Hall of Fame
One of the West Virginia Conference’s most dominant pitchers, Jim LeMasters was an All-American ace who followed up his record-setting run at West Liberty with a multi-year pro career. The Wheeling, W.Va. native came to the hilltop in 1984 as the West Virginia American Legion Player of the Year after leading Wheeling Post 1 to its third straight state title. The hard-throwing righthander picked up where he left off with Coach Bo McConnaughy's diamond powerhouse, capping his stellar career by leading the Hilltoppers to the 1986 WVIAC championship.
LeMasters set school records for wins (11), complete games (12) and innings pitched (95.1) that season. The WVIAC and NAIA Area 7 Pitcher of the Year, he became only the second first-team NAIA All-American in West Liberty history.
He was a 10th-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves and spent six seasons in professional baseball, rising as high as the Class AAA level with the Braves and Kansas City Royals organizations before returning to the Ohio Valley to begin a lengthy career with United Electric of Wheeling.
