Rardin, Donald "Don"

DON RARDIN HAS A RARE DISTINCTION IN SLOW PITCH—HE WAS THE ONLY PLAYER TO PLAY ON CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS IN BOTH THE INDUSTRIAL AND OPEN DIVISIONS.

IN ALL, RARDIN WAS A MEMBER OF FIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SLOW PITCH TEAMS, INCLUDING GATLIFF AUTO (NEWPORT, KENTUCKY) IN 1956 AND 1963; YORKSHIRE CLUB (NEWPORT, KENTUCKY) IN 1959; IBM (LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY) IN 1966; AND HAMILTON TAILORING (CINCINNATI, OHIO) IN 1961.

RARDIN WAS ALL-AMERICAN IN SLOW PITCH IN 1956, 1959, 1960, AND 1966—THE LATTER YEAR ALSO WINNING THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD AFTER ALLOWING ONLY 11 EARNED RUNS AND 40 HITS FOR AN E.R.A. OF 1.83 IN SIX GAMES. FOR THE SEASON, RARDIN BATTED .617 AND HAD A WON AND LOST RECORD OF 89-6. RARDIN, WHO PREVIOUSLY HAD PLAYED SECOND AND THIRD BASE, BECAME A PITCHER IN 1965, COMPILING A 67-18 RECORD WHILE HITTING .680, HIS HIGHEST SEASON AVERAGE.

IN 1967, HIS LAST YEAR OF ACTIVE PLAY, HE COMPILED A 78-15 PITCHING RECORD AND BATTED .603. FOR HIS CAREER, HIS PITCHING RECORD WAS 234 WINS AND ONLY 39 DEFEATS. HIS CAREER BATTING AVERAGE WAS .606. RARDIN PLAYED IN MORE THAN 2,400 GAMES.