2016 WSL Hall of Fame Class Announced

The prestigious Wisconsin State Baseball League has added five new members to its Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame committee announced that Jerry Frisque and Dan Zeratsky of the Green Bay Blue Ribbons, Steve Colaizzi of the Addison Braves, Dave Kober of the Sheboygan A’s and Greg O’Brien of Madison Avenue Bar were elected to the League’s 12th Hall of Fame class.

The five will be inducted at the league’s annual dinner Saturday evening January 28 at Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center in Sheboygan. The dinner is open to the public.

Frisque and Zeratsky become the 12th and 13th members of manager Denny Ruh’s powerhouse ball clubs to make the Hall of Fame.

Frisque, a southpaw, compiled a 1.83 earned run average in posting an 18-7 career record. His ERA ranks second among pitchers with 200 or more innings pitched. He led the league in earned run average in 1972, 1.27; and in 1975 when he went 5-0, 1.39. He was a key member of Green Bay’s championship clubs in 1973, ‘74, ‘76 and ‘77.

Zeratsky led the ribbons to titles in 1994 and ’95. He hit .359 over his six-year career, an average that ranks 11th among players in the league with 500 or more plate appearances. He led the league in hitting in 1990 with a .459 average. The Ribbons first baseman had a slugging percentage of more than .500 in every season but one.

Colaizzi played 18 seasons with the Braves and was the rock in skipper Larry Kurkowski’s line-up from 1992 through 2002. He finished with a .288 average in 232 games. He was named them to the all-league team in 1995. Solid defensively at third base, Colaizzi hit over .300 eight times, his best year being 1998 when he hit .386.

For 10 seasons, Kober followed legendary Gene Mand in the Sheboygan line-up and was a prolific run producer, hitting .328 over 10 seasons. He led the league in hits, runs batted in twice, triples, home runs twice, total bases three times and slugging percentage twice. He ranks in the top 10 in triples and home runs and his .328 average places him 13th among players with 700 or more plate appearances. His best year was 1981 when he hit .417 with seven home runs and 27 runs batted in. He caught, played third-base and outfield.

O’Brien, an outfielder-first baseman, finished his 9-season career with a .318 average, helping Madison to divisional titles in 1973, ’74 and ’75 and a league championship in 1978. His best year was 1976 when he hit .382 and drove in 21 runs. He turned it into a trifecta, hitting .370 in 1977 and .381 in 1978. He’s on the State League chart defensively as well with a .380 career fielding average. In addition, he managed and held the club together in the franchise’s final years.