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"Spotlight Award"
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Randy Wooley
Birthdate: 3/17/1951
Birthplace: Little Rock, AR
Occupation: Attorney
Family: Married 23 yrs (Jan),
2 son's (Jordan & Zach),
1 daughter (Meredith)
Big Thank YOU!: My supportive family!
Hobbies: My children's sporting events, Golf
MSBL History:
National Dodgers 1988 - 2000
28+ Yankees 2000 - Present
38+ Cubs 2003 to Present
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I started in the League's first season 1988 with the Dodgers and Dusty Owens as manager. I went to the tryouts at Highland Park H.S. with a good friend, Mike Conley. We had both read an article in the Dallas Morning News about a group of guys who got together on Sunday afternoon to play hardball and were considering starting a baseball league for men over 30 years old. It was to be patterned after a league in New York put together by a guy named Steve Sigler. Both Mike and I made the team with a pretty good bunch of ballplayers that first year. I had been a pitcher and a shortstop growing up and I remember telling Mike that I would even catch if I could get the chance to play baseball again. That comment would later turn out to be prophetic.
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There were 4 teams: The Dodgers, Tigers, Red Sox and Cubs. I remember games being rather lop-sided and high scoring. Most of us had been out of baseball for several years playing softball so it took some time to get adjusted back to baseball. Dusty was not only the Dodger Manager but the League Commissioner as well and he was always looking to sneak talented players he would run across onto our roster. In fact, back then, poaching was a popular practice the league had to legistlate to fix. To give you an idea how crazy things were in the beginning, I remember when he brought Kirk and Mark Brookshire onto the team. The other teams really got upset and complained about adding them to our roster, especially since both pitched and for those days threw pretty hard. Dusty, however, resolved the controversy by instituting a league rule in his capacity as commissioner that prohibited the twins from pitching at more than three-quarter speed. The other teams agreed, although I was never sure how anyone would measure three-quarter speed or who would determine when they were exceeding the three-quarter speed rule. Commissioners no longer make the rules...I wonder why?
Our Dodger team won the very first League Championship in 1988. I would have to wait another 10 years to win another League Championship. Our 1998 Dodger team won the National League Championship and I also played on the 2003 Over 38 Championship Cubs team.
I played in the National Division until 2003. I was with the Dodgers from 1988 through 2000 and managed them from 1992 through 2000. During that time I was lucky enough to be named to the All-Star team on several occasions as both a player and a manager. I played with the Yankees in the National division in the 2001 season and with the Yankees in the American Division from 2002 through 2003. In 2003, I also played for the Cubs in the 38+ Division. When I first came into the league I played third base. It was not until I was 40 years old that I became a catcher and then it was purely by chance. During the first two games of the 1991 World Series our team lost both our starting and backup catchers to injury. When requesting volunteers to step forward, everyone took a step back except me. Before I knew what happened the manager threw me the equipment and said thanks for volunteering It was really a good opportunity for me though. I had caught some during practices but had never caught in a game before. What I learned was it was a great position to play and it opened up a whole new view of the game, not only from a visual standpoint but from the standpoint of managing and playing the game as well. I've now caught for 12 years and my only regret is that I did not play that position when I was younger.
I played in the first MSBL World Series in 1988 and I have been to every MSBL World Series in Phoenix since then, a total of 16. I consider that trip as the highlight of my year. I remember the first World Series had 30 some odd teams in one division. It was like a bunch of kids at Christmas. In talking with players from other teams and other parts of the country, I recall the general feeling that none of us could believe we were getting to play baseball again at this level. It was like the movie Cocoon and we were kids again. It was interesting to meet players from other leagues across the country and compare our rules and level of play with theirs. For instance, when they first divided the World Series into a 30+ Division and a 40+ Division, there was a team of 40+ players from Louisiana whose league rules allowed a catcher to use a stool. They tried to use the stool during play in the World Series but were not allowed to. As I get older and sometime start to take this league and playing for granted, I often stop to reflect on that first year and rekindle that feeling.
From the beginning days of playing in the DMSBL I have taken my kids to the games. I have three children that are each 4 years apart. Jordan was 4 when I started playing, Zach was born the first year I played and Meredith was born 4 years after I started. My wife often had to work out of town on weekends and I would come to many of the games with three kids ranging in age from toddler to teenager in tow. Since for most of those years I was managing the Dodgers I not only had a team of players to be responsible for and a game to manage but I was also constantly watching where my children were and what they were doing. Often, as they got older, they would bring candy and drinks to the games to sell to the fans. Later on both Jordan and Zach acted as our official scorekeepers. Looking back now, I see how much they both learned about baseball by just being around some of the other players I played with over the years. Several of them took time to show interest in them, playing catch before games, talking about baseball or music or throwing batting practice to them. I also think they absorbed a lot of the mental side of baseball by watching those players and how they went about playing the game. All of my children are athletic and both my sons play baseball today. Jordan, a sophomore, plays for Hendrix College and Zach, a freshman, plays for Jesuit College Prep. My daughter, Meredith, plays select soccer for the Texas Mustangs in the Lake Highlands Girls Classic League and basketball. My biggest thrill in baseball was the opportunity to play a few games with my oldest son Jordan. My dream is to someday play in the Father-Son MSBL World Series with both my sons.
My MSBL career has been filled with wonderful memories and experiences. I have made life-long friends. I owe a great deal to all the officers, players, umpires, families and supporters of MSBL that have made it possible for grown men to continue to play a kid's game.
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Favorite Opponent's:
1.) White Sox
(Ruben Coronado)
2.) Pirates (Sam Kayea)
Fantasy Job: General Manager
of the Rangers
4 Fantasy Dinner Guest:
Any four of my baseball friends,
at Monti's in Tempe, Arizona
during MSBL World Series Week.
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