Darren Ford, Sam Tropiano part of 2023 South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame class
The South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame will have seven new members when the Class of 2023 is honored at the Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey's 63rd Anniversary Dinner on Saturday.
The inductees – Dan Baker, Robert Dacierno Sr., Darren Ford, Robert “Tookie” Johnson, Ryan Kulik, Bob Seddon and Sam Tropiano – will be honored at Adelphia Restaurant in Deptford at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults and $35 for attendees under 12. They can be purchased by contacting Joe Smith at 609-513-8382.
In addition to the Hall of Fame ceremony, six scholar-athletes will receive scholarships, umpire Bruce Lazaruk is being recognized for his years of service, and South Jersey Baseball Coaches Association president Bill Gore is receiving the Humanitarian Award.
Get to know the newest Hall of Famers below.
Dan Baker
Baker, an Audubon High School and Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) graduate, has been the Philadelphia Phillies’ public address announcer for 51 years, and did the same for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985-2014.
Robert Dacierno Sr.
The 1963 Gloucester Catholic alumnus earned three varsity letters as the Rams’ third baseman. He was the Hot Stovers’ Player of the Year in his final season, batting .551 with 27 hits, 5 homers, 33 RBIs and 23 runs. Dacierno was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Darren Ford
The 2004 Vineland grad starred on the gridiron and the diamond for the Fighting Clan. The lightning-fast Ford led the baseball team to the South Jersey Group 4 final his senior year, where it lost to Toms River East. He was a two-time All-State selection and was an 18th round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004. He became the fourth player in school history to reach the Major Leagues in 2010 with the San Francisco Giants. He earned a World Series ring with the Giants later that season.
Robert “Tookie” Johnson
The 1987 Schalick alum struck out just four times in his high school career, none as a senior, where he hit .618. He went to LSU, where he helped lead the Tigers to their first-ever College World Series in 1991. He graduated with 13 single-season and career records. He’s had an incredible coaching career in Louisiana since, winning 19 district titles, 8 state championships and has been named Coach of the Year 17 times.
Ryan Kulik
Kulik, a 2004 Cherokee grad, was an All-South Jersey First Team pick as a senior, where he had a 1.69 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 41 innings, and he batted .347. He went on to Rowan, where he became an All-American and two-time New Jersey Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. He set single-season school records for strikeouts and K’s per nine innings, strikeouts in a game, and career marks for strikeouts, innings pitched and games started. He became an assistant at Rowan after his career and is currently the head coach at Rutgers-Camden.
Bob Seddon
Seddon led the Penn soccer program from 1968-1986 and the baseball team from 1972-2005. He finished his coaching career on the diamond with 634 wins, most in Ivy League history. He had 14 seasons with at least 20 victories.
Sam Tropiano
The long-time Bishop Eustace head coach is South Jersey’s all-time leader in wins. He boasts a career record of 728-260. He’s spent 35 years as a head coach, the last 31 with the Crusaders.
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame inducting Class of 2023 on Saturday
