The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A familiar face at local ball parks for the past 20 years has been named as the first inductee into the Waterloo Minor Baseball Hall of Fame. And a fine choice at that. Looking for an individual who has given his time unselfishly â€" a foundation to build a successful volunteer program from â€" WMBA has selected 64â€" yearâ€"old Jerry Scharlach. One of the association‘s early builders, Scharlach became involved with minor ball in 1966. Two year later he was selected to the executive, a position he has held ever since. During that span he coâ€"managed Waterloo‘s midget allâ€"stars from 1969 to 1980, including the 1975 allâ€" Ontario midget "A" championship team and the 1979 midget "B" allâ€"Ontario team. The last five season‘s he has served as minor baseball‘s equipment manager. Although flattered by the award, Scharlack said in an interview Monday that the involvement with minor baseball was an even great reward. _‘ the executive) got together and put a few names in a j fi',’ f question. . hat and drew mine. There‘s lots of others who have C . Ived and stil in for that done a great job," he said. Scharlach has also been involved, and still is for tha Jerry Scharlach‘s won more than his share matter, with the Waterloo Tigers and Expos execuâ€" Like any great story, this one has its unfortunate side _ Oof awards during his 20 plus years with tives. | . . . as well. Scharlack was diagnosed as having cancer last â€" Waterioo Minor Lnball. Mark Bryson photo Sounds like a deserving choice from this end. "I enjoy myself. I had some time on my hands so I got involved," said the reluctant hero from the Bridgeport Road apartment he shares with Olive, his wife of 40 "I actually think those guys (the other members of splendid choice for Hall with Mark Bryson Scharlach has three sons; Bill, Michael and Jim, who played baseball in Wateloo‘s system, but waited until they finished before he got involved. WMBA president Gary Marciniak has nothing but praise for the long serving volunteer. _ _ _ Minor ball executives are hoping to give the Hall of Fame a permanent home in either Waterloo Memorial Arena (if there ever is one) or at city hall. _ _ â€" . "Minor ball needs a foundation to build from. Jerry‘s that foundation. The volunteers who contribute unselfâ€" ishly to the youth of our city go unrecognized far too often," said Marciniak. month, but remains hopeful that with the proper treatment, he‘ll be a fixture at the ball parks for years to come. ‘"‘There‘s a lot of people that are worse off than me and I have a good chance of recovery, so I‘m not going to let it slow me down," he said. "I was working shifts at Carlings, then Labatts, so had to wait until I got on straight day work before could commit my time," he explained. question." And why didn‘t he get involved with minor hockey? "That‘s too early in the morning for me," he laughed. And what about a fondest memory? ‘"Winning the 1975 allâ€"Ontario championship, no