went on to join the Chicago Cubs.The Refiners were runners-up at the National Sandlot Tournament in 1934 before winning the title in 1935.Don Gaiser batted third, played third base and hit .364 (12 hits in 33 at-bats) during tournament play, when the team played 10 games in eight days.The Refiners defeated Birmingham 6-2, Cleveland 9-1 and Akron 18-6 during the tournament, and succeeded in knocking out opponents from much larger cities.Gaiser batted fourth and had two hits in the title-clinching 16-4 win over Springdale.A third baseman through much of his career, Gaiser switched to catcher in his late 30s."He was a good pitcher as a kid, too, but he threw his elbow away," Jack Gaiser recalled.Parker, Petrolia, Boyers, West Sunbury, Chicora and Grove City were some of the baseball teams Gaiser played for through the years.He was co-founder of the Petroleum Valley Little League in 1950 and coached Chicora to that league's first championship.At 44, his playing career ended after he lined a ball down the left-field line and fell head over heels coming out of the batter's box.Don Steffan, who originally nominated Gaiser for the Hall of Fame, wrote that Gaiser "decided he'd had enough of the game he loved so much."In 1933, Gaiser hit .404 in 193 at-bats with Petrolia. He hit .371 in 175 at-bats with Parker the year before that."He could play almost any position," Dennis Gaiser said. "If a guy couldn't make the game, Dad just filled in for him."Gaiser had an opportunity to play professional baseball with Frederick, Md., in the Cleveland Indians system in 1931. But because the Blue Ridge League failed to secure six teams, it disbanded and Gaiser never got the chance to play a minor league game."He decided not to pursue it after that," Jack Gaiser said. "Don could have made it in pro ball. He definitely had that kind of ability."Tickets to the banquet are $20 each with tables of eight available. Tickets are available at Bill's Beer Barn, Moses Jewelry Store at the Clearview Mall, Parker's Appliance in Chicora, Snack 'n' Pack in Butler and Saxonburg Drug.