Bo's ASA World Tournament 
History
Fastpitch
Slowpitch
"In my opinion, Bo was the best
hitter I have ever seen in slow pitch, hitting both the long ball
and able to punch out the short hit." ....Hal Wiggins, ASA Hall of Famer
"Bo was a sturdy built (5'11",
250 lbs.) fierce competitor and well coordinated athelete with an
extraordinary pair of hands and arms for turning the double play.
A team motivator, intimidating opponents and umpires was his
specialty, but off the field he was well respected." ....Bill Cappel, long time Northern Kentucky
fastpitch player and slowpitch organizer and umpire
Bo played in 7 ASA World Tournaments, including one fastpitch
tourney. Bo played in four of the first five slowpitch
championship games of the open division: 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957.
Bo played on three world championship teams and was named to the
All World team twice. In the three championship games in which
Bo's team was the victor, Bo was 9 for 12.
Bo's usual position was second base, and his usual batting
position was cleanup. Sporting a crew cut and up to 250 pounds of
muscle, Bo was an imposing player at second base and at the
plate. Even with his size, Bo had good footspeed and quick hands
to go along with emmence power at the plate. Bo could flat out
crush the ball to any field. But when the opponent's outfielders
played him too deep, he could hit it in front of them.
In 1953, one of the teams Bo played for was Shield's Contractors
of Newport Kentucky. After winning the Kentucky state title,
Shields went on to the take the first World title by defeating
the Pittsburg Merchants 13-1 in the finals of the tournament held
in Cincinnati Ohio. Bo paced the attack for Shield's going 3 for
4.
Going into the 1954 world tourney, Shield's was 102-8 during the
1953 and 1954 seasons, and were playing against some of the best
talent in the country in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, the
locale that produced 9 of the first 13 ASA National Champions. In
1954, when Shields was defending its World title in Louisville,
Bo had other obligations and did not plan on making the
tournament. After Shield's lost a game on Saturday, Mr. Sheilds
called Bo and told him he would fly Bo to Louisville and back if
he he would play Saturday. Bo flew down Saturday, and Shields won
all of their games by wide margins on Saturday. Bo had 6 hits in
9 at bats with 3 homeruns and 2 doubles. He made the All World
team for a single day of play.
In 1955, Bo was still playing with Shield's. But when Lang's Pet
Shop of Covington earned a berth to the big dance in Pittsburg,
they picked up Bo to play second. Lang's went on to win the title
over 23 other teams. The box score for the final victory over
Tressler Commets of Cincinnati showed that Bo, batting cleanup,
was 3 for 5 with 2 singles, a double, and an RBI. He was again
named to the All World team. 
1956 found Bo a regular member of Lang's Pet Shop. The Langmen
went to Cleveland to defend their title. After dropping the first
game of the tournament, Lang's won their next 6 to make it to the
finals. Their opponent was one of their league rivals Gatliff
Auto Sales of Newport. Though Lang's had defeated Gatliff in all
three of their previous meetings that season, Gatliff broke the
jinx with a 2-1 victory.
In the 1957 tournament, Bo was playing for Gatliff, who won the
title over 48 other teams in Toledo Ohio. The box score shows
that in the championship game, Bo batted 5th, and went 3 for 3
with a single, a double, and a home run.
1958 was Bo's last fling with the world tournament, playing once
again for the defending World champion Gatliff squad.
Bo's career spanned from 1939 - 1969
