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It would take up more web space than we
could manage to chronicle all of the innumerable things that Ross
Neilson has contributed to the Waverley Baseball Club.
One of our finest junior players during
the early era of the club, Ross has gone on to play, currently, 531
senior games for Waverley... and we cannot guarantee that he has
finished yet!
A terrific all-round player at his peak,
Ross has simply enjoyed the game so much that he has continued to play
at just about every level of senior baseball and he has remained a great
example of how to respect our great game. Ross was Waverley's Club
Champion as a 19yo in 1970.
The fact that he is currently fixed at
No.3 in our all-time games record holder's list, behind only baseball
"freaks" Geoff Paice and David Clarkson, says enough about his
commitment and loyalty as a player.
Obviously, Ross did not think he had
given enough to the club and the game when he decided to give something
back to the sport by becoming an accredited baseball umpire... a role
that he has performed with his usual professionalism for many, many
years at many levels.
He also contributed in any and
every way as a parent when his own children played at Waverley. In fact,
Ross had the honour of being the first ever Waverley player to see one
of his own children play with the same club when Shaun started playing
tee-ball circa 1983!
Ross has also been one of the major
sponsors of the Waverley Baseball Club, probably for a longer period
than any other? He is recorded as the club's first ever sponsor, way
back in 1975.
It is already 17-years since Ross was
awarded Life Membership by the club but his loyalty and contribution has
simply continued to roll on unabated.
In more recent times Ross has continued
to contribute to the club as a committeeman, entering his seventh year
on the Board of Management, and he in now entering his fourth year as
club President having taken over that role in 2004. (At time of writing
July 2006)
We have certainly abbreviated and
summarised just some of the more significant contributions that Ross
Neilson has made to the Waverley Baseball Club and we can only hope that
it has done him some of the justice he so richly deserves.
In the reverse, it also goes without
saying that few people are so dedicated to the cause and who genuinely
love the Waverley Baseball Club more than Ross Neilson.
As a final tribute from
WBCWEB we must also say that Ross, like so many of the GREAT people who
have worked so hard to create and enrich the history of the WBC, is a
person who shuns the accolades and the spotlight, while he does so much
of his "less glamorous" work unnoticed behind the scenes. It
is not uncommon to see Ross, who travels quite a distance to the club
these days, doing something about the clubrooms at any time of day or
night.
He is also one person
that can always be relied upon whenever there is a need for a fill-in
umpire, player or coach. Whether it be re-stocking soft drinks, helping
out with some type of working-bee or in the canteen, Ross is the type of
person who simply puts himself out and who is not too aloof to do
whatever is necessary to benefit the Waverley Baseball Club. There is
not an adequate way for the club to thank people in this category.
We can only offer him
our heart-felt thanks for all he has done for the club and hope that he
can continue on for many more years.
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