July 17, 2008

sports

Perry League aging well at 38!

By Jimmy Chesire

We had a ton of children last Friday. I was surprised. I had expected turnout to be thin because of the 4th of July layover — we didn’t have t-ball Friday night, July 4, so there was a two-week break between t-ball nights, nor our usual one. And two weeks is a long time to a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8-year-old. But the children came with their loving parents and we had another grand t-ball time.

“There’s a game here,” Jens (pronounced Yenz) said, meaning a little league game (a major league game) that was scheduled to follow us at 8 o’clock. They’ve been getting rained-out a lot and have scheduled games under the lights, games starting at 8:10 or so. Under the lights! A pretty cool thing to do as a little leaguer!

Jens saw the red-shirted children gathering, warming up all around us. They looked so very serious, especially compared to us t-ballers. We don’t require uniforms — yes, we do sell Perry League t-shirts, but I’ve ordered a new color every year for the last 23 summers (I plan to do two more summers, making it 25 summers, and then hand the reins over to some other kid-loving t-ball parent). With a different color every year, you’ll see children out there on the diamond in a rainbow of colors: parrot blue t-shirts, bright pink t-shirts, paradise yellow t-shirts, wheat-colored t-shirts, as well as this summer’s athletic grey t-shirt with Perry League in 3-D block lettering.

“We have the diamond till 8,” I told Jens. I thought he was feeling pressured by a “real” team warming up. There were 15–20 major leaguers throwing the ball around in the grass behind the bench along the first baseline; more behind the backstop. In years past, other t-ball volunteers have felt this, too. One night two years back they even called off play at 7:30 on the big diamond, the pressure was so great.

“We’ve had these two diamonds every Friday night for 50 years,” I told Jens and he looked surprised. And impressed, too.

But, has it been 50 years? I did a little homework.

The league got its name in the summer of 1970 when Donald Perry, a Yellow Springs youth sports pioneer — he founded the little league in the early 50’s — died of nephritis (kidney disease) at the age of 34. His sister Patsy Perry, a long time Yellow Springs resident, donated one of her kidneys. It was September 1967, and would be the first kidney transplant ever attempted at the University Hospital in Columbus.

Donald had tried to join the Air Force when he graduated from high school in 1952, but he was classified 4F when they discovered he had nephritis, a chronic kidney disease. So Donald went to work for the next five years at the local PK Lumber Company, saving money to go to college. He founded the Little League during this time and worked with kids as much as he could — he was so extraordinary, so dedicated, that he was picked as the Jaycees Man of the Year in 1963. The then high school principal John Malone called Donald “the moving force on our recreation programs” and said Donald was “behind most everything else that taught good sportsmanship.”

Donald put himself through Central State University and the day after he graduated in 1963, he took a job teaching in the Columbus public schools. His health worsened after he’d moved to Columbus. He began dialysis treatment, spending weekdays in the classroom and weekends in the hospital hooked up to a dialysis machine.

“We didn’t know about all this,” Patsy told me in a 1990 interview about Donald and the naming of the Perry League in his honor, “we didn’t know how very sick and disabled he was becoming, until his landlady called us from Columbus.”

“He wasn’t telling us or anyone,” Patsy said. “He lived alone. One night the landlady called us and told us he was having a difficult time and that he was falling down and couldn’t get up. We brought him home then.”

On Sept. 6, 1967, the day before his 34th birthday, Donald received his sister’s kidney. The transplant and Donald Perry’s story were front-page news here in Yellow Springs and elsewhere. The operation appeared to be a success. Donald was confident and said at the time, “All tests so far indicate my body will accept my sister’s kidney.”

Geny remembers the family visiting, rejoicing, then going home feeling relieved, grateful their prayers had been answered. Two hours later Geny got a call to come back to the hospital as quickly as possible. But Don had died before the family returned.

A Dayton Daily News editorial said four days after his death that “Don Perry was a school teacher…confidante and counselor to scores, maybe hundreds of kids… . His story was heroic. He will be remembered.”

Three years after his death, in 1970, the Minor League, a baseball program for 6-to-9-year-old boys, was renamed the Perry League in his honor. From the beginning the Perry League was racially diverse and for boys and girls. Hank Chapin, living in Honolulu in 1990 at the time of my earlier interview, was one of the three original Perry League coaches. He wrote in a 1989 letter to the Yellow Springs News: “Although Minor League had been for boys only, Perry League created so much interest that girls [Pam and Helen Innis] immediately asked coaches if they could play. The girls were so pleasant, enthusiastic, and confident they would be treated fairly that ‘yes’ was the only possible answer. So girls have played in Perry League since the beginning.”

So our Perry League is 38 years old this summer — not 50 like I said, Jens. Sorry. Like many a 4-year-old, I have a tendency to hyperbole. It’s a fine program continuing to welcome all our community’s children, girls and boys, ages 2–9, regardless of race, color, creed. So, come on out, become a part of our 38-year tradition of goodness and love and sport all rolled into one. We’d love to have you. At Gaunt Park Friday night, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Pirates lead Minor League

The Indians took a pair of games from the Yankees on Monday, July 14, to overtake the Yankees and move into second place behind the Pirates to start off the final two weeks of the 2008 season. The first win came by a 7–6 margin, and the second game was a slugfest in which the Indians prevailed 14–10. More on both games will appear in next week’s News.

Meanwhile, last week saw the Reds defeat the Dragons twice, the first win coming Monday, July 7, in a 7–3 decision. Keanan Onfroy-Curley, Ethan DeWine, Tom Amrhein and Weymar Osborne all scored in the first to give the Reds an early lead. The Dragons responded with a pair of runs from Jake Savage and Grant Reigelsperger. The Reds put the game away in the third when DeWine and Amrhein were knocked in by April Riddel, who also eventually scored.

The Yankees also had a pair of victories last week, the first by rallying to score the winning run in the bottom of the fifth to defeat the Cubs 3–2 on Wednesday, July 9. Evelyn Green and Chelsea Horton scored the first Yankee runs in the second after being knocked in by singles from Kenny McKinley and Danny Horton. The Cubs scored their own pair of runs after Evan Pace led off the fourth with a double, followed by James Fulton’s single. Sawyer HaleWolfe’s sacrifice scored Pace, and Cameron Haught’s single knocked in Fulton to tie the game. Yankee Ian Chick led off the bottom of the final inning with a base hit and eventually scored when Tyler Restau’s single knocked in Chick as the winning run.

The Yankees returned the next evening on Thursday to explode to a 14–4 victory over the Reds. The Yankees jumped out to a 5–0 first inning lead that included a bases-loaded grandslam home run by Chelsea Horton that also sent Tyler Restau, Ian Chick and Evelyn Green across the plate. Horton was also responsible for two other RBIs for a game total of six. Restau and Joe Thorp also smashed home runs and scored a total of three runs each, with another three runs coming from Ian Chick. Liam Creighton and Kenny McKinley also each added a run. The Reds didn’t score until the fourth when April Riddel, Jaron Fox and Jakob Woodburn all crossed the plate, with Riddel scoring again in the fifth.

Friday’s first game saw the Indians pound out 12 hits in their 8–2 victory over the Cubs. Fisher Lewis scored in the first when he was sent home by brother Fielding’s triple, who scored next off Theron Orme’s single. The Cubs responded in a pair of their own runs when Evan pace hit a triple, scoring Kaner Butler. Pace then scored when he was advanced by James Fulton’s double. But the Indians put the game away with six runs in the second inning. Nathan Hardman scored on David Walker’s sacrifice RBI, and Maya Creighton earned her first hit and RBI that scored Edward Johnson after his double. Creighton eventually scored, as did Sam Butler.

The Reds defeated the Dragons again on Friday, July 11, in a 13–5 victory under the lights. The Dragons jumped out to a first-inning three-run lead on runs from Jake Savage, Grant Reigelsperger and Tony Marinelli. But the Reds roared back with runs from Ethan DeWine, April Riddel, Andrew Clark and Tom Amrhein. Weymar Osborne added a run and an RBI in the second, while J.T. Clark also scored in the second, and his brother Andrew smashed a home run in the third. Jaron Fox had a pair of doubles and as many RBI’s. The Dragons rallied in the final inning with a lead-off triple from Jake Savage, but the Reds defensive wall went up and put out the next three batters to seal the win.

Saturday morning, July 12, the Pirates managed a 5–2 win, their ninth, over the Dragons in an official three-inning game before the rain began. The Dragons jumped out to an early 2–0 lead off a single from Taran Pergram, who scored when Grant Reigelsperger smacked a triple and then went on to score on Jake Savage’s single. But the Pirates’ response saw Aaron Sherwood lead off with a single, followed by the same from Nathan Miller and Jared Scarfpin. Isaiah Taylor then singled for 2 RBI, followed by Joey Plummer’s base hit score. Lucas Hudson-Groves earned a game ball with his infield sacrifice that netted his first ever RBI. Jasmine Davison led off the Pirate’s third inning with a single, followed by a double from Sherwood, who later scored off Scarfpin’s second single of the game.
Tickets are now available for the annual Minor League Dayton Dragons outing, scheduled for July 24. Tickets can be purchased for $7 each by contacting Tim or Jennifer Sherwood at 767-8702 or by reservation on the league Web site, www.leaguelineup.com/ysoyouthbb.

Sports physicals exam night set
All Yellow Springs athletes in grades seven through twelve will need a new pre-participation physical exam before they can participate on any school-sponsored sports team.

The Yellow Springs High School athletic department will sponsor a ”Physical Exams Night,” at the high school on Tuesday, July 29, 6–8 p.m. This one physical is good for the entire school year, and the proceeds from the night will be donated back to the teams. Each student-athlete should bring a partially filled out PPE (pre-participation exam) form, which can be down-loaded from the Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site (www.ohsaa.org), and a $20 exam fee. Call Jim Hardman at 767-2200 for additional information.

‘Semi-pro’ football teams at YSHS
The Miami Valley Warriors “semi-pro” football team will, once again, play its 2008 home games at Yellow Springs High School. Home dates for regular season games are Saturdays, July 19; Sept. 20 and 27; and Oct. 4, all at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for ages 7–17, and 6 and under will be admitted free. Tickets for all games are available at the gate. Spots are available for players and coaches. Players must be at least 18 years of age to play and able to provide their own equipment. Coaches, preferably, will have previous football coaching experience.
For more information, visit www.miamivalleywarriors.com.

Golfers raise funds
Despite threatening weather last week, the 2008 Bulldog Scramble held at Locust Hills golf club on Saturday, July 12, came off without a hitch. Sixty-four golfers took to the course in the benefit tournament to raise funds for the Yellow Springs High School golf program.

The winning team of Dean Washington, John Malone, Corey Hall and Billy Stewart posted 12 under par. Second and third places went to the teams captained by Chris Bailey and Kurt Semler, respectively.

Track Club to meet
The 19th annual Miami Valley Open Track & Field meet will take place Thursday, July 17, at Yellow Springs High School. It is open to all athletes, both men and women, boys and girls, regardless of age. The meet includes a special 100-meter dash for those 4 and younger with ribbons awarded to all finishers.

Entry forms for the meet and additional information can be obtained from the Miami Valley Track Club’s Web site: http://www.miamivalleytrackclub.org/.