Sharon McCumber - MCSHOF Inductee - 2008

Before her junior year at Mason County Eastern, Sharon Stickney was told she would be pitching when the softball season started. She was still chucking 30 years later. Success has followed Sharon, whose last name is now McCumber. Her Eastern high school team was the Class D state runner-up in 1977. She went to Oakland University where she played softball and volleyball for one year before transferring to Ferris State University where she was 33-15 with two no-hitters, 14 shutouts and an earned run average of 0.98. She still holds Ferris records for the most shutouts in a season (11), career ERA, single season ERA (0.56), fewest walks in a season (seven in 144.2 innings), consecutive scoreless innings (41) and most consecutive victories (8). She made the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team in all three of her years at Ferris and was one of two women voted into the Bulldog Hall of Fame charter class. Following college, Sharon played recreationally for 28 years. She pitched the Scottville Scotties to the 1982 Class C state championship, earning the Most Valuable Pitcher award in the state tournament. Her Metalworks team won the 1992 Class B state championship. Her teams also finished second in five state tournaments and third three times. McCumber has played in eight national tournaments and earned the Most Valuable Player award and first-team All-American honors in 1992 when Metalworks finished third in the Class C national tournament at Memphis, Tennessee. She was an All-American again in 1994 when Metalworks was second in the Class C national at College Station, Texas. She also played for State Savings Bank of Scottville, Sander’s Packers of Custer, Tuesday’s Restaurant of Scottville, Lansing Pro Bowl, Keith’s Sporting Goods of Ludington, Wyoming Whirlpool, Lansing Spirits and, most recently, C & W Distributing of Fountain. Is she a gamer? She went into labor with her first child at the ball park watching her team play. Seven weeks later she was pitching in the Class B state tournament. She was three months pregnant with her second child in 1987 while pitching in the Class A nationals. She is the first Mason County softball player, male or female, inducted into the Michigan Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in Midland.