"The Man with the Arc"

TOTS Senior Baseball Network

60-and-over baseball

Archie Burke will turn 82 in September.

A member of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club since 1991, Archie will take the mound on occasion. The heavy hitters on the TOTS usually cringe when they find out the "ole right-hander from Wisconsin" will be toeing the rubber.

The reason the players hate to bat off him is due to the fact he doesn't throw a fastball. In fact his offerings are just the opposite as Burke unleashes a high arc and the ball seems to hang in thin air before it comes to rest just inches behind home plate.

Similar to the way the slow-pitch pitchers throw these days, only Archie lets go of the ball overhand!

Archie will turn a .500 hitter on the TOTS into a .189 hitter in a matter of just five at bats.

Some of the older TOTS have been known to fall asleep before one of Archie's pitches makes it to home plate. (Just kiddin' -- but you get the idea).

Just maybe Mr. Burke deserves a little credit and there may be a little "psychology" used as he hurls his way through a seven-inning game.

After all, Archie is a retired school teacher. He spent more than 30 years in the Tucson School District sizing up the kids every year in his classroom. Trying to maneuver the baseball around a bunch of old-timers may, in fact, be a piece of cake.

Case in point: Burke started today's TOTS game at Udall Park and was the winning pitcher as Team Blue edged Team White, 9-6. Right-hander Robert Royer, who will turn 77 in October, pitched a complete game for Team White but was saddled with the loss as Burke worked his "magic."

Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Archie grew up a Milwaukee Brewers fan and his love for the game of baseball has never wavered. With 23 years in the books, Archie figures he'll frustrate his TOTS' teammates for years to come with the "arc ball."

After all, it's no coincidence the first three letters in Archie's name spell, A-R-C!