Hall of Fame Class of 2018
Steve Gomes
Steve has been involved in PSGSL since its inception and has contributed to the league in many different capacities. He served as the assistant commissioner for 5 years and is currently serving his second term as Open Division Director. Teams Steve has played on include Desert Nighthawks, Barracks, Desert Storm, Sax & Rax, Stingers and he has coached multiple teams as well. Off the field he has helped with community outreach, the pride float and booth, and served on different league committees. In addition to helping with new player clinics and skills clinics, Steve represented the PSGSL on the national level at NAGAAA meetings and played on numerous Worlds Series teams.
Stephen Lisante
Steve was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Palm Springs in 2004, when he retired from the U. S Treasury after 33 years of service. Part of his responsibilities at treasury included preparing the agency’s budget and monitoring spending. Steve has been involved with the PSGSL since 2006 as a scorekeeper and coach assistant for a number of teams including: Club W, Spurline, Sax and Rax, Swingers, Heartthrobs and Stingers. In addition to the scorekeeping, Steve developed and maintained team statistics, including individual statistics for each player and taught others to do the same. He has repped a coach and teams at league functions, participated in league Pride activities, helped audit the PSGSL accounts and much more. Steve was the secretary of the board from 2008-2013 and was the recipient of the Commissioner’s Award is 2013 & 2017. Steve lives in Cathedral City with his husband, Roger Donnelly they celebrating their 40th anniversary in June, 2018.
Ross Benson
Ross is a Minnesotan, Norwegian and most importantly, a Vikings fan. Ross joined NAGAAA in 1995 playing for a C team in the Twin Cities Gay Softball League before moving to a B team as player and manager. He played in the B division in Ft Lauderdale and moved to Palm Springs where he played and managed for the PS Winter Classic. He put together a team to play at Big League Dreams and to travel to the local gay tournaments that allowed teams not affiliated with a NAGAAA league. That team was the impetus for starting the Palm Springs Gay Softball League. Under the leadership of Tommie Douglas, Jim Hurst and others, PSGSL was formed and Ross managed one of the original four teams. In 2006 the league was granted acceptance into NAGAAA and our league was allowed into all NAGAAA tournaments and the World Series. Ross has continued to manage and play in the B & C divisions and has been with the Greyhounds C team since 2011. Ross was the commissioner of our league from 2014 until 2017, and has played on or managed 9 NAGAAA World Series Teams from Minneapolis, Ft Lauderdale and Palm Springs.
Vicki Oltean
Vicki has an interesting background. Her softball career started in 1970 during high school where she played 2nd base and the outfield. During college she played 2nd, 3rd and in the outfield. Her next stop was the army at Fort Benning, GA, where she ended her tour of duty as Sargeant Oltean. Her job was in the sports office where she ran leagues for the soldiers. Vicki moved to Palm Springs in the mid-80’s, played on a slow-pitch women’s team and continued her career in recreation. Vicki recently retired from the position of Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Palm Springs after 38 years of working for the city. Vicki managed and oversaw all the activities for 11 parks and 3 community centers. She has been coordinating and organizing softball tournaments for over 35 years. In 1993 she became part of the Senior Softball World Series Organization as a site director. In 1995 was promoted to tournament director and vice-president of the Board until 2010, when the organization dissolved. She was involved from 1994–2008 with the Southern California ASA, as the representative for Southern California Senior Softball. And in 2001, she was inducted into the Senior Softball Hall of Fame.
Jeff Herman
Jeff hails from Yorkville, IL, a small farming town outside of Chicago. Jeff is a vet and did his undergrad and veterinary training at the University of Illinois, Champagne. Jeff has been a member of NAGAAA for 19 years. He coaches, pitches and plays 1st and 2nd base on the Rounders 2.0 team. He has been the Rounders' player-coach for the entire 10 years the team has been together. Rounders has won 3 NAGAAA Worlds Series Championships (1 in the B division, 2 in the A division and they have also had 2 second place finishes). He coached Bloody Mary’s D team for 3 seasons, has been the league photographer, he was awarded the Commissioner’s Award in 2015 and has helped run skills clinics and rookie camps. Jeff was the co-founder and director of the PS Turkey Shootout Tournament, which is now in its 7th year and the tournament has raised over $25,000 for the PSGSL.