{"id":9435,"date":"2011-03-28T14:24:22","date_gmt":"2011-03-28T21:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=9435"},"modified":"2011-03-30T22:23:21","modified_gmt":"2011-03-31T05:23:21","slug":"illinois-hall-of-fame-inductee-mike-hopkins-remembers-fastpitch-in-belleville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=9435","title":{"rendered":"Illinois Hall of Fame Inductee Mike Hopkins Remembers Fastpitch in Belleville"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Click logo for original news story.<\/figcaption><\/figure>From BND.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Glory days: Hall inductee Hopkins remembers fast-pitch softball in Belleville<\/strong>
\nBY STEVE KORTE – News-Democrat<\/em><\/p>\n

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BELLEVILLE — Driving by South Side Park each day on his way to work, Mike Hopkins is reminded of the glory days of fast-pitch softball in Belleville.
\n“I can remember at South Side before there was a fence up or anything,” Hopkins said. “I got lucky. When I started playing in ’74, it was in it’s heyday, especially down here. I was lucky to come around during that time. You see where it is now. There aren’t hardly any men’s teams around anymore.”
\nHopkins, who will be inducted into the Illinois Amateur Softball Association’s Hall of Fame on April 9 at Decatur Hotel and Convention Center, was one of the stars when men’s fast-pitch softball was at its apex of popularity in the metro-east, especially at South Side Park, where men’s games are no longer played.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the rest of the story at BND.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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