A Boys' Game
by
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Hank got out of bed at 6:00 a.m. Actually, he had been awake since about 2:00 and had not been able to get back to sleep. He went into the bathroom, tore open the coffee envelope and placed the packet in the coffee machine. After measuring and pouring the water, he flipped the switch to “on” and put on his uniform as he waited for the coffee to brew. All of this in the semi-dark while not waking up Bonnie, who slept soundly and did not seem to be at all nervous about the big day. As he put on the uniform and checked in the mirror to see that the shirt was properly tucked in and the pants were lined up straight, he saw for an instant the 10 year old boy who had gone through that very ritual 48 years ago on the morning of the Wilmette Little League Championship Game in 1954. He thought back to that morning and how much things had changed since then. High School, College, Law School, marriage, children, grandchildren, mortgages, career, and planning for retirement. The hundreds, thousands of people who had come in and out of his life. The relatives and friends he had and those who he had lost or who had just drifted away. It was not like anything had happened suddenly, it had all happened over a long period of time. Gradually, but it had happened in the life of the little boy who loved baseball and who had put on his uniform on that August morning in 1954 for what was then the biggest game of his life. He had never forgotten the feeling of that morning over the long period of time that had passed since it happened. It did not matter what had happened later in the day, when the actual contest took place. That would be a whole other thing. That would be another feeling. What he remembered now was the early morning anticipation of what would be ahead in the big games. How would he do? Would he be nervous? He wanted the game to start right away but, it would not for another 4 hours. He took a deep breath. “I’ll be damned” he said out loud, softly so as not to wake up Bonnie. “There it is again. That same feeling. Today is the championship and I am ready.” It was the same feeling, the same sensation that he had a long time ago. It had just gone into hibernation for 48 years and now it was back. And it felt every bit as good. His excitement was uncontained, just like he couldn’t contain it in 1954, no matter how hard he had tried to keep his cool. He looked in the mirror. “No matter what happens today, this is a day few people have or appreciate when they get there, and you’ve had two of them. Who cares if they were 48 years apart.” He went into the room, kissed his sleeping wife, grabbed his Styrofoam cup of coffee and headed out to the lobby to meet up with his teammates for their date with destiny. The team met in the lobby of the hotel. Everybody was wearing their red shirts just like Don instructed. Most of the team looked like they had not slept well. Hank was not the only one with a case of the nerves. They all knew what lay ahead of them that day. Eight teams were left. One loss today and they were out. Three wins and they would be world champs. It was as simple as that. Their quarterfinal game would be against Winnipeg. Since they had lost a game, they were the fifth seed. Winnipeg, which was the fourth seed, was ranked higher because they had a better run differential. Their margin of victory in their qualifying games was about the same as the Gray Sox, but their single loss had only been by three runs while the Gray Sox had been clobbered by Kansas City 23 to 6. Thus, the higher ranking for Winnipeg. The field was a 15 minute car ride away. The group could make it in 4 cars with the bat bags all being put in the trunks. There were no wives going to the 8:00 o’clock game, even though this was a game in which they could be eliminated and it would be all over if they lost. The wives would take their chances and sleep in. They would be at the 11:00 o’clock game, which was the next one scheduled if the Gray Sox beat Winnipeg. The field was freshly mowed and beautifully manicured. The SSUSA had taken great care and every possible step to make sure the experience for the players was first rate and memorable. The teams had spent a lot of money and in many cases, had made personal sacrifices to fly to Las Vegas in the middle of the week and stay there for 5 days to play in the tournament. Presentable, well kept and well marked fields were the most obvious way the organization could show that it cared. Now that the number of teams was down to eight, all playing on 2 adjoining diamonds, the SSUSA could bring in all of its maintenance crews that had been spread around the various complexes in town when all the teams were p
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About the Book
Hank Branson, 58, has no intention of giving in to middle age. Active, energetic and youthful in his thinking, he does everything he can to avoid falling into the routines that signify the onset of the aging process and the inevitable winding down and settling in that occur for thousands of Americans each day. It is getting tougher for him to keep up the fight and he needs help. One day, a friend tells Hank about a senior softball organization where teams of players over 50 years of age play tournaments throughout the summer against others their age, with the best being invited to play in a world championship tournament in Las Vegas at the end of the season. Fascinated, he contacts the local team in Chicago where he lives, and is invited to play. On a whim, he accepts. A Boys' Game is the story of a hastily assembled team of total strangers from all walks of life who share only the common love of playing baseball, which they did as boys, and the determination to give it one last shot, despite their ages. The team is called the Gray Sox. The book describes the summer experience of the Gray Sox playing other senior teams from Kansas City to Lansing, MI and everywhere in between and the gradual improvement of the team, which leads to a coveted invitation to play in the world championship. It is the humorous but touching story of the lives of the men on the team, their hopes for the future and how they deal with the issues of the present, bolstered by their rediscovery of playing the game of baseball, which had been such an important part of their past, and by being given the opportunity to play it again. It is an uplifting story of second chances. There is something in the book for everyone, no matter what their age.
About the Author
Charles Byrum and his wife live in the Chicago area where he works, writes, and plays or coaches softball whenever he has the chance to do so.