Bowie Senior Softball takes time to remember fallen teammate By JAKE LINGER Sports Editor
Before their season-opening game against Dundalk at Allen Pond, the Bowie Gold seniors softball team held a memorial service for former teammate and noted Bowie resident, Dr. Merv Feldman, who died Feb. 22. Feldman, who practiced out of his Shadow Lane home, spent about five years playing for the Gold.
"He played a lot of first base for us," said teammate Duane Rouch, who noted that Feldman routinely led the team in pregame stretching exercises.
Feldman's teammate Bernie Morris said some nice words about the doctor prior to the game. Morris said that "Merv will be remembered for his integrity, intelligence, generosity, kindness and sense of humor."
"Merv was quietly competitive," said league manager Vail Clemence. "We could be 20 runs behind and he'd be behind the benches saying, 'we're still in this!' "
In addition to Feldman's sister-in-law Paula Kauffman attending the ceremony, Bowie Mayor G. Fred Robinson threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Rouch said that because the league is for seniors, it's not unusual to have ceremonies for fallen teammates, especially since friendships quickly develop between the players.
"It's a good friendship with everybody," said Rouch, a Gold team member of 14 years. "It's just a big friendly get-together."
In addition to the Bowie Gold, there are two other teams - the Silver and Bronze - and between the three, there are about 60 seniors who participate as part of the Baltimore Beltway Senior Slow Pitch Softball League. Rouch said that "Bowie Senior Softball started years ago with just the Silver team," and enough interest prompted the creation of the Gold and Bronze teams. Males over age 60 and females over 55 are welcome to join the league and, according to Rouch, "there's a lot of us old guys still running around."
The rules for the seniors are obviously a little different than maybe the U.S. Olympic team would play by. There are special rules for hitting and, maybe even more importantly, base running to keep the players out of harm's way. The season runs April 21 through Aug. 20 and games - 45 in all - are played twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Citing longer traveling distances this season, to places such as Carroll and northern Howard counties, Rouch noted that there are more doubleheaders being played to accommodate the visiting teams. Games in Bowie are played at either Allen Pond or Blacksox Field.
While Rouch admitted that the Silver and Bronze teams are the best of the three, he also had no problem admitting his Gold team's current streak - three seasons without a win! "We're the oldest group, even a couple of guys in their 80s," said Rouch. "But we're having a good time and that's our main attraction."
Rouch credited Charlie Renner, who runs Bowie Senior Softball, for putting together a good product, which includes the annual end-of-season banquet. He also noted that "the city of Bowie crew did a fantastic job of taking care of the fields," mainly in the sense of mowing and water drainage.
Kauffman was presented with an engraved softball in Feldman's honor, which read, "Merv, Team Mate & Friend," and was signed by the members of the Bowie Gold.
For information regarding Bowie Senior Softball, visit www.baltimoreseniorsoftball.com.
Peter Holden contributed to this story
