By Elizabeth Stieber
Times Staff Writer
As Al Kammerle threw the pitch, Billy Balshem leaned forward intensely, ready to speed toward first base. A few feet away, Jim Falls held his bat, waiting for the ball too.
The ball floated right at Jim Falls, who grasped one hand on his wheelchair and smacked the ball with a bat in his other hand.
Billy, sitting in a wheelchair, took off. But the ball went foul and the fourth-grader had to maneuver the wheelchair back near the batter’s box.
Billy does not need to use a wheelchair, but he and his fourth- and fifth-grade classmates got the chance to see what it was like to play softball on wheels, as Jim Falls does regularly.
“It was fun and hard,” Billy said after he was tagged out at first base a few minutes later. “It’s just that it wasn’t like running on your two feet. I couldn’t get there as fast.”
The students at J. Hampton Moore School watched and played a game of softball with the Magee Phillies wheelchair softball team last Thursday in the school’s parking lot.
The team, named for the Center City-based Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, a spinal-cord regional service center, is sponsored by the Philadelphia Phillies and has been partners with the Castor Gardens elementary school for three years, said Falls, the team’s coach and first baseman.
“The Phillies were very receptive,” Falls said. “We’ve been very fortunate to work with the Philadelphia Phillies.”
Similarly, other Philadelphia professional sports teams also sponsor wheelchair teams, Falls explained. The Eagles, 76ers and Flyers all sponsor wheelchair rugby, basketball and sled skating teams, respectively.
The Philadelphia wheelchair teams receive their funding through an annual Night of Champions fund-raiser, held last month at Penn’s Landing.
The dinner and silent auction raised about $150,000 this year to fund the needs of all of the city’s wheelchair sports teams, said Patricia Thieringer, director of community programs at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.
The Magee Phillies practice once a week at J. Hampton Moore’s parking lot.
The school allowed the softball team to paint the regulation diamond and bases and use the space, including the bathrooms and air-conditioned facilities, for practices and games. In exchange, the team promotes the elementary school at games and tournaments and teaches the kids how to play once a year.
“It gets the kids involved and raises awareness about disabilities,” Falls said.
The Magee Phillies will play the Baltimore Orioles wheelchair team on Saturday, June 12, at Moore School, 6900 Summerdale Ave.
Last week, the students cheered for their classmates as some of the youngsters got to race around the bases in wheelchairs. Every inning, the Magee Phillies let groups of students play the field.
“It’s a little scary when the ball comes at you,” Billy said.
“It was hard to turn in the wheelchair,” fifth-grader Alysabat Matt said after rounding the bases.
Wheelchair softball came into play 25 years ago in the Midwest, started by a group of people who had spinal-cord injuries and lower-extremity impairments but who enjoyed the sport, according to the National Wheelchair Softball Association’s Web site, www.wheelchairsoftball.com
The game is played on a hard surface like a parking lot. The softball is 16 inches in diameter, which allows players to catch the ball without a glove while manning their wheelchairs.
The National Wheelchair Softball Association was formed in 1976 and created a uniform set of slow-pitch softball rules approved by the Amateur Softball Association of America, according to the Web site.
There are more than 30 wheelchair softball teams across the country, many of which are sponsored by Major League Baseball teams like the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox.
The wheelchair teams even wear the MLB teams’ official uniforms.
Games are regularly played throughout the season at J. Hampton Moore, as is the annual August softball tournament.
The Magee Phillies formed three years ago, and they’re all about having a great time.
“In the beginning we decided to enjoy ourselves and just have fun — we don’t have time to argue with each other,” center fielder Eugene Tatom Sr. said.
Tatom is still perfecting his swing.
“I’m learning to use my shoulder when I swing,” he said. “Before, I would swing and fall backward, so I learned how to lean on my wheel and bat from there.”
Men and women of all playing abilities can play on the team, Falls said.
“We’re always looking for new players,” said Falls. “We welcome everybody.” ••
For more information, visit www.wheel chairsoftball.com
If you are interested in joining the Magee Phillies wheelchair softball team, call Jim Falls at 610-505-4821.
Times Intern Audrey Morrison contributed to this report. Reporter Elizabeth Stieber can be reached at 215-354-3036 or estieber@phillynews.com