One of the most storied baseball leagues in Wisconsin will be the focus of WOMT Sports Talk Monday (tomorrow) night.
The Shoreland League has existed since 1972, featuring 30 organizations that have fielded teams with thousands of ballplayers.
But it wasn’t until 2017 that the best of the best took their deserved place in The Shoreland League Hall of Fame, the league’s highest honor bestowed upon those who left an indelible mark on the team and communities they played for. Three more legends were announced as 2026 inductees earlier this year.
Denny Hrdina became the fourth member of the Two River Polar Bears to be inducted. Hrdina was one of the most talented players of the 1970’s, leading Two Rivers to four league titles during the decade.
He had a career strikeout to walk ratio of better than four to one with an ERA of 1.76. Hrdina could also swing the bat, retiring with a career batting average of over .300, and was named League MVP in 1973, 1975, and 1976.
Bill Shaw played for the Kewaunee Chiefs from 1965 to 1987. During his 22-year career, Shaw hit over .400 multiple times, winning the batting title in 1975 with a .489 average.
His powerful bat helped the Chiefs win back-to-back Shoreland League titles in 1972 and 1973, and he returned to the team as manager in 1989. Shaw becomes the third member of The Kewaunee Chiefs to be selected to the Hall of Fame.
Jason Arendt played 15 seasons with the Casco A’s from 1997 to 2011. He shone as a pitcher and center fielder, winning a batting title in 2002 with a .531 average, and was named Pitcher of the Year in 2009, recording an Earned Run Average of 0.52 in 43.1 innings of work.
Arendt was a part of three league title teams in 2002, 2004, and 2005.
Kevin Konkol is a member of the 2019 Shoreland League Hall of Fame class. His resume spans over four decades, beginning in 1985 as a player for The Branch Blaze through 1993.
He formed the Denmark Devil Bears in 1993, serving as a player/manager for six seasons before returning as a player from 2014 to 2016. Konkol retired in 2016, leading the league champion Devil Bears at the age of 48 with an even .400 batting average.
He is currently The Shoreland League’s co-president, a role he’s served since 2021.
All are invited to meet these local baseball legends as they’ll be guests on WOMT Sports Talk tomorrow (Monday) night, airing from 5:30 to 7:15 at Salute to Everyone, located at 1107 South 10th Street in Manitowoc.
