Billy Parker figured Ray Truluck, then a second year player, had the potential to develop into one of the better Clearwater Bomber players. As fate would show, Truluck developed into not only one of the better Clearwater Bomber players but one of the top hitters in men’s major fast pitch in the 1970s and 1980s.Truluck joined the Bombers in 1972 and spent the season as the bullpen catcher. In 1973, Parker, the team manager, moved him to the outfield and it was a move that neither Truluck or Parker would regret. That season Truluck earned the first of his four ASA All-America selections, hitting .400 in the national championship and finishing the season with a . 320 batting average to help the Bombers win a record 10th national title.Truluck repeated as an All-American in 1974 and batted .364 in the national tourney. Truluck earned All-America honors twice more (1978 and 1981) during his career and fashioned a .319 batting average in 13 ASA national championships. He also played in three Major Fast Pitch All-Star Series, the 1979 U.S. Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs, CO and the 1983 Pan American Games (.333 batting average).Truluck batted .400 or higher for the Bombers twice during his career, hitting .429 in 1975 with 16 homers, 67 RBIs and 112 hits and .400 in 1985. In 1976, he batted .390 and drove in a club record 88 runs and scored 86 runs. In 1981, he batted .318 with 47 RBIs. In 1982, he batted .354 with 62 RBIs and seven homers.
