League: Chippewa River Baseball League

Primary League

Jon Huth

Pitcher
Eau Claire Bears 2005-13

During a highly accomplished amateur baseball career that encompassed over 30 seasons across five decades, Jon Huth spent nine of those seasons with the Eau Claire Bears, securing his place as one of the truly elite power pitchers in CRBL history.

A former professional pitcher, Huth was a 31st round draft pick of the Texas Rangers, spending a season in rookie ball with the Rangers in his draft year of 1988 and then a season at the mid-A level with the Kansas City Royals in 1989.

The flame throwing righty’s professional experience was bookended by an 11-season career (1987-1997) for the Eau Claire Cavaliers within an era of national prominence for that respected organization. While toeing the slab for the Cavaliers, Jon notched a won-loss record of 44 and 13 (.772 win pct.) while also securing 13 saves.

After pitching for several amateur teams around the upper Midwest in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Huth debuted with the Eau Claire Bears in 2005 at the age of 37. With the addition of the Big Righty, Eau Claire quickly rose to an unmatched levels of competiveness and success. Over the duration of Jon’s nine CRBL seasons, the Bears won six consecutive South Divisions (2005 to 2010), four CRBL crowns (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009), and two WBA titles (2005 and 2009).

In Eau Claire’s 17 to 2 dispatching of Tilden in the 2005 CRBL championship, Huth was named game MVP. In his 7 innings as the starting and winning pitcher, Jon allowed just one unearned run while striking out 8, scattering 8 hits, and walking not one batter.

As of 2021, Jon is one of only eight pitchers to twirl multiple no-hitters, with his “no-no’s” occurring in back-to-back seasons: 2007 vs. the Whitehall Wolves in an 11-0, 6-inning Bear’s victory and then again in 2008 during a 10-0, 5-inning win vs. the Jim Falls Sturgeons.

The dominant stuff possessed by the Bears’ righty is further exhibited in his CRBL season leading totals. In three campaigns, Jon was the league’s ERA leader, pacing the circuit in 2005 (2.20 ERA, 11 ER/45 IP), 2009 (0.45 ERA, 1 ER/20 IP), and 2012 (0.73 ERA, 2 ER/24.2 IP). He also had two seasons with the highest winning percentage of 1.000 (5 and 0 in both 2006 and 2008), as well as two years with the most shutouts – 2006 (tied for the league lead with 2) and 2007 (alone in the top spot with 2).

A participant in two All-Star games (2007 and 2009), Huth was named All-CRBL pitcher in four consecutive campaigns: 2005 (unanimously), 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Upon induction, The Great Bear reigns as the CRBL’s all-time ERA king. Huth is also ranked highly in shutouts (tied for 9th), winning percentage (10th), K/9 IP (19th), and wins (45th).

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Ryan Page

Ryan was born and raised in Eau Claire. He grew up in Eau Claire playing baseball at the Little League, Babe Ruth and American Legion Levels. He is a graduate of Eau Claire North High School and played baseball all four years and attended the University of Dubuque where he played baseball for one year. He was a baseball coach for thirteen years at Eau Claire Memorial High School. He has been with the Eau Claire Cavaliers for the past 11 seasons as a player/coach.

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Ray Mcllquham

Catcher
Lafayette 1946; Lafayette Badgers 1948; Lafayette Giants 1949-50; Hamilton Chevrolets 1955-56; Lake Hallie Lakers 1957; Chippewa Falls Triangle Sports 1958; Seymour 1959; Cadott Red Sox 1961

Umpire 1962-1984

During a league career that spanned nearly forty years and touched five different decades, Ray McIlquham carved out his place in CRBL lore, first as a solid catcher for 10 seasons and then during a commendable 23 season run as a league umpire.

Breaking in to the Chippewa County League in 1946 with the Lafayette team, Ray played 10 seasons as a backstop for eight different teams, with his last year of competition coming with the Cadott Red Sox in 1961.

As a member of the successful Hamilton Chevrolets of Chippewa Falls during the 1950’s, Ray was a part-time player for the 1955 Chevrolet crew that went 11 and 1, securing the North Division before beating the Lake Hallie Lakers 12 to 9 in the C.V.L. championship game. The 1955 “Chevs” would go on to win their opening WBA contest before being eliminated. McIlquham’s other title experience came in 1959 when as a full-time player, he hit .318 (14 for 44) for the 10 and 2 Seymour club, as they claimed the South Division (there was no C.V.L championship in 1959) and qualified for the WBA tournament.

Playing well before the advent of All-CRBL recognition, Ray appeared in two All-Star games (1957 and 1959) and hit over .300 in three seasons (1948, 1958, 1959) with a high of .333 in 1958 (14 for 42).

Hanging up his spikes after 1961, McIlquham became a Chippewa Valley League umpire in 1962. Respected and well-liked by players, he admirably served in that capacity for 23 seasons, bridging an era that saw the 1968 evolution of the Chippewa Valley League in to the current day moniker of the Chippewa River Baseball League.

When Ray’s last year calling balls and strikes came in 1984, it concluded one of the longest tenures of involvement by any individual throughout the league’s storied existence. With his induction, McIlquham officially takes his place as one of the immortal legends in Chippewa River Baseball League history.