Nevitt, Dewayne

Dewayne Nevitt from Brandenburg, KY must have known he was going to live a relatively short life because in his 49 years on this earth he truly lived, loved, and played life to its penultimate fullest. His true love, Linda, was always at the ballparks, and she could be seen and heard from the hills of the Smoky Mountain Classic in Maryville, TN to the arches of St. Louis, MO to the coast of California at Concord. Besides his wife, Linda, Dewayne's other family loves were his four boys, Chaz, Jeremy, Branden, and Derrick, who watched, cheered, and later played the same sport their Dad enjoyed so much and his grand babies, Olivia, Charlee Rae, and Noah.

There were no diamonds, ballparks, fences, or stadiums large enough or far enough away to keep Nevitt from dominating with his quicker than quick wrists which scared the bejesus out of not only the opposing pitchers but the infielders as well. These pitchers and infielders were not of your church variety, rather they were the best of the best from the highest level of softball- the Super level. You could see a sigh of relief accompanied by a simple "WOW" when Dewayne's line drives barely cleared the infielders and outfielders heads yet landed well beyond all overmatched fences.

It was evident early on that this country boy from rural Meade County, Kentucky was destined for greatness as he, in his early 20's, was not merely an all-tournament selection at the 1989 NSA Regionals in Cincinnati, he was the batting leader, home run champ, and MVP for his first competitive softball squad, Jim Dandy's, locally based out of Brandenburg, KY.

From Jim Dandy's, he graduated in one year to the "A" and Major ranks for Wildcat Fence of Louisville. Wildcat Fence won their share of Kentucky classics in 1990 and 1991 with Nevitt in the cleanup spot, and they finished 2nd at the NSA "A" World where Nevitt deposited ball after ball into Expressway Park's parking lot to earn his 2nd Major home run title. Those two years were the last he would see in the Majors and the Super class was next where he feasted from 1992 through 2002- a decade of unparalleled success on the softball field. His first Super class team was Starpath of Monticello, KY followed by Vernon's of Florida, Converters, Shen Valley, and Ritch's Superior from the Carolinas, and then Team TPS, a Louisville sponsored team which included national all stars from around the country. Finally, stints with R&D Easton of Columbus, Ohio and Dan Smith of California ended his Super career; but, not until he amassed numbers that have never been seen by Kentuckians such as 13 World championships on the highest level plus 34 All-National and World selections. He walloped his way to 20 national home run titles including USSSA NITs and Worlds, ASA Super qualifiers and nationals, plus ISA and NSA titles. Add another 10 national and world MVP's including the prestigious Smoky Mountain Classic with Ritch's in 1997, and you have a softball resume that nobody could have imagined in many lifetimes much less just one that was cut off too early this past winter (2015) during Kentucky's record breaking snowstorm.

The only thing that could have topped Dewayne Nevitt's lifetime of softball achievements would have been for him to have been able to be here to accept this Kentucky Softball Hall of Fame award, but like the old adage says, "He is gone, but he and his records will never be forgotten."