From the Herald Palladium, courtesy of Scott Plangger
By BEN SANDERS and JASON MITCHELL – HP Staff
Rich Plangger built his own team, park and legacy in Southwest Michigan softball.
Plangger, whose Plangger’s Furniture team competed in numerous state and national men’s fastpitch softball tournaments, died Saturday at Caretel Inns of Lakeland at age 90.
“He was just a great guy,” said Fred Chabot, who played first base for Plangger’s Furniture for more than 20 years. “He’d do anything for you, anything for the team. He was always there. Prompt. He’d get mad if you were late. He wanted you there an hour before the game.”
Plangger’s Furniture sponsored a team beginning in 1956. The team usually featured a Plangger in the pitching circle – either Rich or one of his two sons, Rick and Scott. Plangger also had a daughter, Jill. His wife, Ruth, died in 2000.
Plangger’s Furniture competed in a variety of tournaments at the state and national levels, some years playing more than 100 games, and won the International Softball Congress state championship in 1985.
“We had a great team,” Chabot said. “It was an all-local team. We had the best pitcher with Ricky (Plangger).”
Rich Plangger was inducted into the Michigan Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame as a player in 1983. He continued to pitch even beyond that, exceeding his own expectations.
“How many years I can pitch, I don’t know,” Plangger said in a 1962 News-Palladium article, when he was 39 years old. “I’d sure hate to quit though.”
In 1973, he built Plangger’s Park in Benton Township to give his team a home field. The park also was home to the Lake Michigan College softball team for several years.
Plangger helped LMC host the NJCAA national tournaments in 1985 and 1986.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Lake Michigan College Athletic Hall of Fame as a contributor and volunteer.
In 1994, Plangger’s Furniture didn’t field a team for the first time in 43 years, citing a lack of players in the area.
“I never played for a better sponsor,” Chabot said. “He’s done a lot for the community. He kept the sport going a long time.”
Chabot and his sons, Browning and Brent, sponsor the Smalltown softball team, which plays at Plangger’s Park.
“We’ve got a league going and it’s pretty good,” Chabot said.
Plangger’s Park has also hosted the Rich Plangger Invitational men’s fastpitch softball tournament the past two years.
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