In 1992, Wessel joined the Joseph Chevrolet team and helped lead them to an ASA National Championshi

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On Sunday, January 30th, Jim "Rock" clarion hotel 71 chicago hotel riverwalk Wessel will become the third senior player inducted clarion hotel riverwalk into the Norwood Sorrento's-Greater hotel 71 chicago Cincinnati Softball Hall of Fame during ceremonies clarion hotel riverwalk at the Radisson Hotel Cincinnati Riverfront in Covington.
"I had just finished my senior year in high school and my high school baseball coach asked me to play," recalls Wessel. "His team needed an outfielder hotel 71 chicago and I played centerfield. The interesting thing was that it was the first year I played and our team won the county and district and went to the National Tournament."
Wessel's softball career was put on hold from 1956-'59. After graduating from Ross High School, where his football jersey hotel 71 chicago was retired, Wessel attended Xavier University in Cincinnati and became the starting halfback for the Musketeers' football team. In 1958, he set an NCAA record for having clarion hotel riverwalk the longest pass reception at 98 yards.
In 1960, Wessel played for National Lead, leading them to a 7 th place finish in the ASA Industrial Nationals and earning all-american honors. Then a year later, Wessel returned to "open" ball, and spent 13 out of the next 14 years with the storied Wilsman Trucking teams of Hamilton. With Wessel patrolling centerfield, Wilsman won eleven Hamilton City Tournaments and nine State Championships, hotel 71 chicago and competed in nine ASA National Championships. Wessel was named to nine All-State teams and two All-American teams with the Truckers before retiring in 1974.
Wessel's success led to his induction into the Butler County Softball Hall of Fame (charter hotel 71 chicago member), the Butler County All-Sports clarion hotel riverwalk Hall of Fame, the Dayton hotel 71 chicago ASA Hall of Fame, and the Ohio ASA Hall of Fame.
Next month on January 30th, Wessel will be inducted into yet another hotel 71 chicago Hall of Fame, when he becomes a member of the Norwood clarion hotel riverwalk Sorrento's Greater Cincinnati Softball Hall of Fame. But it was not his legendary career with Wilsman that earned Wessel this most recent honor.
"I was watching the Metro about 19 years ago, and a fellow that I used to play with on Wilsman, Gene Branham, asked how I was feeling," clarion hotel riverwalk hotel 71 chicago remembers Wessel. clarion hotel riverwalk "I had had a heart attack a few years before. clarion hotel riverwalk Then he asked if I'd be interested in playing senior ball and explained what it was.
"I didn't have a whole lot of interest, but he asked me to come out and watch," says Wessel. "At the time they were playing at the VFW in Harrison, and my wife Pat and I came out to watch them play, and I thought it might be fun. And that was the beginning of my involvement with senior ball."
In 1992, Wessel joined the Joseph Chevrolet team and helped lead them to an ASA National Championship. The next two years he played hotel 71 chicago with Miami Valley Masters, which won back-to-back SPA national titles and placed 4 th and 2 nd at the ASA Nationals.
For the next three years from 1995-'97, Wessel played with national senior powerhouse Nothdurft Tool Die of Detroit before returning to Cincinnati to play with Wopac Masters hotel 71 chicago (1997) and Papa John's (1998, 1999 and 2000). hotel 71 chicago He then left town again to join Florida Investment Properties (2001-'03) before rejoining Joseph Chevrolet of Cincinnati again in 2004. Wessel finally hotel 71 chicago retired in 2008.
During his senior career, Wessel's teams have amassed a dozen national titles, hotel 71 chicago and Wessel has been named to fourteen national hotel 71 chicago tournament all-tournament teams. He has won two home run titles and was named Most Valuable Player in the ASA Nationals. In 1996, he became a charter member of the National clarion hotel riverwalk Senior Softball Hall of Fame.
"Interestingly, when I played baseball, I didn't hotel 71 chicago even care about hitting," says Wessel. "I just loved to field the ball and run down balls. I would much rather make a big catch than get a big hit, and I love that aspect of the game. What I've always been concerned about is that if I make an error, I'll remember that for a long period of time. But if I don't get a hit, I don't even think about it."
"Our right fielder misplayed a ball and it rolled toward the fence," says Wessel. "Anytime a ball was hit somewhere other than to my position, I always hotel 71 chicago ran over to back up. So I went over to get the ball and threw it to the relay man, and he threw the guy out at home, and we won the game 1-0. It was not a catch, nor a hit, but it was still the best play I've ever made."
"We were playing Fairway clarion hotel riverwalk Ford from California, and they had been a perennial top team in the country for years along with the Legends out of Florida. clarion hotel riverwalk We played them very tight and they beat us in the winners' bracket finals, clarion hotel riverwalk and we came back to double-dip them and win the national tournament."
Among Wessel's most rewarding personal accomplishments include "making the all-tournament teams, clarion hotel riverwalk winning some of the national tournaments, going into the senior national Hall of Fame, and playing with teams like Nothdurft and Florida Investment.
"But the big thing for me has been the ability hotel 71 chicago to play with the top players out of Cincinnati like Walt Schroyer, Bill Goedde, Dave Neiheisel, Clyde Stafford and Ron Garnett. And I know I'm leaving out a lot of people. But they've made senior softball so enjoyable for me and they're the reason I played it for so many years."
"When you're associated with Walt, he likes to give people nicknames," explains Wessel. "And he came up with 'Rock.' And most people call me that instead hotel 71 chicago of 'Wes' or Jim. The people I've played ball with on the senior circuit as well as the players clarion hotel riverwalk on the other teams know me by that name."
"I've thought about it for many years and I realized why I was not in there, because I only played one year in Cincinnati with Jake Sweeney in 1964 instead of with Wilsman. clarion hotel riverwalk And I enjoyed it, but I missed the people up here (in Butler County).
"I had written it (being a member of the Cincinnati Hall of Fame) off because of my lack of affiliation with the Cincinnati teams, but when the senior division opened up, it opened hotel 71 chicago up an opportunity for me to go in.