They all qualify for a senior discount, and most likely have a hard time working the television remote, but don’t let their age fool you. These seniors put on quite a show in the second annual Mayor’s Cup Senior Softball Tournament at Old Kona Airport Park.
In the 60-and-over division, Hawaii Masters and Cal-Red battled in a game that will go down in tournament lore.
The game featured multiple multi-run comebacks from the Hawaii Masters, a called back game-winning score in the bottom of the final inning, and more than 50 combined runs from the high-powered offenses. With some late heroics, Cal-Red escaped with a narrow 26-25 win in extra innings; however, the win did not secure a Mayor’s Cup for Cal-Red.
Because of the tournament’s playoff format, the teams were scheduled to play a second game, but a variety of uncontrollable variables and the caliber of the first game prompted organizers to name Hawaii Masters and Cal-Red co-champions.
“Today’s game was one no team deserved to lose,” said Hawaii Masters player-coach Ed Schell. “Softball is a zero-sum game. Every game somebody wins and somebody loses, but today, both teams deserved to win, so this was the only appropriate way to end it.”
Jack Aaronson, Cal-Red’s towering slugger and two-time tournament home run champion, was also satisfied with the co-champion ruling.
“Hawaii is the best place to play ball and today was just a tremendous game,” Aaronson said. “I’ve been to Cuba, Barcelona, here and there playing this sport, and Hawaii is the best.”
In the 70-over division, a short-handed Hawaiian Pride easily took home the crown with a win over BCeniors, one of two teams visiting from Canada.
“Its nice to have all these visitors coming and playing ball,” said Hawaiian Pride player-coach Daniel Ayala. “This tournament is something that can be built upon. Right now it is snowing and cold all over. It is beautiful here, so more people should be coming here, running around and enjoying the sun.”
The tournament garnered an international field of great senior athletes, but the stories behind the players were even more impressive.
Ayala is a retired fire chief and has played softball all over the map. The 74-year-old is one of the best-known senior players in the state and is the lone Hawaii representative in the Senior Softball Hall of Fame. He has 14 world championship rings and this year will mark his 18th time making the trip to the Senior World Championships in Utah.
“I never imagined being a hall of famer,” Ayala said. “I was a shortstop coming up in high school but was also into basketball and boxing. I have more rings than I have fingers now and I’m absolutely stoked to have the hall of fame honor.”
The Canada Raiders’ Les Lane, despite being 74-years-old, came into the tournament with just a handful of years on the diamond.
“I didn’t pick up a bat till I was 70-years-old,” Lane said. “I pick up sports pretty easily, so when one of the players asked me to play, and I said darn tootin’ I will. Now I’m here.”
Lane’s athletic prowess on the field was obvious, and keeps in shape by staying active nearly every day of the week.
“I play softball a minimum of three times a week and golf twice. The other two I have to reintroduce myself to my wife,” Lane joked.
Like any true Canadian, Hockey, not softball, was Lane’s first love. But it was not a play in the street and iced over ponds type of fascination with the sport. Lane played for the Chicago Blackhawks, back in the “Original Six” days of the NHL.
“I played for Chicago, but ended up joining the Canadian Navy. They wanted me to play hockey with them in a semipro league and offered me a university education. Back then, there were only six teams and we didn’t make a lot of money. You still had to have a second job. I didn’t have a lot of training in anything else, so when the Navy offered me that it was a done deal.”
Lane was one of many athletes who stuck around for the post-tournament festivities. The camaraderie between the players within the tight-knit senior softball community is where the tournament really shines.
“We got the tournament off the ground last year and doubled our teams for this year,” said Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Bob Fitzgerald, who also played in the tournament with Kona Gold. “It has been a pleasure to play the games and see the camaraderie afterward. All the guys have the aloha spirit and I think it will keep people coming back. The games are competitive but there are lots of social aspects of the tournament.”
With a medal around his neck, and garnering handshakes from nearly every passerby, Schell reflected on his tournament.
“Any given day someone will come up and ask me how I’m doing,” Schell said. “I look around, it’s the middle of the week, middle of the winter, and I’m out here playing a kids game with my friends. I can’t imagine how things could be any better.”