Gene Bennett Classic - June 14-17
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 3:42 pm
Formed in 2010 by a famed travel ball coach in Ron Slusher, a local businessman in Jeff Brown, and former SSU Head Coach and tournament director Ted Tom, the Gene Bennett Baseball Classic honors the legendary legacy of esteemed Major League Baseball scout Gene Bennett and his overall contributions to baseball with a classic held annually during the second week of June that routinely attracts the best amateur teams and players across the United States and North America.
Since the formation of the GBBC back in 2010, the event has seen rapid growth since its inaugural year as the tournament reached an all-time high in participants in 2015 with 21 teams under the direction of current SSU Head Coach and GBBC Tournament Director Chris Moore - which was more than two times the size of the original field in 2010 (eight teams) and beat the previous high of 16 teams in 2014.
Throughout Bennett's career, the Wheelersburg, Ohio native (who spent his entire career in the Reds' organization from 1952-2010) carved out his niche as a scout within the organization by drafting some of the finest talent to ever play in the big leagues, such as Barry Larkin, Don Gullett, Paul O'Neill and Chris Sabo among many others. In doing so, Bennett was an integral part in guiding the Reds to four World Series appearances in the 1970s, including two World Series crowns during the golden age of the "Big Red Machine." In all, Bennett was a member for six of the franchise's nine World Series appearances and three of Cincinnati's five World Series titles, including the Reds' last one to date in 1990.
Individually, Bennett's efforts as a scout have earned him several accolades, including inductions into the Middle Atlantic Major League Baseball Scouts and the Wheelersburg High School Athletics Hall of Fames in 1996 and 2001, respectively. Lastly, Bennett was given the Legends of Scouting Award for his six loyal decades of work with the Reds in January of 2009.
The classic continues to honor the memory of Bennett by attracting some of the finest talent in the country, both inside and outside of the state lines. In addition to Ohio, the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, and West Virginia, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario, have been represented in years past, with legendary travel ball teams such as the Ohio Warhawks, the Midland Redskins, the Huntington Hounds and the Kalamazoo Maroons calling the tournament home.
Since the formation of the GBBC back in 2010, the event has seen rapid growth since its inaugural year as the tournament reached an all-time high in participants in 2015 with 21 teams under the direction of current SSU Head Coach and GBBC Tournament Director Chris Moore - which was more than two times the size of the original field in 2010 (eight teams) and beat the previous high of 16 teams in 2014.
Throughout Bennett's career, the Wheelersburg, Ohio native (who spent his entire career in the Reds' organization from 1952-2010) carved out his niche as a scout within the organization by drafting some of the finest talent to ever play in the big leagues, such as Barry Larkin, Don Gullett, Paul O'Neill and Chris Sabo among many others. In doing so, Bennett was an integral part in guiding the Reds to four World Series appearances in the 1970s, including two World Series crowns during the golden age of the "Big Red Machine." In all, Bennett was a member for six of the franchise's nine World Series appearances and three of Cincinnati's five World Series titles, including the Reds' last one to date in 1990.
Individually, Bennett's efforts as a scout have earned him several accolades, including inductions into the Middle Atlantic Major League Baseball Scouts and the Wheelersburg High School Athletics Hall of Fames in 1996 and 2001, respectively. Lastly, Bennett was given the Legends of Scouting Award for his six loyal decades of work with the Reds in January of 2009.
The classic continues to honor the memory of Bennett by attracting some of the finest talent in the country, both inside and outside of the state lines. In addition to Ohio, the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, and West Virginia, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario, have been represented in years past, with legendary travel ball teams such as the Ohio Warhawks, the Midland Redskins, the Huntington Hounds and the Kalamazoo Maroons calling the tournament home.