Sometimes, I make a good throw to first base. Sometimes I don't. But many times when I make a throw from third base in a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game at Udall Park, my offering falls into the glove of Pima County Sports Hall of Famer Brad Tolson.
At 82, Tolson, a former pitcher for the University of Arizona (early 1950s),was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, joining his father, Andy, who was inducted in 1993. Brad was inducted in '97 along with 17 other local sports figures -- including Hi Corbett and Del Urich. Brad is a quiet man, if you ask him a question about the "old days", he'll let you in on those days of old. As I've said in a previous post, the man's swing is anything but quiet. What a sweet swing! I can play another 20 years with the TOTS (if I last that long) and I wouldn't come close to developing such a beautiful cut at the ball. Brad might be a quiet man now, but back in the '50s, he made a lot of noise with his hall-of-fame type play at both Tucson High School and the University of Arizona. Hats off to you, Mr. Tolson. You still got it!
Photo: Brad in TOTS' uniform with his first baseman glove at his side.
Footnote: Calling Brad "The Quiet Man" not only means, in this case, that he is humble and has that swagger about him, but "The Quiet Man" was actually a 1952 oscar-winning movie, directed by John Ford, which starred John Wayne, who played the character Sean Thornton, a retired American boxer who returned to his birthplace in Ireland and fell in love with Mary Kate Danaher, played by Maureen O'Hara. Brad Tolson is the Chairman of the Board, so to speak, on the TOTS. He's my John Wayne.
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