THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507060166
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Robert Klemstine stepped up to the plate, gripped the aluminum bat and waved it menacingly. He took a mean cut at the first pitch and fouled it off.
On the second pitch, ``Klem'' found his stroke. He waited on the arcing toss and lined it solidly to leftfield before the shortstop could take a step.
``This guy was the most feared hitter in Norfolk . . . in 1955,'' yelled second baseman Ernie Spainhour with a laugh. ``Don't throw him that one anymore.''
Klemstine is 67, Spainhour a little younger. The two gentlemen play 50-and-over softball. On a gloomy Sunday on the Newtown Road Elementary School field they are practicing like minor-league rookies eager to make the team.
``We got a list of names and I called some guys. We're running a raffle to raise some money and we played in a couple of tournaments in Richmond,'' said Mike Hage, a left-handed pitcher/first baseman with a salt-and-pepper beard.
A league of their own is just a dream at the time of the practice. There is no organized league, although they're working on it.
About 20 guys take batting practice, the infielders handle some grounders surprisingly well and in leftfield, Bob Yates makes a couple of nice running catches near the line.
``He's a kid, about 52 or so,'' said Cecil Shirley, 66, a strong-armed shortstop.
Hage, 53, has had eight surgeries of varying severity in the past two years, but the 36-year softball veteran refuses to step off the field.
``Some of the guys have had torn rotator cuffs, knees, stuff like that,'' he said. ``One guy had a heart transplant and couldn't return, so we have just the guys you see here practicing.''
Out-of-town tournaments take the place of local organized games because of the scarcity of players. The team plays in both coed and men-only tournaments. They traveled to Manassas last month for a weekend of softball. Richmond has an extensive Seniors League, Hage said, and the local group always manages to get in a couple of games with a Richmond All-Star team.
Bob ``Bear'' Kightlinger has been playing softball since 1958. He went into umpiring 17 years ago - a member of the recently formed National Softball Association crew.
``I'm one of three umpires here today,'' said Kightlinger.
Does Kightlinger argue with the umpires who work the games he plays?
``Yeah, some,'' he said. ``Not like I used to.''
Bill Pryor is a spry 65. He even plays winter ball.
``It's called the Half-Century Softball League, in St. Petersburg,'' said Pryor who played in 75 games while the rest of his teammates endured the winter. ``Jim McKean (a major-league umpire) plays in the league.''
Pryor muffed an easy ground ball to second and this brought a raspberry from Hage on the mound:
``Send him back to Florida.''
Pryor pulled his blue baseball cap down over his eyes in embarrasment.
Yates started playing softball the same year that Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record - 1961 - and he hasn't missed a season.
Yates had rotator cuff surgery recently. It's hard to tell when he bats. His clean, left-handed swing drives pitches on a line to rightfield.
A recent raffle was also a big hit, bringing in more than $900.
``We're going up to play in a masters tournament in Richmond,'' said Hage.
Klemstine may have been speaking for all aging softballers when he said: ``You can come out here and play, whether you're good, bad or indifferent. You can still have a good time. It's a great bunch of guys.'' by CNB