 | |
|
There actually was talk of keeping the team going in 2001. Joe Sammut, the last link to the old AWA teams of the past, still wanted to play, and when the 2000 season ended, Joe volunteered to become the team's next manager. He had a good core of players to build a team around, including some very good talent in Fred Forster, Maytheni Allen, Jody Fuller, and Mike Wheeler, among others, and these guys were all willing to come back.
But when the spring rolled around, Joe found he had lost his enthusiasm for running the team, particularly since none of his old friends would be playing with him. He sensed that this would not be the AWA he always knew, and the big lefty announced to the guys in the spring that he would not be taking the job, nor would he be returning to the team.
Some of the young guys went ahead and signed up with other teams. Others just faded away. But when April of 2001 arrived, there was no AWA Enterprises Softball Club registered to play anywhere in the area. It was now official.
We lost Neil Christie in April of 2002. After 15 years of battling the AIDS virus, Neil finally succumbed a week after his 51st birthday. Neil played with the team as long as he could, as long as his health would allow, until just the cold night air was a danger to him. He was the team's co-founder and its first manager. And at his deathbed were a number of former teammates, friends and brothers all. We all miss him.
Each May the AWA Golf Club holds the annual "Neil Christie Cup" tournament. Many of his ex-mates come out for a weekend of bad golf, lots of laughs, and stories galore of the old days. There couldn't be a better way to celebrate the memory of our good friend.
We next lost Dan Degnon in 2014 from a failed heart transplant, after many years of waiting to be matched up with the right heart. We got to see Danny one last time at Steve and Lydia Barrett's wedding, even though he was not feeling well. We are all so grateful for that last time together. The irony of the bad heart is that no one had a bigger heart than "Dude", and his hearty laugh has been missed terribly.
Earl Yagi has always been a tough old bird, and he had to be. His career was dominated by injuries, and I can't remember a time when he didn't play hurt. He would play through injuries that would have sidelined most people, and he still managed to have an extended career with the team. But he's going through a lot more now, mostly tied to a wheelchair. Earl's life is very difficult right now. But despite his limitations, "The Duck" has still raised his two daughters and he manages to do what he likes best -- trekking to Tahoe for a little gambling fever.
Our long-time first sacker was always a healthy guy, so when Dave Jackson was diagnosed with cancer on the lung in 1998, it shocked us all. It was touch and go for quite a while, and the cure included a very difficult time with chemotherapy. But we're happy to report that Dave is well and cancer-free to date. The bald head was quite a sight, though.
Meanwhile the story of AWA continues in our hearts and memories. The lies are bigger and the laughs over stories of the past are heartier than ever. And now we've all managed to keep it together playing golf. AWA Enterprises lives on in the guise of the AWA Golf Association, and without the threat of broken bones, pulled hamstrings, or life at the end of the bench. Every event is a reunion, and we all hope it just goes on forever.
Isn't this great?
Oh yeah, and in case you never figured it out, AWA stands for Applewood's Army. Yep, that's it.
And what is Applewood's Army, you ask? Oh, don't get me started.......... |
