Community, Camaraderie, and Fun Come Together at the Roseville Senior Softball Association
Fellowship and goodwill at the ballfield.
The Roseville Senior Softball Association (RSSA) is a way Roseville seniors have been creating community, camaraderie, and fun since 1988.
The RSSA league started in 1988 with two teams. Today, the league has grown to over 400 active players, 4 leagues and 27 teams. Players range in age from 55 to 92.
Their summer season (May through September) is played on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in Roseville and Little Canada. Their winter season (November through March) is played in the Stillwater Sports Center Dome.
The original league was founded by Jerry Kelley with only six players in 1988 under the name "Old Timers League." Kelley placed ads in local papers and recruited more players. In Sept. 1991, Kelley met with representatives from the Shoreview and Blaine teams and they decided to expand the league and rename it the Saintly Seniors Senior Slow Pitch Softball League.
The new league consisted of four teams that competed against each other in their home towns. To make the league more accessible for all the players a central location was secured on three fields in St. Paul. Creating a central location for all the games enabled the league to attract additional players and expand.
Two more teams were added in 1994, and the league continued to grow and attract younger players. Soon the league outgrew the St. Paul location and they started looking for a new home. In 1996, a player named Vince Deter discovered the Victoria Park Ballfields in Roseville and that has been the league home ever since (with additional fields added later). Today, the RSSA is the largest senior league in the country.
A pleasant morning at a game
This reporter (Greg Simbeck) had the pleasure of attending a recent RSSA game at the Victoria Softball Fields in Roseville. As I entered the park, I was met almost immediately by Association president Lee Johnson who was also a participant in that day's game. Lee was a gracious and generous host and he introduced me to a slew of people associated with RSSA.
And not just players—I met the women who serve up the food weekly to the ballplayers; the ex-player who still brings beverages to the players twice a week; the staff person from the New Perspectives of Rosedale Senior Living Community who takes the residents to the games where they cheer on the teams and partake in lunch.
The game I attended that day was between Dick Anderson - Yellow vs. Richard Andert - Royal Blue. And what a game it was. It was a seesaw battle all the way until the end where the Dick Anderson-Yellow finally prevailed 25-24 after a slugfest. And although each and every player had a competitive spirit, there was only goodwill and camaraderie at game's end.
Community
As exciting as the game action was, the real soul of the day was found in my interviews with the people involved with the Association and my observance of the esprit de corps of all of the participants. Along with the visitors from New Perspectives, it was a marvel to watch all of the participants come together at the end to break bread together at the park’s pavilion.
It wasn’t just participants from the game I attended. There were two other RSSA games played at adjacent fields and those groups joined the party. Additionally, Association-affiliated teams who had competed at other league sites drove in to eat and share stories with their friends. And they were accompanied by family, friends, and fans of the RSSA.
Interviews
I met so many wonderful people on my visit to the field and they were all friendly and cordial. Here are excerpted comments from my interviews:
Greg: The RSSA has created a community here. Tell me about that?
Lee Johnson, Player and RSSA Commissioner: “It is community. The operative word is fellowship. The league has grown and we try to cultivate as best we can. Many players come in with that burning competitiveness and it doesn’t take them too long to find out what senior ball is all about. We play hard. We compete hard. But when it’s all over, we get together. Every year, we dismantle every team and the next spring players get redrafted. Then all of sudden, you’ve met 20, 40, 60, 80 guys.”
Greg: What stories do you have about some of the guys in the league?
Willie Braeker, Beverage guy and longtime participant: “Terry Mens, who is a 25-year player and administrator with the Association was just elected to the Minnesota Senior Sports Association Hall of Fame. He is a former MVP at the World Senior Softball Championships in Las Vegas. And Dick Anderson, another Hall of Fame inductee is the oldest active player in the Association at age 94.”
Greg: What would you say to people who might want to come here and watch a game? Is it fun?
Lee, Deb, Linda, Mo, Association food providers: “Oh, it's a lot of fun. We have a bus that comes in every couple of weeks from New Perspectives Senior Living and the residents come here to enjoy the games and eat lunch. The RSSA is about camaraderie and getting together with your friends. Not about winning or losing.”
Greg: Tell me about your experience winning the National World Series?
Vince Deter, long-time Association veteran: “It happened in 1992. We won nine games in a row to win the title and we went undefeated. We beat teams from all over the world. I was the shortstop. I was fast. Dick Anderson, who’s still playing, was the pitcher on our team.”
Greg: What do the residents say they enjoy about attending RSSA games?
Edgar Pacheny, staff person from New Perspectives Senior Living Community: “A chance to get outdoors. One of the resident’s nephews plays on one of the teams as well as a New Perspectives staff member’s father. Some of them were softball players, so it’s nice to see people closer to their age playing the game. It comes at a convenient time, so we’re not missing too much programming at the community.”
[Editor's note: Some quotes have been paraphrased or edited for length]
RSSA League Information
The RSSA by-laws state that RSSA membership shall be open to all players, both men and women, 55 years of age or older in the current calendar year. Players under the age of 55 must be approved by the RSSA Commissioner to participate.
Each team may have a minimum of eleven players. Teams play eleven players in the field, with manager’s option of twelve, and everyone bats. Five run maximum per inning except for the final inning.
More information on the Roseville Senior Softball League, game schedules, and how to join can be found on their webpage.
JK -
Greg Simbeck is a freelance writer who lives in Roseville, Minnesota. He has had 200 articles published on national sites including Yardbarker, WhoWhatWhy, and New Leaf News. He and his wife Mary Jo have lived in Roseville for over 17 years. He was previously a commissioner on the Roseville Parks and Recreation Commission and a board member of the Rice-Larpenteur Alliance.
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