Whiz Kids: Elser and Metcalf headed to amateur hall of fame

Two former members of the Belleville Whiz Kids women's softball team will be inducted into the Illinois Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel Saturday.

Dawn Elser and Nancy Kassebaum Metcalf were nominated for the honor by their former manager, George Renner. They'll be the third and fourth members of the slow-pitch team that won 10 Illinois Amateur Softball Association championships and placed second in the 1989 ASA National Tournament.

"They brought the athletic part with them, but mostly they are just good individuals," said Renner, who was inducted in the ASA Hall of Fame in 2004 along with his wife and former pitcher, Lynn. "They were the type of players you wish you had 10 of because they were committed and always wanted to practice. It was great to have Dawn and Nancy on the field, but just as good to have them as part of the team."

Elser, the daughter of long-time American Legion baseball manager Barney Elser, was a standout shortstop at Belleville West and at St. Louis University, where she also was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame.

She was moved to second base with the Whiz Kids because of Metcalf's presence at shortstop. Elser was four times named the ASA All-State Tournament team and was its Most Valuable Player in 1995. in 1989, she was named an ASA All-American.

Today, Elser is the principal at Central School in O'Fallon.

Metcalf was known by her maiden name, Kassebaum, when she played softball. Though she played softball at Eastern Illinois University, she earned her induction to the Panthers Sports Hall of Fame on the basketball court.

Her record of 1,865 points stood as the women's career scoring record at EIU until it was broken in 2009, and she remains the all-time assists and steals leader. Her No. 13 was retired by the university in 2005.

Post college, Metcalf was named eight times to the ASA All-State Tournament Team and was Most Valuable Player in 1985. Both she and Elser represented the North Region at the 1990 Olympic Festival women’s softball team that captured a bronze medal.

"We had a lot of fast-pitch players because there just wasn't the fast-pitch competition for women then," Renner said. "Those two were really quite a pair at shortstop and second base and they got a lot of business playing slow pitch where there isn't a lot of strikeouts and the ball is in play. They were really good at the double play. I can't imagine there being any two better than they were."

In addition to the Whiz Kids’ 10 state titles, the team placed second and third three times each.

The ASA will induct 10 others into its hall of fame during the dinner and ceremony Saturday.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Whiz Kids: Elser and Metcalf headed to amateur hall of fame."