Johnny Walker expressed his thanks to a packed Itam Lodge on Friday night when he was inducted into the Berkshire County Baseball and Softball Hall of Fame.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — UNICO inducted five athletic stars into its Berkshire County Baseball and Softball Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Tom Bowler, Tim Kearns, Mike Quadrozzi, Lynn Stockley and Johnny Walker make up the 2011 induction class.
Quadrozzi was the ace pitcher for Taconic High School in his senior year in 1975, when he led the team to a 19-3 record. During his playing days, he led his team to two consecutive Division 1 tournaments. He played American Legion Baseball and in 1976 pitched a no-hitter against Lenoxdale.
From there, Quadrozzi went on to North Adams State College, where he led the college to two NCAA tournaments and led the conference in his sophomore year with a 1.43 ERA. In all levels, Quadrozzi ended with 38 wins and 13 loses and never had an ERA more than 3.0.
Kearns' was setting city records at 12 years old when he hit three home runs and eight RBIs in a Little League game. He led the league with a .610 batting average and hit a city record of 18 home runs.
In Babe Ruth, Kearns hit .444 before opting to play American Legion ball. When he got to high school, he took the reins as St. Joseph High School's centerfielder. He hit .515 in his senior year and was named All-Berkshire County three times and was on the 1971 state champion team.
Bowler was on Taconic High School's 1976 and 1977 Western Massachusetts championship teams. He had a high school career average of .332 with 43 stolen bases and 48 runs scored and was winner of the Sportsmanship Award in 1978.
He played American Legion baseball and won a Western Massachusetts title there. He went to college at the American International College and won the conference championship in 1979. After school, he turned to coaching and has coached at the little league, Babe Ruth and legion levels.
Stockley is the 1982 Berkshire County Athlete of the Year. She boasts legendary stats in her high school softball career including 4 no-hitters. The 1982 graduate of Taconic had a 17-2 record her senior year and went on to accept a full athletic scholarship to play at the University of Massachusetts.
At UMass, she helped the team win the Atlantic 10 championship and NCAA regionals in 1986. That year, she had a 20-3 record with a .80 ERA.
Walker was a pitcher and shortstop for Lee High School and pitched the team to the Western Massachusetts championship in 1969. Walker pitched three no-hitters — one being a perfect game. He received the Sportsmanship Award in 1969 as well as the Berkshire County Athlete of the Year.
Walker also went into coaching and has coached Little League and high school baseball.
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