Dan Baker – Audubon HS
Contributor
2023 Hall of Fame inductee Dan Baker is no stranger to Philadelphia sports fans. Baker’s voice is no stranger, either. He has been the Phillies public address announcer for more than 50 years. Earlier this year, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (PSWA) recognized Dan with its prestigious “Most Courageous” award, which is kept secret until it is presented. He is being recognized by the Hot Stovers for his work with the Phillies and also for his
extraordinary charitable work off the field which goes beyond sports. Dan was named PSWA “Most Courageous” after he recovered from a 24-hour surgery to remove a tumor from his right sinus and has endured two dozen additional procedures, including many cosmetic surgeries, to reconstruct his cheek bone. Baker’s foundation, at Rowan University, funds the “Daniel E. Baker ’68 College of Communication Broadcasting Scholarship.” It benefits the advancement of aspiring Rowan University communication students. Dan grew up in Mount Ephraim and graduated from Audubon High School. He earned his undergraduate degree at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) and went on to earn a master’s degree at Temple University. He has been the public address (PA) announcer for the Phillies since 1972 and was the public address announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985 to 2014. Baker has served as a PA voice for five World Series (1980, 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009), two Major League Baseball All Star Games (1976 and 1996), and three NFC Championship Games (2002, 2003, and 2004). In addition to the Phillies and Eagles, he also serves as PA announcer for the Army–Navy Game when it is played in Philadelphia as well as Drexel University Dragons men’s basketball. After the 2009 retirement of the New York Yankees’ Bob Sheppard, Baker became the longest-tenured PA announcer in Major League Baseball.
Robert Dacierno,Sr.- Gloucester Catholic HS
Infielder
Robert Dacierno Sr. is a 1963 Gloucester Catholic High School graduate, where he earned three varsity letters playing third base for Coach Joe Gallagher. Dacierno was named Hot Stovers Player of the Year in his senior year batting .551 with 27 hits in 49 at bats hitting five home runs and driving in 33. He also scored 23 runs. These are pretty good stats when one considers the Rams played only 17 games that season. He missed his junior year after breaking his foot in the third game of the season, but as a sophomore in 1961, his statistics caught the eyes of voters and was named All-Parochial, All-Conference and third-team All-State. He played his summer ball for Joe Barth’s American Legion team. In fact, he played so well the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him and assigned him to their Pocatello (Idaho) Chiefs in the Rookie League, where he played for Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda. Bob says that among his lasting memories was sitting on a team plane and looking around at great players he read about – Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Willie Davis and Ron Fairly. Following his high school graduation, Dacierno attended Temple University Preparatory School, which played in the Philadelphia Public High School League. Still today, Bob Dacierno, loves the summer game that gave him so much satisfaction. And why should today be any different than a headline on the Courier-Post on January 31, 2008 that read Gloucester Catholic: Talented Dacierno left dreams on field. The final paragraph of that story read, “Dacierno came home twice during spring training because his mother was sick back in 1966 – and he never went back the second time. Gloucester Catholic classmate Gus Danks described Dacierno as a “colossal guy and a great athlete – a real credit to Gloucester Catholic.” Said Danks: “Gloucester has had a lot of terrific athletes, but Bob was really exceptional among them. It’s a privilege to have been his classmate.”
Darren Ford- Vineland HS
Outfielder
He may have turned heads when he played his high school ball in Vineland, but now Darren Ford lives in neighboring Millville. The former major league outfielder collected 10 “Fighting Clan” varsity letters by the time he graduated in 2004, but not until he was named All-State twice, All-South Jersey, All-Group 4 twice and All-Conference twice. Before his baseball ended, Ford got a World Series ring as a member of the 2010 San Francisco Giants although he did not see game action. The Giants beat the Texas Rangers in five games. Ford was born and raised in Vineland and played baseball and football for the Clan. He was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th round of the 2004 MLB Draft. He played in their minor league system until 2008, when he was traded to the Giants. Called up by San Francisco in late 2010, he scored the winning run in the eighth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies in his September 1 debut. His rookie batting average was a better than respectable .286 with an on base percentage of .375 Though not on the roster when the team won the 2010 World Series, he travelled with the Giants throughout the playoffs, in case an injury necessitated his addition to the roster. He played 26 games with the Giants in 2011 before spraining his ankle in late May. Darren spent 2012 in the Seattle Mariners organization and 2013 in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and then rejoined the Giants system from 2014 through 2016. He finished his career playing in the independent Atlantic League with the New Britain Bees in 2018 and ’19 and the Somerset Patriots in 2019 and 2020, his last season in organized ball.
Among Ford’s career highlights: he threw a perfect game for the South Vineland LittlecLeague in 2003, in 2002, he and his Vineland team made it to the Senior Little League World Series and as a high school senior he was named All-South Jersey and played in the Phillies’- sponsored Carpenter Cup.
Tookie Johnson- Schalick HS
Infielder
When Robert “Tookie” Johnson was named to the Arthur P. Schalick High School Hall of Fame, the athletic department wrote this: “For anyone who follows Cougar baseball, he is simply known as ‘Tookie.’ Over the course of four seasons, Johnson hammered out perhaps the finest career ever enjoyed on the windy ballfields of Schalick.” Johnson’s accomplishments include four years of varsity baseball at Schalick, where he graduated in 1987. He was first-team all Tri-County Conference three years, twice playing in the Carpenter Cup, sponsored by the Phillies, twice being named All-South Jersey and first team All-State his senior year. He received a baseball scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU) and lettered all four years. “In every season, the scrappy second baseman led Schalick in both hits and batting average,” according to the Schalick athletic office. “Tookie set standards for both hits in a season and for a career, with 41 and 141, respectfully. He cracked a program-best 11 doubles in a season enroute to 25 two-baggers over his career.” Johnson’s .579 batting average in his senior year is the second highest in Schalick history. His four-year high school average was .418. He once went an entire season without striking out and, in fact, struck out only four times in his entire high school career. Other offensive stats include scoring 88 runs and driving in 84. But, according to the school’s write up, “offense wasn’t the only glittering aspect of his game. Johnson had a season-best 57 assists at second base and 126 for his career. After graduating from Schalick, Johnson went on to enjoy a standout career at Louisiana State University (LSU) where his 278 hits and 211 runs scored place him among LSU’s all-time leaders. In 1991, Tookie Johnson helped lead LSU to its first College World Series championship. In all, he appeared in the college World Series three times. When he graduated LSU, he held 13 single-season and career records including career hits and getting on base in 86 straight games. He was a member of LSU’s three-time Southeastern Conference championship teams including 1992 as an assistant coach. Since graduating from LSU, he has coached high school in Louisiana where he has won 19 district championships, eight state titles and 17 times has been named coach of the year.
Ryan Kulik- Cherokee HS
Pitcher
Ryan Kulik spent his entire collegiate baseball career dominating the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) as a Rowan University pitcher before playing professionally in the St. Louis Cardinals’ and Colorado Rockies’ organizations. This 2023 Hall of Fame inductee joined another NJAC program as the head baseball coach at Rutgers-Camden after serving six seasons as an assistant coach at Rowan, where he helped the Profs maintain one of the top pitching staffs in the NJAC. During the 2019 season, Kulik’s staff led all Division III teams nationally in total strikeouts (454) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.2). It also led the NJAC and finished 10th nationally in walks and hits per inning – WHIP. The Profs’ staff ranked in the Top 5 nationally in many
categories under Kulik, and six Rowan pitchers signed professional contracts while at Rowan. According to Kulik’s bio, that success followed the gold standard he set as a pitcher at Rowan from 2005-08. He closed his Rowan career as a First Team All-American posting a 10-2 record with a 1.72 ERA, and single-season program records for strikeouts (144) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.7). A two-time NJAC Pitcher of the Year and NJAC First Team selection, the lefthander also compiled Rowan pitching records for most strikeouts in a game (15) and career (337), most career innings (330) and most games started (49). Kulik earned three New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association All-State honors and a pair of East Coast Athletic Conference Metro All-Star selections, in addition to two American Baseball Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic All-Region selections. After closing his collegiate career with a 29-10 record and a 2.81 ERA, he was selected in the eighth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played professional baseball for seven seasons, reaching Triple-A ball with the Cardinals and Rockies. During his scholastic career at Cherokee High School, Kulik earned All-State and All-South Jersey honors, while also setting the Chiefs’ program record with 17 strikeouts in a game. Kulik received his bachelor’s
degree in health and exercise science from Rowan in 2014.
Bob Seddon- Mt. Laurel
Coach/Contributor
The University of Pennsylvania’s web site says it best. “Tell us when you stop believing this silly fairy tale.” “A young man gets hired by a college as a head coach over 49 other candidates, despite having no collegiate coaching experience. He goes on to become that school’s most successful coach in that sport. At the same time, he also takes the reins of another program at the university – again. Did we mention he had no college coaching experience when
he arrived? And when he’s finished with that sport he is not only the program’s all-time leader in wins, but tops among the coaches in his conference, as well. That’s no fairy tale. That’s Bob Seddon, head soccer coach from 1968 to 86 and head baseball coach from 1972 to 2005. Seddon joined Penn as its head soccer coach from Hackensack (N.J.) High School in 1968, taking over for the legendary Charley Scott. During his 19-year tenure, Seddon guided the Quakers to three Ivy League championships, including back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1971 and ‘72; six NCAA Tournament appearances, including three years when the Quakers won twice to advance to the quarterfinal round; and a 163-84-30 record. These were the best days for Penn soccer, when crowds of more than 10,000 would show up at Franklin Field to watch the Quakers. Seddon’s win total is second all-time at the school and his .643 winning percentage tops all. Seddon added head baseball coaching duties to his plate in 1972 and coached for 34 seasons. During that time, he won 634 games – more than any other Ivy League baseball coach in history. Penn had 14 seasons with 20 or more wins including six with 25 or more wins. The 1989 season was the high-water mark, as the Quakers went 29-11 overall and won the second of what would be three straight Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League titles. Penn also won the EIBL crown in 1975. Seddon led five baseball squads into NCAA play during his career.
Sam Tropiano- Bishop Eustace Prep
Coach
Coach Tropiano has finished his 38th year as a head coach with the last 34 as the skipper of the Crusaders at Bishop Eustace. He began coaching baseball at St. Augustine Prep School in 1984 until 1987 and has also coached the Olympic Colonial Carpenter Cup team since 1992. He has compiled a career record of 748-268 which makes him the winningest coach in South Jersey history. His teams at Eustace have made the state tournament every year, winning five New Jersey State championships, six South Jersey championships, seven Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic championships and twenty-six conference championships. Coach was the 2018 recipient of the NJBCA Joe Hartmann Man of the Year Award, the Hot Stover Man of the Year and has been honored as Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Courier Post, the South Jersey Baseball Coaches Association, and the Hot Stover’s Baseball Club. He was presented with the 2013 Sportsmanship Award by the New Jersey Baseball Umpires Association. Tropiano received both his Bachelor’s (1982) and Master’s Degrees (1985) from Villanova University. He presently teaches AP Psychology at Bishop Eustace Prep School. His most supportive wife Marianne- “Mrs. Trop” is seen at many of the Crusader ball games.