A new lineup of nine will soon take its place in Rockville Centre Little League history.
This spring, the league will honor a diverse group of administrators, coaches and players as it welcomes its class of 2026 into the Hall of Fame during Opening Day festivities, celebrating decades of achievement and service to the game.
The inductees will include longtime administrator Mort Geller, championship coaches Ed Maher and Art Schnabel and standout former players Jack Finch, Chuck Kniffin, Matt Lemanczyk, Mike Lennon, Kenny Schnabel, and Jay Pette. Their accomplishments span more than four decades of local, regional and professional baseball success.
The induction ceremony will follow the annual Little League Parade and Opening Day events on April 18, as the league commemorates its 75th season.
Geller, who passed away in 2014, remains one of the longest-serving volunteers in league history. He spent 29 years in the organization, serving as vice president, secretary and commissioner. When he retired in 1985, the Mort Geller League, for 7- and 8-year-olds, was named in his honor.
“Mort Geller was a living legend,” said Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chairman Frank Keating, who was inducted as a coach last year. “He was the longest-serving volunteer until Rocky Seward and I stayed a little longer.”
The coaching inductees include Schnabel, manager of the 1967 state Babe Ruth League champions, and Maher, a coach of the 1993 Long Island Little League championship team. Art Schnabel, who passed away in 2015, also guided the 1966 Long Island Babe Ruth League champions and later served as vice president of the league, and Maher spent two years as league president.
The player inductees represent some of the most successful eras in league history. Pette, who passed away during the 1980s, according to Keating, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1955, and later spent four years in the Cincinnati Reds minor league system. Lemanczyk, a member of the 1993 and 1995 Long Island championship teams, played for four years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and Lennon was a key contributor on both title-winning squads.
Lemanczyk said that the phone call informing him of his induction came as a complete surprise. “I was kind of blindsided with excitement,” he said. “It’s a pretty awesome honor.”
Lemanczyk credited much of his baseball foundation to growing up around the game and learning from his father, former Major League pitcher Dave Lemanczyk, while still being allowed to develop independently.
“He was always supportive,” Lemanczyk said of his father. “He didn’t push us. He kind of let us make our own choices, and if we wanted to do something, he fostered it.”
Being inducted alongside longtime teammate Mike Lennon made the honor even more meaningful for Lemanczyk. “Mike Lennon is like a mythological creature from back in the day,” he said. “One of the best, most unstoppable athletes. In the biggest games, he was on top of his game.”
Lennon said that learning of his induction was both emotional and affirming. “I was very excited — excited and honored,” he said. “It was a great time of my life.”
One defining moment of Lennon’s Little League career came on July 29, 1993, when he delivered a standout performance against Oceanside to clinch the Long Island District title. He pitched a four-hit shutout and hit a home run, helping propel the team deeper into its championship run.
While many details have blended together over time, Lennon said that the feeling of those games remains vivid. “I used to pitch a lot of solid games,” he said. “I definitely hit a couple home runs.”
Finch was a three-time Long Island champion in 1963, 1966 and 1967, and Kniffin a two-time champion in 1963 and 1966. Kniffin went on to play for 10 years in the Philadelphia Phillies organization before beginning a lengthy coaching career. He eventually served as pitching coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks, working with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling during the 2002 season.
Kniffin said he was surprised when he received the call about his induction. “I was kind of shocked,” he said.
Many of Kniffin’s fondest memories center on Hickey Field and the support of his mother, Evelyn. “My mother was my biggest influence in baseball,” he said. “Any time I was playing or pitching, there she’d be in the stands with her cowbell ringing.”
Kenny Schnabel, a member of the 1966 and 1967 Long Island championship teams, was Finch’s teammate on the 1967 state Babe Ruth championship team.
With the addition of the class of 2026, the Hall of Fame now includes four father-son combinations: Phil Schifini Sr. and Phil Schifini Jr., Dick and John Klaess, Art and Kenny Schnabel and Joe and Jay Pette.
Keating reflected on the honorees he players he once watched.
“Mike and Matt were the core of both Long Island championship teams,” he said of Lennon and Lemanczyk, “and I coached Matt when he was 13 years old. The Pette brothers and cousins dominated the league from 1953 to 1960.”
