Martin Bunky Reid Park in Westbury will be setting for a gathering of players, managers and sponsors of the numerous adult softball and baseball teams that once plied the fields in Westbury and surrounding areas.
The Dirty Dozen 2019 Softball Baseball Reunion will take place on Saturday, July 27 from noon to 8 p.m. at the park in the New Cassel area.
There will be a barbecue, refreshments and fellowship. Players are encouraged to bring balls and gloves for recreational tosses. Due to insurance regulations, no pickup games can be played.
According to Ray Cleveland of Tuscaloosa, AL, who played for multiple teams from the 1970s through the 1990s, the following teams will be represented: The Dirty Dozen, The Players, The Eagles, Long Island Blues, B.T. Express, Brooklyn USA, Kenny Kaplan, Imperial Hawks, Rough Riders, Country Sports, The Gents, The Rabbits, The Drifters, Gasoline Heaven, The Buzzards, Jamaica Bus, Henry Street, Superior Sports Club, Cowboys, Rockaway A’s, Vikings, Astros, Raiders, Murlee’s and Larry’s Taxi.
Women’s teams include The Skyhaws, Dozenettes, OTS Express, Rusty Nails, Misty Blue, Gladys’ Den and Angels.
Cleveland said that players from teams that are not listed are also invited.
Among the leagues are 202 Bricktown (Queens), Intercounty (Nassau), Baldwin, Eisenhower Park, Mitchell Field, Southampton (Suffolk), Adie (Queens), Syosset, Lynbrook, Cantiague Park (Hicksville), Hempstead and RVC (Nassau).
Players who participated in a league that is not listed are also invited.
Those who have passed away will be remembered at the reunion. These include (but not are limited to) Oscar Todd, Westbury (played for numerous teams, managed O.T. Express, player/manager for The Eagles); Dickie Beckett, Queens (manager, The Gents); Ragg Prewitt, Westbury; Al Collin, Westbury; Dave Baker, Queens; Harold Neal, Westbury (owner, Superior Sports); Doyle Marks, Hempstead; Lenel Bolling, Queens; Walt Mullen, Carle Place (LI Blues manager, Intercounty League commissioner); George “Doc” Linnehan, Levittown (owner, County Sports, member of the National Softball Hall of Fame); Joe Blocker, Hempstead (managed Henry Street and LI Taxi); Frank Brown, Hempstead; Robert B.C. Crosby, Queens (umpire. league commissioner); Raleigh B. Mallory, Westbury (Roosevelt Trotters, The Dirty Dozen); William Mingo, Westbury (The Players); King Fish, Westbury (The Players); Willie Bruce, Westbury (The Eagles); Bob Powell, Westbury (The Dirty Dozen); and Chance Fairfax, Westbury (The Dirty Dozen).
Among the women players to be remembered are Clara Jones, Westbury (Skyhawks); Denise Brown, Westbury; and Fern Jenkins, Westbury.
For more information, call Ray Cleveland at 205-657-0906. Cleveland credited “Bean” Prewitt and Rickey Prewitt of Westbury as the organizers.
