As reported in the Baltimore Examiner, Paul Donovan, manager of MCBL’s Columbia Reds will be inducted into the Howard County Community Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony to be held October 22^nd at the Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville, Maryland. 

It’s been 20 years since Paul Donovan founded the Columbia Reds, providing hundreds of young baseball players in Howard County an opportunity to compete against the best in the state.  Donovan has spent thousands of dollars and hours of his free time sustaining the Reds program, transforming it into one of the state’s premier organizations.

“He doesn’t have any children involved in the program, so he is doing this out of the love of the sport and the kids of Howard County,” said Glen Deuchler, a former assistant coach under Donovan. “Once players stop playing for him, the relationship doesn’t end. When they have problems with baseball, or even life, he is one of the first people they call.”

Deuchler’s son, Matt, is one of Donovan’s former players to compete collegiately and professionally. After starring as a catcher for the Reds and James Madison University, Matt played in the Chicago White Sox minor league system before retiring due to a shoulder injury.

“I don’t think I would have gotten to the level I did if it weren’t for him,” Matt said of Donovan, who coached him from the time he was in elementary school through high school. “He was fun to play for and he’s the kind of coach that would do any thing for his players and all he’d ask for in return was hard work.”

The MCBL community is proud to join others in extending our congratulations to Paul on this well-deserved recognition.