NSA Hall of Fame: Tommy Zehmer (2006)
CATEGORY: Director
YEAR INDUCTED: 2006
Tommy started playing fast pitch softball in the shipyard leagues in Newport News, Virginia in 1964. He played in the first slow pitch league in Newport News, established in 1965 on Adam’s Hilton Country Club. Tommy registered as an umpire with ASA in 1966 and called slow pitch league ball. Later that year he assisted a friend in conducting the Peninsula Invitational Tournament in Newport News and continued to conduct this tournament and play and umpire in slow pitch leagues until being appointed an ASA local commissioner in 1975. From 1975 until 1989 Tommy was a director and commissioner with ASA running as many as ten(10) tournaments a year including two (2) men’s major fast pitch regional and one (1) Class C slow pitch national tournament.
Becoming disillusioned with ASA and its politics, Tommy had no hesitation in switching associations when approached by Tommy Oehler and David Butler in 1989. Tommy was appointed Virginia State Director that year and has held that position until the present. In the time he has been with NSA, Tommy has been State Director of the Year (2000) and has also won several awards for sending the most teams to post season play. Since coming to NSA, he has conducted over 300 events. These events include six men’s super slow pitch world series, 17 men’s fast pitch world series, 3 coed world series, one church world series, four girls class B fast pitch world series , one masters world series and 11 men’s slow pitch world series.
In 2004, Tommy was inducted into the Tidewater Virginia Softball Hall of Fame and in 2010 was inducted into the NSA Tri-State (NC, SC, & VA) Softball Hall of Fame.
In November 2006, Tommy became the 14th Director to be inducted into the NSA Hall of Fame.
