The 1989 Carbon-Schuylkill County Babe Ruth Baseball league consisted of nine teams from Jim Thorpe, Franklin Township, Tamaqua, Bowmanstown, Ashfield, West Penn, Nesquehoning, Summit Hill and Lansford. The Jim Thorpe team swept through the regular season with a record of 15-1, losing only to Franklin Township early in the year by a score of 4-2 and then avenging that one loss in a 25-4 romp in a return match later in the year.

Jim Thorpe had a team batting average of .365, a winning percentage or .945, and they outscored their opponents 208-62 - an average of 12-3 per game.After winning the Northern Division at 15-1, Jim Thorpe played in the semifinals against West Penn and won 11-6, which set the stage for the championship game against Tamaqua, who won the Southern Division. It was a close game down to the last out. The game was tied 3-3 after seven innings, forcing extra innings. With the score still tied in the bottom of the eighth, Kevin Meckes (who led the team with a batting average of .519) stepped to the plate. Before he batted, he called time-out to speak to his coach, Mike Petrucci.He told Coach Petrucci that he always "had a tough time with left-handers."Coach Petrucci calmly told Meckes to just "follow the ball out of his hand, see it and react." And react he did. Meckes hit the next pitch over the left-field fence to win the game 4-3 and give his team the County Babe Ruth League Baseball Championship for 1989. The team finished the season with a 17-1 record.Many of those players went on to have very successful careers playing sports at Jim Thorpe High School and a few have already been inducted into the JTASHOF as individuals and members of other championship teams.Members of the team were: Joe Butchko, Dave Figura, Brian Rehrig, Nelson Ulshafer, Kyle Armbruster, Mike Kmetz, Lee Marzen, Steve Snerr, Daryl Snyder, Aaron Sebelin, Randy Hydro, Mike Gruber, Mike Petrucci Jr., Eric Shrantz, Jason Skrimcovsky, and Kevin Meckes.The assistant coach was Ed Cheese and the head coach was Mike Petrucci.The next few weeks will highlight the other inductees in the Class of 2017 of the Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame: Celeste Robinson, Dr. Corey Cinicola, Dillon Smith and Kareem Mickens.The Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame Annual Induction Banquet will be held on Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Jim Thorpe Memorial Hall. Cocktail hour will begin at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. and the induction ceremony will begin at 7:15 p.m.Tickets for the banquet and the induction ceremonies may be obtained by calling either Wilmer Redline (570-325-3073), or Jack Kmetz (570-325-4923). Personalized advertisements for the Banquet Program can be purchased for $25, $50 and $100. Contact Wilmer Redline or Jack Kmetz for more details.