Will County Old Timers baseball group goes to bat to support youth baseball, softball

The Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County donated $20,500 to 27 nonprofit youth baseball and softball teams Monday night.

Dan Bertino, chairman of the Youth in Baseball Committee for 25 years and chairman of the association’s finance committee, said the association has donated $500,000 total to nonprofit youth baseball leagues over the years.

Bertino is thrilled that the association reached this milestone in its 75th year when it’s simply a “quiet organization that’s doing all this stuff.”

“I love being the chair of youth baseball and handing out money to the teams,” Bertino said. “It’s a great organization. The older I get, the more I enjoy it.”

Joe Marshall of Crest Hill, president of the Crest Hill Pony League and the DuPage River Baseball League, said donations typically range from $500 to $800 and really help the leagues with their general expenses, such as uniforms, baseballs, gas for travel and replacing sod.

Marshall said the DuPage River Baseball League’s donation will help pay for trophies.

“Each league may do something different with it,” he said. “It’s wherever you need it.”

While the Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County sounds as if it’s a club for baseball enthusiasts, Bertino said the club exists for one reason.

“To support youth baseball,” Bertino said.

Bertino said the association raises money in three ways. One is through membership dues, which are only $20 a year and include three meetings a year (April, August and December) with food and a speaker, he said.

“I love being the chair of youth baseball and handing out money to the teams. It’s a great organization. The older I get, the more I enjoy it.”

—  Dan Bertino, Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County

The Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County meets at the Loyal Order of Moose in Joliet, Bertino said.

The association also raises money through its patrons and at its annual banquet in January. The banquet is the association’s main fundraiser with an average of 500 people attending, Bertino said.

The youth leagues receive their donations at the April meeting, although Bertino used to go out to the different ballparks and award them on opening day, he said.

Bertino believes the Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County gave baseballs to kids in its early days. Over time, the association switched to donations, but the spirit is the same.

“We all want to give back to what we had as kids,” he said.

Bertino, who said he joined the Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County in 1991, said his father played minor league baseball and once served as the association’s president.

“He was a very avid believer in baseball and I’m a believer in baseball,” Bertino said. “I like the idea of kids playing baseball rather than playing video games. They’re outside meeting other players and other people. There’s the competitiveness – the joy of winning and the agony of defeat. It’s a great way to learn – as you get older and become an adult – how to deal with people.”

Pat Mudron, chairman of the board, agreed.

“I’m a strong believer that you need to understand winning and losing and that I’m not going to win all the time,” Mudron said.

Mudron, who said he played baseball in high school and joined the association in 1990, said both his father and grandfather were members and that his grandfather encouraged them to get involved. His father also once served as the association’s president.

Like many longtime organizations, the Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County would love to increase its membership, Mudron said. Many people will outlive their ability to play baseball, but they can still get involved with the association and support youth baseball and softball, he said.

The oldest member is Marty Terlep and he’s in his mid-90s.

“He just stepped down as president,” Mudron said. “And he was chairman of the board when I joined.”

For more information, visit oldtimersbaseballassociationofwillcounty.org.

Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County 2024 recipients:

• Crest Hill Pony League.

• DuPage River Baseball League.

• Illinois Celtics Baseball.

• Illinois Celtics Softball.

• Whiteford Baseball.

• Braidwood Baseball & Softball Association.

• Wilmington Baseball & Softball Association.

• Elwood Baseball & Softball.

• St. Joes Pony Baseball.

• Illinois Crush Baseball.

• Dynasty Baseball 17U team.

• Dynasty Baseball 11U Blue team.

• St. Joes 12U team.

• St. Joes 17U team.

• Miracle of League of Joliet.

• Illinois Celtics 11U.

• Lockport Baseball.

• Belmont Little League.

• The High School Baseball National Championship Series.

• Channahon Pony Baseball.

• Dynasty Baseball.

• Top Tier South 15U.

• Illinois Select 12U Team.

• Minooka Baseball & Softball Association.

• New Lenox Baseball.

• Joliet Softball Association.

• Troy Baseball League.