PHILIPSBURG — Keno Beezer was a baseball and community legend for generations of Philipsburg residents, serving as a dedicated scout for the Major League Scouting Bureau for 35 years and as a long-time Moshannon Valley YMCA Director.
That community has been in mourning after hearing of Beezer’s passing at 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 8.
Beezer will be remembered for many things, including his impact in promoting players from P-O and other local schools.
He was so happy when P-O grads Brian Pelka (Pittsburgh Pirates), Justin Hazelton (Detroit Tigers), Craig Petulla (Texas Rangers), Adam White (Cleveland Indians) and Matt Adams (St. Louis Cardinals) were drafted.
“It felt like it was an end of an era,” said Pelka, who was drafted after his first year at Allegany Community College in Maryland in 1991 but didn’t sign with the Pirates until the next year.
“It’s hard to believe sometimes it lasted as long as it did. Here I am in my 50s and I’d still see Keno from time to time and it brought back so many memories from the 80s, 90s as a kid who grew up in the old YMCA and a local ball player who aspired to take it to the next level.”
Beezer was known for his generosity toward others despite not having much money of his own, especially to Pelka on the night he was drafted.
“I was able to get down to the Y that night,” Pelka said. “A bunch of us used to hang out down there. He was so proud he gave me a 100 dollar bill and he said ‘Go buy as much Hi-Way Pizza as you can for everybody.’ He just appreciated the Philipsburg baseball history. He was just beaming.
“I can’t remember how many pieces of Hi-Way 100 bucks bought, but it took a few of us to carry all those boxes. He had a little extra pep that night.”
When P-O grad Matt Adams was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and made the Major League team in an ESPN-televised game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012, Beezer was thrilled.
“This is great,” Beezer told the Altoona Mirror that night. “They were announcing in churches he didn’t even go to that he got called up. He worked hard and has great hand-eye coordination. The family did a great job supporting him.”
Beezer was instrumental in getting those players and many others in the spotlight, taking them to tryout camps, hosting tryouts and getting their names out to the baseball world.
That included his relationship with college coaches. There was a pipeline he created between P-O and Allegany Community College.
Beezer was no slouch as a coach himself. He was the head coach of the 1976 Philipsburg Teener League all-star team that won the state title. He also coached the Philipsburg American Legion team for four years.
Beezer was elected to the Clearfield County Sports Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania American Legion Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2021, he was elected to the Centre County Sports Hall of Fame.
“I think the thing with Keno is he did a lot of things, but he didn’t try to advertise it,” Pelka said. “He didn’t want recognition. He just wanted to do the right thing.”
Keno’s supporters were just as proud of him. The batting cages behind the Y were named the William “Keno” Beezer Baseball Complex. Above the entrance to the weight room is a photo of him.
An annual wiffle ball tournament in Philipsburg is named after Keno, who had thrown out the first pitch at the event. Proceeds from the tournament benefited the Philipsburg Osceola Education Foundation.
“Keno was proud, humbled and happy to be a part of it and let us use his name,” said Pelka, who is the Philipsburg-Osceola Middle School principal.
So many stories of Beezer’s baseball life, kindness and generosity flowed like water on Facebook after his good friend and unofficial caregiver Faith Maguire broke the news that his earthly life was nearing an end and after he passed at the age of 86 at 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 8.
“He was the closest thing to an earth angel I could possibly imagine,” Maguire said. “He was selfless. He never worried about money. He always gave his money away to kids. He didn’t have two nickels to rub together the whole time I knew him.
“I know when the YMCA was struggling he wouldn’t take a paycheck for weeks and months at a time. He was one of God’s special people.”
More stories were told when a well-attended celebration of life was held on Oct. 18 on the basketball court within the Moshannon Valley YMCA.
When he retired from the YMCA Beezer was also as friendly as ever with anybody he saw. It was also evident how much Beezer, who was single with no kids, was still loved by many.
When his health declined after falls, Maguire started a GoFundMe on Facebook in 2019 to raise money for Beezer and upkeep of his home. Many contributed to it and helped at his home.
“It was the greatest thing ever for him,” Maguire said. “We cried every day reading different letters that people sent. Everyone loved Keno.”
