Have you ever seen that movie The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid? It's a 2002 film based on the story of Jim Morris, who became famous in 1999 for making his Major League Baseball debut as a 35-year-old, years after he originally tried his hand at professional ball.
Now, imagine someone 23 years older than Morris stepping on the pitcher's mound at a college baseball game. Sounds unbelievable, but Larry Hasenfus made it a reality. The 58-year-old Massachusetts native, rocking a handlebar mustache, took the mound four times this spring for Springfield College, the Boston Globe reports. By pitching for Springfield's JV team, Hasenfus realized his long-held dream of playing college baseball. Severe dyslexia forced him to drop out of college, but years later, Hasenfus, who recently lost his job, figured he had nothing to lose by going back to school.
"Not being able to play in college killed me," Hasenfus tells the Globe. "I never played one inning, because I just couldn't do the work [in school]. That always stuck with me."
There are a few writeups about the great story of Hasenfus. Paper Trail suggests you read them. Certainly sounds like a made-for-Hollywood story, doesn't it?
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