Hose Team Honors Longtime Owego Little League Volunteers

The Owego Hose Team “Garden Hoser” Tee Ball Team honored two longtime Owego Little League volunteers, Dick Franz and Jim Raftis, as “Honorary Managers” at their game at Hyde Park on Saturday, May 7.  

“Dick and Jim are the epitome of what we have come to call the greatest generation our country has to offer,” said Hose Team treasurer John Loftus, adding, “This small tribute for all they have done for Little League and Owego, with nearly 70 years of dedication, shows our young Tee Ball’ers what community service is all about.” 

Both Franz and Raftis have served Owego Little League as volunteers for several decades and are Senior Members of the League’s Executive Board.  Raftis, age 90, has been involved with Owego Little League since 1955. One of the fields at Hyde Park, Raftis Field, was named after his grandfather, Nick Raftis, who was a professional baseball player.  

Known as the “Voice of Owego,” he is a well-known former Owego radio personality.  

Franz, age 89, has also served Owego Little League since its early days in the 1950s, and has a field named after him that was dedicated in 1986. A Lifetime Member of Croton Hose Company #3 of the Owego Fire Department, Franz led Owego’s first Central New York Champion Hose Racing Team in 1959.    

Formed in 1952, Owego Little League provides the children of Owego and the surrounding area the opportunity to play baseball and softball for free. Hyde Park now consists of five fully enclosed fields, plus the Teener field on the Owego Free Academy grounds, dugouts, field house, two storage buildings, batting cage, tee cage, a pitching complex, two pavilions, and lighted fields. 

The strong community support over the years has given the Owego community an outstanding program for area youth thanks to tireless public servants like Dick Franz and Jim Raftis.  

This includes hosting the New York State 10U Little League Championship. The premier tournament for players 10 years of age brings top Little League teams and talent from around the state to the Village of Owego.