Recognizing  & Advancing
37 years of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, Leadership, & Pride!

Inductees

2000 Era

1990 Era

1980 Era

1970 Era

Listed by:

  1. Season joined, or the part of a season joined.
  2. Alphabetical by last name.
RIP is deceased, Rest in Peace.

Steve Thompson

Inductee: Steve Thompson

Member: 1995
Inducted: 2012

Steve's teammates have witnessed him set high goals toward increasing his skills, endurance, and composure on the mound. This has produced even greater respect for him as a competitor, pitcher, and person because they understand what he puts into his every pitch!

Player (18 yrs), BSL "In-Season Clinic" Pitching Instructor (annually since inception), Coach Assistant - Campus Tan Heat (2 yrs), Minuteman Classic Tournament Volunteer (3 yrs).

Teams: Club Café Angels (16 yrs), Randolph Country Club [1st Team] (1 yr), Shamrock Stallions (1 yr)

Awards & Recognition: Most Valuable Player Award Nominee '04, '05; Team MVP '04, '05 - Club Café Angels.

11 World Series appearances:
2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 1999, 1998, 1995.
Best World Series Finishes: 2nd place: '04 Div C - Club Café Angels; 3rd place: '12 Div B - Club Café Angels; 4th place: '11 Div B - Club Café Angels, '08 Div B - Club Café Angels
NAGAAA World Series Related:
2nd place: '11 NAGAAA Cup Tournament, B Div (combined play- Div's A&B) - Club Café Angels - Team Awarded World Series berth.

35+ Tournament appearances (all with Club Café Angels):
Best finishes: 1st place: 7 times ('09 Philadelphia Div B, '07 Wash.DC Div B, '06 Wash.DC Div B, '05 Wash.DC Div B, '03 Philadelphia Div C, '01 Montreal Div A, '00 Dallas Div B); 2nd place: 7 times ('08 New York Div B, '08 Philadelphia Div B, '06 Gay Games Chicago Div B, '05 New York Div B, '04 Ft. Lauderdale Div C, '03 New York Div C, '01 Dallas Div B); 3rd place: 2 times ('10 Philadelphia Div B, '07 Philadelphia Div B).

BSL Team Participation Beyond the BSL:
Providence Fall League: 5 years with Club Café Angels (Best finishes: 1st place: 2 times '05-'04; 2nd place: 2 times '06,'03);
Dorchester Cardinal League: 8 years with Club Café Angels (Best finishes: 1st place: 5 times '12,'11,'08,'07,'05; 2nd place: 2 times '10,'06);
Harbor to the Bay AIDS Benefit Bike Ride: annually '03-'10, "Club Café Angels Pit Stop" volunteer.

In the history of the BSL, there are only a handful of pitchers who have endured to pitch year after year in crucial medal and championship games. Steve Thompson is part of that small, elite group. As with all of these successful BSL pitchers, Steve has that intense competitive spark that fuels his fire to find and use every advantage possible to edge out batters who anxiously wait for such a slow arc pitch to come down near the strike zone so they can slug it. Steve, however, has a strategy to disappoint and best those sluggers! That strategy is calculated for every single pitch. And since pitchers are involved in every play (pitch) of every game, they have to be quite a unique kind of competitor to maintain their composure within the context of every disappointment, mistake, or error that they or their team makes despite even the best of strategies for each pitch. It is easy to understand why pitchers can easily get 'ruffled' from these disappointments and why offenses often use this knowledge to counter with their own strategy of purposefully 'ruffling' their pitcher opponents. Steve is no stranger to this, particularly at the beginning of his career. But in these most recent seasons, he has shown much more significant immunity toward it and has substantially increased great composure in return. This isn't just because his pitching skills and experience have increased and matured, but more importantly it's because he made this a goal for himself as a team player and leader. A goal he has made great strides in attaining. Steve maintains that the pitcher position is in the "middle of everything", and it's important to set the right tone for the team. His teammates have witnessed this first hand and it has produced an even greater respect for him as a competitor, pitcher, and person because they know what he puts into his every pitch! The above list of his accomplishments shows the success his teams have had with him on the mound. He plays the integral role for this success because he is on the "hill" for every one of these successes! A team doesn’t take home nearly 30 trophies because their pitcher is lucky. It takes trophies home because their pitcher knows how to win! His stamina for pitching long games, multiple games in a day, and multiple games over many days is legendary. He is able to keep a grueling pace while staying focused on the task at hand which has earned those 30 trophies!

Steve's leadership has propelled his team from being a formidable C division team in the 1990's and early 2000's into a strong B Division team both here in Boston and nationally! His mastery of pitching was clear at a particular Washington D.C. tournament where rain washed out the first half of the tourney and forced the tournament to become a one-day, one pitch (3-2 count) Sunday tournament. In this "do or die" - "pitcher versus hitter" battle, Steve dominated leading his team to a first place trophy.

His leadership is clearly evident off the mound too. Steve is not a 'soap-box' type of leader, but rather a 'one on one' type of leader. A reassuring slap on the back, a kind word, and even a sarcastic remark can often lighten the mood of a group and put them back on the championship track. Away from the field Steve is just as quietly kind and helpful, giving of his time to his teammates as well as his artistic talents for team fund raising endeavors. Steve has always put team first, preferring to give his teammates all of the credit and humbly taking little credit for himself.

Steve has dedicated countless hours mentoring less experienced pitchers in the league in numerous BSL "In Season Pitching Skills Clinics" since their inception several years ago which illustrates how Steve is happy to share his knowledge with others to help them master the craft. Steve is one of the most entertaining, encouraging, and positive instructors too! He picks up on every positive attribute, no matter how large or small that Skills Clinic attendees show, and turns them into accomplishments as they learn the step by step process of the art of pitching. He makes it a fun experience for these novice BSL pitchers who come to learn, and shows them how that fun can translate directly into the rewarding experience of pitching. He does the same for his own teammates who aspire to pitch too. Steve is always very enthusiastic to help develop their physical, mental, or any other skill this 'breed' of player needs to develop into successful pitchers. It is clear that his efforts have helped propel more than one or two of his 'students' toward successful pitching careers of their own. Sometimes, Steve has been asked to share the mound with fellow teammates whom the coach wanted to integrate as a pitcher. To Steve's credit, not only has he "allowed" this to take place, but he actively supported and assisted those teammates in helping them become better. And in games where has was not "on the hill", he could be heard actively supporting the pitcher throughout the game. That is truly a sign of a great teammate!

Steve's dedication to developing his; skills, personal discipline, teams' success, and the giving of his time toward helping develop the BSL's pitchers of the future have been quietly in the works for 18 years and seemingly will be into the future as well!