Pete Rose, Tom Nichols among Dayton Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Dayton Dragons broadcaster Tom Nichols. Contributed photo

Dayton Dragons broadcaster Tom Nichols. Contributed photo

Two former major-leaguers, including the Hit King Pete Rose, and the longtime voice of the Dayton Dragons, highlight this year’s group of six inductees into the Greater Dayton Baseball Hall of Fame.

They were enshrined during the awards dinner on Nov, 2 at Alter High School.

Tom Nichols started broadcasting Dragons games on radio and television 17 years ago. He has worked continuously in the minors since 1988 and has worked at every level.

Nichols grew up in Muncie, Ind., attended Ball State and is a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan. In 2018, he got to broadcast a game on the Reds’ network.

Nichols, who also serves as the Dragons’ director of media relations, has interviewed Hank Aaron, Joe Morgan, Bob Feller, George Foster, Eric Davis, Ken Griffey Sr. and former Dragons part owner Magic Johnson on the air during games.

Eddie “Squire” McGuire rose up through the DABC youth leagues and starred at Chaminade High School from 1959-62. He was a three-year varsity starter, batted over .350 and helped lead the Eagles to an appearance in the state final.

McGuire then starred at Bowling Green and batted .330. His most memorable games came against Marshall when he went 7-for-7 in a doubleheader and at Ohio State when he had two hits and three RBIs. His summers were spent in the DABC AA league.

McGuire was set to join the Pittsburgh Pirates organization on a free-agent contract in 1965, but he was drafted into the Vietnam War. After a career as a car salesman, McGuire is retired and lives in Englewood.

Trent Purcell was a multi-sport athlete at Trotwood-Madison from 1977-80 and won all-conference honors eight times in football, basketball and baseball. He batted over .500 as a junior and senior and was 40-for-40 in stolen base attempts as a senior.

Purcell, who played summer ball for the famed WBLY team out of Springfield, was drafted in the fifth round out of high school by Philadelphia. In three minor-league seasons (two with the Phillies, one with the New York Mets), Purcell battled through multiple injuries.

Purcell was an assistant coach at Sinclair before a career move to took him to Illinois where he still lives. Purcell officiated multiple sports and was inducted into the Illinois High School Hall of Fame.

Tom Smith’s baseball journey took him from Kiser High School to a professional season in Italy. At Kiser he was all-city in football, basketball and baseball from 1964-67 and hit over .400 for his career. He moved on to Ohio University where he was all-conference and hit a home run to send the Bobcats to the College World Series for the only time.

Smith was drafted by the California Angels in 1971 and played three minor-league seasons. He played his final season in Italy in 1974 and hit .397 for the league champion. Smith is retired from General Motors and lives in Dayton.

Calvin Hogue played at Roosevelt High School from 1942-1945 and signed with the St. Louis Browns. He began his six-year minor-league career at Class D Newark, Ohio. He broke into the majors as a right-handed pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1952.

Hogue said his biggest game as a Pirate was a 2-1 victory over the Phillies. When he returned to Dayton he worked as a plumber, played semi-pro baseball and managed amateur teams for 20 years. He died in 2005 shortly after throwing out the first pitch at a Dragons game.

Pete Rose, who died Sept. 30, grew up in Cincinnati and played in 1960 for the Class AA team sponsored by Frisch’s Big Boy of Lebanon in the DABC league. He played catcher, second base and shortstop while batting .626. That season caught the eye of a Reds scout, and the rest is history.

Rose went on to help lead the Reds to two World Series titles and the Phillies to one, won an MVP award and broke Ty Cobb’s record for the most career hits.

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