A 55+ Co-Ed League of Their Own
by Eryn Reddell Wingert
Photos courtesy of the Ed Martens Senior Texans Softball League
“One quick thing,’” Rosy Franks said as our interview wrapped up. “I want to tell you about my softball glove.”
Franks, 68, began playing softball at 18 in a parks and recreation league. When she broke her finger at 40, she decided to leave it to the younger players.
Franks still wanted to play the sport, but there were no senior leagues available in her community. That was…until she began visiting the Rio Grande Valley via Wisconsin and discovered the Ed Martens Senior Texan Softball League in McAllen.
Franks didn’t hesitate to join and has been with the League for 16 years. She did miss one year–as a player–but served as an assistant manager. “ I really believe in good sportsmanship.”
Before and after each season, she oils up her softball glove, keeping it in flexible shape.
She keeps herself in shape, too, playing pickleball and water volleyball, walking, cycling, and swimming.
Franks even recruits, inviting her neighbor, Sherryl Hibberd, a winter visitor from Pennsylvania, to join. “I loved it,” Hibberd says. “That was 10 years ago, and I have been playing ever since.”
Softball has threaded in and out of Hibberd’s life, from neighborhood games as a kid to playing in a teacher league as an adult. “What’s not to like?!”
Hibberd, who turns 65 this spring, says playing softball motivates her to stay active. “There’s a lot in it for me, health-wise, mental-wise; it’s enormous.”
In addition to the health aspects, Hibberd raves about the camaraderie and bonding experiences of the League.
Frank feels the same. “It’s so much fun. It’s like a reunion to see everybody!”
An annual reunion where new members are welcome.
Tara Piantanida-Kelly is a full-time RVer and has been coming to the Valley for three years. She didn’t hesitate when her husband, Bob, asked if she wanted to play ball, having played in a church league years before.
“It’s very welcoming,” she says of her initial experience. “Everybody was really helpful and nice.”
Piantanida-Kelly has stepped up to help promote the League, creating and managing the Ed Martens Senior Texans Softball League Facebook page–posting updates, information, and player profile video reels and inviting people to take part in the seasonal League.
The League is open to men and women 55 and older. Practices begin the first Tuesday in November and continue through December, when players are divided into A Division (major league) and B Division (minor league), based on ability.
The season begins the first week of January and runs through February, culminating in March with playoffs and the Can-Am (Canadian-American) games.
The public is invited to watch the Can-Am games Friday, March 14, at 9:30 a.m. at McAllen’s West Side Park, 2000 S. Ware Rd. There’s free admission and parking, with hot dogs, snacks and drinks for sale; no outside food or drinks are allowed. Bleacher seating will be available, and spectators can bring lawn chairs.
Throwing out the first pitch will be the League’s namesake, Ed Marten, who founded the softball club 30 years ago.
This season, 120 men and women participated in the co-ed 55+ League.
While Hibberd opted to sit this season out, she looks forward to returning and hopes others are inspired to come out and play ball.
“Down here, we’re all together. We have each other,” Frank says, referring to the Winter Texan community. “The people here are my family, including the softball League.”
A family, indeed. Back to that special softball glove, a gift received 45 years ago from Frank’s husband, Terry, when they were newlyweds. Terry never missed a game before his passing 10 years ago. “He was as much a part of the team as anyone else,” Frank shared. “He’d be happy that I’m still playing.”
For more information on the League or the Can-Am games, reach out to Fred Esqueda at 956-897-6961 or Mike Brower at 734-834-0128 or by email at mbrower@umich.edu. To follow the League, visit the Ed Martens Senior Texans Softball League on Facebook.
