One thing in my life might lead you to think I grew up in the intercity of a large metropolitan area. I never played baseball. I played football, tennis, basketball, and fast pitch softball, never baseball. When Little League came in, I was one year too old. When Pony Leagues came in, I was one year too old. However, I did play a lot of softball. I played in grade school, intramural in high school, for my squadron in the Marines, and for a church team in Smith Valley Indiana when I got out. I played outfield and was a relief pitcher. After I got married, I stopped playing and went to other distractions.
I raced boats, coached and refereed hockey, worked as an Engineer, played golf, and raised three kids. This took care of the next twenty years or so.
Then out of the blue my daughter Julie approached me about playing slo-pitch softball. It seems they had put together a team to play in a coed league. Her husband, my son in law once removed, refused to play with girls. She told him that her dad would play, and she was right. The team had some incredible talent on it. They included the women’s softball coaches from Rockford College, guys who had played high school and college and even one who had a tryout with the Cubs. That covers seven of the team. The other two were Dean McKean from Rockford College as the pitcher, and me on first base. The team hung the moniker of Stump on me, which still survives. If memory serves me right, we won the league.
Our tenure lasted until Julie became pregnant with her firstborn Andy, which ended our playing days together.
After that I played a couple of years for our company slo-pitch team. I remember pitching practice, and someone remembered that I had pitched fast pitch. They wanted to bat against it as most had never played the game. I warned them and then struck most of them out.
I gave my gloves to my Grandkids, and was happy to watch and cheer them on.
