Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland watches warmups prior to a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla., Friday, June 29, 2012. Leyland’s early playing days included a stint playing with Donald “Chopper” Schmeltz with the Pemberville Post 183 American Legion baseball team. (AP Photo | Phelan M. Ebenhack)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PEMBERVILLE —- Led by second-year coach Jacob McNulty, the Pemberville Post 183 baseball team is continuing a storied tradition of American Legion baseball in the area.
A huge part of the team’s history includes the legacy of Donald “Chopper” Schmeltz, who passed away in February 2020 after coaching the team since 1983. The team’s home field is named after him.
While Schmeltz’s number has always been unofficially retired, the team officially retired his No. 10 before the Pemberville Post 183’s first game this year. His wife Mary was in attendance, and they gave her a couple jerseys with the No. 10.
“I grew up around Eastwood,” McNulty said. “Chop has been a household name, not only just in Eastwood but specifically in Pemberville. Just being able to coach this team with its storied history is important for me just to continue American Legion Baseball in Pemberville.
“It means so much to that community. The baseball community spends hours out there making it one of the best fields in Northwest Ohio. I can’t tell you the amount of travel teams that play PBR (Prep Baseball Report) tournaments there that just compliment that field.
“It just means so much to continue to bring Legion baseball to Pemberville when it seems like it’s dying everywhere else.”
Schmeltz, who coached several teams to the state tournament, also played for the Pemberville legion team, where he teamed up with future MLB manager Jim Leyland, who is being inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame this weekend in Cooperstown, New York.
“To give me the opportunity to lead this storied program that Chopper ran that for years, and the work they’ve put in on that field, is incredible,” McNulty said. “They do that for my legion games. They do that for the PBR games that are Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They just spend so much time out there and put their heart and soul into that place.”
Pemberville twice advanced to the National Amateur Baseball Federation tournament in Marietta, Ga., finishing fourth in 1995 and 1999.
In 1997, Pemberville won the first annual Black Swamp Classic in Bowling Green against national competition.
“I would like to give a shoutout to all the players past and present that have played for Pemberville,” McNulty said. “I always tell the kids, I love seeing the guys who have never played a night game at Pemberville before. Seeing the community come out and support them is amazing.”
In Schmeltz’s final season in 2019, Pemberville advanced to the state tournament in Lancaster for the second straight season. They previously made the state tournament in all but one season between 1992 and 1998.
The 1992 team finished 58-7. The 1996 team, which included Aaron Lawniczak, Corey Loomis, Jeremiah Drake, Jeff Opfer, and Allan Witker from Eastwood, as well as Garry Isbell from Lake, went 43-23 before finishing as the state runner-up.
This weekend, Chopper Schmeltz Field serves as the home to the latest iteration of the local American legion district tournament.
