Special Events . . . Birthday Celebrations! wooohooo!

It was a beautiful game/celebration day! Although Rich knew his family was flying in from different parts of the country for this VERY special birthday, he did not know his children would be coming to see him play!! They were actually flying in and ALL going for a sky dive that weekend!! For last year's birthday, his son and daughter in law came to the game and loved how we celebrated his 89th! I shared with his son, Jeff, I would be having this 90th event the following year.... We collaborated together, and surprise, surprise!!!! .... Jeff got me pictures of Rich's past to display from his kid life, military life, beautiful wife, his corporate life. Many of you helped out with the expenses to present Rich; a giant birthday card all signed, balloons, a framed photo montage of his best action shots playing in rec D4, cupcakes to share and, the special t-shirt exemplifying Rich- the man, the myth, the legend :)) ... VINTAGE 1934!!! And- his personalized baseball card with all his stats! Rich was on the Bucks team. At the onset of the game, Dave Czohara played Happy Birthday on his trumpet while all sang. His team mates all lined up congratulating him- many never had a clue of this milestone birthday! Some of the opposing team joined in... I had the family gather for a brief moment on home plate to capture this great moment- although, I did hear rumblings; get over it, play ball!- really? I hope you live to be 90 and you have a great celebration as this- without any push back!! HA! Some just don't get the fun we are all having, especially when we can all join together and share this momentus day for such a great guy!!

I began organizing surprise birthday celebrations with Rich Brend's special day- he is the oldest player in rec D4. It was March 2023 when we all joined in the fun for his 89th. After that celebration other players came to me and chimed in- my birthday is.... well, I replied, you are too young:) That is when I decided to continue with our D4 family fun and recognize more of our elders. Yes, they certainly do need to be recognized as they continue participating in this kids game at this time in our lives! ..... Please, scroll down and check out some wonderful people we share our innings with- but wait!! With these celebrations, we are going for EXTRA INNINGS!!

Rich Brend! NINETY YEARS YOUNG!!!

March 2024, I put together another surprise party for Rich Brend- last year I had a surprise party for his 89th- as I had mentioned, none of us knows our expiration date so I did not want to wait for this stellar day! I discovered after celebrating his 89th, this "boy" was going to meet that 90 year mark! ... Look at him!!!

Rich Brend's 89th!! Surprise! Surprise!!

OK, this is a 55+ softball league... sure, there are some players a bit older than that:)) however, Rich, I thought, was perhaps in his late seventies, early 80's? NOPE- he was tunring 89 March 2023! Rich is an amazing player- even better than some of the "youth" in D4- yes, I said it:)) He is quick witted, hits the crap out of the ball and, as catcher, yells out who is hitting where and calls out the plays! I met Rich while shooting a vets tournamnet in 2022 and discovered his age. I followed him through the seasons already planning on a surprise birthday celebration at the field for his 89th- I didn't wish to wait until the 90th- none of knows our expiration date:) It was another stellar player, Jack Kleffman, who had shared with me about Rich's birthday. I got to work- ordered a mass amount of cupcakes, more baked goodies from our significant others:) large helium balloons, and a photo journal featuring him to be presented on a game day in March which, turned out to be his actual birthday! The week before I had made cards of each team and had all players sign their team birthday card to Rich. I gathered photos from the Vets tournament, action shots of him over the past seasons I had captured and made the journal. Buck Buchanan played his bagpipes as we sang Happy Birthday to this stellar guy!..... was he surprised?? Indeed!! HIs comment; "It blew my mind what you did" If you don't know Rich, you should! He is amazing!! I told him there is an old saying; "you are what you eat"- so, Rich, what do you eat? EVERYTHING! he replied!! Cheers to you Rich! We look forward to celebrating your 90th!! ... and we did:))

Surprise! Surprise!! Summer 2023 Birthday Celebrations!

Bill Yeager & HIs Lovely Wife, Linda! .... I was happy that I had been able to capture this particular time in Bill's softball career as he bowed out playing .... We hope all is well with them- Linda never missed a game! . . . . .

Cheers To Lamar! Our honored elder AND Longest In Rec D4!

The end of 2023, Lamar was one of the first inductees into the Rec D4 Hall Of Fame.

Lamar had a health issue at the beginning of Summer, 2024. While we missed celebrating his birthday at the field, it did not stop him from recuperating... at the field!! Lamar, Colleen, and their son- the 1st time back! Happily, Lamar is back on his feet; still managing, singing, and being the thoughtful soul he is!