Scott Brinton
With the sun burning down at midday, it was a hot one on June 24, well past the 90-degree mark. The parched infield at Merrick Road Park in Merrick turned into a mini-dust bowl whenever a play was made in the double-header between the Floral Park Knights and the Glen Cove Cobras.
But these guys didn't care about a little heat and dust. Many have played summer softball for four, five, even six decades. They are, you might say, softball fanatics, playing 68 games this summer -- a double-header every Tuesday and Thursday.
They are all participants in the Long Island Senior Softball Association, an over-60 league with a number of members who are well into their 70s. There are 20 teams from Nassau, divided into four divisions based on ability. Teams play at sites across the county, including Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore, Greis Park in Lynbrook and Firemen's Field in Valley Stream. Team records are posted on the Internet.
Players are an eclectic bunch from across the South Shore. In addition to Floral Park, teams have formed in Valley Stream, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre. And it matters not what your hometown is; if you're over 60, you can play.
Take Fred Piscop, 60, of Bellmore. He's a Cornell graduate, a one-time computer specialist and a current freelance crossword puzzle creator and editor who has done work for The Washington Post and The New York Times. Piscop, a thin man with a head of long, thick, salt-and-pepper hair who plays keyboards in a band, was riding his bike through Newbridge Road Park recently when he chanced upon an LISSA game, and he thought it would be fun to take a swing at a game he hadn't played in years. He joined the Knights, and so it was that he came to Merrick Road Park on June 24 to guzzle Gatorade, chat about life with a group of newfound friends and play -- simply play.
"I just enjoy playing" softball, Piscop said, sitting in the dugout, which offered the only shade on the field. "I'm trying to stay in shape as best I can. It's getting harder all the time."
The double-header began promptly at 10 a.m., with players arriving at 9 to warm up. Play continued past 1 p.m.
Al Cappelli of Elmont, 62, founded the Knights this year and manages the team, whose home field is Merrick Road Park. Cappelli, who has played softball on and off since 1965, said he's mindful of injuries with older players, advising caution at all turns. "One of the drawbacks is guys haven't played for a while and are using muscles they haven't used for a while," he said.
Guys like 64-year-old Vinny Troiano. He's on the Knights' disabled list after he slipped during a recent game and hurt his knee, but he comes to almost every game to cheer on his team. He said he's played softball "all my life." As a kid growing up in Harlem, he said, "We used to play softball on the blacktop."
He added, "I love the game. Being with good people is important."
Not all players get injured on the field of battle. Chris Fox got hurt in a recent motorcycle accident, but like Troiano, he's at each game, cheering for the Knights and helping to keep score. Fox, 61, a retired psychologist with the New York State Department of Developmental Disabilities, said he couldn't participate in the league last year because he was still working and didn't have the time. When he retired, one of his first acts was to sign up to play the game he has loved since he was a child.
Then there are the more senior members of this senior softball squad, guys like Gus Caroussos of Bellerose -- age 72. A tall man with a shock of silver hair, a neatly trimmed beard and a well-tanned complexion, Caroussos looks very much like Ernest Hemingway. He retired from the hotel industry as a manager in 1995. (A little bit of history: In the 1950s, he helped to open the International Hotel at Idlewild Airport, now John F. Kennedy Airport.)
Caroussos, an imposing figure for the Knights on the pitcher's mound, said he mostly sat at home watching TV after retiring. When he reached 270 pounds, he said enough was enough; he got out and started exercising. Three years ago, he joined a gym, taking spin and yoga classes. Soon he had dropped 40 pounds, and he said he was feeling young again. This year he decided to try his hand at softball.
"I didn't play for 55 years ..." Caroussos said. "A lot of people stay home and get old. You go home and you die."
Softball, he said, "is a day out with the guys. It's better than staying at home."
To learn more about the Long Island Senior Softball Association, go to www.lissascoreboard.com.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
