State - Ypsilanti 'Game That Never Was' gets played

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) -- The game that never was has finally come to pass, 37 years after a girl's presence in a boys' league led to its cancellation. About 100 people took shelter from umbrellas under rainy skies Saturday to watch the softball game at Ypsilanti's Frog Island. "Here we go," said co-organizer and documentary filmmaker Brian Kruger. "The weather isn't great but this ought to be fun." Carolyn King took her position in center field for the Ypsilanti American Little League All-Stars as they set up to play the National Little League All-Stars. The game was supposed to happen in 1973, but the Ypsilanti American Little League lost its charter when King was allowed to join the all-boys league. The ban drew nationwide attention. Recently, American League team member Buddy Moorehouse, now a writer living in Howell, collaborated with Kruger, of Grosse Pointe, on the documentary "The Girl in Centerfield." It premiered Saturday at Ypsilanti High School. Players on the teams have argued for years about who would have won the game. On Saturday, the American League All-Stars won 15-14. "They could talk all they wanted, we knew we were going to win," King told the Detroit Free Press after the game. "It was absolutely a blast." King, 49, of Toledo, Ohio, went from player to player afterward, giving out hugs and kisses and posing for pictures. One exchange of hugs was with Tony Viers, 62, of Ypsilanti. "I was the umpire at your first game," Viers said. "Oh, thank you!" King replied. The players, mainly 48 to 50 years old, teased each other steadily about their aging. "Hey Carolyn, this should be called the 'Jurassic Park' game," said Philip Philippou, 48, of Montgomery, Ala., who came back to Ypsilanti to be at the game. "I haven't seen so many fossils since that movie." King came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, her ponytail sticking out of her baseball cap. The National League pitcher proceeded to start giving her an intentional walk, arousing some in the crowd. "You sissies!" one woman screamed. "Pitch to the girl!" After the game, the competition faded and old friends stood around, reminiscing about the past. "When I see a girl playing baseball now, I get a warm fuzzy," King told AnnArbor.com before the game. "That makes me feel really good knowing that my granddaughter can grow up and have an equal opportunity to play on any team she wants to play on. That's a pretty awesome thought." Published: Tue, Aug 24, 2010

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