INFORMATION & NEWS

ROGER MARIS CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

The 29th annual Roger Maris Celebrity Benefit Golf Tournament will be held June 24-25, 2012, in Fargo, N.D. A sports auction, featuring hundreds of items from baseball and other sports, will be held over the weekend. The tournament's banquet will be on Sunday evening, at the Great Hall of the Holiday Inn. There will be 5 marquis items auctioned in the Great Hall before the Banquet.

The tournament is an 18-hole, six-member team scramble with a shotgun start. Cost to participate is $250 per person, and teams may elect to play with a celebrity without an additional charge. The first session is scheduled for Sunday morning, June 24, with two additional rounds to be played on Monday, June 25. A total of 26 teams will participate in each session. The tournament is filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The event is a rain or shine tournament and no refunds will be given.

Past participants will be mailed pre-registration forms about April 15 or may register online. The tournament often sells out weeks before the event, so golfers are urged to return their completed pre-registration materials early.

In its 28 years, the tournament has given more than $1,500,000 to beneficiaries Hospice of the Red River Valley, Fargo Shanley High School (Roger's alma mater) and the MeritCare Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, ND.

Established in 1984 as a fund-raiser for Shanley High School, the initial event included celebrities Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Bill "Moose" Skowron, Ken Hunt and Bob Allison. Through the years, the tournament developed a reputation as one of the region's premiere events and has attracted dozens of stars from the sports and entertainment worlds, including several members of baseball, football, basketball and hockey Halls of Fame.

This year's Board chairman is Dustin Mitzel. Board members include Wayne Blanchard, Mary Lou Dahms, Harley Danielson, Jim Deutsch, Roger Fenstad, Sandy Goughnour, Roger Gress, John Jensen, Orv Kelly, Tami Blanchard-Llewellyn, Jerry Rostad, Richard Savageau, Denise Sargent and Larry Scott.

The tournament committee includes: Dave Anderson, Tanner Corwin, Kim Colwell, Denae Burkhardt, Pat King, Ralph Llewellyn, Greg McCullough, Jim Shaw, Tami Rostad, Tricia Rudnick, Mark Sander, Suzanne Sander, Trish Priewe, Joelle Shewey, Jodi Spaeth, Sue Thibedeau, Janelle Thompson, Mark & Mary Lou Walker, Mike & Renee Gravalin, Joe Sabourin and Leo Worner .

To receive more information about the tournament click here.

MARIS TOURNEY ANNOUNCES
CHARITY ALLOCATIONS

Fargo, ND (October 6, 2011)- - - The Roger Maris Celebrity Benefit Golf Tournament Committee announced today the 2011 tournament will distribute over $102,000 to beneficiaries Fargo Shanley High School, Hospice of the Red River Valley
and the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center.

"We are very pleased the 28th Annual Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament was able to distribute $100,000 to our select charities, said committee chairperson Denise Sargent. “We deeply appreciate the wonderful support of The Maris and are dedicated to continuing the celebration of friendship in honor of Roger with the event he started. We are proud we’ve raised over $1.6 million dollars in our 28-year history and committed to keeping it a premier event.”

The 29th annual Roger Maris Celebrity Benefit Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 23-25, 2012, at Edgewood golf course in
Fargo, ND.

MARIS
MEMOS

The tournament offers three golfing sessions with a six-person team scramble format. Sunday’s round begins at 7:30 a.m. while Monday’s rounds start at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The cost is $250 per player. . . . . Tournament beneficiaries include Hospice of the Fargo Shanley High School, Hospice of the Red River Valley and the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center. The previous 27 tournaments have raised more than $1,500,000 for the charities. . . . . Denise Sargent is tournament director. . . . . For more information, call the Roger Maris Tournament at 701-866-3580 or 218-477-2915, or visit the tournament’s Web site at www.rogermarisgolf.com

Herzog Named to Hall of Fame

Manager Whitey Herzog, long time Maris Tournament participant, and umpire Doug Harvey elected to Hall of Fame by Veterans Committee
By BEN WALKER , Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey got the call Monday, elected to the baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee:

Herzog and Harvey missed by one vote in their previous tries. This time, they easily drew enough support to reach Cooperstown.

"I don't think I would've had my heart broken if I'd missed by another vote or two. But I'm damn happy it's over," Herzog said at Busch Stadium.

"It was just in the last few years when I was only missing by a few votes that I thought, maybe I do deserve it," he said.

Among those who came close this year was former players' union head Marvin Miller. He was on a separate slate for executives and officials, and fell two votes short.

Herzog was a fixture in major league dugouts for two decades. He won the 1982 World Series and three NL pennants with the St. Louis Cardinals and three division titles with Kansas City. He became the 19th manager to make the hall.

"I think he was one of the guys who started managers looking at doing more creative things," said Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, one of Herzog's star players. "You'd see him take a relief pitcher and put him in right field."

Smith was a late addition to the 16-member panel that considered managers and umpires. Candidates needed 12 votes (75 percent) to make it, and Herzog got 14 in voting Sunday at the baseball winter meetings. Results were announced Monday, and the 78-year-old Herzog was told he was in.

It made for an odd pairing, Herzog getting in alongside an umpire. In 1985, a missed call by ump Don Denkinger in Game 6 of the World Series damaged the Cardinals' chances of winning another championship.

"No, I'm not bitter at Denkinger," Herzog said. "He's a good guy, he knows he made a mistake, and he's a human being. It happened at an inopportune time but I do think they ought to have instant replay in the playoffs and World Series."

Dorrel Norman Elvert Herzog drew his nickname because of his light blonde hair while playing minor league ball. He wasn't much of a major league outfielder, but made his mark with the Runnin' Redbirds.

Herzog started managing in 1973 with Texas and compiled a .532 career winning percentage.

"He gave his entire life to the game," said Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda, another Veterans panel member. "When he didn't make it last year, I was very, very down. This year, everyone understood he belonged there."

Herzog missed by one vote in 2007. He will be enshrined with Harvey at the induction ceremonies on July 25.

"I don't know why he should get in," Herzog joshed. "Doug kicked me out of more games than any other umpire."

Harvey umpired in the National League for 31 seasons before retiring in 1992. He worked five World Series and six All-Star games, and handled more than 4,600 games overall.

The 79-year-old Harvey also came close two years ago. He was picked on 15 of 16 ballots this time, and became the ninth umpire in the Hall.

"Ten years into my career, my late father said to me that one day I would realize what I have achieved. When I woke up this morning and I received the call from Cooperstown, I realized for the first time exactly what that means," Harvey said in a statement.

"I accept this election ... on behalf of all umpires from the minor leagues to the major leagues and for those who umpire at every level," he said.

Harvey has been in frail health since being diagnosed with oral cancer in 1997. He often chewed a wad of tobacco while on the field.

Harvey was distinguished by his shock of silver hair, and players often called him "God" in tribute to his work. He helped bring a new style to umpiring, too. Rather than make emphatic, instant calls, as was the norm when he began in 1962, he would take a split-second to get a snapshot of the play in his mind.

"He had the players' respect. He had the pitchers' respect — most of the time," Lasorda said.

"Sometime you see umpires and you say that guy's not giving his best, he's getting lackadaisical. Not him," he said. "He would listen to you and he would admit when he made a mistake. A lot of guys want you to come out so they can give you the heave-ho."

A Celebration of Friendship

Now entering its 28th year, the Roger Maris Celebrity Benefit Golf Tournament is truly "a celebration of friendship." Roger Maris, the single season home run champion who hit 61 home runs in 1961 with the New York Yankees, started this tournament in 1984 as a fund-raiser for his alma mater, Shanley High School of Fargo, N.D. Maris died in December 1985, but strong support from the Maris family and an active volunteer committee has built the tournament into one of the most prestigious events in the region.

Through the years, the tournament has hosted some of the biggest names in the sporting and entertainment worlds. Many of Roger's former Yankee teammates have come to Fargo to honor his memory and the charities the tournament serves.

In 27 years, the tournament has raised and distributed more than $1,500,000 for charities, including Hospice of the Red River Valley, Shanley High School and the MeritCare Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo.

To receive more information about the tournament click here.