Hot Stovers Baseball Club of SJ to induct Class of 2018 on Nov. 24

The Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey will holds its 59th Anniversary Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Masso’s Crystal Manor in Glassboro.

The event starts at 2 p.m.

Eight inductees will have their names added to the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame and six scholar-athletes will receive scholarships as they move onto college. This year’s inductees are Rich Bender (Delran), Greg Burke (Gloucester Catholic), Nick DelGozzo (Audubon), Rich Horan (Audubon), John Kupsey (Gloucester Catholic), Brian Meyer (Shawnee), Dan Meyer (Kingsway) and Jack Meyer (Medford).

In addition, the Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey will be honoring its 2018 High School All-Star team, South Jersey Coach of the Year, veteran umpire Richard Luongo for his “Long-time service and contributions to South Jersey baseball” and the American Legion Most Valuable Player.

Tickets are $45 and can be purchased by contacting South Jersey Hot Stovers’ president Tom Haas at (856) 728-0199.

Rich Bender

Bender is the only baseball coach Delran High School has ever had winning 672 games over those 43 years making him the winningest coach in South Jersey, who coached in five decades. His overall record is 672-349 for a winning percentage of .654.

His teams have qualified for state tournaments in 41 of its 43 years winning state Group II State Championships in 1983 and ’95. In 1995 the Bears were the top-ranked team in the state and number nine in the nation. That team was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2001.

Delran’s baseball team has finished first or second in the Burlington County Sports League 28 times in the program’s 43 year history including winning 13 league championships. Bender’s teams have made it to 11 South Jersey championship finals, five state semi-finals and three state championships winning two of them.

Bender is a member of the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame, the Delran High School Hall of Fame and the New Jersey High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. Twenty-three of his players have been named All-South Jersey First Team. Other than his family, which includes his wife of 45 years Suzanne, three children and six grandchildren, he considers his greatest accomplishment assisting Delran student athletes earning more than $750,000 in athletic scholarships.

Bender is a 1972 Rider University graduate. The Bender family lives in Bordentown.

Greg Burke

Burke is a Gloucester Catholic High School and Duke University graduate. At Gloucester Catholic, he was an ace pitcher for a team that went 33-1 in his senior season in 2000 helping GCHS to being named the top high school baseball team in the nation by Baseball America.

His impressive high school statistics include being named All-South and All-State in 1999 and 2000 and Honorable Mention All-American in 2000. In ’99, Burke went 10-2 with 66 strikeouts and a 1.93 ERA. In his senior year, he lowered his ERA to 1.05, striking out 86 en route to an 8-1 record.

He was selected by the New York Mets in the 42nd round of the 2000 Major League Draft, but opted to play at Duke University from 2001 until 2005. Primarily a reliever who adapted a submarine-style motion, he signed a minor-league contract with the San Diego Padres in 2006 following a tryout camp. He was a two-time minor league all-star – in 2008 in the Texas League and 2012 while in the Orioles’ organization.

Burke began 2009 with Triple-A Portland, where he was 3-0 in 13 games with a 2.25 ERA before being called up to the Padres on May 15, 2009. In 48 games with San Diego, he went 3–3 with a 4.14 ERA while striking out 33.

Following spring training with the Phillies in 2016, he retired from major league baseball. In his major-league career, he had a 3-6 record with a 4.77 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 38 walks in 771⁄3 innings. His career was bothered and eventually cut short after he had undergone surgery to repair his rotator cuff and his hip in two of his last three off-seasons.

Burke lives in Medford with his wife and two children.

Nick DelGozzo

DelGozzo was a three-year varsity starting infielder at Audubon playing for fellow Hall of Fame inductee Rich Horan. He is also a 1998 Monmouth University graduate where he is one of only two players in Monmouth history to be named all-conference three times and he did it at two positions second- and third-base.

At Monmouth, he collected 225 career hits including 55 doubles and finished with a career .335 batting average. He knocked in 130 runs, walked 120 times and stole 45 bases.

At Audubon he was twice named All-Group One and All-Colonial Conference and twice played for the Carpenter Cup. En route to being named an All-State infielder by the Newark Star Ledger, he had 125 career hits, including 25 doubles, four triples, four home runs and a career .440 batting average.

1994 was a big year for DelGozzo and the Green Wave as they won their conference for a third consecutive year, and the South Jersey and State Group One Championships. He played in three Joe Hartmann Diamond Classics.

After retiring from the Ohio Valley Redcoats in the independent Frontier League, DelGozzo joined Coach Sam Tropiano’s Bishop Eustace Prep coaching staff as an assistant and during his five years with the Crusaders, they have won five conference titles, a Diamond Classic championship and have been ranked among the state’s top 15 teams in four of those years.

As an American Legion coach for the past 12 years, DelGozzo’s teams have made seven New Jersey Final appearances, two Mid-Atlantic Regional appearances and have won more than 250 games.

DelGozzo, his wife Chrissy and daughter Bianca live in Williamstown.

Rich Horan

Horan is the long-time Audubon High School head coach and a 1973 graduate. He enters the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach – earning that distinction based on two outstanding careers as an individual and member of championship teams.

As a catcher for his Green Wave ball club under hall of fame coach Hank Greenberg, a 1991 SJHoF inductee, Horan was All- Colonial Conference and All-Group II in ’72 and ’73, and All-South Jersey in ’73 when he batted .416 with three home runs and 25 runs batted in.

He took his talents to Saint Joseph’s University where in 1977 he batted .357 accumulating 35 hits – 12 of them for extra bases – 26 RBIs and 25 runs scored.

Horan played independent summer baseball through the 1985 season with one of the highlights being the 1973 Brooklawn American Legion team winning the world series under coach Joe Barth senior, a 1991 SJHoF inductee. Horan was the Most Valuable Player in both the semi-final and championship rounds racking up impressive offensive numbers.

As Audubon’s head coach, dating back to 1992 – and before that serving as Diane Guida’s assistant for five years – he has 522 career wins, 203 losses with three games ended in a tie and a winning 72 percent of his games.

Horan’s Audubon teams have won seven state championships, 10 South Jersey titles, six Ralph Shaw Classics, two Mingo Classic titles – known as “The best in baseball” – in 1998 and 2017 – and an even dozen Colonial Conference championships. As a GCHS assistant working under Hall of Fame coach Al Radano, class of ’97, the Rams won four state crowns.

Rich and his wife Debbie and have two children and live in Audubon.

John Kupsey

Kupsey has the distinction of leading his GCHS team in the Triple Crown categories of batting, home runs and RBIs in his senior year, 1988 – batting .610, with eight homers and 53 RBIs and miss leading all of South Jersey by just three home runs. Under Hall of Fame Coach Al Radano, the Rams won state championships with Kupsey playing shortstop in his freshman and sophomore years, 1985 and ’86.

Following graduation, the Braves drafted Kupsey in the second round assigning him to their rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to rookie Pulaski in 1989 batting .250 in 53 games and moving up to single-A Sumter in 1990.

After a season away from the game, Kupsey returned in 1992 with the Phillies at single-A Spartanburg hitting .246, with four home runs that year. In 1993 he batted .271 for Spartanburg with three home runs and 20 RBIs. His final season was 1994 when he played first and third base for the Reading Phillies.

A fine defensive player, it was Kupsey’s impressive offense that caught the eyes of major league scouts. His life-time high school batting average was .471 – .435 as a freshman, .340 as a sophomore, .518 in his junior year and .610 as a senior. He was All-South Jersey twice, named to the Junior Olympics Baseball Team as a junior, and Hot Stover and New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year in 1988. He was named to the N.J. All-Century Team of the Decades-1980.

John, wife Kim and their sons Jacob and Kyle live in the Mount Royal section of East Greenwich Township.

Brian Meyer

Brian Meyer graduated from Shawnee High School in 1981 and Peddie School – a college preparatory school in Hightstown – in 1982. He is also a 1986 Rollins (Fla.) College graduate where he was named All-Conference, All-South Region and All-District NCAA leading to his being drafted in the 16th round by the Houston Astros where he appeared in 34 games over three seasons. While he had no major league wins, he did earn two saves in 50 innings as a reliever and a 2.84 ERA.

At Shawnee, Meyer was All-Conference, All-Group 4 and All-South Jersey thanks in part to his 7-1 record in 1981 with a 1.21 ERA. When he wasn’t pitching, coach Brian Gibney took advantage of his bat at shortstop, which led to his hitting three home runs.

Meyer spent four years playing in the Rancocas Valley League before moving up to the Cape Cod League where he was named to the All-Star team and played in the National Baseball Congress World Series against teams from 16 other amateur leagues from across the country.

Among his accomplishments are being a four-time RVL and two-time Senior Babe Ruth League All-Star. Meyer and his wife Kelly have two sons, Zachary and Corey and live in Medford.

Brian Meyer’s late uncle Jack Meyer is also being inducted into the SJHoF class of 2018.

Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer is a Kingsway Regional High School and James Madison University graduate where he attracted a lot of attention – especially in 2001 and ’02 when he was named All-Conference by the Colonial Athletic Association.

As a Kingsway senior in 1999, he was named All-Group II, All-South Jersey and All-State and honorable mention All-American as a pitcher and hitter. In ’99 he batted .437 (four home runs) after hitting .404 (one home run) as a junior. His pitching statistics were just as impressive. From ’97 to ’99 he was 23-8 striking out 215, walking only 23 and compiling an ERA of 2.72 including his senior ERA of 0.87. He was All-Tri-County Conference in ’97, ’98 and ’99. He played in the 1999 Carpenter Cup.

The Atlanta Braves made Meyer a first round draft pick in 2002 after going 9-2 with 90 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 97 innings that season. Used as a starter in the minor leagues, Meyer went 3-3 with a 2.74 ERA and 77 strikeouts his first professional season with the Appalachian League's Danville Braves. Despite a losing record (7-10) in 2003 for the Rome Braves and Myrtle Beach Pelicans, he posted a 2.87 ERA, while striking out 158 batters in 160 innings pitched.

Meyer began the 2004 season with the Double-A Greenville Braves, and ended it with a September call up to Atlanta. He appeared in two games for the Braves, both against the New York Mets. He faced a total of eight batters, allowing two hits, striking out one. At the 2004 Winter Meetings, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics.

He returned to the big leagues with the A’s in 2007 and went to the Marlins in the fall of 2008 wrapping up his major league career in 2010. He’s currently a pitching coach in the Braves’ organization. Dan Meyer’s family lives in North Stonington, Conn.

Jack Meyer

Jack Meyer was a Phillies pitcher from 1955–61. Six years after retiring from the game he loved and played from his childhood in Medford, he died from a heart attack at 34.

Over his career, he appeared in 202 games – mostly in relief – finishing with 24 wins, 34 losses, 21 saves and striking out 375 and walking 244 in 455 innings pitched. He had a career 3.92 ERA. While he played independent baseball in and around Burlington County, he attended William Penn Charter High School in Philadelphia and the University of Delaware and Wake Forest (N.C.) University.

Meyer signed with the Phillies in 1951 and steadily rose through their farm system winning 15 games for the 1954 Triple A Syracuse Chiefs in the International League. His most successful Major League season was his 1955 rookie year, when he led the National League in games finished (36) and saves (16) and striking out 97 batters in 1101⁄3 innings pitched. He made five starts, and finished second to the Cardinals Bill Virdon in National League Rookie-of-the-Year balloting. He also attracted Most Valuable Player votes losing out to Dodgers’ catcher Roy Campanella. After his rookie year, the Phillies primarily used him in middle relief. In 2012, sports writer Greg Pinto listed Meyer as one of the most intimidating pitchers in Phillies’ history.

It is believed the Phillies used Meyer’s caricature on its 1955 Yearbook cover (sold for 50-cents). His nephew Brian is joining him as a 2018 SJHoF inductee. A wife and three children survived Jack Meyer.

Richard Luongo

Veteran umpire Richard Luongo is being recognized for his contributions to the game for parts of six decades with the Umpire Service Award. Early on as a baseball umpire, he was among the first to recognize the important role women’s fast-pitch would play in amateur sports and eventually he dedicated his professional life to doing everything he could help improve the game locally, regionally and nationally.

Luongo, a member of the New Jersey Baseball Umpires Association-Camden Chapter, was more than an umpire. He was also a rules interpreter, assignor, secretary and president.

A Collingswood High School graduate, he earned bachelor and master’s degrees from Rutgers University after surviving in the U. S. Army. He retired after 32 with Haddon Heights School District.

Luongo dedicated himself to many sports. He has served 20 years as a volleyball assignor and official, 52 years as a football official, 40 as a track official and 55 years umpiring baseball and softball. He has also been honored by New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) for his years of distinguished service.

Luongo and his wife Susan live in Cherry Hill.