By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Mike Dull is mostly retired these days, which affords him a wonderful opportunity to spend time with a couple of grandsons.
“I like to say I’m semi -retired,” the former South Adams High School baseball standout said over the telephone the other day. “I worked 23 years for Comcast and retired last March. Now I’m doing some financial work. That keeps me busy, but now I have time to spend with my two grandsons.”
Dull, who had an outstanding baseball career at the University of South Alabama and spent some time in the Montreal Expos chain, is one of several people to be honored in Fort Wayne Sunday with induction into the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame.
Also inducted will be Rich Duno and Pat (Bubba) McMahon, while Zach Hosier will receive the Colin Lister Award and the Bob Parker Award will go to John Nolan.
The ceremony/banquet at will start at 5 p.m. Sunday at Classic Cafe, 4832 Hillegas Road, Fort Wayne. Tickets will be available at the door.
Dull says he feels honored to be sent into the NEIBA’s Hall of Fame.
“It’s a neat deal. Mark Flueckiger (former South Adams teammate) called me to let me know. It’s really cool.”
The former South Adams star, who turns 61 next month, lives in Cicero, north of Noblesville. “Been here since the ’90s, about 34 years,” he says.
Mike said he’s looking forward to Sunday’s event: “I was surprised and honored” to be chosen.
Accompanying Mike will be his wife, two brothers, a sister and her husband, at least one nephew – “and maybe a few others; that will be a game-time decision,” he laughed.
Dull, who also played basketball at South Adams, was a member of the Starfires’ 1982 team which finished 27-6-1, winning a Semi-State championship and becoming the school’s first baseball team to move into the State Finals.
Mike was named a catcher on the ’82 IHSCA All-State Second Team and was selected to the North team for the state’s annual North-South All-Star Game.
He then moved on to the University of South Alabama in Mobile, where he became a two-year letter winner, playing in the outfield and at third and first base. He was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pick while also earning third-team All-America and first-team all-South Region honors from the America Baseball Coaches Association in 1986.
That same season, Mike earned GTE Academic All-America honors.
At one time, he held school records for hits (102) and total bases (176), and his .389 career batting average was third highest.
The lefthanded hitter was also one of six players in USA’s history to post 70 or more RBI in a season.
After winding up his college career, Dull was drafted by the Expos in the eighth round of the 1986 MLB June Amateur Draft.
He spent the 1986 and ’87 seasons with the Burlington Express in the Midwest League as third baseman and outfielder, and hit a strong .311 in his second year.
He moved on to the West Palm Beach Expos in the Florida State League, holding down first base, and concluded his professional career with the Jacksonville Expos in the Southern League, again playing first base.
“I had a nice career, had some success. It was fun,” Mike says, looking back.
But now he’s enjoying semi-retirement. He’s not even coaching baseball these days “for about 15 years now, since I turned my son over to some other people.”
