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Barone Honored For Impact On Youth

George L. Barone

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the biography of George L. Barone Jr., one of 11 inductees in the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.

Other inductees are Sarah M. (Bogardus) Burnett, Andrew J. Creager, Christina M. Kebort, Michael A. Sirianni, Lewis G. Mack, Marc T. Tramuta, Randall G. Anderson, Harry G. Carlson, Larry E. Rodgers and Richard P. Shearman.

These eleven individuals will be formally inducted at the CSHOF’s 40th annual Induction Banquet on Monday, Feb. 21 at the Lakewood Rod & Gun Club.

Tickets are now available at the CSHOF (15 W. Third St., Jamestown), by calling Chip Johnson, banquet chairman, at 716-485-6991 or online at https://www.chautauquasportshalloffame.org/about.php#banquet.

It’s hard to find a man who loved baseball and youth more than Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductee George L. Barone Jr. By his count, he coached 2,291 games and 1,473 players over 64 years.

Barone was born in 1942 and was a lifelong resident of the area. He was a 1962 graduate of Southwestern Central School where he played on the baseball team. He also attended Jamestown Community College.

Barone began his coaching odyssey as a 13-year-old assistant in the former Cub League in Lakewood.

He subsequently managed Lakewood 3, Lakewood Indians and Lakewood Cardinals in the Lion League. The Cardinals had a 52-game win streak under Barone.

He managed in the Southwestern area for 33 years. Among his teams were the Southwestern Expos in the East Lake 13-15 Babe Ruth League. He also led the East Lake Babe Ruth All-Star teams on many occasions and served as president of the East Lake Babe Ruth league.

During his 31 years as part of the Jamestown Babe Ruth League, he managed TRW, Thule Lodge, Vikings, Hills and Jock Shop as well as multiple 13-, 14- and 15-year-old all-star squads.

He served as a vice president in the Jamestown BR League, too.

In the Chautauqua County Babe Ruth League, he mentored the 16-18-year-old Lakewood Sox, the Chautauqua County 16-18 All-Stars and the Chautauqua County Travel Team. A major highlight was to lead the Chautauqua County entry in the 1984 16-18 Babe Ruth World Series at College Stadium.

All told, he won eight District Babe Ruth titles, four New York State Babe Ruth titles and went to the regionals twice.

In the recent past, Barone was the organizer and manager of the Chautauqua County Travelers 15-18 team that competed at Winter Haven and Orlando, Florida, as well as Fullerton, California, among other sites. He also spent time with a Cal Ripken League 11-12 team.

Other coaching and managerial stops for Barone were at Southwestern Central High School, Jamestown Community College, the Ohio-Pennsylvania Fall Baseball League and the Chautauqua County Men’s Baseball League. He coached female ballplayers with the Southwestern Central School softball team and in the Southwestern Area Girls Hardball League.

Barone was founder of Busti-Lakewood Youth Center and chairman of the LaGrega Baseball Field project in Lakewood. He held leadership positions in the Lake Shore Midget Football League, the Busti-Lakewood Recreation Commission, the Lake Shore Small-Fry Basketball League, the Southwestern Trojans Sports Boosters and the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.

On Jan. 17, 2004, former players, parents and colleagues organized “A Night of Memories,” honoring Barone for his years of dedication to youth.

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