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People > Notable Norkans > Harvey Sterkel

Harvey Sterkel

Harvey Sterkel appeared at his first American Softball Association (ASA) national championship at age 16 and, in the years that followed, established himself as one of the greatest fastpitch hurlers of all time.

Harvey's grandparents, Johannes Sterkel and Anna Margaretha Kern, arrived in New York on December 8, 1899, after emigrating from Norka, Russia. Their second child, Henry, was just 11 months old. Henry married Pauline Mohr, and their oldest child, Henry (Harvey) Peter Sterkel, was born in Denver on May 19, 1934. Harvey attended Denver North High School and Aurora (Illinois) College.

Interviewed by the Denver Post in 2009, Sterkel stated:
"I grew up in Globeville and in those days that was at the edge of town. I played in the Oldtimers Baseball League, but really all we needed was a ball, bat and a glove and a few of us to get together, and we'd make up our own games."
Picture
Playing for Sealmaster Bearings of Aurora, Illinois, Sterkel twice hurled the Sealmasters to International Softball Federation (ISF) World championships in 1966 and 1968 and was undefeated (7-0) in ISF World competition.


During his 21 years as an active player in Aurora, he was the most dominant pitcher of his time, earning international acclaim. Between 1956 and 1969, Sterkel won 345 games and lost only 33. He hurled 2,599 innings, walked 415 batters, and struck out 5,212. He threw 60 no-hitters and 15 perfect games, and his Earned Run Average (ERA) was 0.34. Between 1965 and 1968, he won 52 games in a row. Sterkel helped Aurora win four ASA national fast pitch championships. He compiled a 43-24 record in 22 ASA national championships and earned ASA All-America honors eight times. Twice (1956 and 1959), he was the MVP in the Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship. In the 1959 national, Sterkel lived up to his nickname “The Horse” by winning eight of nine games to pitch the Sealmasters to their first national title.

Sterkel's pitching was a picture of controlled power and grace, and he had tremendous control. He pitched any place, anytime, against any team with never a complaint, and he did it at times with an arm so sore that a less of a man would have thrown in the towel. Not Sterkel, who was respected for his abilities as a world-class athlete and a world-class human.


After retiring as an active player in 1977, Sterkel continued to stay involved by giving numerous clinics or helping the Aurora fast-pitch team where necessary.

Sterkel was inducted into the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in 1981 and the ISF Hall of Fame in November 2002.

On June 10, 2014, Harvey Sterkel Field was dedicated in Aurora, Illinois. 

Sources

Krieger, Jerry. "Harvey Sterkel, legendary pitcher and member of the International Softball Hall of Fame." Norka Newsletter, Autumn 2003.

Amateur Softball Association website (January 2015)

International Softball Federation website (January 2015)

"Sterkel relishes Colorado's summer days of softball" Denver Post, November 17, 2009

"'Harvey Sterkel Field' coming to Aurora"  Daily Herald (Aurora, IL), June 4, 2014
Last updated December 10, 2023
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Reviews
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  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links