I shook hands with the man...

Back in 1970, I had the honor of playing in a fast pitch softball all-star game at Tucson Santa Rita Park. I was one of maybe four shortstops who took the field that day.

 I played two innings at the most and maybe fielded a grounder or two. For sure, it was nothing to write home about. But still, it was an honor to have been selected. I was 25 at the time and not quite in my prime as a softball player.

Sitting in the dugout, nervously awaiting my call to the field, I noticed a player at first base who was fielding grounders with ease and he had this aura about him...you know, sometimes you just look at a player and you know he's going to have something to do with the outcome of a game. He was always talking to somebody. Everybody knew him. His name was Dick Griesser and he played for the Tucson Kings.

Believe me I can't remember the outcome of the all star game, or how many hits Dick got that day, but I will never forget the man. He died of cancer this week at the age of 77. A baseball star at Phoenix North High School in the early 50s, Griesser went on to play for the Arizona Wildcats and participated in three College World Series. He also played for Team USA in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

He would eventually settle in Tucson for good and become a well-known teacher and an AIA official. He will be missed. As the dust settled on Santa Rita Park on that warm, summer day forty years ago,we all shook hands. I remember looking up at Dick Griesser as he passed by me. I admired him then...and I still do.