Play Ball: AmeriCANs Save Youth Baseball

Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra famously said, "It ain't over till it's over." The town of Greenfield, Ohio, has taken those words to heart.

Greenfield, a town of about 5,000 in southeast Ohio, has been hit hard by the economic downturn. Industrial plants shutting down have cut 500 jobs, and cargo carrier DHL Express in nearby Wilmington plans to leave in October, costing the area another 8,000 positions, many of which are currently held by Greenfield residents.

Preparing for widespread unemployment -- and reduced tax income -- the town slashed its budget, reducing the funds for all the extras. The funds for youth recreation were slashed by 75 percent, but the man who oversees the recreation commission, local businessman Fred Everhart, refused to let the children of Greenfield go without summertime sports.

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Everhart enlisted a group of fathers and a grandfather to find a way to keep baseball alive for the 450 boys and girls, ages 5 to 15, who participate in the program.

Calling themselves the "Gang of 9," Everhart and the men organized the town's grass-roots effort, taking over the groundskeeping of Mitchell Park, scheduling all games during the day to save on electrical costs and volunteering to umpire the games. They held raffles, rummage sales and fish fries to raise extra funds.

Unfortunately, they still fell short on the money needed for baseball equipment.

But the "Gang of 9's" determination to provide their children with a baseball league made national news. Within days, donations started coming in from all over the country, as far as Alaska and Hawaii.

Everhart was particularly moved by one Illinois woman who said she grew up during the Depression and didn't want the Greenfield kids to go without, as she did as a child. She donated $500.