Gene Thayer
Softball, Fastpitch-Mens (2008)
Hall of Fame Inductees
Softball (fastpitch) (1989)
Gene Thayer, born on May 18, 1933, in Anacortes, and he picked up the nickname "Chico" when he was still a child. His father listened to "The Cisco Kid" on the radio, and soon began using Cisco's nickname of "Chico" on his own son. That name stuck through his school years and beyond.
Chico began playing fastpitch at age 15, and while in left field became so fascinated with pitching that he and a friend would pitch to each other using a building as their backstop. A 1953 Lincoln High graduate, the 18-year-old Chico learned valuable lessons about covering bunts and fielding his position from an experienced pitcher, and those lessons served him well throughout his fastpitch career. With lots of work came steady improvement, and within a couple of years he was pitching for Mount Vernon Moose, the best team in that league.
In 1951, Chico moved to Tacoma and played for the Tacoma Moose team, which qualified for the state tournament in Walla Walla. He played for many teams including Tacoma Athletics, Mueller-Harkins Buick, Wood Realty, Spring Air Mattress, VFW, Puget Sound Bank, Manke & Sons, and B&I Sports. He participated in 29 regional tournaments and between those events and invitational tournaments he garnered nine MVP trophies. His longest single game pitching was 19 innings and his longest single day of pitching was five consecutive games. He pitched 37 innings and won all five games with a total of 54 strikeouts.
At the 1973 regional tournament he pitched five games, winning three of them. That season, Chico compiled an enviable 41-14 record, which included four no-hitters and one perfect game. His most memorable day came at the ASA regional tournament in Spokane where, pitching for Manke & Sons, he threw 17 shutout innings against mighty Pay n' Pak from Seattle. The tournament MVP, he helped Manke & Sons win the tournament and earn a trip to nationals.
While playing for Puget Sound Bank he received the Ralph Guynes Inspirational Award, only the fifth time it was presented in 26 years. The catcher for that team, and during his time with Manke & Sons, was Lloyd Glasoe, who like Chico was an Anacortes native.