For Major League Baseball stars, playing into their 40s is a luxury. Compare that to Iola native David Heard, who at age 76 is still a competitive force.
Heard competes for the Midwest Driving School in a 75-and-older senior slow-pitch softball league. He travels once a week to Kansas City for a doubleheader along with tournaments elsewhere. This isn?t a hobby Heard picked up in his later years, but a love for a game that started long ago.
Heard?s passion on the ballfield began as a youth. He played Pony League ball at Bassett Park, now the site of Gates Manufacturing. At that time in Iola, high school baseball didn?t exist with the only option to continue the sport with the American Legion. Although Heard loved baseball, he needed a summer job.
?I liked it a lot, but it didn?t pay very much,? Heard said with a smirk.
After high school, Heard attended Allen County Community Junior College for two years and then moved on to Kansas State University to complete his four-year degree.
In his time at K-State, Heard realized he couldn?t be without his significant other, Mary Kay Smith. Heard returned to Iola to ask for Mary Kay?s hand in marriage. The two have been married for 57 years.
Heard?s return to Iola also meant a return to the ballfield. In the early 1960s, Heard joined the Methodist Church team to give slow-pitch softball a go. After playing with the church team, Heard played with a group from Colony compiled mostly of teachers. Heard said that team?s roster was constantly changing according to their job status, so he decided to start his own team though the family business, Western Auto.
His wife, Mary Kay, emphasized the popularity of slow-pitch softball. Back in the day, nearly a dozen slow-pitch softball teams competed at Riverside Park. Heard?s Western Auto squad competed all over the SEK area in Humboldt, Yates Center, Bronson, Uniontown and Piqua. Today, none of those teams exist.
?The golfers took a lot of the players that used to participate, and the older guys slowly backed away,? Heard said. ?As for the younger guys? I guess they just didn?t want to get in the hot sun.?
Heard retired from Western Auto in 2009. At about the same time, he joined a team in Kansas City, where he would play twice a week.
?The first time I played with the group from Kansas City, they came and picked me up, and 24 hours later we were in Phoenix, Arizona,? Heard said. ?We hadn?t realized the time had changed, so we had an extra hour. We got something to eat and went and played ball. I don?t think we did a darn in that tournament, but it was fun.?
When he was younger, Heard mostly played in the infield, but that changed after his first trip to Phoenix.
?The guy playing in left field dropped a couple of balls and I was sitting on the bench,? Heard said. ?The coach came over and said ?can you catch the ball,? and I said ?better than that I think.??
Ever since, Heard has played in the outfield. His ability to cover ground makes him one of the premiere players in his position, and a top athlete for his age division. His ability to run at a solid pace also makes him a good option to pinch run for slower base runners.
?I remember one time one of the girls asked me how many runs had been scored in the final inning,? his wife Mary Kay said. ?I told her, ?I?m not sure, but Dave has come in three times.??
