When Don Arndt hit a home run he did it in a manner typical of the almost 7,000 homers he hit during his more than three decade career. He made it look easy. While Arndt’s fluid, graceful, almost effortless swing remained the same, slow pitch underwent a transformation during his career. Though it all, though, as players switched teams at the drop of a hat, Arndt remained steadfast to his team, Howard’s Furniture-Western Steer of Denver, NC. Arndt had one of the great careers of slow pitch. The highlights include: 13 times an ASA All-American, MVP of the 1972 Slow Pitch National Tourney, home run leader in the 1964 Men’s Open Slow National; a member of five national championship teams and outstanding pitcher in the 1983 Super Slow Pitch National Championship. From 1970-1988, the 6-foot-5 inch Arndt compiled an aggregate .628 batting average, hitting 3,330 homers with 6,166 hits in 9,821 at-bats. The most homers he smashed in a season was 309 in 1985 when he was 50 years old playing in 185 of the team’s 201 games. Arndt was born April 14, 1935 and died September 28, 2006.
