DAYTON — With scores of inductees in its first three classes, having three Defiance High School baseball icons inducted into the Ohio Sports Hall of Fame among some of the state’s legendary names is another feather in the cap of the Bulldog program.

After longtime head coach Tom Held was a member of the first class in 2024 after the Hall was established, former MLB pitchers and DHS program pillars Chad Billingsley and Jon Niese were among members of the 2026 class inducted in a ceremony Saturday at the Dayton Convention Center.

Held also had a family tie to the 2026 class as his father, former MLB pitcher Mel Held, was inducted posthumously and represented on stage by Held’s son Chayse, a former DHS baseball catcher and teammate of Billingsley.

“It was a good night,” remarked Tom Held of the marquee night for the program he guided from 1999-2023 with three state titles and 603 wins. “It was great to see Chad and Jon and see them rewarded for their successes. It all started back in Little League in Defiance when they played together. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time and they both took their boys up there on stage with them and that’ll be something they’ll remember for a long time.”

Billingsley still holds a bevy of DHS program records as the school’s career home run (25) and strikeout (502) king along with the most pitching wins (34), innings (287), appearances (60) and at-bats (371) with a 1.20 career ERA. The Gatorade Player of the Year was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003 and went on to pitch eight of his nine MLB seasons with L.A.

The DHS icon was 83-64 in 226 career games (1,212.1 innings) with 1,052 strikeouts and a 3.72 career ERA) while hitting three career home runs as a pro with 21 RBIs. Billingsley was an MLB All-Star pick in 2009 and pitched in four different playoff series across three postseason appearances for the Dogers.

Niese, who graduated three years after Billingsley from Defiance in 2005, had an iconic DHS career of his own with 22 wins, 315 strikeouts and a 1.09 ERA in 179 innings while hitting .449 with 110 career hits en route to winning Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year twice. Niese was drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 draft by the New York Mets where he pitched nine seasons, including a half-season stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Niese was 69-68 in 211 career games (1,189.1 innings) in the major leagues with a 4.07 ERA and 914 strikeouts with a 4.07 ERA. Niese pitched in four games in the 2015 World Series for the Mets in relief appearances.

Both Billingsley and Niese have had legacies live on with their names emblazoned on the Bulldogs’ spacious indoor facility after donating money for the facility’s construction in 2016.

“To me they’re still teenagers, even though they’re 42 and 39 now,” joked Held of Billingsley and Niese. “Guys like that, they’re never forgotten by the people that remember them but now even some of the college-age guys coming through now might have never seen them and it’s great to have them recognized like this.”

The induction of Held’s father also provided a special moment for the Held family, baseball lifers through and through.

“It was fantastic (to be part of),” said Held of his father’s induction. “He’d be just as proud of Chad and Jon getting in (as he would of himself), I’m not sure he missed one of their pitches when they played. I’d think he’d be really, really happy. With Chayse being there and accepting the award on his behalf, it was a special night to be part of.”

In total, 218 honorees were inducted in the third class of the Ohio Sports Hall of Fame with former OHSAA commissioner Jerry Snodgrass among inductees from the high school, college and professional ranks of baseball, basketball and football along with boxing, wrestling, softball, cross country, soccer, sports medicine, tennis, track, wrestling, volleyball and sports media, among others.

Prep coaches like Perrysburg’s Dave Hall, Ottawa Hills’ Chris Hardman, brothers Mark and Tom Brunswick and Toledo Central Catholic’s Jeff Mielcarek were inducted along with MLB legends like Sandy Koufax (University of Cincinnati), iconic state hoops coaches like Ohio State’s Fred Taylor and Thad Matta and Delphos St. John’s Bob Arnzen and a myriad of others.

Held and the late Kalida basketball coaching legend Dick Kortokrax were inductees in the inaugural class in 2004.