Zanesville Junior Pioneers celebrate & remember a historic season

ZANESVILLE, OHIO- The Muskingum Valley Old Timers held a banquet this evening at John McIntire Elementary in honor of the Zanesville Junior Pioneers.

They also had a special guest speaker, Hal Naragon, former Cleveland Indians catcher.

Naragon shared his memories of playing baseball and the importance of the Junior Pioneers championship.

“They’ll never forget it,” said Naragon.  “They’ll remember that game for the rest of their lives.” He said to compete and come out a champion is an honor and a great accomplishment for any sport.

Naragon also said that while sports may be the most important thing in many of the players lives right now, he said it’s important to make sure that players focus on their education as well.

“When you play sports, you know one day your career is going to be gone and you never know what’s going to happen.”  He stressed that it’s important to have something to fall back on.

Naragon said he was delighted to come back to his hometown and he was honored to be a guest speaker at the pioneers banquet on Tuesday.