| Article on the front page of the Sport Page of the Lee's Summit Journal on Wednesday July 2, 2003 By Nick Parker Managing Editor/Sports Editor Lee’s Summit Journal 415 S.E. Douglas Lee’s Summit, MO 64081 Cynics often say baseball players are just grown men getting paid to play a kids’ game. Members of the KC Metro 50+ Senior Softball League may not be getting paid, but they are grown men enjoying their time on the field playing that game for kids. “I’ve been playing ball since 1939,” said Greenwood resident Jim Carpenter, 71. “I play because I still love the sport. And all the guys out there are generally nice people.” The senior league began play on June 3, 1990 with three teams. One made up of players from the Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs area; another included players in South Kansas City and Johnson County, Kan.; and the other included players from north of the Missouri River. “I remember we played our first games out at Aldersgate United Methodist Church on a beautiful Saturday evening,” said league founder Wes Weddle. “We went on to play 26 ballgames that first summer. We didn’t always have enough players, so one time I got my wife to pitch, so we could play.” This year, the league has 37 teams, down four from a year ago, with players from around the metropolitan area. Last year, the league had a record 529 individual players. This year, Weddle said between 490 and 500 seniors are playing ball. Harold Lee, 72, Lee’s Summit, played baseball for Lee’s Summit’s town team until Major League Baseball brought the A’s into Kansas City. He started playing softball with the senior league five years ago. “Our town team played baseball two nights a week until TV became big and the (Kansas City) A’s came to town,” he said. “After that people stopped coming to the games. “But it’s still fun to go out and play ball. That’s why we do it. I’m a bit of a junkie about ball. I have been since I was a youngster. All the guys still love the game.” Carpenter, Lee and Weddle teamed up with league players over the age of 70 this summer and took a team to Norfolk, Va., for the 2003 Summer National Senior Games in June. Their team, the Dogs dropped all three games they played in the tournament, but none felt a need to complain. In fact, Lee made the tourney a prelude to an extended vacation. “I actually left there and went up to Cooperstown to see the baseball Hall of Fame and then went up to Niagara Falls,” he said. “It turned out to be a pretty good trip.” The senior league will host the seventh annual Senior Softball Kansas City Classic July 11-13 at the Frank White Softball Complex at Longview Community College. Weddle said the tournament, a qualifier for the Softball Players’ Association national tournament in Plano, Texas, drew 47 teams last year. “This is a good tournament that really brings in a lot of people,” he said. “I hope we can bring in anywhere from 700 to 1,000 players for the weekend.” For more information about the Lee’s Summit Journal go to www.lsjournal.com |
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