Syracuse Wall of Fame inductees

Cermony for players taking place before game on August 15

January 17, 2009

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Chiefs announced the names of newest inductees to the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame tonight at the team's 48th Annual Hot Stove Dinner and Silent Auction. The induction ceremony for the class of 2009 will take place Saturday, August 15, 2009 prior to the Syracuse Chiefs game against the Rochester Red Wings. St. Claire, who was in town for Hot Stove, received his plaque as part of the dinner ceremony.

Childs was a Syracuse Stars infielder from 1888-1890 and arguably one of the best hitting second basemen of the late nineteenth century. He posted a .326, .341, and .345 batting average in his three years in Syracuse. Childs also played 13 years in the major leagues with a career batting average of .306.

Hofmann was the Chiefs owner from 1944-1950 and team President in 1948. Under his leadership, the Chiefs had three playoff teams, and earned one Governors' Cup Championship.

Dahlgren was the Chiefs' first baseman and an International League All-Star in 1936. In that same year he put up a .318 batting average in 155 games played. In 1936 he set a Syracuse Chiefs club record with 21 triples and was voted by fans as the team's "Most Valuable Player". Dahlgren is also known for being the man who replaced Lou Gehrig as the New York Yankees' first baseman.

Petralli was a Syracuse Chiefs catcher in 1979 and then again during the 1981-1983 seasons. Petralli was voted to the International League All-Star team two consecutive years in 1982 and 1983. Petralli went on to a 12-year career in the Major Leagues.

Leach played the outfield for the Chiefs in 1984 and 1985 and was elected to the International League All-Star team in 1985. It was also that year where Leach led the International League in outfield assists and sacrifice flies. Leach went on to play 10 years in the Major Leagues.

Ratliff was a member of the Liverpool High School baseball team and then went on to pitch for the LeMoyne College. At LeMoyne, he compiled a career record of 22-7 over 4 seasons. Ratliff, who is also an inductee of the LeMoyne College Green Wave Athletic Hall of Fame, played for the Chiefs in 2001 when he posted a 3.86 ERA over 27 games.

St. Claire, the current pitching coach for the Washington Nationals, pitched for the Chiefs in the 1993 and 1994 seasons. He holds the Chiefs' single season saves record with 33 in 1994 and also set a franchise record with 13 saves in the month of August. St. Claire was named to the International League All-Star team at the end of the year. He spent nine seasons in the Major Leagues before becoming a pitching coach in the Expos/Nationals organization in 2003.

The Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame was established in 1998 in conjunction with the 140th anniversary of the first organized baseball team in Syracuse. With the addition of the class of 2009, the Wall of Fame now has 82 members.