Called by his manager, Bernie Kampschmidt, “the best shortstop I’d seen play the game of fast pitch,” Jim (Boogie) Ramage was a member of four ASA national championship teams, including three with Fort Wayne (1945-47) and one with the Nick Carr Boosters of Covington, KY (1939).Although 5-foot-7 inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds, Ramage had a quick, strong arm to go along with his solid hitting. He started playing softball in 1937 and was originally an outfielder before switching to shortstop for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. When the Pistons played in the National Fastball League, Ramage held five of the league’s 10 offensive records. In 1947, he batted .285 to lead the league in batting as well as total bases (102), runs scored (42) and hits (67). In 1948, he won the league’s batting crown again, (.268). In 1949, he batted .298 and hit nine homers and 16 doubles. In 1950, he smashed 15 homers, the highest of his career, and followed with a .316 average in 1952 and a .323 average in 1954, the last year of the Pistons. Ramage had one of the greatest thrills of his career in 1946, hitting three homers in a game in the national tourney. That year the Pistons outscored the opposition, 26-1, en route to the title. In 1942, he batted .294 and drove in five runs as the Pistons finished runner-up, losing to the Deep Rock Oilers of Tulsa, OK, 2-0. Ramage remained an employee after the team disbanded and worked 42 years. Ramage passed away December 6, 1993 at age 73. Ramage, who joined the Pistons after the 1940 season, remained with them until the team disbanded after the 1954 season. He did remain, however, as an employee and worked for the company for 42 years. He passed away December 6th, 1993. He was 73. He was born in Paducah, KY and moved to Covington, KY when he was just a year old.
