Wally Voss, “Big Thunder” as he was known to his teammates was a hard hitting third baseman and sometimes catcher on the local fast-pitch scene. Wally played for The Kettle and Keg and J and L Oilers before starting a long run with the First Ward Falcons which included four city championships. Voss played in numerous tournaments including Dunkirk, Olean, Lackawana, Canada and Erie. One hitting performance, which stands out, is his 3 home run and 8 RBI game in the Eden Corn Festival. Voss has been employed by ECR international for 26 years and resides in Fredonia. He and his wife Brenda have four children, Kayla, Haleigh, Taylor and Troy.

Larry “Oz” McFadden was a fixture for over 25 years in local softball. Larry played for Aldrich Dairy, Lake Shore Delivery, Acquavia Post, 3D Grocery, St. Stephen’s Hotel, Oasis, Surplus City and The Castle Inn. Championships included 3D Grocery in the Fredonia league, Castle Inn of the Lake Shore league and Aldrich Dairy and Lake Shore Delivery of the Dunkirk league. McFadden played in numerous tournaments including Dunkirk Falcons, Erie and Meadville, P.a. and Brocton, which ended in a first place finish. Larry has been a licensed optician for 50 years and still puts in a day at the office on occasion. He has been married to his wife , Roxanne for 45 years and have one son Scott and wife Bonnie and two grandchildren, Chase and Teagan.

Jeff “Jitty” Kubera was a 20 year veteran of softball. His first five years were mainly fast pitch with the First Ward Falcons I and II teams and included multiple championships. In tournament play he was a key member of the Falcons teams that finished 2nd in the Buffalo Queen City Tournament and Dunkirk events, and won the tri-state invitational in Erie, P.a. Jeff played slow pitch as a shortstop and second baseman for teams that included Milkey Rats, Plant 6, RKR, M and M Leisure Time Marine, Moniuszko Club, Dunkirk Lakeside Club and Coughlans Pub. His long list of league championships included the Dunkirk rec league (Lakeside), Angola rec (Milkey Rats), Southtowns (Milkey Rats and Callahan’s ) Buffalo MUNY (Mulligans Brick Bar) Tonawanda (Malones). By the time of Kubera’s retirement the list would swell to over 150 local and national tournaments won. A crowning achievement was the winning of the 1994 Class A National NSA tournament in Salem, Virginia while playing for Leisure Time Marine. Jeff is employed by Comfort Pest Control. He and his wife Donna have been married for 30 years and reside in Dunkirk. They have one daughter, Kayla and two sons, Alex and Peter.

Frank Gawronski is a native of Dunkirk. He attended Cardinal Mindszenty High School (’63) and was a four-sport stand-out athlete in football, basketball, track and baseball. His high school career was highlighted by being selected to the football all-Catholic first team as a halfback, averaging 9.2 yards per carry in his senior year.

Larry McFadden

Frank’s athletic abilities were welcomed at Fredonia State College (1964-1965) where he was a member of the freshman and varsity basketball teams. Unfortunately, his college athletic endeavors were cut short when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966. Frank served his country for two years, making Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne, and received an honorable discharge in 1968. He returned to graduate from Fredonia State with a masters degree of science in education and spent 31 years as a special education teacher at BOCES in Fredonia.

Frank started playing fast pitch softball right out of high school. His summers were dominated with softball in Dunkirk and baseball with the Sheridan Pablos. Softball was by far his favorite; a huge part of the enjoyment was playing with the same group of guys throughout the years. His team was lucky to have support from sponsors such as Columbus Club, the legendary Koch’s Brewery, Lake Shore Delivery, Aquavia Post, BFI and the Woosters Corner Bar in Ripley.

Frank played softball for nearly 20 years and not surprisingly, his team was usually one of the teams to beat. They won the league championship countless times and played in the most competitive fast pitch tournaments in WNY and Erie, P.a. in his younger years Frank consistently batted between .300-.400, was a speedster on the bases and in the outfield, and had many strawberries on his butt to prove his dedication.

His passion for sports not only was shown through his athleticism but also in his desire to share his knowledge with others. Over the decades Frank was a Varsity track coach and assistant football coach at his high school alma mater, a varsity girls basketball coach at Dunkirk high school, and a coach/manager of the 1999 Dunkirk girls senior little league softball team which won the NY State Championship. He’d still be coaching today if possible.

At the age of 74 Frank is grateful to still be close with many of his teammates. He would like to thank those responsible for the honor of being inducted into this incredible group of softball players, with special thanks to Mike Tofil and the First Ward Falcon Club for their dedication to keep fast pitch softball alive in Dunkirk.

Jeff Kubera

Towards the end of his playing days Frank would say to some of the younger players, “Play each game as if it’s your last because someday it will be.”

This years induction will be held on Saturday Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Lake Erie Italian club in Lackawanna.

Frank Gawronski