Batesville Native Among Inductees To IHSBCA Hall Of Fame

By Travis Thayer (Batesville, Ind.) - A local man with ties to Batesville and East Central high schools can soon call himself a Hall of Famer. The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association announced the inductees of their Hall of Fame Class of 2017 on Wednesday. Batesville native Paul Ehrman was selected as the Veterans’ Committee choice to join four others as the newest members of IHSBCA Hall of Fame. Following his graduation from Ball State University in 1967, Ehrman began teaching and coaching at Taylor High School in Kokomo, Indiana. He would then make a stop at Delphi before coming to Batesville in 1973. Ehrman’s stint at Batesville High School lasted until 1978 when he left to become the athletic director at East Central High School, a position he held until 1987. Aside from teaching and coaching, Ehrman spent 41 years umpiring for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and a number of colleges between 1964 and 2004. Ehrman’s career accomplishments as an umpire include 40 baseball sectionals, 22 regionals, 12 semi-states and seven state finals – one of which featured future MLB great Don Mattingly. He was also named the District Umpire of the Year on several occasions. The IHSBCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Friday, January 20, 2017 at the Sheraton at Keystone at the Crossing in Indianapolis. Tickets are available by contacting Hall of Fame banquet chairman Gary O’Neal at (812) 273-3964 or IHSBCA executive director Brian Abbott at (26) 358-7310. For more information, visit www.ihsbca.org.