Senior Hall to enshrine Las Vegas softball star

Steve Imlay, 61, is one of 10 players this year selected to the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame.

He will become the fourth Nevadan inducted into the Hall, which was founded in 1996, during a ceremony at his northwest Las Vegas home Friday.

"It is a special honor, especially because so many of the people you play with voted for me," Imlay said.

Imlay travels across the country to play for a variety of teams in multiple monthly tournaments.

The educational software sales executive, who played for MTC Distributing of Modesto, Calif., last year, hit .690 with 61 home runs in 50 games. This year, his average is .792 with 21 home runs in 25 games.

The former elementary school teacher from Indiana said he plays for more than just the love of the game.

"It's mainly the competitiveness and the friendships I've made playing," he said.

"When you're younger you're mostly playing just to win and it's so competitive you lose the friendship aspect," he says. "In senior ball, after a game everybody is shaking hands and hugging each other. When you get older, that part of the game becomes more important."

Imlay played baseball for Oakland City College in southern Indiana and had a couple of major league tryout offers but opted to teach instead.

He will compete in the premier Major-Plus 60-and-over division beginning at 8 a.m. Friday at Doc Romeo Park at Buffalo Drive and Cheyenne Avenue.

Imlay was named to the all-world team in 2000 and 2009.

The seven-time senior All-American, who is in his 11th year of senior softball, moved to Las Vegas from Indiana in 2001.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.