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August 02. 2011 2:56PM

Dennis Simon has never toured South Dakota’s Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in Lake Norden.

But later this month, the Brandon man will be recognized as one of the game’s legends when he’s inducted into the Hall.

While the induction is humbling, the 55-year-old Simon said he is honored to be recognized for playing 25 years in the amateur league.

“In the back of your mind, you always hope that you’d be recognized for something, but I try not to think about it,” Simon said. “It’s an honor to be elected and even more of an honor to be inducted.”

Mark Ripperda and Jesse Blauwet, colleagues of Simon’s from the Larchwood (Iowa) Diamonds, nominated him for the honor. Ripperda said they submitted the nomination last year, and again this year.

Ripperda considers his friend one of the best amateur baseball players he’s been associated with. In Simon’s 25 years as a Larchwood Diamond, Ripperda wore the same jersey – first as a player and then as the team manager.
“He’s very intelligent about the game and is right up there with anyone I’ve played with, played against or managed,” he said.

Simon, who has lived in Brandon for 18 years, is one of five men to be inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame this year. The other inductees are Brad Oswald of Flandreau, Jim Heirigs of Sioux Falls, Ed Risse of Martin and Bill Ernster of Parkston. The group will be honored during the state tournament on Aug. 13 in Mitchell and also at a Sept. 24 banquet at the Pony Creek Steakhouse in Parkston.

Simon has been tagged as one of the most notable sluggers in state amateur baseball history – smacking 317 home runs during a 25-year career as an outfielder, infielder and pitcher for the Larchwood Diamonds. He compiled a .372 career batting average with more than 500 walks and 800 RBI.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea of the quality of baseball he’s capable of playing,” Ripperda said. “He’s one of the top four or five in home runs and RBIs in the history of amateur baseball, and at one time he was very fast.” Ripperda said Simon was also a great defensive player and outfielder.

In addition to his game skills, Simon’s 25 years in the amateur league, not only proved his dedication to the sport, but to the Larchwood team as well.

“He’s one of the most loyal ballplayers as far as sticking with the same team,” Ripperda said.

“The one thing that I remember, even though Dennis had to work, is that he would come and play three or four innings before he’d have to go to work.”

Simon began his 25-year amateur career when he was just 25. He spent all those years wearing a Larchwood Diamonds jersey after being asked by a college friend, Gary Henningson, to join the team.

“It turned out to be a good relationship,” Simon said. “I met a lot of new people and made a lot of new friends.”

Simon was also given the opportunity to play for a Sioux Falls team. “But it was a tryout thing, and they said they didn’t need me,” Simon says as his grin widens. “I think they regretted it a few times.”

It was the late Dick Snyders, manager at the time when Simon joined the team, who gave him an opportunity to play for the Diamonds.

“I’m forever grateful for that opportunity,” he said. “I think that’s why my loyalty stayed there, other than the people there are tremendous people.”

Ripperda has many memories of Simon’s 25-year career as a Larchwood Diamond.
“I’ve seen a little bit of everything,” he jokes. “Like the time he ran through a fence going for a ball. I can’t remember (if he caught it) because it was so funny.”

While Simon is humble when it comes to his career stats Ripperda is quick to share that he’s two of four guys to hit four consecutive home runs in a game.

He also cites five hits by Simon in a single state tournament game, which earned him state (tournament) batting champion honors in 2001 “at the ripe old age of 44,” Ripperda said.

“Like I said, I played the game for the love of the game. I didn’t worry about the numbers,” Simon said. “I did what I had to do to help the team.”

Simon began playing the game at age 10 and didn’t hang up his cleats until age 50.
“When you look in the (amateur) record books, you’ve got guys playing 30 years,” Simon said. “Many times I thought, how am I doing this, but I enjoyed and respected the game to last that long.”

He started in right field for the Diamonds, eventually moving his way to first base and as a relief pitcher.

“The joke was that I hoped they’d put me in at third because it was closer to the dugout,” he said.

There have been many memorable moments in Simon’s amateur career, but none so more than the first time he took the field in Mitchell stadium.

“Playing there for the first time and looking at how big that ballpark was and hitting one out – 420 feet – I was just amazed I did that,” he said.

That home run fueled his drive to do it again and again. It also made the trip around the bases a lot easier.

“It was during a tournament game (early on in his career) that I did it again. That was gratifying,” he said. “And umpteen years later when you accumulate 300 of them, at the end it was 317, there were a lot of easy trips around the bases,” he said.

Because of his power at the plate, it wasn’t unusual for teams to intentionally walk the slugger, especially when the game was on the line.

“If we were down one or two and I’m the second or third guy, I wanted that opportunity,” he said. “But is was easy for guys to pitch around you.”

Simon first gained attention for his baseball skills as a student-athlete at Victorville (Calif.) High School. He went to tryouts for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels, but didn’t make the cut.

“The thing with the Angels is they wanted to see me play, but my class work wasn’t so great,” he said. “It was a big lesson, a tough lesson, a heart-breaking lesson to get that close.”
He then went on to play at California’s Victor Valley Junior College.

“Things didn’t go so well there,” he admits.

So Simon left school to “find myself in San Diego” only to return later to Victor Valley, where he played for a year and made the all-star team.

His former high school coach then invited him to play at Eastern Iowa Community College in Muskateen, Iowa. It was during that year and a half stint that he caught the attention of Kevin McDonald while playing in a region tournament in Boone, Iowa. McDonald recruited him to play for Sioux Falls College, now the University of Sioux Falls.
After hanging up his cleats, Simon didn’t stray far from the dugout, coaching his youngest son, Jordan, in spring and American Legion ball in recent years.

And while playing the game was his first choice, as a coach, he simply wanted to pass on lessons of the game he’d learned along the way.

Simon said it would’ve been impossible to play 25 years without the support of his wife, Dawn, and three children, Christopher, Amanda and Jordan.

“I was very fortunate in my career that my wife was very supportive and I’ll use the word ‘allowed’ me to play,” he said.