Casey Pohl

April 25, 1983 - May 30, 2003

"Once a Traveler, always a Traveler." For years, that has been the motto of many Palatine Travelers players and their families. For Casey Pohl, baseball was a way of life. His baseball career began at age 6 when he played T-ball, then Future Stars and Mustangs with the Palatine Youth Baseball organization. Casey first played travel baseball as a 10 year-old under Coach Dennis Emmer. At age 11, Casey played for Coach Tim Storm whose team that year recorded 93 wins with only 16 losses. Casey posted a pitching record of 23W 2L with 176 strikeouts in 124 innings. One of the highlights of the season for Coach Storm and his team was winning the Buffalo Grove Tournament for the first time. Casey pitched the winning game and was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates.

As a 12 year-old, Casey was a member of Coach Tom Matsie's record-setting squad. With a 170-19-2 record, this team traveled as far as Casper, Wyoming where they represented the State of Illinois in the Hap Dumont National Baseball Congress World Series. Competing against teams from 20 states, Palatine finished in second place. To this day, among all of Coach Matsie's 12 year-old teams, Casey holds the record with 68 pitching appearances resulting in a record of 24 wins and 2 losses. At 13 years old, Casey enjoyed playing for Coach Mike Krask and then as a 14 year-old for Coach Marshall Erickson, completing his career as a Palatine Traveler. Casey then went on to play summer league travel ball for the Fox Valley Hurricanes and the Illinois Dodgers who played in the National AAU tournament held in Cleveland, OH.

Casey attended Fremd High School where he played varsity baseball for Coach Paul Belo whose 2000 team took fourth-place in the IHSA tournament. During his senior year at Fremd Casey was diagnosed with cancer and was not able to continue playing baseball. As a show of support his Fremd teammates and coaches shaved their heads, knowing that Casey would lose his hair as a side affect of the chemotherapy treatments he was receiving. On May 30, 2003, Casey lost his valiant two-and-a-half-year battle to cancer. He will be remembered for his sportsmanship, his love of baseball, and the laughter and energy he brought to his teammates. His Palatine Youth Baseball and Palatine Travelers families will miss Casey.

Thank-you for participating in the Casey Pohl Memorial Tournament.