(Atlantic) Atlantic Head Softball Coach Terry Hinzmann released the names of the 2022 Hall of Fame inductees. This year’s Hall of Famers is the late Milton Allen and Karen (Hoffmann) Oller .
Coach Hinzmann describes the late Milton (Mel) Allen as the pioneer of the Atlantic softball program. Mel Allen started a town team of high school girls playing games around the area. Hinzmann says Joel Simms was the high school’s first head coach beginning in 1972 and garnered a lot of success with the program. But, Hinzmann says Mel Allen was the first Coach to start the program and start the ball rolling to become a high school sport in the Atlantic. “His teams were very successful, from what I’ve been able to read,” said Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann. “But as games got more difficult to find as other schools started girl’s softball, he lobbied very hard to get the Atlantic School Board to approve softball as a high school sport.”
Coach Hinzmann says it took Mel Allen a couple of years to talk to school board members and attend meetings, but he eventually got it done. “The School Board and Administration eventually implemented Atlantic girls softball into the high school program,” said Hinzmann. “It’s one of those things where men and women behind the scenes do so much work for our kids. This year, I think it’s appropriate that we induct Mel Allen into the Atlantic Trojans Softball Hall of Fame. Because this is the 50th Anniversary of all the hard work, he did get the program into the school.”
Coach Hinzman says Hall of Fame Inductee Karen Hoffman, who played on the 1972 team, remains in the top ten of batting averages. “To maintain that top ten status over fifty years means she did an outstanding job as a player and is a great representative of that first ever Atlantic High School Team in 1972.”
The late Mel Allen and Karen Hoffman will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, June 3, as part of a triple-header at the Atlantic High School Baseball/Softball Field. Atlantic will play Kuemper at 3:30 p.m., Kuemper will square off against Estherville, Lincoln Central, and Atlantic host Estherville in the nightcap.
