Killebrew Root Beer and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels have announced Russ Bove as the 2024 inductee into the Southwest Florida Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame.

Bove will become the 19th member of “The Wall” inside of Gate 2 at the Lee Health Sports Complex. His induction ceremony will take place prior to the Mighty Mussels’ game on Friday, Aug. 16.

“It’s certainly an honor to be a part of some of the all-time great scouts,” Bove said. “Most of the guys (in the Hall of Fame) I’ve either worked with or know fairly well. Just to be part of the group is a big-time honor.”

Bove (pronounced Bo-VAY) has spent over four decades in scouting, moving to Florida in 1986 to work for the Major League Scouting Bureau. He is currently in his second season as special assistant to the general manager for the Houston Astros.

With each of his stops, he spent considerable time working in his home state of Florida — scouting both amateur and professional baseball players across the west coast.

“Southwest Florida was always a very productive area,” Bove said. “There were times that you couldn’t go to a Big League game without there being a player from Tampa. The best thing about living in Florida as a scout, is that there’s always reasons to come home. Florida is where it’s at. There’s always something going on.”