They inducted Gene Severson into the state American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, and they selected the perfect spot for the ceremony.

Severson was inducted before the game between the Bismarck Governors and Mandan Chiefs at Municipal Ballpark. Specifically, the induction took place near home plate, where he'd handed over hundreds of lineup cards for Bismarck Scarlets, Bismarck Governors and Century Patriots games.

"Coaching was a labor of love to me. It kept me close to baseball," Severson said before the ceremony. "There are a lot of different personalities and characteristics that make up a team, so it's a new challenge each year."

He said those challenges kept him in the dugout. "I think that is what keeps coaches going year after year," he said. "It may be the biggest factor, actually."

Severson, currently the manager of the Bismarck Legion baseball program, has an association with North Dakota baseball that goes back over 50 years to his playing days at Fessenden.

He graduated from Minot State in 1963 and taught at Wells County and Washburn before moving to Northridge Elementary School in Bismarck, where he taught for 30 years.

Severson began coaching baseball in Bismarck as a Governors assistant in 1978. The next summer he took over as head coach of the Class B Scarlets, a position he held through 1994. He won the state Class B title with his 1993 Scarlets team.

In 1995, Severson began an eight-year run as coach of the Class A Governors. After resigning as Governors coach, he became manager of the overall Legion program in 2003. He won the state Class A title with the Governors in 1997 and was named Legion coach of the year three times - in 1997, 1998 and 2001.

At Century, he coached from 1995 through 2003, finishing second in the state in 1995 and 1998.

While teaching at Northridge, he won the Gold Award in 1980. The Northridge gymnasium was named for Severson in 1988.

Severson is one of three 2006 inductees. Travis Hafner will be inducted this winter. The membership of the hall of fame stands at 74.