Teams in the 78th AAABA Tournament will honor the memory of Altoona’s John Austin by wearing a sticker with the letters JA on their batting helmets.
Austin, a AAABA Hall of Famer, died after a lengthy battle with cancer shortly after the 77th AAABA Tournament had concluded last year. He was 79.
A mainstay on the AAABA National Board and the dedicated leader of the Altoona franchise in the AAABA, Austin was well-known in Johnstown as a result of his dedication and work to make the tournament a success.
He served as national AAABA president twice, in 1998-99 and 2016-17. Austin also was the AAABA Tournament executive director and head of the franchise committee.
The JA stickers were the idea of New Orleans franchise representative Tyler Scheuermann and the Boosters organization. Scheuermann said the JA utilizes the Altoona franchise’s dark red/maroon colors as a background for the white lettering on the sticker. A blue ring, representing a color used in the AAABA logo, circles the letters on the sticker.
The New Orleans franchise produced enough stickers for all 16 teams playing in the 78th tournament and distributed them during the players banquet on Sunday night at 1st Summit Arena.
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