Lewiston softball stalwart to go into state Hall of Fame
Feb. 9—After four-and-a-half decades worth of involvement in the game, Stan Otto has much to look back on as he prepares to become Lewiston's first inductee into the USA Softball Idaho Hall of Fame.
The 61-year-old, who was inducted into the Lewiston Parks & Recreation Hall of Fame last year, formally will receive the state recognition at a ceremony this weekend in Boise. There are two others from Lewiston who were inducted in the Hall of Fame when it was under American Softball Association's purview.
Otto has been a part of 15 city league titles, nine Idaho state final appearances with four victories as well as one multi-state northwest regional title. He led the Triple Crown ASA national tournament in 1996 in batting average in Steamboat Springs, Colo., was named Idaho state tournament MVP in 2000, made the All-Regional team in 2001, and gained MVP recognition in a total of four different events during the course of a career that started the summer after his sophomore year at Lewiston High School.
"Players were eligible at 16, and I wanted to play some baseball-type (game)," he said. "... I loved baseball, but I just didn't have the talent or finances to be playing Legion baseball, so I needed to work in the summer — so we started a team in '78 and just never looked back."
Among other things, Otto feels softball is exciting for its unpredictability.
"You just never know," he said. "You'll not be able to get a hit all game, you'll be down 10, and you just see teams coming back — and just the craziest things happen in softball."
Otto, who has worked for FedEx for the past 38 years and resides in Lewiston with his wife, Cheryl, reflects that his softball career really took off after he "started getting about the age of 30 and realized the days were getting numbered."
"That's when I really started training a lot harder, working a lot harder, gaming — being a student of the game," he said. "I had a lot of friends helping me along the way."
Otto plans to thank many of those friends is he is given time for an acceptance speech at the state ceremony.
"It's a team effort to do it," he said. "Without the talented players around me — and we were gifted in this area by having a tremendous Legion program and LCSC program so, we had quite a pool to pick from ... I need to thank them, because I'm not doing it without them."
He also will look to thank Lewiston Parks & Rec for its support through the years, and his family for its gracious accommodation of his hobby and the associated travel.
In addition to competing on the field, Otto has been active as a softball organizer in the valley, overseeing a total of 32 tournaments since 2006. Notably, he has served as a founder and longtime administrator for the annual Tony Perez Memorial tournament, dedicated to the legacy of one of the area's most beloved softball greats.
Now semi-retired from competition — but still interested in playing senior league softball in the future — Otto has transitioned largely to the golf course, where he often meets his old softball teammates.
"We grew up playing softball together, and I stayed in the softball game probably 10 years longer than them, so they've got a 10-year jump on me in golf — but I'm coming for them," he joked.
For all of his competitive successes and honors, Otto lauds community softball perhaps more than anything else for its capacity to bring people together and forge strong friendships.
"My best friends and best experiences — almost all of them came from softball," he said.
Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.
