Subject: Hall of Famer wins Specialty Golf Match
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From jrwilliamson (at) foodfacility.com
For Immediate Posting
Did anyone else notice that the winner of the Shoot Your Age tournament at
Arnold Palmer's Country Club this past weekend was ASA Hall of Fame Pitcher
Leonard Luken, now of Deerfield Beach, FL.
Go to
www.shootyourage.com
for Results and Tournament Info
ASA Hall of Fame Bio (From ASA Web Site)
Year Inducted: 1993
Hometown: Covington, KY
Category: Men's Fast Pitch
Division: Men's Fast Pitch
Leo Luken was one of the mainstays of the Fort Wayne, IN Zollner Piston
pitching staff during the 1940s and 1950s when the Pistons won three
consecutive ASA national titles. Nicknamed the Lion-Hearted, Luken started
his 21 year career pitching in church league competition (1936-1938) before
helping the Nick Carr Boosters of Covington, KY win the 1939 ASA national
title with Luken compiling a 42-6 record. He joined the Pistons in 1940 and
remained with them until the team disbanded in 1954. Luken won 12 games and
lost none in national championship play. He won three games apiece in the
1942 and 1944 nationals. One of the wins in 1942 was a no-hitter against the
defending national champion Bendix Brakes. In 23 innings, he allowed four
hits, one run and fanned 33 batters. In 1945, he won four games including
beating the Joe Louis Punchers in the final, 1-0 in Cleveland, OH. In 1946,
he won a pair of games beating Cleveland , OH in relief of Bill West, 2-1 in
11 innings and shutting out Longview, WA 7-0, on a two-hitter.. Over three
seasons, 1944-1945 and 1946, Luken put together a 53 game win streak before
losing July 5, 1946 to Briggs Beautyware of Detroit, MI 2-1. He also had a
17 game win streak from May of 1953 to September of 1954. Luken had some
impressive seasons for the Pistons including 1942 (29-2 with three
no-hitters and 11 shutouts; 1944 (30-2), 1945 (35-0), 1946 (31-2); 1947
(17-4), 1949 (17-1 with 151 strikeouts in 145 1/3 innings), 1950 (15-3),
1951 (6-1) and 1954 (9-1). After the team disbanded, Luken remained with the
Zollner Corporation as production and traffic manager before retiring in
1982. Since his retirement he also has been elected to the Indiana (1978)
and Kentucky (1984) ASA Halls of Fame. Luken was born July 14, 1918.
Jim Williamson
Yakima, WA
<jrwilliamson(at)foodfacility.com>
