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Kids and Kubs softball
Lloyd Sowers reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg softball team keeps its players young at heart.
Ethel Lehmann has been playing this game since she was a kid.
"I just love the game of softball," she shared.
She’s now 93 and still playing twice a week.
FOX 13’s Lloyd Sowers asked her, "Did you ever dream you would still be playing at 93?"
"No, I didn’t think I’d be living this long, let alone playing!" she replied.
Ethel Lehmann has been playing softball since she was a kid.
She’s a member of the Kids and Kubs softball team. They play a doubleheader every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. at North Shore Park in St. Petersburg.
On Tuesday, the team kicked off its 93rd season.
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"We’re the oldest continuously operating senior softball league in the United States and probably the world," said 80-year-old Will Michaels, a first baseman and president of the team.
When the Veterans Administration did a study of the Kids and Kubs members, it learned that players had less heart disease, fewer varicose veins and were happier when compared to other people their age.
You have to be at least 75 years old to play. The team has been in existence since 1930.
A vintage photograph at the St. Petersburg Museum of History shows Babe Ruth visiting the team in 1933.
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Members of the city’s 3/4 Century Club formed the team for fun. But, they soon noticed that playing made them feel better.
A vintage photograph at the St. Petersburg Museum of History shows Babe Ruth visiting the team in 1933.
"Later on in the 1970s, the Veterans Administration here locally actually did a study of the Kids and Kubs members," says Michaels. "They were amazed by the results."
Michaels said players had less heart disease than a group of people of the same age who didn’t play. He says the players also seemed happier.
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"Guys were having a lot more fun and they were a lot more upbeat," he says.
All players must be at least 75 years old to play on the team.
There are still a lot of smiles on the field even though games are competitive. Players love to track their statistics.
"We’ve got batting averages, slugging averages, and on-base percentage," says Michaels.
They like to keep their stats high and their blood pressure low.
For the Kids and Kubs, the object of the game is to make it last as long as they can.