LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 99-year-old veteran and state champion was honored by St. Xavier High School baseball on Monday.
Richard Pontrich was a member of the Tigers' first state championship team in 1942.
On Monday, St. Xavier honored Pontrich before its game against Jeffersonville.
"I'm honored," Pontrich said. "I'm the only one left, I didn't do anything, I just lived a long time."
Pontrich started playing baseball because his dad played it and he lived near Shawnee Park. In 1942, St. X defeated Louisville Male to advance to the state tournament, and then won three games to win the state title.
St. X baseball state championship team in 1942.
"Those were memorable moments," he said. "We had some good players."
Pontrich, who played second base, hit a home run against Male in the regional tournament.
After he graduated from high school, he served in World War II as a fighter pilot. He went on eight missions before being shot down over Japanese-occupied territory at the age of 21. Pontrich hid in a Chinese village and was reunited with his flight squadron a few weeks later.
He earned a chemical engineering degree from the University of Louisville Speed School and was then employed in the Apollo Space program.
Pontrich encouraged students to continue their education.
After winning the team's first title in 1942, St. X has gone on to win eight more state championships. The program has the most state titles in Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) history.
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