Inductee #9 (2005)
	11 Les Sutton | P Hometown: Laverne, OK School: Laverne High School Played from 1969-72 College: Kansas State Notes: Owns record for IP (139), second in strikeouts (214). Drafted by Astros out of high school and played at Kansas State.

The ninth inductee into the Traveler Hall of Fame was statistically the program's most experienced pitcher of all-time.

Les Sutton of Laverne High School logged more innings on the mound than any other Traveler pitcher in history. He was a 6-foot lefthander that played four summers in Woodward, from 1969-72.

Sutton was the hardest throwing pitcher the program had in the early years. His fastball flirted with 90-mph and he quickly joined with fellow Hall of Famer and Laverne teammate Lee McLaurine to anchor the pitching staff at the age of 16 in 1969.

He and McLaurine were two of the key players that helped establish the Traveler program as a state and regional power in the early 70s. The team averaged 35 wins in its first five seasons (1964-68) before Sutton arrived. In his four years on the team, the average win total jumped to 60.

In his best season -- the summer of 1971 -- Les won 14 games and set the all-time record for most innings pitched (139) and most strikeouts (214). The innings record still holds firm today and it very well could prove to be an unbreakable mark, considering there hasn't been a Traveler pitcher log more than 100 innings since the 1998 season.

The strikeout record was eclipsed seven years later when Don Carman struck out 233 batters.

Sutton graduated high school in 1971 and was a late round draft pick of the Houston Astros. He opted to play at Grayson Junior College and was young enough to come back and play for the Travelers after his freshman year of college in the summer of 1972.

Unfortunately, Les suffered a shoulder injury at Grayson which caused him to miss part of the '72 summer and cut short what may have been an incredible summer.

Coach Bob Ward believes Sutton would have put together the best pitching season ever in 1972 if not for the untimely shoulder injury.

Despite being drafted out of high school and having a solid college career, Sutton never played pro ball. He finished his college career at Kansas State and eventually moved to Hawaii where he still lives and has become very successful in the construction business.

When you add it all up, Sutton pitched more than 400 innings in four years with the Travelers. He won more than 40 games and struck out nearly 600 batters.

Those are career numbers that no other Traveler pitcher can match.

Impressive indeed.