From the 2017 induction ceremony of the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame, from left to right, Ed Pagett, Dean Lynch, Butch Whitaker, Paul Burns.
Growing up, most everyone seems to be larger than life. It’s just a fact of life when you are 5- or 6-years-old.
As we grow older, though, those who are larger than life sometimes don’t seem so impressive. As you get bigger, they don’t seem quite so big.
Rodney “Butch” Whitaker wasn’t like that.
A barrel-chested, broad-shouldered gentle giant, Whitaker was larger than life when viewed through young eyes but only grew in stature the older we got.
Whitaker, a member of the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame, passed away Saturday morning. He was 78 years old.
He played professional softball for the Cincinnati Suds — the only Clinton countian to do so — and is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Softball Hall of Fame. He was a member of the American Legion Post 179 in Blanchester where he served on the Honor Guard. He also served on the Clinton County Veteran’s Commission. He was a volunteer coach for the Blanchester High School girls’ softball program 24 years and was an active member of Bible Baptist Church in Wilmington.
Years ago, the ballpark in Blanchester was a thriving place. Legion Field, officially Veterans Memorial Park, was a hotbed for slow-pitch softball. Whitaker graduated Blanchester High School in 1963, served in the United States Air Force during Vietnam from 1964 to 1968 and was recipient of the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.
After putting on 50 pounds of muscle while in the military, Butch then put slow-pitch softball pitchers through the ringer with his rocket shots — either high-arcing or frozen ropes — over the left-field fence. Youngsters, and even Paul Kautz’s Labrador dogs, would chase the homerun balls and bring them back. Youth eyes grew large in anticipation when Whitaker came to the plate.
While his power was unmatched, he was a great all-around player. He always hit for high average, even when the ball remained in the playing field.
Whitaker may have been the only Clinton County product to play for the Cincinnati Suds, a professional softball team in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After going through triple bypass surgery at age 39, Whitaker slowed a bit but never stopped. He hit an over-the-fence homerun at age 70 in the Yesterday’s Kids League in Cincinnati.
Though self-taught, Whitaker gave all credit to his achievements during an interview for his induction into the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
“Our talent is God’s gift to us and what we do with that talent is our gift to Him,” he said. “All good things come from above and with that I would say I have been truly blessed.”
As have we for watching Whitaker all these years.
