Ray and Carmela Nichting ‘51

The Nichting family is a household name in sports around the Greater Hamilton area. Ray has his own strong athletic legacy in the community, and together they sent five children to Badin High School.

Ray is a 1951 graduate of Roger Bacon High who married his high school sweetheart, Carmela Minnielli, a 1951 graduate of Notre Dame High.

This is the fifth Hall of Fame recognition for Ray Nichting. He is also a member of the HOFs of Roger Bacon, West Side Little League, Butler County and Hamilton Bowling.

He was named Hamilton’s Citizen of the Year for 1991, and twice led Hamilton teams to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. – 1991 and 1993.

Ray proudly served his country in the Korean War, earning two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star. After returning from the front, Ray opened his own barber shop in Middletown. Carmella worked as a beautician.

“I could not have done any of these things without my loving wife,” Ray says.

The family emphasizes that one of the biggest advantages of attending Badin High School were the relationships and friendships created; relationships and friendships that have carried on through so many of their adult lives. They truly appreciate the fact that Badin High School is – and always will be – a tight knit circle of family and friends.

The five children of Ray and Carmella to graduate from Badin include Ron ’73, Tom ‘74, Connie ’76, Tim ’78 and Nancy ‘82.


Ron Nichting ’73. Ron played three years of varsity golf and during his senior year helped the Rams reach the state tournament. He won the City Golf title in 1990 and has earned numerous club championships over the years. Ron is married to the former Mary Jo Krazel ’73, and their two children are also Badin grads. Mark ’01 played three years of varsity baseball and is currently a bank manager for PNC Bank. He and his wife, Rachel, have two future Rams, Taylor and Reid. Jenna ’06 is a 2011 Miami University graduate who earned her master’s degree from Ashland University in 2013. She works at Plattenburg and Associates CPA and is engaged to be married.

Tom Nichting ’74. Tom was a three-year varsity baseball player. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University where he continued his excellent baseball career. Tom and his wife, Penny, live outside Nashville, Tenn. Tom is retired from the United Steelworkers while Penny is a certified public accountant. Tom has two athletic children, Ashley and Ryan. Ashley helped lead Nashville’s Father Ryan High School to a volleyball state championship and Ryan helped the school to a baseball state title. Ashley is a 2006 graduate of the University of Tennessee and Ryan a 2008 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University.

Connie Nichting Dirheimer ’76. Connie played two years of varsity volleyball for the Rams. She is currently a vice president at Bakery Craft. Her husband, Gary Dirheimer, works for Cincinnati Bell. They have two sons, both Badin grads – Brad ’01 and Brian ’05. Brad is a 2005 graduate of Northern Kentucky University and works as a financial consultant with Fidelity Investments. He and his wife, Vanessa, have three future Rams – Braden, Aubrey and Emerson. Brian played football and baseball for the Rams. As a senior, he was named the baseball MVP, as he helped lead the Rams to the state championship game. He was a baseball All-American in college for Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. He and his wife, Megan, live in suburban Nashville, where Brian works for Dillingham and Smith contractors.

Tim Nichting ’78. Tim played varsity baseball for the Rams for three years. He is a 1982 Xavier University graduate, where he played baseball, and went on to play Minor League baseball as well. He was inducted into the Badin Hall of Fame in 2009. Tim was the Hamilton Citizen of the Year for 2007, and coached West Side Little League teams to the 2007 and 2011 Little League World Series. He had assisted his father in coaching those teams in 1991 and 1993. Tim works at Cincinnati Financial and is married to the former Elise Spears, who pitched Hamilton High to the 1985 state softball title. Tim had three children graduate from Badin – Tony ’02, who played baseball and football for the Rams. Tony was an all-Ohio linebacker as a senior. He went on to play college baseball at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and currently works as a Hamilton police officer. He and his wife, Megan, have two future Rams, Ellie and Gia, with a third on the way. Natalie ’03, played three years of varsity softball. She and her husband, Aaron Saurber ’99, have three future Rams – Timothy, Anthony and Zachary. T.J. ’13 played four years of varsity baseball and helped the team to state in 2010 and 2013. He was the Player of the Year in the GCL as a senior and named first team all-Ohio. He currently attends the University of North Carolina/Charlotte, and plays baseball there.

Nancy Nichting ’82 played two years of varsity volleyball. She followed in the footsteps of her mother and is a beautician. She owns and operates Unique Designs, a hair salon in Fairfield. She is also a breast cancer survivor.