Locals To Enter Golf Hall Of Fame

OCEAN CITY- The Eastern Shore Golf Hall of Fame will hosts its 8th annual induction ceremony next weekend and the impressive list of inductees this year includes some familiar faces around the resort area.

Started eight years ago by Eastern Shore Golf Magazine honors those who have spend 20-years plus to golf on the shore in various capacities. Nominees are sent in to and reviewed by a committee chaired by Ocean City Golf Club PGA professional Buddy Sass.

This year’s Hall of Fame induction class includes some heavyweights from all over the shore including a handful who have made the mark on golf in and around the resort area. Headlining the list this year is former Stephen Decatur varsity golf coach Jim Krall, local and regional golf television producer and host Bobby Vermillion and original Greene Turtle owner and philanthropist Steve Pappas. Other inductees this year include Bill Horney III, Bob Crowther, Mike Hall and Andre Jordan.

While the event honors the inductees for their contributions to golf in the area, perhaps even more important are its charitable elements. Each year, Eastern Shore Golf Magazine and the Hall of Fame give a $2,000 scholarship to the PGA golf management program at UMES.

Over the years, the event has donated over $25,000 to the program, which goes to minorities chasing their dreams of becoming PGA professionals. The following is a brief look at some of this year’s inductees with local connections:

Jim Krall

krallJim Krall has been a teacher at Stephen Decatur High School for 24 years. He took over the golf program in 1998 and coached for 20 years, ending after the 2017 season. His teams and players qualified for the state tournament in all 20 seasons he coached the program.

Krall was named Bayside South Coach of the Year seven times and during his tenure his teams collected 110 first-place finishes, 90 second-place finishes and four third-place finishes. Under his watch, Decatur won eight Bayside South titles, seven Bayside Conference titles and seven District VIII titles. Numerous players who came up under Krall’s tutelage went on the play at the next level in college.

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Bobby Vermillion

vrmillionBobby Vermillion has produced and hosted golf television programs Resort Golf Guide and Endless Golf for over 25 years. The regional programming highlights golf in and around the Ocean City area and across the Eastern Shore.

Over the last 25 years, Vermillion has largely become the face of golf on the Eastern Shore and his regional television programs are credited with helping to put golf on the shore and in the Ocean City area on the map during its growth spurt over the last two decades or more. In 2000, Vermillion was honored with the Sports Media of the Year Award by PGA-Mid-Atlantic.

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Steve Pappas

pappasSteve Pappas and his longtime partner Tommy Dickerson took over the original Greene Turtle in 1981 and the Ocean City staple has expanded rapidly over the years. Pappas and the original owners began franchising the Greene Turtle a few years back and there are now 48 locations in six states and Washington, D.C.

Pappas’ entry into the Eastern Shore Golf Hall of Fame has less to do with the success of his businesses and more to do with his generous spirit and philanthropy. Over the years, Pappas and the Greene Turtle has donated to thousands of charity golf tournaments in the area and sponsored countless others. If there is a charity golf tournament somewhere around the resort area, the chances are good Pappas’ fingerprints are on it somehow.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.