1997 Sponsor/Manager: Ray Rogers

Ray Rogers

Ray Rogers first sponsored a USSSA softball team in 1980 and continued until his death eight years later. He loved to see people having fun and succeeding at the same time. His most exciting moment was in 1985 when his team qualified to play in their first USSSA Class C Divisional tournament.

Rogers was always grateful to the people who worked behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly – scorekeepers, umpires, ground crews and tournament directors. All, in Rogers’s eyes, had to work together for a tournament to run properly, and he let people know that he appreciated their efforts.

Winning was not Rogers’s main concern; playing hard within the rules and showing respect for your opponents, the umpires and tournament directors was most important. If you could not give this respect, you could not play on his team.

After his death, the Illinois USSSA honored his memory by renaming the Northern Illinois Men’s Class C State the “Ray Rogers Men’s Northern State Class C Tournament.”