SALEM, Va.—
The Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its latest class Thursday at the Salem Civic Center.The 21st annual banquet honored four inductees -- including Dave Christianson, Fred Corbett, Ron Shockley and Mark Sweeney.
R.B. "Red" Phillips was also honored, receiving the Wayne LaPierre Community Service Award.
The ceremony's guest speaker was Salem native, Billy Sample, a former Major League outfielder. Sample was a member of the very first induction class in 1991.
"It's a nice Hall to be a part of. I certainly appreciate the efforts of the people I played with and against as I was growing up and to be a part of that is still special, even at my advanced age," Sample said.
Sweeney said: "It's an extreme honor. When I got the call that I'd been inducted, I was just overwhelmed. I thought surely they could find someone more worthy than I was but I'm just overwhelmed."
Shockley said: "Salem and Roanoke, to me, has always been a hot-bed of talent. If Virginia Tech could recruit the best players out of this area then maybe we could get into that ACC hunt."
