04-11-2024 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 26
Richard Shepherd drives a pitch during softball practice at Centennial Park.
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN Howard Magazine
PHOTOS BY KARL MERTON FERRON
alt Hooper strode to the plate,
swung the bat and lifted a soft fly
ball past second base.
“Good hit, Walt!” a teammate shouted.
Why praise a pop-up? Hooper, of Ellicott
City, is 90 years old.
Others on the practice field were codgers,
too. All play in Howard County’s senior softball
program, a weekly outing for those too stubborn
to act their age.
Each Saturday, several dozen athletes — most
in their 70s — gather at Centennial Park North,
in Ellicott City, to choose up sides and strut their
stuff. For them, diamonds are forever.
“Our slogan is, ‘We’re still on the right side
of the grass,’ ” said Hooper, of Ellicott City. As
a youth, he played sandlot baseball with the late
Al Kaline, a Hall of Famer, and attended Poly
during an era when the Baltimore school was
on North Avenue.
For 30 years, Hooper has taken his cuts in
senior softball, declining skills be damned.
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| Spring 2024 | howardmagazine.com
Twice a week, the nonagenarian drives himself
to a local batting cage and practices his swings
to gear up for the weekend games against others
aged 55 and over.
“I like the camaraderie and I love to compete,”
Hooper said of his pastime. “I swing the bat
good, though the ball doesn’t go very far. I can’t
play the field, I can’t run and I can’t throw; other
than that, I’m okay.”
Teammates praise Hooper’s gumption, which
mirrors their own.
“I have a great need for physical activity,”
said pitcher Larry Roberts, 83, of Columbia.
A former marathoner, he ran 22 such races
before switching sports 20 years ago. Roberts
also oversees the senior softball program, which
runs April to October, though the group plays
year-round if weather permits.
“Our cutoff [temperature] is 45 degrees,
though we’ve played through snow flurries,”
said Roberts. “Once you’re out here [on the
field], you hate to give it up.”