In the world of sports, there are leaders and there are followers.

The 62-year-old Butler resident and East Butler American Legion baseball coach has left his imprint on area baseball and softball.

Schnur had a hand in the beginnings of the Butler County Pony/Colt League, the East Butler American Legion baseball team and the varsity softball team at Butler High School.

"I just look back and think of all the people who have influenced my life through baseball, like my dad (George)," said Schnur. "I made a commitment that I would give back through the game like was done for me."

Not that numbers are what keeps Schnur connected with the game, but his American Legion coaching record is impressive.

Schnur will enter Saturday's game against xxxxx with a career mark of 307-128-3, including 58-30 in postseason play.

The team has qualified for the Butler County Legion playoffs every year of its existence and has reached the regional tournament nine times. East Butler made it to the county championship series 10 straight years from 1989-98.

"All the wins really don't mean much to me personally," said Schnur. "I look at it more as an organizational achievement. Our team has stayed consistent and has remained competitive year after year."

Schnur looks for two things from his players: respect for the team and their best effort every game.

"Our game against Center Township (June 8) was the best example of what Legion baseball is all about. We were underdogs going in. I really relish that role. It got the kids motivated and we beat a previously undefeated team 7-4."

Since taking charge of the team in its first season in 1985, Schnur has seen players' attitudes change.

"More and more players simply do not want to accept the team concept these days," said Schnur."

Schnur is also president of the Butler County American Legion Baseball League, serving in that capacity since 1994.

"As a vice president, I worked with (former president) Ches Marburger for many years," said Schnur. "He was like a second father to me. We never had a disagreement and made many decisions that best suited the league.

"Before Ches passed away in 1994, he asked that I continue working with the league as long as I could. I wanted to honor his wishes and that's the main reason I'm still involved today," he added.

Schnur grew up in East Butler and was exposed to baseball at an early age.

"Back in those days, there weren't as many organized baseball associations like there is now," he said. "The nearest one for us was in Chicora.

"So, the boys in our neighborhood wanting to play baseball went up there to play."

Because of the number of East Butler youths interested in the game, Schnur's father was instrumental in organizing the East Butler Baseball Association in 1952.

Dess Schnur went on to play Pony League and Prep League Baseball.

"I saw playing time at every position, but I wasn't a great ball player," said Schnur. "That's why I can identify with the kids who spend some time on the bench and aren't stars."

Schnur was denied a chance to play high school baseball because Butler did not field a team at the time.

He graduated high school in 1961 and enrolled at Indiana (Pa.) University as an elementary education major.

"IUP had a baseball team, but I was busy working to help put myself through college.

"But I did come home over the summers and played in the Butler County League."

Schnur graduated from IUP in 1965 as an ROTC member. He took a job teaching fifth grade at Oakland Township Elementary before the U.S. Army sent him to South Korea for a year.

"I ended with 28 years of commissioned service," said Schnur. "I retired in 1993 as a lieutenant colonel."

After returning from South Korea, Schnur went back to his job at Oakland Township Elementary.

In 1975, he joined the East Butler Baseball Association and has been involved ever since.

Schnur headed the effort for a Pony League in the county, which began in 1980 as the North Butler County Pony/Colt League. He has served as president or vice president off and on ever since.

With a pony/colt league solidified in the county, Schnur turned his attention to the absence of an American Legion team in East Butler.

"Some kids from East Butler played for Center Township or Lyndora," said Schnur. "But there were just so many kids from our town, most of them didn't get a chance to play."

Schnur applied to the Butler County Commissioners office in an effort to get an American Legion baseball franchise for East Butler.

Awarded in the fall of 1984, the team began play the next spring.

"It is vital to Legion baseball that the communities continue to support their local teams," said Schnur. "Other leagues like to take the best players from one area and the best from another area to form, in effect, an all-star team.

"But that is geared toward just a few players and doesn't serve the majority. Legion baseball involves all the kids," he added.

Schnur, who was inducted into the Pennsylvania American Legion Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, also served as president and vice president of the Butler High School Baseball Boosters (1984-91) and coached in the Butler Prep League (1986-91).

"Coaching is the easy part," said Schnur. "It's been being the president of leagues that takes up the most time. You've got to be patient and committed.

"The tremendous support from coaches and league officers in all the organizations made it possible for me to serve for so many years."

Schnur was able to pass his love of the game on to his three children: Curt, Des and Tanya.

Curt, the current coach of the Knoch High School varsity team, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1993.

Des went on to play baseball at the University of Pittsburgh.

Tanya played softball at IUP and is now the coach of the varsity softball squad at Butler High.

Dess Schnur worked with a group of parents to start a fast-pitch softball program at Butler High School, starting in 1992.

"All I've been able to do through softball, I credit it to him," Tanya Schnur said of her dad. "He used to work with me for hours on my hitting. Then, when I got to high school fast-pitch, he coached me in pitching.

The elder Schnur has served as an assistant coach for the team for the last three years.

"He just loves the game so much," Tanya Schnur said. "He's always been involved and he can't get away from it."