It’s almost unbelievable how they do it, but every year the Sports Stag committee seemingly outdoes itself with the awesome guest speaker they are able to draw in for the annual Sports Stag, and it’ll be hard for them to follow up this year’s act.

On February 12, former Reds great Sean Casey will be making his return to Cincinnati as the guest speaker of Elder’s 39^th annual Sports Stag event.

The director of the event, Mr. Brian Bill, said that they have some very special connections that allowed to reel in the big catch for the stag,

“We had a couple of connections that helped us bring Sean in,” he said. “We have Bernie Stowe, the former Reds clubhouse manager, who is very involved with Elder, and remains great friends with him. J.P. Owens has also gotten to meet Sean a few times, so he was a factor in bringing him in.”

“Personally, I’m very excited for the event because Sean Casey is my favorite baseball player of all time,” Mr. Bill continued.

“Doors open at 5:30 this year, and dinner is served in the fieldhouse by 7:00. Tickets are $60 for food, drinks, and the general accessories that go along with the sports stag. For $135, you can attend the patron VIP cocktail party in the Schaeper Center hosted by Mr. Otten.”

The appearance of Casey continues a long line of big names that have been honored as the stag speaker. Last year UC head coach Tommy Tuberville spoke at the event, and speakers in previous years include Joe Morgan, Dan Patrick, Ken Anderson, and Marty Brennamen, among many others.

In his 12 years in major league baseball, including 8 with the Reds, Casey compiled a .302 lifetime batting average, with 1531 hits, 130 home runs and 735 RBIS’s, as well as making the All-Star team three times, all during his tenure with the Reds.

Throughout his career, he was known as being one of the nicest and friendliest players around, being a two-time recipient of the Joe Nuxhall Good Guy Award twice while with the Reds, as well as the Red Sox Good Guy Award in his lone season in Boston.

After retiring from playing in 2008, Casey took a TV job with the MLB Network, broadcasting games and providing insightful commentary to viewers. He is also lucky enough to work with his former teammate Barry Larkin, another one of the all-time great players to put on a Reds uniform.

Casey will be speaking in honor of the three men being recognized for their athletic achievements during their time at Elder. Three of Elder’s wrestling state champions (Dave Shuler, Tommy Pretty, and Orlando Scales) will be the recipients of honor that night.

Shuler was Elder’s first state wrestling champion in 1973 at 155 lbs.

Pretty is third on Elder’s all time wins list at 128-23, with his 64 career pins being second in school history to only the third wrestler being honored that night.

Scales holds Elder’s all time pins record with a total of 91 in only three seasons, to go along with a 122-9 school record. He recently came back to Elder this year to be a part of the coaching staff after finishing his collegiate career for the Notre Dame College Falcons.

To go along with the special guest speaker, the committee was also able to bring back Dennis Janson ’68 to be the emcee for the night.

A well-known journalist for WCPO-TV, Janson has been the emcee for twenty one out of the event’s thirty nine years in existence. After so many years he knows how to give his guests a great time, and surely will give a great performance this year.
After being traded to Pittsburgh in 2005, many Reds fans were hoping and praying for the chance to see Casey play in a Reds uniform again before he retired. With those dreams never coming to fruition, this event is a great chance to properly send off the Mayor of Cincinnati like he deserves for the years of hard work and community service he gave back to his city.

Be sure to stay updated on elderhsquill.org for an upcoming interview with Sean Casey himself!