Former Chatham manager John Schiffner was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame on Saturday in Chatham.

“This is the greatest reward I’ll receive as a baseball coach,” Schiffner said. “This has been my life. I spent 34 years in a Chatham A’s uniform. How lucky am I'”

Schiffner helped lead Chatham to two Cape League championships, six East Division titles, 15 postseason appearances, and 541 regular season victories, making him the winningest manager in CCBL history.

“To me, John Schiffner is Cape Cod League baseball,” Brewster Manager Jamie Shevchik told the Boston Globe in 2017. 

He stepped down following the 2017 season after managing in Chatham for 25 years, finalizing a resume which includes coaching nearly 1,000 players, including 39 first round draft picks and 125 major leaguers in total.

“Five of my players came back and got married in Chatham,” Schiffner said. “Two of them are sitting right here [today].”

In 25 seasons in Chatham, Schiffner created an identify himself and his family. His wife Martha still has reserved bench seats at Veterans Field. 

“Martha has sat in the stands for 25 years,” Schiffner said. “Martha cooked when we didn’t get meals. Martha cleaned and did some of the coaches’ laundry sometimes. They didn’t make her do it, but she just did it.”

When he left the podium at Chatham Bars Inn, he said the same thing he did after coaching his final game in Chatham. “I thank God every day he let me be a Chatham A.”