What to know about the new inductees to the prestigious Pueblo Softball Hall of Fame
The individuals selected supply a wide array of talent. And because of their accomplishments, they will be honored by a prestigious organization.
The Pueblo Softball Hall of Fame will induct seven new members at 5:30 p.m. on June 3 at the Red Barn Hall, 3320 Arena Road, in Pueblo.
Tickets for the banquet are on sale at Big Daddy's Sunset Bowl, 1227 S. Prairie Avenue, or by contacting PSHOF Chairman Jack Krupka at 719-561-2994. Tickets are $30 and will not be available on the evening of the banquet.
Here are the biographies of this year's honored inductees:
Roy Allen Bonner (posthumously)
Bonner grew up on Pueblo's Southside and graduated from Central High School in 1966. He is the older brother of 2010 PSHOF inductee Bobby Bonner.
The Bonner brothers filled their childhood summer days with games of pickup baseball at Bruner Park. Nights before dinner were spent playing a round of catch in the front yard of their Bessemer neighborhood.
After graduating from high school, Bonner briefly played semipro baseball for Sam Jones Mortuary. In 1970, he started playing fastpitch softball in the Pueblo City League and the Rocky Mountain Travel League. That is when his tremendous love for the sport began.
Bonner was a fierce competitor and when the game was on the line, he was the one to steal a base, make a catch or come up with a big hit.
As a member of the Blue Lady team from 1970 to 1982, along with his teammates and brother, they won six consecutive International Softball Congress Southern State championships. He also competed in six ISC World Tournaments.
In one game at the 1978 ISC World Tournament, Bonner helped his team set a tournament record with 38 assists in a game.
While Bonner mostly played catcher, he would play wherever near he was needed. He was considered the ultimate teammate and always gave 100% to the game. Lady Blue teammate Lee Poteet, a 2011 PSHOF inductee, described Bonner as "the absolute team player, the type of player that every team needs to be successful." He also spent seasons playing on the Hole-In-The-Wall and Stifino's fastpitch teams.
Bonner played against some of the best pitchers and teams in the world at a time when men's fastpitch was at the top of its game. His fearless, competitive nature for the game laid the foundation for future members of the Bonner family, for whom a love of fastpitch softball runs deep.
Joey Borjon (posthumously)
A respected member of the Pueblo athletic community, Borjon always demonstrated — and demanded — scrupulousness and integrity as a player and official.
He was born and raised in Pueblo where he grew up playing softball as a youngster at Bessemer Park, eventually making the transition to the Pueblo Men's Softball League.
Umpiring was his calling.
Borjon umpired fast pitch and slow pitch for many years at various levels. He umpired baseball at the college level for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and was in charge of training umpires at the Runyon Field Sports Complex in Pueblo.
Borjon was one of the most respected high school basketball officials in the state and officiated 32 boys and girls state high school championship games during his career. He spent 30 years working as a security guard at Pueblo Central High School and 18 years in the same capacity at St. Mary Corwin Hospital.
Jerry Garcia
Garcia played major fastpitch softball for more than 20 years from 1964 through 1985, locally, statewide, and nationally. He played in the first International Softball Congress State Tournament at the age of 16 and instantly recognized fastpitch softball was going to become an essential part of his athletic career.
He was the consummate team player and believed that any Blue Lady team success was due to a very good group of talented athletes who understood the importance of fostering teamwork to achieve success.
As a member of the Pueblo Softball Association, Garcia played for the Foundation Installers, Stifino's, Hole-In-The-Wall, and Blue Lady. He helped guide them to six ISC World Tournaments, six Southern Colorado state championships, and one Rocky Mountain Softball Congress Travel League championship.
Garcia was considered one of the best fielding and hitting third basemen in the state. His accomplishments include numerous all-tournament team honors, Gold Glove awards, MVP awards, and selection to the 1977 RMSC All-Star team.
The 1979 season was one of Garcia's most memorable. He had seven RBIs in a game during the 1979 ISC World Tournament with Blue Lady that included other PSHOF inductees Joe Scalese, Jim Bond, Lee Poteet, Kim Giordano, Bobby Bonner, George Dasko, Ray Razo, Fred Espinoza, and Roy Bonner.
He was selected MVP of the Rocky Mountain Travel League, led the league in RBIs (19), was Travel League runner-up in runs scored (20), was error-free in 76 games, and ended the season with a .339 batting average.
His treasured memories include the opportunity to compete with and against some of the most talented players in the state, in front of the most dedicated and loyal fans anywhere, while representing Colorado's best fastpitch softball association of the time.
Gerald 'Weebs' Gomez
Gomez started playing fastpitch softball at age 9 in the Pueblo Junior Softball League. Like many young players, he grew up around the game and progressed through the different Pueblo leagues until he reached the Pueblo City League.
Once there, he set his sights on Colorado state championships, then regional and national tournaments, eventually International Softball Congress World Tournaments, numerous Amateur Softball Association nationals, and the North American Fast Pitch Association AAA World Series.
His teams had several top-five finishes in both the ISC World Tournament and ASA Major Nationals and had several Colorado ASA and ISC state championships.
At the age of 48, Gomez pitched five games back-to-back to help the Pueblo Bandits win the 2008 ASA Colorado State Championship. At the age of 58, with multiple injuries to Bandits players, Gomez came off the bench and played five games to help the Bandits win the prestigious 2018 Kelso Klassic in Kelso, Mo.
In 2019 at the age of 59, Gomez was called upon again with the Bandits to pitch five games in one day at the ASA Men's Major Nationals.
Gomez played internationally with the Mexico National Team from 1981 to 1991. During his playing career with the Mexico National Team, he won three titles and is a 1989 inductee into the Mexico Softball Hall of Fame.
Gomez also played on the international stage with Havana (1981), Mexico City (1983), Panama City (1985), Sao Paulo (1987), and Buenos Aires (1989). During the 1980s and early 1990s, Gomez pitched in the Pan Am Games, Latin America Games, and the Caribbean Games.
It is estimated Gomez played over 7,000 games during his career. Currently, he volunteers his time instructing young Pueblo pitchers. He joins his father Pat Gomez (2017) in the Pueblo Softball Hall of Fame.
John V. Hochevar (posthumously)
Always considered a "South-Sider" in Pueblo, Hochevar grew up on the corner of Pine and Indiana during the Great Depression. His family didn't have much but equipped him with a bat, ball, and glove. That was enough to keep him busy and happy.
A slew of neighborhood kids would spend most summer days playing ball on a vacant lot next to the water tower. After their ballgames, they could be found on the shores of Lake Minnequa at the amusement park. They couldn't afford the rides at the park but it was the cool waters of the public swim beach that held their attention.
While attending Central High School, he participated in various city leagues. In 1943, he entered the U.S. Army and served in France, maintaining and refueling allied aircraft. Soon after his return from military service, Hochevar was married and had three children. He had a full-time job in the Air Mill at CFI.
It was at that time he got involved in men's fastpitch softball. He played on several good teams, most notably the VFW Post #61 team that participated in five consecutive national tournaments, winning three in a row from 1950-to 1952.
Age finally persuaded him to give up fastpitch and he took up golf.
Michael 'Rammer' Ramirez
It was natural for Michael Ramirez to be a .300 hitter. He's been so since the age of 10 playing in the Pueblo Parks and Recreation youth program at Pitts Junior High School. When Ramirez turned 19 he started playing for Leroy Trujillo at Bessemer Field with Nunez Tavern and Pat's Hideaway. At age 22, he started playing with the Pueblo Bandits and played with them for seven years.
Following his first stint with the Bandits, Ramirez played another five years with the Houston Nine out of Texas. He returned to Pueblo to play with the Bandits for the next 15 years and retired at the age of 48 in 2016 after a 38-year softball career.
Ramirez's record is impressive, especially for the fact that he played an average of 20 tournaments a season. In those 20 tournaments, he was selected as the all-tournament or MVP hitter in at least five every season.
He played in over 12 International Softball Congress World Tournaments, eight North American Fastpitch Association World Tournaments, 12 Amateur Softball Association Major World tournaments, and the Mexican American Fastpitch Softball League in Newton, Kan.
Following his playing days, Ramirez continued to give back to the sport as an assistant coach at Lamar Community College (1997-1998) and Pueblo South High School (1999-2000). He was honored with the Commissioner's Awards during the Joe Santos Memorial Fastpitch Tournament in 2020. He has continued his commitment to the community as a probation offer with the Colorado Judicial Branch in Pueblo for more than 22 years.
Alex Michelle Schultz
Schultz grew up playing baseball in Westcliffe, Colorado. Her freshman and sophomore years of high school were spent competing on the Custer County High School baseball team. She was the first female to play in the Hobbs Baseball Bash in Pueblo and wrapped up her short baseball career by starting at the third base in the regional semifinals as a sophomore.
In 2003, Schultz made a decision that changed her life.
She transferred to Pueblo West High School and was entrenched as a starter for Pueblo Softball Hall of Fame coach Bob Zinanti. She played a major role in back-to-back Class 4A state championships won by the Cyclones in 2004 and 2005. Christie Zinanti-Koschke, a 2020 PSHOF inductee and former teammate, said about Schultz: "I was the pitcher, and she was the shortstop. I never stressed because I knew what Alex was capable of behind me."
Schultz and Zinanti-Koschke went on to coach together at Colorado State University Pueblo from 2012 to 2014.
Schultz's three years at Pueblo West provided numerous accolades including the Pueblo West High School Softball Coaches award (three times), all-South-Central League (three times), Colorado High School Activities Association All-State Honorable Mention (2003 and 2004), and CHSAA All-State First-Team (2006).
After graduating from Pueblo West, Schultz went on to play at the University of Maryland where she started 58 out of 59 games as a freshman.
She finished her career as a first-team all-ACC selection, second-team all-region, ECAC all-star, and received ACC Player of the Week honors. She played every position at Maryland except pitcher and is among the school's top 10 players all-time in several offensive categories including runs, triples, home runs, and stolen bases.
Following her playing days, Schultz gave back to the game she loved by becoming an assistant softball coach at several universities from 2010 to 2020. She currently is a health coach, coaching CrossFit classes and bettering individual lives through nutrition and fitness. She has several nutrition certifications along with a kinesiology degree and trains at CrossFit Pueblo.
Tony Bobian Memorial award
Emily Abraham is the 22 most valuable high school softball player and will be awarded the Tony Bobian Memorial award, which is named after Pueblo Softball Hall of Fame committee founding member Tony Bobian, who passed away in 2021.
Abraham, who will be a senior at Pueblo South High School this fall, will be recognized during an on-field presentation at Joe Santos Field at Ray Aguilera Park during festivities to kick off the annual Joe Santos Memorial Fast Pitch Tournament on May 27.
Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Meet the 7 new Pueblo Softball Hall of Fame members
