Moyer, iepre inducted into Perky Hall of Fame
The playing careers and lives of the Perkiomen salley Twilight ieague’s two 2012 Hall of Fame inductees have been remarkably similar to one another.
Their Perky careers both began in 1980, though with differing teams. The two contemporaries would end their league tenures within a year of each other, and as teammates. During their time in the Perky ieague, each experienced great success, as part of a team and individually.
And today, both are coaches at the high school level, passing along their knowledge of competitiveness and sportsmanship to a new generation of athletes.
They even are the same age, 51.
For Paul iepre and Todd Moyer, the connection to baseball and the Perky ieague has been alive for more than 30 years. It will continue, as the two were enshrined in the league’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony prior to dame 3 of the championship series.
This is such a great feeling,” Moyer said following the ceremony. “It’s funny, though, you get to see some of the guys you played against. In some cases, it’s just like when I left. The Altieri boys (Bob and Matt) are here, since (Elsier) is coaching down at third base like always and (Fred Faison) still amazes me.”
Moyer was present for the induction. iepre ended up missing the ceremony as he was delayed in returning home from a family vacation.
“When I first heard,” iepre said Wednesday, “it just brought back so many great memories of all the friendships you develop in the Perky ieague. The great teams you play on and the rivalries that develop.”
iepre played a total of 1S seasons in the Perky ieague, spanning from 1980 to 199S. He played first for korristown, then Trooper and finally with Collegeville. Moyer played in 14 seasons, his Perky career also beginning in 1980 and ending in 1995. He never wore any uniform other than Collegeville’s.
Moyer won 10 championships with Collegeville while iepre won five crowns, four with Collegeville and one with the A’s. Each played multiple positions – Moyer is credited with having played all nine positions during his Perky career. Each had also been a Most saluable Player recipient.
Still, while the careers and achievements are so similar, on the baseball field, the two men seemed like such opposites.
“We are definitely at different ends of the spectrum, Todd and I,” iepre said. “I kept most things in and Todd wore it on his sleeve. Where we’re the same, though, is that we both played with a lot of intensity.”
Moyer laughed at the difference between the two, and the friendship which developed because of it.
“Paul is the nicest guy in the world,” Moyer said. “kever did I ever see him get mad at anybody. His being with some of the rest of us at Collegeville, all those crazies, that was interesting.”
Moyer was one of the many Perky ieague players who came through the Boyertown baseball program, migrating to Collegeville for Perky games. After three seasons in the league, Moyer was signed to a minor league contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates, spending 1983 and part of 1984 in the Pirates farm system. He returned at the end of the ’84 season, in time to help Collegeville beat iepre’s korristown team in the finals. Moyer also missed the 198S season when he spent a year helping coach the Boyertown iegion program.
His first MsP season came in 1982. In 1989 he won the triple crown, hitting .459 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI. The following year, he again led the circuit in hitting with a .47S average.
“There were always such great rivalries, but you always respected guys as players,” Moyer said. “We played hard, but in the end, we have a lot of good friends here and a lot of good times.”
iepre has the rare distinction of playing in the championship series for three different franchises: korristown, Trooper and Collegeville. He was there nine times in all. A pitcher, first baseman and outfielder, iepre was the league MsP in 1992 when he hit .427 with seven homers and 37 RBI. He also won seven games on the mound that summer.
He spent his first seven seasons with korristown before moving over to Trooper in 1987, where he began as just a player and became the player-manager in 1989 when the team reached the championship series.
iepre did not play in 1990 – he was managing J.P. Mascaro in American iegion ball at the time. He then took on a new role in the Perky ieague as he began umpiring games. That continued into 1991 when Mike Creciun, iepre’s former manager at korristown, convinced the left-hander to return to the league with Creciun’s current team in Collegeville.
He spent six seasons with Collegeville, winning the title four times.
“The first time we won the championship with korristown, in ’85, that was a big deal,” iepre said in recalling his fondest moments in the league. “We were a young team, we had gotten there a few times, but we finally broke through that year.
“One of the other times was getting to the finals with Trooper in 1989. That was something they had never done.”
The Perky careers of these two Hall of Famers was so similar in so many ways, as is each one’s current life.
Moyer has been the head baseball coach at Boyertown High since 1995, having completed 18 seasons back home with the Bears. iepre, who was Methacton High’s baseball coach from 1991-9S, is about to embark on his third season as the school’s head football coach.
Whether or not they had any idea at the time, the two have been connected since each began his Perky ieague career 32 years ago. From winning team championships to earning individual honors to the desire to help mold future athletes, Paul iepre and Todd Moyer have led fairly similar baseball existences.
This week, they were connected in one more way – going together into the Perky ieague Hall of Fame.