LEITNER, Harold G.

Leitner, Harold G. "Harry"(Dubuque, IA, Jan. 22, 1939--Dubuque, IA, September 23, 2019). The son of Harold and Mary (Roepsch) Leitner, Harry was well-known to the baseball community of Dubuque. In 1959 he took over the Holy Trinity Tigers program of the old Holy Name league and won 320 games while collecting countless championship trophies in more than two decades. Despite his competitiveness, however, he never hesitated to help any young ballplayer--even those from rival parishes--find an opportunity to play the game he loved so dearly.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Harry bought Major League baseball players like Bill Buckner an Bill Matlock home to join the family in lasagna dinners before taking them to the Terrance Hall in the Trinity church basement for Las Vegas-style nights that funded the parish baseball programs for the following year.

Harry's impact on the game, which included a tenure as the Holy Name League treasurer and a brief spell as a coach at LORAS COLLEGE in the 1980s, earned him a rightful spot in the DUBUQUE COUNTY BASEBALL HALL OF FAME in 1998. His son, James LEITNER joined him in the Hall in 2019.

With his size, white beard, and a red suit, Harry made a convincing Santa Claus for many families each Christmas. He went further, though, by watching to see if any Loras baseball player was battling cancer and supporting the family miles away. At other times of the year, he lightened up a gathering with a wig an a Tina Turner impersonation, a joke, or just an infectious smile.

---

Source:

Leitner, Jim, "A True Champion off the Field, Too," Telegraph Herald, September 25, 2019, p. 1B