National Senior Softball Hall of Fame

Pioneer Player Path Nominee Application Form Richard Osborn

Pioneer Nomination Path Category applied for: Player

Current Team Name: Deceased 2/2004

Name(s) of Nominator(s) Name(s) of Nominator(s) Phil Seewald, NSSHoF 2003 Bob Kennedy, NSSHoF 2002 Ken Maas Don Berg, Mgr Jerry Davison Paul Keplin

Nominee’s Senior Softball Accomplishments

Number of years participating in Senior Softball: 17

Special accomplishments in Senior Softball (including comments from nominators): -I played on senior softball teams with “Ozzie” over 4 decades. He was an outstanding first baseman—both defensively and at bat.. We played in over 31 national tournaments and qualifiers, winning 19 championships in four age divisions. No one loved the game more than “Ozzie.” Even in the last few months of his life, he continued to play locally—struggling to get to first base, but he never gave up. -“Ozzie” was truly a pioneer senior softball player. He was a major contributor to the success of the Silverhawks, a very popular player, and a stranger to no one. -“Ozzie” was a senior softball Pioneer and one of the finest gentlemen I have ever known. He possessed a natural talent for softball. -for 16 years Dick was the staple at first base and batting clean-up or the Silverhawks. Year after year he led the team in RBIs. -“Oz” was a terrific defensive first baseman and our top power hitter for over 15 years of tournament play, knocking in almost 600 RBIs. On and off the field he demonstrated great leadership ability, a positive attitude, and a great sense of humor. He was a top representative of our sport and best of all, a true friend. -It goes without saying that, without dick, our team would not have nearly the success we did. He was always promoting senior softball. He helped organize and worked tirelessly to promote the Top Gun tournaments at Miramar Marine Air Base. He also worked with the San Diego City Council to promote a World Series tournament. Dick was a man of character who never knew a stranger. It was never a dull moment around first base with his constant chatter. He was loved and admired. -We can always look back and remember something we wish we had done differently. I wish that I had nominated dick for NSSHoF while he was still alive. He put everything into the game. If you threw your jock strap on the field you should expect to get it back from Dick dirty. He played at the highest level of the game even when his heart was not cooperating. When the game was over, you remembered the special play that Dick was involved in. He led by example.

1 Listing of individual player honors and awards earned, National, Regional, or Seasonal championship teams played on, etc: Year Tournament Honor Sr. Age Team Team Earned /Award Softball Group Classifi- Assoc cation 1990 MVP Nat’l Srs 65 La Mesa 65s 1990 World Series MVP SSWS 65 La Mesa 65s 1994 World Series MVP SSWS 70 San Diego Silverhawks 1995 World Series RBI Leader SSWS 70 San Diego Silverhawks 1996 World Series MVP SSWS 75 San Diego Silverhawks 1997 World Series MVP SSWS 75 San Diego Silverhawks 1997 World Series MVP SSWS 75 San Diego Silverhawks 1999 World Series MVP SSWS 75 San Diego Silverhawks 2001 World Series MVP SSWS 80 San Diego Silverhawks 2001 World Series MVP SSWS 80 San Diego Silverhawks

7 SSWC World Championships 4 World Masters in Las Vegas Selected to All-World or All-Tournament Teams 8 times

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