PERSPECTIVES
that the particular strain I had contracted kills more than 80 % of the people who contract it. Of those who live, more than half end up with mental disabilities.
I could not feel my body from my neck down. Over time, the fog that I was in lifted. I remembered my parents, and could understand things, but I could not yet communicate. Feeling slowly came back to my hands, then arms, then legs, and finally my feet. I eventually needed therapy to learn how to walk, how to talk, and how to eat food again. I continued with speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy after I was released from the hospital.
It was a grueling recovery that took time, tears, patience and prayers. My family and friends were warriors helping me get through it, and I cannot imagine what they went through or how they felt.
A NEW JOURNEY BEGINS By summer I was well enough to walk, and was released from the hospital. But I was bored back at home while I was recovering. So, I decided to visit my fraternity brother, Roy Silvis, who was working as head groundskeeper at Bowman Field, the Minor League Baseball stadium in Williamsport that was home to the Short-Season Class A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. It was far enough from my house that I normally would not have walked, but since I just re-learned how to use my legs, I wanted to keep them moving.
I walked to Bowman Field just to see Roy, but he asked if I wanted to be his assistant. It would mainly involve game day help watering, lining, moving screens, etc. I gladly accepted. I had played baseball during my freshman year of college, and wanted to be around the game.
That summer introduced me to a couple of people who would become mentors to me. First was Don Fowler, a Penn State Extension Specialist who also coordinated all of the volunteer efforts for the Little League World Series, which was played across the river. Don showed me how to work the clay on the mounds and plates, and gave me a lot of advice. The other was Lubie Veal, a former MLB head groundskeeper in Cincinnati, Montreal, and in Chicago at Wrigley Field. The Cubs would send Lubie to all of their minor league parks to ensure the fields were up to par.
For the next three summers, I got to continue working at Bowman Field as head groundskeeper thanks to General Manager Doug Estes taking a chance on a hometown
32 SportsField Management | May 2026 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com