2007 Male Player: Ken Dohm
/Ken Dohm
For over a decade, Grayslake’s Ken Dohm played on and against some of the top teams in the country and along the way earned many individual honors.
Dohm wore the uniform of such teams as Lilly Air Systems for two different stints, Joker’s and Joe Black’s. His main positions were left or right centerfielder, but he saw a little time at second base and third base. A career .716 hitter, Dohm clubbed an average of 28 home runs a year – this would be considered Major League level today. He retired from the game of softball after the 1990 season.
Dohm started playing for power house Lilly Air Systems in 1979 as he explained.
“I went from being released from professional baseball with the Kansas City Royals to playing 12-inch softball,” Dohm said. “I probably averaged over 140 games a year for ten years. [Softball] is a great game.”
Over his career “Dohmer” was selected to All-Tournament teams twice in Illinois State Tournaments, twice at NITs and four times in Divisional/National Tournaments. In 1986, Lilly Air Systems won the State Class A (open) State Tournament held at Belleville with Dohm helping lead the way. One big highlight of his playing days would be his All-World selection at Kalamazoo Michigan in 1990 with Joe Black’s.
“The first major tournament [I played in] was in Concord, California,” Dohm recalled. “The top 12 teams in the nation were there – the best of the best.”
“The USSSA has become the best softball organization in the entire nation.”
Over his wonderful career, Dohm admits there have been many funny moments before, during and after games and tournaments, but feels the Hall of Fame bio would not be a proper event to talk about them all.
“There are so many amusing events through the years, but I don’t think the Illinois USSSA Hall of Fame banquet would be the best place to relive them,” said Dohm.
Dohm becomes the eighth member of Lilly Air Systems to be inducted into the Illinois USSSA Hall of Fame (as of 2007), an organization he feels is head and shoulders above the rest.
“The USSSA has become the best softball organization in the entire nation,” said Dohm. “Illinois softball USSSA has become great only through the hard work of people like Brenda Paulson.”