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Sunday, July 5, 1998
Old-Timers Still
Brimming With Competitive Spirit | |||
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 ENVER"My dad took me to a baseball game and I watched that catcher, and I was glued," he said. "I was mesmerized. There was just something about it. I just wanted to put that mask on and get behind the plate and play as much as I could." Now 70 years old, Biegel still gets into the crouch, handling pitchers in one of the country's few 50-and-over baseball leagues. "I just like to play," said Biegel, a retired teacher. "I'll play as long as I can." Howard Rollin, a veteran of the travel industry who has been involved in adult baseball since 1988, created the new league for aging ballplayers like Biegel after recognizing the enthusiasm generated by the 1993 birth of the Colorado Rockies, who are playing host to Tuesday's All-Star game. "I created this league because I want to have the opportunity to play the real game as long as I can," said Rollin, 50. "But this league is also for others who feel the same way about the game of baseball. If I didn't do it, nobody else would do it. "For the guys that are over 50, getting out there and playing again is very emotional because they never thought they could ever play baseball again." The league, which boasts a 14-game season and conducts games on Sundays at a city-run ballpark, consists of four teams replete with silver-haired men who refuse to let the dust settle on their bats, gloves and spikes. They play the game with the zeal of teenagers. Continued Copyright Los Angeles Times | |||
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