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Chili Davis among new Kernels HOF members
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Oct. 20, 2014 5:52 pm, Updated: Oct. 20, 2014 11:17 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS - One of the most popular local ballplayers from the 1970s is in the 2015 induction class of the Cedar Rapids Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.
Chili Davis is among a class of four that will be inducted during the Cedar Rapids Kernels' annual Hot Stove Banquet this winter, it has been learned. The date for the banquet has not been set, though it will be at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Convention Complex downtown.
Davis hit .274 in 19 major league seasons with the San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. The first Jamaican-born player in the big leagues, Davis had 350 career home runs and 1,372 RBIs.
He began his professional career with the Cedar Rapids Giants in 1978, hitting .281 in 124 games, with 16 home runs and 73 RBIs. Oakland's hitting coach this past season, he has signed a deal for the same position with the Boston Red Sox.
Also in this latest HOF class is the late Nick Adenhart, who was killed by a drunk driver in an automobile accident his rookie season with the Los Angeles Angels in 2009. He pitched for the Kernels in 2006, and his family has established an annual college scholarship in his memory that is awarded to a local or area high-school senior.
Also to be honored is longtime housing coordinator Lanny Peterson. He has established a strong program that is the exception in the minor leagues, finding local families for all players and coaches to live with during the season.
The fourth new hall of fame member is the late Bert Puckett. He did broadcasts of Cedar Rapids Raiders games on WMT-AM in the 1940s before eventually moving on to do Chicago Cubs games until 1955.