The Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for the Class of 2024, naming player Bo Parks and organizers Ted Jones and Walt Nadzak to the 21st annual Hall of Fame class. That group will be recognized prior to the RiverDogs home game on Sunday, July 14 against the Columbia Fireflies at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Jones has been a contributor to youth baseball for most of his life. He was athletic director for Cooper River Parks and Playgrounds from 1967-75 before becoming the first recreation director for the City of North Charleston in 1975. He served in that position until 1992, and then became the state director for Palmetto Boys baseball in 1968. When Palmetto Baseball switched to Dixie Baseball in 1974, he became a state director until 1985 and was named vice president in the Dixie organization a year later.
In 1993, Jones took over the 11-state organization as president of Dixie Boys Baseball (ages 13-19) and held that position until 2005. He was instrumental in organizing The Tournament of Stars and over 50 Dixie World Series. He remains involved at the state level as treasurer and board member. He is a lifetime member of the advisory board on the national level and a 2012 inductee into the Dixie Baseball Hall of Fame.
In his playing days, played for the University of Vermont's 1962 Yankee Conference champions and pitched in that year’s Eastern Regional finals. He also played on the US Navy's Phib Lant team in the Norfolk City League in 1965, before being transferred to the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston.
Nadzak was the athletics director at The Citadel during the glory years of the school's baseball program. He became the school's AD in 1985 and retired in 2000. During those years, the Bulldogs won five Southern Conference baseball tournament titles and four regular-season championships. The 1990 team advanced to the College World Series.
Nadzak was instrumental in the creation of Riley Park and is credited with moving and ultimately making the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament a successful fixture in Charleston. He was also star baseball and football player at Denison University in Ohio, where he was named the baseball team's MVP after batting .434 in 1956. He was inducted into The Citadel's Hall of Fame in 2008. He died in 2022 at the age of 86.
Parks, a Summerville baseball standout, was inducted into the Dorchester School District 2 Hall of Fame in 2000 as he played on Summerville's 1978 and ‘79 state championship baseball and football teams. He posted a 56-6 career pitching record, with seven no-hitters, and holds the state record for consecutive wins in a season with a perfect 16-0 record in ’79. In the all-time state rankings, he has four career no-hitters (T-1st), the most consecutive shutouts, 4 (T-3rd); the most consecutive wins, 20 (5th); and the most strikeouts in a game, 20 in 1978 (T-2nd).
During his collegiate career at Gulf Coast Community College (Fla) and USC-Aiken, he had an overall record of 20-9 in four seasons. Serving as the pitching coach at Summerville High School from 2002-2004, he helped the Green Wave win the state championship in 2003.
The Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame is coordinated and operated by the Charleston RiverDogs. An advisory committee consisting of knowledgeable local volunteers was created to come up with the names as potential nominees. The Hall of Fame is located inside Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
