In the first four years baseball was a league sport in the North Egypt Conference, the Salem Wildcats won the title every year.

The 1954 squad began that streak of dominance and as a result earned selection to the Salem Community High School Sports Hall of Fame.

The 1954 Wildcats, coached by Sam Bliss, were one of the most successful squads in school history. They went 15-3 overall and won the NEC title with a 10-2 record.

Salem had an awesome lineup that produced seven victories by 10 runs or more. The Wildcats needed to win their final six conference games in order to win the title and outscored those opponents by a combined score of 66-5. That included a 22-0 win over Bridgeport in the regular season finale which clinched the league crown.

The team also had a strong pitching staff anchored by Hall of Farner Jerry Mercer and John Gillmore. The duo combined on a no-hitter in an 8-0 win over Lawrenceville.

One of the few disappointments the team suffered came when it lost the district championship game 3-2 against Mt. Vernon, a club it had beaten 5-0 in the regular season.

While many contributed to the team’s success, the regulars consisted of Garry Pratt at catcher, Jack Clutter at first base, Jim Martin at second base, Don Guymon at shortstop, Bob Martin at third base, Phil Jones in leftfield, Jerry Forrester in centerfield and Fred Gain in rightfield.

The 1954 Wildcats became the first baseball team to be inducted into the SCHS Hall of Fame.