Miracle League Has Its Own 'Angels In The Outfield'

In the 1951 black-and-white film "Angels in the Outfield," a group of deceased ballplayers bestow "miracles" on the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates as they make a run for the pennant.

Fifty years later, the Miracle League of Alexandria had its own real "angels in the outfield" during its first season that ended Saturday, June 4.

"The goal for this program was for every participant to have fun and enjoy the experience of being able to play baseball," said Mac Slover, city sports director. "The overwhelmingly success of the inaugural season is the direct result of the support of the Therapeutic Recreation staff, the Miracle League Advisory Board and the countless volunteers who come out each weekend to provide support to the league’s participants."

The league's mission is to provide an accessible, fun, and attractive environment for individuals with special needs and others to enjoy sports activities.

The Miracle League ran from April 30 to June 4 and was sponsored by the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities with assistance from the sports office, Slover and the Therapeutic Recreation Office and Jackie Person.

There were five games that were played, with four at the Lee Center Field on Jefferson Street and one indoors at George Washington Middle School on a rainy day.

Youth and adults played together and every player got a chance to bat each inning, and every hit was a home run. Each player also played the field in each inning. There were also “Angels in the Outfield,” a group of adults who served as buddies to assist players in batting and fielding.

Private-sector support came from the Kelley Cares Foundation (led by Lindsey and Katey Swanson), the Miracle League of Alexandria (led by Bill Rivers, Laura Fries and Pat Miller) and the local chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

While the season ended June 4, that weekend also served as the kickoff for a fund-raising effort to help have a Miracle Field built by 2013 to support the Miracle League Program of Alexandria, according to Rivers, who has lived in the Del Ray neighborhood since 1974.

A retired federal government employee, Rivers is the chairman of the Miracle League of Alexandria and secretary on the Youth Sports Advisory Board for the City of Alexandria.

"This is something that was needed for Alexandria to help the special needs community," Rivers told Patch. He said the league hopes to raise $135,000 from the private sector to assist an additional $285,000 that is in the city's capital improvement budget for 2013, beginning in July 2012.

Rivers said The Miracle League is a national effort based in Georgia, where it began in 2001. The Alexandria league had a dirt infield this past season but the Miracle Field at the Lee Center would have a rubber surface to make it accesible as possible to those in wheelchairs.

"Mac felt it was important to get it going. We wanted to wait until the season finale to kick off fundraising efforts for the actual field," Rivers said. "That began last Saturday." He said a contribution of $10,000 from the Swanson family helped jumpstart those efforts.

Rivers said about 25 to 30 people, with an even mix between youth and adults, were able to play in at least one of the games this spring. Some of the players were in wheelchairs. "We have a good group of people working with us," he said. "It all kind of seemed to come together. The season was very well received by parents and kids."

The Washington Nationals, Washington Wizards, Alexandria Soccer Association, Alexandria Lacrosse Club, Alexandria Little League and the Rita's Company contributed to an Opening Day raffle.  

Fries, who handles communications for league, learned about the league from Rivers. She has lived in Del-Ray since 1993.

“I knew I wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “Our son Brian was born in 2001 with a rare disease. He was confined to a wheelchair,” said Fries, whose son passed away in 2005.

She said The Miracle League goes one step further than the Challenger Division of Little League Baseball, which is for youth. “When you have a special needs kid you are left out” of activities a lot, she said. “We would have to sit on the sidelines" with Brian.

Fries grew up in the Pittsburgh area and knows about the struggles of the current-day Pirates, who have not had a winning season since 1992.

But thanks to some "angels in the outfield" and others, The Miracle League of Alexandria hopes to hit a home run by building its own Miracle Field.

The Miracle League benefits through the purchase of tickets for Washington Nationals' baseball games at Nationals Park. Go to the Washington Nationals web site and click: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ticketing/groups_events.jsp?grou... and a portion of the ticket cost will assist the efforts of the league.

For more on the Alexandria league go to www.miracleleagueofalexandria.com.