Hal Hempen attended Carlyle High School and played for Gary Wheeler, one of the most successful coaches in Illinois history.  Hal played on the 1981 State Baseball Championship team before coming to Kaskaskia College on a baseball scholarship.  

Hal played baseball for Kaskaskia College from 1983 to 1985.  Hal started twenty-six games with twenty-one complete games; he pitched 188 innings with 136 strikeouts.  Hal had an ERA of 4.40 and he held his opponents to a .252 batting average. 

Hal was offered a scholarship to Southeast Missouri State University and subsequently set the school record for saves in a season with ten saves.  His record held for twenty-one years when it was finally broken with thirteen saves.  Hal still holds the number 2 record for career saves.  In 1987 Hal had twenty-two appearances.  

Hal went on to play professionally in the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals organizations. With the St. Louis Cardinal organization, Hal played for the Johnson City Cardinals and the Savannah Cardinals.  With Kansas City, Hal played for the Appleton Foxes and Gulf Coast League Royals.   Hal’s record in professional baseball included 99 strike outs in 108 innings with a 4.17 ERA and a 7-7 record.

After his professional career, Hal returned to Kaskaskia College as an assistant coach for baseball and mentored the next generation of ball players.  His legacy to the college includes the Hal B. Hempen Memorial Scholarship.  Hal was inducted posthumously into the Kaskaskia College Athletic Hall of Fame.

“His Light Still Shines.”