WAYNESBORO – Waynesboro High School’s baseball history is now a click away.
Entitled “Waynesboro Indians Baseball,” the site chronicles the school’s history from its inception in 1962 and even includes biographies of past great Max Bishop, whose life and career are the stuff of movies (and legends). Nicknamed “Camera Eye” due to his uncanny ability to draw bases on balls, Born in Waynesboro, Bishop played in a bygone era long before high school baseball existed in Waynesboro. He batted leadoff for the Philadelphia Athletics and was a teammate to three future Hall of Fames (Al Simmons, Jimmie Fox and Mickey Cochrane.
Bishop went on to coach at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland for 24 years and after he retired the field was named after him.
There is lots more on the site, which traces the accomplishments of past players all the way to more recent rosters. Like the Wall of Fame Pavers that lists player pavers, coach pavers, professional and NCAA Division I pavers and stadium project pavers.
Did I mention coaches? Consider this, since the beginning of a baseball team at the high school in 1962, the Indians have had only three head coaches – Dick Hersh, Greg Chandler and Travis Hardman.
“There’s so much history in the interview with Dick Hersh,” said Hardman, who undertook the task of building the website using Google Sites. “Like when they played at Memorial Park. There’s a neat interview with Barry Dickey (a longtime assistant coach and junior varsity coach).”
The website, like the field the team has played on since the mid-1960s, has undergone an evolution since it first went live a few years ago.
“(Coach Chandler) did a lot of the leg work,” Hardman explained. “He looked back into his old score book and compiled the records. Since I’ve taken over, I’ve kept the records, whether they are season records or career records. He’s the one that started the records, and he did a lot of the interviews.”
Chandler succeeded Hersh in 1988 and coached until he retired in 2020. Hardman will be entering his fourth season come March.
The website mentioned a fascinating bit of trivia. How many high schools boast the National Player of the Year (Matt White) and the NCAA Division II Player of the Year (Nathan Minnich)?
Hardman added, “I need to update it, like the rosters are old. We do plan on increasing the Wall of Pavers; there are a couple names we want to add.”
Hardman even includes the team handbook, and the photograph at the bottom of the webpage is astonishing – a rainbow in plain view beyond the outfield from the point of view of home plate.
“It was free,” Hardman said. “Is it the best looking site? No. Technology has come a long way, even since I started doing the site.”
The website also features pages with individual records (single-season leaders and career leaders), no hitters and team records from 1962 to the present.
“I’m into history,” said Hardman. “It’s neat to look at when someone asks a question. It’s pretty accurate. It’s really neat to see Waynesboro baseball history and how it started at Memorial Park and they built the field at the high school. My dad (Terry) was on one of the first teams to play on the new field. The American Legion donated a lot of money to put the fence up and they wanted to honor Arthur “Moose” Sanders when he passed away.”
There’s also a visual walk through history with a photo archive, which has team photos, action pictures, an aerial view of the field and photos that offer a perspective from the bleachers.
The home page explains the mission of the WASHS baseball program, “to grow our student-athletes in more ways than just skill development. We pursue the growth of the person, student and player in that order. All of those three influence one another. We are consistently striving to be better, raising our standards to push forward Waynesboro Baseball. We are proud to say that regardless of the metrics, our players perform within our system and style of play, which is geared toward winning.”
And it is winning that has made the baseball program stand out like none other here in Waynesboro. Tribe teams have won 17 division championships, three District 3 titles and qualified for the PIAA tournament seven times (advancing to the semifinals in 1994 and 2000).
A reading of the Waynesboro Baseball Tradition page offers insights into the minds and baseball careers of Greg White and Craig Walck. From one section to the next, the efforts of Chandler, Hardman and others presents a picturesque and written documentation of 60 years of high school baseball.
Hardman, who has been a part of the baseball program since the mid-1990s as a player, assistant coach and head coach, would have a hard time recognizing all the former players and coaches who reach out to him to offer their contributions whether it be working on improving the field or at the team’s annual baseball clinic in the spring.
“We did some work on the field and if it weren’t for guys like Daryl Warrenfeltz, Troy Witte and Matt Kahl, it would have much harder,” Hardman said. “Jaret Biesecker, who had a brilliant career at Bridgewater College, and his father Art, helped. We got the sod from Brian Stum. Garrett Beaver stopped by. Sometimes I don’t even have to reach out to them; they text me and want to come out and help.”
