Photo by Jim Tate Steve Fleck, front left, and Blaine Schnaible, front right, were inducted into the Marshall Baseball Association Hall of Fame during pre-game ceremonies Sunday evening. The two have been instrumental with establishing Marshall baseball in the region, and across the state, and are shown with family members, MBA board members and Hall of Fame sponsors.

MARSHALL — Two individuals who played important roles in building the Marshall baseball program into one of the state’s best were honored Sunday evening with induction into the Marshall Baseball Hall of Fame.

Steve Fleck and Blaine Schnaible became the 20th and 21st members of this select group during a pre-game ceremony prior to the Marshall A’s vs. Bird Island Bullfrogs amateur game.

Steve Fleck

Fleck is a sixth-grade science and physical education teacher in the Waconia school district, where he’s been for the past 13 years. He is an SMSU graduate who spent 20 years in Marshall before moving to Waconia. He was at Holy Redeemer four years, and spent the rest of his time teaching and coaching at Parkside and the Middle School.

“I went to school to be a teacher and I’ve always loved working with kids. To be able to do that, with the game of baseball and with great friends, is a blessing.”

Fleck and his wife Cindy are the parents of two adult children, Macrae and Easton.

He is credited with being on the ground floor in founding of the Marshall Area Youth Baseball Association (MAYBA). “When I was at Holy Redeemer I worked with Community Education and their baseball teams. They had dads running things. I started doing seventh- and eighth-grade baseball at Holy Redeemer and our teams had some success, and I guess that was noticed. I was approached by some of those guys — Harry Weilage, Russ Snow, Dale Erickson, Jim Culhane — and that’s how it started. There were in-house teams and traveling teams and I’d coach them the same, it didn’t matter. It evolved over the years and we hired SMSU (players) to help coach, and many of them have gone on to do amazing things as high school and college coaches. The kids benefitted from that.”

Fleck came from baseball-rich Regal and played with that town’s amateur team for 16 years, driving the hour and 45 minutes for their games.

“I did that until Cindy got tired of my driving back and forth,” he quipped.

His Regal team won the Class C state title in 1991 and was runner-up in 1997.

He’s humbled by being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“All I wanted to do is teach kids, do it with friends and have fun. A lot of people die before they find out they are appreciated, and to be here today is a neat thing. I’m grateful and humbled.”

Blaine Schnaible

Schnaible is an Adrian native who was drawn naturally to athletics. His father, Dean, was the head baseball and basketball coach there for years.

“Dad introduced me to athletics and I had a ball of some kind of my hands all the time, depending on the season,” he said.

Schnaible is an SMSU alumnus and has been teaching in the Marshall school district for 26 years. He’s currently a sixth-grade physical education and health teacher. Prior to Marshall, he was a teacher, athletic director and coach in the Lakeview school district (Cottonwood) for four years.

He had two stints playing for the Marshall A’s, for a total of eight years.

Schnaible was a long-time assistant coach for the Tigers baseball program. He was the C squad coach, then moved to the B squad and was the head coach for two years. “Then Chace Pollock took over and I was his assistant for eight years,” he said.

Like Fleck, Schnaible was on the ground floor with the formation of MAYBA.

“I remember the interview process with Russ Sanow, I was a coach but not a director,” he said.

Schnaible goes about his business under the radar, and building the Marshall program into one that’s respected state-wide is something he’s proud of. He’s watched, and was a part of, its maturation over the years, and is happy where it sits today.

“I believe Marshall baseball has a strong reputation in this area, and state-wide. Teams are appreciative of how Marshall hosts tournaments, and they’ve seen our teams play the game the right way. And, Marshall is a team others want to play, at all levels. That’s special, and something to be proud of.

“Marshall baseball has a strong tradition and so many people have been involved in making it what it is today. To be a part of that, to be recognized as a contributor, is definitely and honor. So many people have their fingerprints on Marshall baseball, and to be honored like this is special.”

Schnaible and his wife, Deb, are the parents of three children: Bryanna Geary, Mason, and Mia.