Play ball! These seniors show there is still fire inside even if there is snow on the roof

The sun was still hanging low in the east on Thursday morning as about 50 softball players gathered at G.T. Bray Park.

The bronzed clay was freshly raked, a hint of freshly mowed outfield grass hung in the air and fresh chalk powdered the first and third base lines.

The crack of an aluminum bat making contact with the ball rang out like thunder and the only thing flying more than the softballs were the jokes.

The Bradenton Senior Softball League is not your ordinary league and they certainly are not your ordinary players with the youngest player being 60 and the oldest — league founder Lloyd Grantham — being 90.

“It’s many things to many people,” said Wayne Kopp, a player and a member of the league board of directors. “This is the greatest bunch of guys I’ve ever been around. There’s such a camaraderie here, it’s just amazing.”

Typically the league features around 200 active seniors who play at both the competitive and recreational levels. Though they play 52 weeks a year, late spring through summer is considered to be the offseason as the leagues dwindle in numbers as the snowbirds head home.

So they gather every Monday and Thursday morning for pickup games, fielding four to five teams.

During the season there is a Monday league, Tuesday league and a Thursday American League and National League, with the American League being the most competitive.

There is a spot waiting for anyone, however, regardless of skill level and the rules on the field have been adjusted slightly for both safety and to assist those with physical limitations.

Grantham started the league in 1991.

“I wanted to get involved in something,” Grantham said. “I came to the parks department and was told they didn’t have any leagues, but the guy said there was a bunch of old guys out there that play when they can get enough guys together. I went down to meet these guys and it turned out they were all World War II veterans.”

Grantham said the group started making announcements to try to get more players and soon they were getting enough from Sarasota to make trips back and forth to play games.

By 1994, they had two full teams and were looking for uniform shirts.

“I asked a guy how much for 24 shirts and he told me if we put his name on them, he’d give us a deal,” Grantham said.

And the first sponsor of the fledgling league — sportabout.com — emerged.

Today, there are about two dozen sponsors who help keep costs — which average about $25 every four months — down for players. The league pays about $750 a year for new softballs and Manatee County charges them close to $9,000 to use the fields.

Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore and former commissioner and now Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie tried unsuccessfully to get the county to waive the league’s fees given the benefits of providing seniors a healthy activity, “But the rest wouldn’t budge on the money,” Grantham said.

By the league’s sixth year, they were fielding five or six full teams, “and it’s grown exponentially since then,” Grantham said.

They want it to continue to grow for a variety of reasons, but primarily to help other seniors know they don’t have to sit on a couch. It’s an opportunity to play the game they love, stay active and, “The best part is the great friendships that are created,” Kopp said.

“Where else can you go and spend about three hours with a great bunch of guys and then go eat at Clancy’s or somewhere while needling the other guys in a way you can’t do anywhere else,” Grantham said.

After a quick back and forth with Kopp, he added, “If you don’t have thick skin, don’t show up.”

The smiles, laughter and nonstop jokes never let up.

“And it’s completely casual,” board member William Lowe said. “We realize people are doing other things, like their grandkids may be in town or are going on vacation. There’s no pressure.”

Kopp said the guys do get competitive with one another, if for nothing else to have bragging rights for the day and give the others a hard time. But in the true spirit of the league, Lowe said, “We have bragging rights even if we don’t have anything to brag about.”

And, “Win or lose in the game, you get the same amount of exercise and a lot of guys just come for the exercise and friendships,” said Paul Wilson, another board member. “After a month in this league, you’ll be on a first-name basis with everyone here.”

Don’t play ball, but still love the game? No problem. All of the league’s umpires are volunteers, “And they come religiously just for the love of the game and being with the guys,” Kopp said. “It’s something you can’t put into words, you can’t explain it. You just have to come and feel it and be a part of it to understand.”

Visit bradentonseniorsoftball.com to learn more.