TOTS pitcher a legend at Hope College

Tucson Old Timers right-hander Ron Boeve, 74, spends his winters in Tucson with his wife, Sonny, and three days a week, during his brief stay in the old pueblo, you'll find the Michigan native over at Udall Park playing baseball with the TOTS.

Unfortunately, his days on the Tucson Old Timers pitching staff were cut short last January when he injured his left arm in an early-morning practice game and found himself back in Holland, Michigan awaiting surgery. "It was the rotator cuff. I won't be pitching for a while," Boeve said recently, from his home in Holland.

And that's bad news not only for the TOTS, but also for the players on his Hope College baseball team. As for the TOTS, finding hurlers who can throw with a zip on the ball...and with control to boot who are in their 70s, is a plus. Ron fit that category. Boeve, who has been the assistant baseball coach at his alma mater, Hope College, for 28 years and one of the team's batting practice pitchers, will be missed this February when the college's 2010 team heads for Florida for 10 preseason games. "We've been going down to Florida for many years," added Boeve. "We get those games in and then we head back to Holland in time to open our regular schedule."

Boeve went on to say that despite the fact his left arm is still under construction, he feels it'll be quite awhile before he takes the mound again. Ron was a baseball and football star for Hope College in 1953-55 and 1958-60. Nestled in between his college days was a three-year stint in the U.S Army with the 101st airborne division. Boeve was selected twice, as a catcher, to the All-MIAA conference team, once in 1959 and then again in 1960. He also played tight-end on the football team. All three of his children are college graduates, Sue and Craig, from Hope College and Gretchen, from American University.

As far as Ron's teammates on the TOTS are concerned, they expect to see him back at Udall Park...say in November of 2010. One thing is for sure, the TOTS will be there. The Tucson Old Timers have been taking the field every year since 1968.