BJ Workhorse Passes Away

Long time Liberal BJ general manager and supporter Don Carlile passed away at his home in Topeka on Tuesday. The Liberal native was 82 years old. From 1955 to 1991, actively supported and worked tirelessly with the Liberal Bee Jays where he held numerous positions from chairman of the board to general manager. He recruited winning teams that made the BJ’s one of the top semi-pro teams in the nation. In 1984, he received the Jack Carlile Director of the Year Award which was named after his father. He was an active member of the American Baseball Coaches Association for over 30 years. The National Baseball Congress award him the first Raymond “Hap” Dumont Award for an individual during the summer of 1985. In 1993, Carlile formed the Topeka Capitals wit hthe assistance of former BJ Jim Callaway, then President of Southwestern Bell. His brother Bob has been Liberal’s general manager since 2008.

His funeral will be at Central Christian Church on Saturday and visitation will be at Miller Mortuary from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday evening.