Sallyport - The Magazine of Rice University - Spring 2002
Sallyport - The Magazine of Rice University - Spring 2002
Sallyport - The Magazine of Rice University - Spring 2002
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Scoreboard<br />
Nor did the groups get a chance to practice together. Everyone just showed<br />
up today, threw their cleats on, grabbed their glove, grabbed a ball, and<br />
went out to have a good time, said Zane Curry 99, who is an assistant <strong>Rice</strong><br />
baseball coach.<br />
But for some, the chance to play in front <strong>of</strong> a crowd was too important to<br />
take lightly. Geraldina Wise 83 said her husband, Scott Wise 71, vice<br />
president <strong>of</strong> investments and treasurer at <strong>Rice</strong>, started working out the day<br />
he got the invitation letter in December. He was not about to go out there<br />
and not do a good job, she explained. And he didn t disappoint his team as<br />
he threw with precision and grace.<br />
Playing ball was part <strong>of</strong> the fun, but the greatest pleasure was meeting up<br />
with old buddies and making new friends. Just hanging out with people in<br />
the dugout, talking to guys who played 40 years ago was a blast, said<br />
Thames, who is in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league program.<br />
Phil Costa 47 said he was determined to play, but good fortune saved him. I<br />
didn t get into the game because they ran out <strong>of</strong> outs, he said. I was saved<br />
the embarrassment.<br />
At 81, Costa was the oldest player at the alumni game. In addition to seeing<br />
his friends, Costa also got to be on the same team with his son, Phillip<br />
Costa Jr. 75.<br />
It feels great to be out here, he said, though he lamented the fact that he<br />
never got to play in a stadium like Reckling. His team <strong>of</strong> the late 1930s and<br />
early 1940s played on the <strong>Rice</strong> football practice field. His coach would<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten tell them: You boys be careful because the ball takes bad hops.<br />
Like Costa, Fuller will have to wait for the next alumni competition to get<br />
on base or score a run. But he plans to be back. I don t want to check out<br />
going 0 for 2 in the alumni game, he says.<br />
David D. Medina<br />
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