It has been some time since he hung up his spikes, but if you listen to him talk about it, you can almost envision the ball zipping across the plate at upwards of 90 miles per hour.
While men’s fast pitch softball has faded from the sports landscape, Walter Alestock took me on a wonderful journey recently, one that brought back great memories and educated me properly in terms of the rich history of the game he is so passionate about.
The journey began back in 1942 at the old Northwestern Park, where a 12-year-old boy would discover his fondness for the ball and the bat, and then continued on as he developed a love affair with the game of fast pitch softball – one that would take him all over the Midwest, all the while developing a camaraderie among his peers that is still strong today.
“It all started for me after I began working at the Allison plant in 1950,” said the soft spoken Alestock from his Westside home. “We had a team at work and after I returned from military service in the Marine Corps, we got into the Emroe Sporting Goods twilight league in 1958.
“We had a sponsorship that year from A&A Grocery, and that is how the A&A All Stars evolved.” Alestock and his teammates could not get enough of the action. “It was normal for us to play at Riverside multiple times a week after work and then hit the road on the weekend for tournaments.”
While they were winning a very high percentage of their games, the A&A squad was also doing something much more important, as they provided the impetus for the integration of the game, something that had always been sorely lacking in the local leagues for many years.
Rising above the opposition of some, this group bonded and collectively became a formidable opponent for anyone they faced and won their first of three consecutive city championships in 1969.
They would also be successful in their many ventures out of state, winning multiple tourney championships. While men’s fast pitch softball faded in the 1980s, Alestock today gets his “fix” from watching his beloved New York Yankees.
The A&A alumni still get together monthly to enjoy the fellowship that began several decades ago, and while their playing days are over, the spirit and determination that carried them to great levels of success as a team still provide the foundation for friendship and respect off the diamond.
“Those were some of the best times in my life,” said Alestock as we examined the numerous trophies and memorabilia in his collection. “I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
Danny Bridges, who was a marginal slow pitch player on his best day, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
