Dec. 9, 2010

Story courtesy of Madonna Sports Information

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) National Hall of Fame has announced its 10-member 2011 induction class and Madonna (Mich.) head softball coach Al White has been selected as one of the honorees.

White was selected for his playing career in modified softball as a pitcher and is just the third player to be selected in the Modified Pitch category. His induction will take place in November 2011 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., as part of the 79th Annual ASA National Council Meeting.

"I thought it was an honor just to be nominated," said White after hearing the news of his selection. "When you’re playing you don’t think about stuff like that, you just think about playing because you love the game. To be elected is the ultimate. I played with some great guys, outstanding ball players. Each and every one of them probably had something to do with me getting in."

The Class of 2011 increases the membership in the National Softball Hall of Fame to 373 since it was established in 1957. Formal inductions were started in 1981 and since 2001 the induction has been held as the closing banquet at the ASA National Council meeting.

White was selected to the ASA All-America first team five times (1975, ’77, ’83, ’85, ’89) and was named the ASA Most Valuable Player in 1985. He led the Miami Sting to the ASA Men’s Major Modified National Championship in 1985 and 1991 while leading two other squads to third place finishes. From 1971-97, White-led teams captured seven Michigan ASA State Championships and six Metro Detroit ASA titles. In 1998 White was inducted into the Detroit ASA Hall of Fame.

"We here in Metro Detroit are extremely pleased to have one of “our own” selected to enter the national Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame,” said Stu Alderman, Metro Detroit Amateur Softball Association (MDASA) Commissioner. “Al will be only the third Modified Pitch Player inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was a dominant force as a player on the field; one that opponents feared. To be selected into the Hall of Fame, one must have outstanding accomplishments and Al had them! He was respected by his peers on the softball field. It is a distinct and prestigious honor to be inducted into the National ASA Hall of Fame and one that Al White should be extremely proud of."

"Al White was one of the finest fast pitch softball pitchers in the Metro Detroit area for over twenty years," added Bob Lawson, Umpire-in-Chief of the MDASA, who was instrumental in getting White nominated and selected for the Hall of Fame. "He distinguished himself with achievements locally and at the national level. He threw a unique knuckleball with accuracy and his ability to change speeds kept batters at a disadvantage. He was revered by his teammates and respected by opponents nationally. It was not uncommon to see other teams watching when he pitched in tournaments throughout the country. Al was a fierce competitor but he was always a gentleman on and off the field. Al White is a worthy and deserving addition to the ASA National Hall of Fame."

White has been the head coach at Madonna since 1999 and has amassed 409 career wins - the most in conference history - and has been named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Coach of the Year four times (2004, '08, ’09, ’10). He has led the Crusaders to four WHAC regular-season titles, including the last three in addition to winning the last four WHAC Tournament Championships.

Under White’s direction, the Crusaders have advanced to the NAIA National Championship in each of the past two seasons. White has mentored a pair of Crusaders who have been named WHAC Pitcher of the Year - Erin Brockert (2005) and Jess Irwin (2008, ’09, ’10) - as well as two WHAC Players of the Year in Cat Sidor (2010) and Brockert (2006). White has seen his players named to the All-WHAC First Team 37 times, while 32 times his players have been named to the Academic All-WHAC team. MU has ended the last two seasons ranked in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - No. 13 in 2009 and No. 23 in 2010 - and the Crusaders begin the 2011 season ranked at No. 17.

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit ASASoftball.com.