A League of Their Own…. at Green Lane
Casandra Turnbull
Managing Editor
For the members of the Brant Senior Slo Pitch Group, age really is just a number, although their bodies may remind them otherwise the morning after a game.
Every Wednesday from early May through late September, a group of about 28 players gathers at Green Lane Sports Complex in Paris for 90 minutes of slo-pitch, friendly banter and plenty of laughs.
The players range in age from 65 to 80, with an average age of about 70, proving there doesn’t have to be an expiry date on playing the game you love.
“The muscles get sore and we need a bit longer to recover from a game,” said longtime member Neil Murray.
But that hasn’t stopped them from coming back week after week, year after year.
The group traces its roots back about 12 years to Gord Osmond, a retired teacher who saw a need for something a little different for older ball players.
Osmond brought together friends and former colleagues who were getting too old for traditional league play but weren’t ready to hang up their gloves. The idea was simple: give players aged 60 and older an opportunity to enjoy a casual game of slo-pitch without worrying too much about the final score.
Osmond and a handful of friends arranged the Green Lane diamond rental, insurance, budget and player roster. After Osmond died in 2017, a small group jokingly known as the “Commissioners Office” carried on what he started.
Today, roughly six of the original players are still involved.
While the group once considered expanding and adding more teams, members ultimately decided bigger wasn’t necessarily better. They maintain a roster of about 28 to 30 players, allowing those who show up each Wednesday to be randomly divided into two teams.
Players inevitably come and go, but openings have generally been filled by other retired friends.
After each Wednesday game, the group heads to the Grand Bayou for lunch and refreshments. Members also gather there for an end-of-season party and get together again at Christmas.
“The social aspect of our group is very important,” Murray said. Many of the players golf together, some curl together and others socialize away from the ball diamond. That camaraderie is part of what keeps them returning each week.
“A few things keep people coming back each week … the enjoyment of playing the game, the friendly banter between the players, and the fact that no one takes the game too seriously,” Murray said. “No one really cares who wins, and there is always lots of laughter while playing.”
Skill level doesn’t matter much either. Some members have played baseball for most of their lives, including competitively, while others hadn’t picked up a bat or glove since elementary school before joining the group.
Everyone gets a chance to hit. Everyone gets a chance to field. And everyone understands the real objective.
“The goal is just to have fun playing the game,” Murray said.
The realities of playing into your 60s, 70s and 80s also provide plenty of material for good-natured ribbing.
“We joke that there are more players who need a runner than those who can run!” Murray said.
Some former players who can no longer take the field still come out to umpire and keep score, although Murray is quick to point out that the score doesn’t matter much, and arguments over safe or out calls aren’t exactly part of Wednesday mornings at Green Lane.
Staying active, however, does matter. The slo-pitch group is just one part of an active lifestyle for many of its members, who also golf, curl, cycle, work out at the gym or play lawn bowling.
“If one can have fun while staying fit, it is a good motivator to keep playing week after week, year after year,” Murray said.
Speaking of years, over time the group has developed a few traditions of its own.
At the end-of-season party, the Gord Osmond Award is presented to a player who demonstrates good sportsmanship and a love of the game, preserving the spirit of the man who started it all.
There is also a Versatility Award, where the criteria are considerably more flexible. It might recognize a memorable play, perfect attendance or, as Murray put it, “anything we can think of really.”
The group even has its own Hall of Fame.
Neil MacDonald, a Special Olympics world champion bocce player who has been part of the group for several years and is known for bringing plenty of humour to the diamond, became the first recipient of the Hall of Fame trophy last year in recognition of his outstanding play.
The impact of the Wednesday morning games extends beyond Green Lane where they play the game.
When there is money remaining in the group’s budget at the end of the season, members make a donation to a local charity or sports organization. Past recipients have included the Arnold Anderson Sport Fund, Paris Minor Softball and, more recently, the local food bank.
There are no standings to chase, championships to win or scouts watching from behind home plate. Instead, for a group of local seniors, Wednesday mornings are about something much simpler: staying active, sharing some laughs with friends and continuing to play a game that has brought many of them joy for decades. And if it takes a little longer to recover afterward these days, that seems a small price to pay for another season on the diamond.
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