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R J Mirikie/Gazene StaThere'll soon be softball action aplenty on diamonds all over Southern Wisconsin as another season gets under way.Softball summersSome win, some lose, but all have tunBy Rick Koselk® Gazette StaffnpheI BuX dei‘fun.name of the game is supposed to be fun. But how much fun softball players have depends upon how they define the wordFor the Jumbo’s Pub slow-pitch softball team, fun is winning every game. “Winning comes first,” player-coach Denny Muth says. “Then we have fun.”Jumbo’s had lots of fun last year. The newly formed team got hot in the second half of the season and went on to be Grand Champion in the Rockford Slow-Pitch League.The fun continued later in the summer when Jumbo’s placed third in something called the “World Tournament,” in which teams must qualify by placing high enough in designated tournaments throughout the summer. The teambecame downright ecstatic early this spring when Jumbo’s returned to the World Tournament and this time came away with the first-place trophy.“We’ll play over 100 games this year. You can never play enough,” said Muth, who never has enough of softball, period. In addition to playing and coaching, Muth also is the caretaker of the Back O’ The Yards softball complex.The team’s motto seems to be, “Have Tournament, Will Travel.” Jumbo’s has played in tournaments from Iowa to Indiana, paying its own expenses through various fund-raising efforts and winnings from high tournament finishesEvery weekend, Jumbo’s usually can be found playing in some tournament somewhere in the Midwest. During the week, practices and games in the Rockford League keep the players occupied.“Luckily, most of the players are single,” Muth said. “It’s pretty tough to find a serious ball player these days. We’ll practice off and on all winter. Then we’ll play or practice three times a week and play every weekend“There aren’t too many wives or girlfriends who understand what it takes to have a good softball team.”Dave “Sparky” Truesdill, on the other hand, knows how to have a good time playing and coaching softball. He’s had such a good time— winning or losing—that a lot of his friends can’t understand why he keeps hanging around softball fields.Truesdill has had a handful of operations on his knees and his heart. But nothing has slowed him down, and nothing is going to keep him from coaching the St. William’s church team or his□ Turn to SOFTBALL/IC185 teams will take
Newspaper Details
Janesville Sunday Gazette
Janesville, Wisconsin, US
Sun, Apr 24, 1988
Page 23
Full Page
Clipped by
Cynthia T.
USA 18 Mar 2024
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