He Plays with Style (Hice Stiles)<\/p>\n
(By Bob Otto\/Yucaipa, CA, October 1, 2001)<\/p>\n
If not for the tugging of an older brother, Hice Stiles and fastpitch
\nsoftball may never have crossed paths.<\/p>\n
In a (still active) career spanning over 30 years, Stiles was recently
\ninducted in to the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame at the
\nWorld Tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in August, 2001.<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving the call from Herb Wisdom (ISC Commissioner) that I was voted in
\nwas tremendous,\u201d said the 56-year-old Stiles. \u201cI\u2019ve played against some of
\nthe greatest players that ever played the game. To be even mentioned (with
\nthem) for the Hall of Fame gives me a great feeling of accomplishment and
\nhonor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now brother Ray, you may take a bow.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy older brother Ray kept after me to play for his company sponsored team
\nin the Montebello city \u201cD\u201d league in 1970,\u201d said Stiles. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to
\nplay. I didn\u2019t think the competition would be all that great. If not for
\nRay I might never have played softball and started playing lousy golf a lot
\nsooner than I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe it was just good fortune or perhaps the stars were in the right
\nalignment, but after yielding to Ray\u2019s demand, another event unfolded that
\nhad a profound impact on Stiles\u2019 softball journey. He met Stan Grebeck.<\/p>\n
\u201cStan was umpiring in the Montebello league. It seemed I either hit home
\nruns or bunted my way on,\u201d said Stiles. \u201cI think Stan took notice. He asked
\nme if I\u2019d like to play some better softball for a team that he played for
\nin San Bernardino. I said I thought that I was playing the best softball
\nthere was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Yielding to Grebeck, Stiles watched the San Bernardino Flames play the
\nfollowing night. And he got his first glimpse of major league pitching as
\nthe Flame\u2019s Bob Todd and John Henderson exchanged heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow! I had never seen anyone throw a softball as hard as these two guys,\u201d
\nStiles said. \u201cI didn\u2019t play, just watched. I was so intimidated by the
\nintensity of the players talking about brushing hitters back, trying to
\ntake out the catcher or shortstop on the next play. These guys played as
\nprofessionals played.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grebeck convinced the doubtful Stiles that he possessed the talent to play
\nin the Western Softball Congress. \u201cHe argued that my talent just needed to
\nbe cultivated to play highly competitive fastpitch softball,\u201d said Stiles.<\/p>\n
A cultivation of talent that propelled Stiles from the \u201cD\u201d league to the
\npinnacle of fastpitch softball: The International Softball Congress World
\nTournament and ultimately into it\u2019s Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
Along the way he played for some of southern California\u2019s all-time great
\nfastpitch teams: The Flames, Long Beach Nitehawks, Lakewood Jets, and the
\nLancaster Chameleons.<\/p>\n
With those four teams, Stiles appeared in eight ISC World Tournaments,
\nwinning one championship and three runner-ups. He was All-World three
\ntimes, 1976 and 78 with Lakewood, and 1979 with the Nitehawks. In 1978 he
\nshared the World Tournament batting title with Brad Burrup, hitting a
\nrobust .545. And in 1976 he had two, four-hit games; one of only 51 players
\nin World Tournament history to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was fortunate to play on really great teams, in some great games, in
\nsome great World Tournaments,\u201d said Stiles. \u201cI loved playing against the
\nbest and playing the best I could; that\u2019s what fastpitch softball was all
\nabout.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Stiles battled with and against some of California\u2019s great fastpitch
\nstars. \u201cThe best pitching staff that I played with was K.G. Fincher and Ed
\nKlecker in 1973 with the Jets, and Kevin Herlihy and the Lancaster
\nChameleons in 1983,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cJust one of those guys could carry a
\nteam by himself. They were dominating and would challenge the best of
\nhitters. These were the guys you wanted on the mound with the score tied in
\nthe 7th inning with no outs and a runner at third base. Just look out and
\nwatch a master go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
But for opposing pitchers, Stiles was masterful himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about Hice is that he is left handed (batter), could put the
\nball in play and he was so fast,\u201d said ISC Hall of Fame pitcher K.G.
\nFincher. \u201cPutting the ball in play was a major accomplishment in the
\nWestern Softball Congress in the 1960s and 70s because the pitching was so
\ngreat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike Pete Rose he took the extra base, but he was much faster. Singles
\nwere doubles and doubles were triples. He didn\u2019t settle for anything less.
\nAnd you had to play him honest. If you didn\u2019t he would lay it down. Hice
\ncould do it all: bunt, hit line drives and hit for power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Lakewood player and manager Bob Osborn says that Stiles was the
\nconsummate fastpitch player; his defense and speed placing him in the upper
\nechelon of WSC talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHice was a player,\u201d said Osborn. \u201cHe had the speed, one of the top three
\nor four speedsters in the league, had the great arm and the power. He
\nreally showed his stuff in the outfield. Take the extra base and Hice would
\nthrow line drives to any base on the field and throw runners out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back on the height of his career in the 1970s, Stiles marvels at
\nthe caliber of pitching in the WSC. \u201cThe Western Softball Congress, what a
\nleague that was,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was Bob Todd, Neil Green, K.G. Fincher,
\nTed Brown. Cary Weiler and Jim Heinz for the Navy; Greg Hallberg, Ron
\nSmith, Don Sarno and Roger Teske. These guys were all in our league! If you
\nhit 250 (batting average) you were fantastic.\u201d
\n.
\nOn the defensive side, he says Shortstops Don Sears, Nick Hopkins and Greg
\nSepulveda had unbelievable range and tenacity. They wanted the ball hit to
\nthem in pressure situations, said Stiles.<\/p>\n
And at the plate he tips his hat to Bob Wills. \u201cHe could bunt, slap, push
\nand hit with power in the gap,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cIf the game was on the line
\nthere was not another hitter that I wanted at the plate. But the man who
\nbrought oohs and aahs was Bob Aguilar. I just love thinking about some of
\nthe towering drives that this man hit. Pitchers didn\u2019t dare make a mistake
\nwith Bob. He was our \u2018Babe Ruth\u2019 of Softball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like most fastpitch players, Hice first love was baseball. In the
\ncollegiate ranks, as a pitcher and first baseman, he won a batting title
\nand was an all-conference pitcher at Imperial Valley Junior College and
\nlater at the University of California at Fullerton.<\/p>\n
After college baseball he moved from the infield to centerfield where he
\nsettled for most of his softball career.<\/p>\n
A career with no end in sight.<\/p>\n
Even at 56, Stiles says his fastpitch fires are still burning. He plays in
\nthe Artesia city league with his son Darren and in the ASA Masters division
\nwhere his Team California recently won its fourth straight Over-45 national
\nchampionship. An ASA record, he believes.<\/p>\n
Now in the twilight of a magnificent career, Stiles longevity has given him
\ninsight into the transformation of the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest change is that slow pitch has replaced fastpitch in the city
\nleagues all over the country,\u201d he said. \u201cExposure to fastpitch is less and
\nless. You need to have leagues for pitchers to develop. No pitcher
\ndevelopment, no pitchers. No Pitchers, no teams. No Teams, no fastpitch.
\nIt\u2019s a catch 22. The bottom line is there is no farm system to bring in new
\ntalent\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe top teams are as good as ever,\u201d he said. \u201cBut having teams not made
\nup of local talent makes the cost and budgets tremendous. This makes it
\nvery difficult for other teams to compete that do not have the resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I played (Open level) the local talent was tremendous and if we
\nwanted variety, we could drive to Bakersfield and find another pool of
\nteams that were equally as good.\u201d<\/p>\n
So for a Hall of Famer who has seen and done everything in fastpitch
\nsoftball, is an end in sight?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still fun,\u201d said Stiles. \u201cI used to keep telling my wife Lyn, \u2018one
\nmore year, just one more year,\u2019 now I\u2019ve told her that as long as I\u2019m
\nhaving fun I\u2019m going to keep on playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thank you brother Ray.<\/p>\n
Bob Otto\/Yucaipa, CA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He Plays with Style (Hice Stiles) (By Bob Otto\/Yucaipa, CA, October 1, 2001) If not for the tugging of an older brother, Hice Stiles and fastpitch softball may never have crossed paths. In a (still active) career spanning over 30 years, Stiles was recently inducted in to the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5196,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-5424","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5424"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5445,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5424\/revisions\/5445"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}