Janesville’s Imhoff heads to WSL Hall

Tom Imhoff will be honored Saturday for his many baseball accomplishments in his 12-year career in the Wisconsin State League.

Imhoff is one of five players who will be inducted to the league’s Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

“I’m very honored and very humbled,” said Imhoff. “It was many, many years ago. But now I enjoy coaching my (Janesville Craig) freshman team.”

Imhoff had finished his 12-year WSL career with a .331 batting average, which ranks fourth in league history among players with 1,110 or more plate appearances.

His best season was his 1988 rookie year when he was named Rookie of the Year. He hit .430 with a league-leading 14 doubles among his 52 hits that drove in 37 runs.

He hit .337 in 1989, and .396 to earn co-Most Valuable Player honors in 1990.

Imhoff was a four-time first team all-league player and helped the Aces to championships in 1989, 1990, 1994 and 1998.

“How fortunate can you be to play with guys like Klaw (Tom Klawitter), Danny Davis, my best friend Matt Fredricks, Jim Coulter, Billy McQueen and Pat Campbell?” Imhoff said. “There were a lot of good players.”

Imhoff’s final year was 2006.

“Mentally I miss it,” Imhoff said. “But physically, I couldn’t do it. I remember my last season in an ABC tournament where we played like five or six games in a weekend. I woke up that Monday morning and you know it’s time.”

Imhoff now teaches at Marshall Middle School. He and his wife, Debbie, have two children, Matthew and Malorie.

The event will be held at The Heritage House at the Bull at Pinehurst Farms in Sheboygan Falls. It is open to the public. Cost is $30.

Imhoff will be the fifth former Aces player to be inducted into the hall of fame that will now have 30 members. Coulter, Davis, Klawitter and Campbell previously were inducted.

Story by The Janesville Gazette