Wherever the road takes him

By MIKE HUTSELL
Mike.Hutsell@newsandtribune.com

May 20, 2007 12:08 am

— The odometer on George Broy’s little maroon Nissan reads somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000 miles.
That’s just a number to some, but to Broy those miles hold much greater meaning. It tells tales of fastballs and late-inning comebacks, stories of pitcher’s duels and slugfests.
To the 78-year-old Utica man, those miles are about being there, watching what he loves.
Because if it’s game day for the Jeffersonville softball team, that means its No. 1 fan has found his way to the ballpark — sitting right behind home plate with his bright red Red Devils hat and the T-shirt that his squad bought him as a gift before the start of this season.
“I’d say half those miles are theirs,” said Broy, pointing to the ball field where the Red Devils are warming up before Friday’s game against Silver Creek. “Where they go, I’m usually there.”
He truly means that. There’s hardly a first pitch to any contest that Broy fails to see.
Jeffersonville is an easy trip, any fan can make that. But he’s among the first in line wherever the team may land.
A mid-week road trip to Seymour won’t stop him. Neither will a late-night game in Bedford.
“He doesn’t ask for a ride,” said Robbie DeArk, father of Jeff senior Kendra DeArk. “He’s got his routine when he goes somewhere. He knows where he’s got to go and it isn’t going to stop him.”
No one, not even Broy, can pinpoint a day when he became a fixture on the Red Devil bandwagon.
“A few years ago,” Broy said. “Mainly when most of these girls were in Little League, I guess.”
It started in Little League (chapter head)
He was invited to a ballgame once by DeArk, who asked Broy if he’d be interested in watching his daughter’s All-Star squad one simple day a couple of summers back.
“Don’t know how many he’s missed since,” DeArk said. “He’s always been a baseball guy and never really followed the girls that much.
“One day a baseball game got rained out, and we just wanted to see if he wanted to come watch the girls with us. He’s pretty much been there ever since.”
He had his doubts at first. The concept of girls’ softball was new to Broy — who admits to being a little old-fashioned at first.
“When I grew up, girls didn’t play,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d like it.”
He was right, he loved it.
He became a regular with DeArk and the rest of the District V Little League All-Stars — most of whom grew up to become Red Devil starters.
He followed them wherever they may have went during their two-summer quest of advancing to the Little League World Series.
He made it to South Bend the first time the team qualified for the regionals back in the summer of 2004. He went back that next year, when they broke through and won regional to advance to the World Series.
And when the opening pitch flew to the plate — everyone sort of knew Broy would be strolling into the ballpark to see that team’s shining moment.
“We remember asking how he got there,” said Patty DeArk, Kendra’s mother. “And he says he drove ‘til he got tired. Then he got up the next morning and drove the rest of the way.
“He kept telling us he was coming, that he was going to be there. We never imagined he would.”
On to the big leagues (chapter head)
Once those District V girls grew up and became high school stars, he still showed.
“We’re worried when he doesn’t make it,” said Jeffersonville assistant coach David Higgs. “We can always count on seeing that car pull into the ballpark every day.”
He lives and dies with every pitch. Sometimes he stands more than he sits.
“He’s always got something to say,” Higgs joked. “But he’s always positive. He’s always encouraging.”
And when the final out is recorded — win or lose — Broy wants a word with every girl on the squad.
“He’s always the first person we see when we come out of the dugout,” said Red Devil catcher Erin Harper. “He’ll either give us a big hug or maybe a pep talk, but it’s always good to see him there.”
At first, the players didn’t know what to make of it.
“Not a lot of us knew who he was when he was first sort of following us,” said Harper. “But we loved it. Having somebody that was there just to watch us play because he likes us, he likes our team.”
“Sometimes when I get frustrated with (the team), I ask George why he always comes around,” Higgs said. “And he always says the same thing — he likes the girls and he likes the team. They make him proud.”
So proud that no matter where he goes or who he talks to, Broy will proudly boast about Jeff’s strong infield, or about how good a hitter such and such girl has become.
And to show what he means to them, the team asked Broy to join them for its team photo taken on the field this week.
“He is part of our team,” said Kendra DeArk. “We had to have him in there.”
End of the road? (chapter head)
As Jeff’s season enters the late innings and the umpire gets set to yell “Play ball” for sectionals on Monday — it means Jeff is just one loss away from the season being over.
It will be the final out of the high school careers for DeArk, Jasmine Cain, Kayla Singer, Amanda Oglesby and Katrina Baltic — most of whom played for that District V team that Broy started following in the first place.
Some of those players will move away and play another day. But they all know that probably isn’t the last time they’ll see George Broy at the ballpark. He might show up for one of their collegiate games.
“I think he’ll make it,” said Kendra DeArk, who signed to play next season at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. “I guess I just think he’ll be there no matter where he’s playing.”
Broy’s already making plans — even if that first game could come as far away as Florida next season.
“I’ll do what I can,” he said.
It’s just a few more miles on that odometer — but it’s a lifetime of stories for one true fan.

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