A model of consistency for the teams he played for during his 20 year career, Place could play shortstop, the outfield and first base, where he established himself as one of the premier first sackers in the game. In 11 years with Decatur, IL, Place had a .326 batting average hitting 111 homers, driving in 505 runs and scoring 763 runs. He played in 12 national championships and posted a .306 average with 89 hits in 291 at-bats with three homers and 27 RBI. Seven times Place was named an ASA All-American and was a member of the 1981 Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Champions. Besides the national championships, Place played in four U.S. Olympic Festivals (.301 batting average) and the 1992 ISF Men’s World Fast Pitch Championship in Manila where he batted .368 as the USA won a bronze medal. A 1979 graduate of University of Wisconsin at Platteville, Place had been a four-sport standout at Iowa Grand High School in Livingston, WI where he once rushed for 300 yards in a game and his high school football coach, Jim Piquette, turned out to be his father-in-law. Place was born May 21, 1956.
