My Narrative

This isn't a glamorous story; it certainly won’t make you rich, and it involves a lot of hard work—much more than I anticipated when I naively bought WSER, "The Voice of Cecil County." One of our initial hurdles was establishing a stable financial foundation for the station. We managed to pull in some revenue during local elections with political ads and holiday seasons, but summer was a different story. With many of our regular listeners on vacation, our advertisers felt the impact of our dwindling audience.

To avoid shutting down, we needed to devise a new source of income for the summer months. After a few drinks during a spontaneous gathering with some of our station's DJs at the Pine Bluff Bar, the solution became clear: why not launch a softball league? The local bars, being social hubs, could sponsor teams, and we would broadcast the games live. This way, bar patrons could tune in while enjoying their drinks, creating a natural audience. What could possibly go wrong?

We secured the county fairgrounds, complete with a grandstand that could accommodate around 900 spectators. WSER stood to profit from ticket sales, concessions, and advertising.

Summer Softball League Setup

We organized a league with 20 teams—ten in the North Division and ten in the South Division—scheduled to play at the fairgrounds on warm summer evenings.

The summer rolled in, and our idea seemed to be thriving. Sponsorship was robust, advertisers reached new audiences, and ticket sales were strong. As the league approached its World Series, our sales team was consistently hitting their targets. This experiment was turning out to be quite successful.

After Labor Day, the Beer League’s World Series was held, and the atmosphere was electric. The station hosted a celebration at the fairgrounds, drawing in what felt like the entire community. It was during this event that some of the DJs accepted a challenge to take on an all-star team of beer league players. I was excited—it extended the season for another week and provided the station with a final boost in revenue.

The Team Formation

When we discussed our roster, we felt optimistic. A few of us had played high school sports, and one DJ even played basketball at West Virginia. A couple of women from sales had past experience in softball. We believed we could assemble a competitive team.

My confidence grew even more after our week of practice. We even had WSER T-shirts made for the game. Not only did we play well, but we also looked the part—almost professional!

Pregame Excitement

As we warmed up, throwing the ball around and engaging in some light stretching, the Beer League All-Stars ambled onto the field, seemingly more interested in joking around than preparing for the game. I thought to myself, "This might turn out to be an easy match."

The Game Begins

We were the visiting team, and in the top of the first inning, we went down in order—me included, making an easy fly-out to the right fielder. What followed was a surreal experience: after nearly half an hour and 36 runs later, we finally managed to get three outs against the All-Stars. They were relentless, launching hit after hit out of the park.

In the second inning, we managed to score a couple of runs when one of the All-Stars misplayed a fly ball. However, things took a bizarre turn when the All-Stars decided to run the bases backward as a self-imposed joke. I approached their captain, requesting they stop out of sheer humiliation, but they continued regardless.

The game was intended to last seven innings but was called after just three due to fading daylight. The final score? An astonishing 67–2 in favor of the Beer Leaguers. Rumor has it that these out-of-shape players went on to win the Slow-Pitch National Championship in Las Vegas that year. It provided a small consolation, but still: running backward? 67–2?

Team WSER never played another game and prefers not to discuss this one. The summer beer league continued until I sold the station to a religious organization. Perhaps divine intervention would have helped that day.

The score of 67–2 still echoes in my mind!

Thanks to Mike Butler for the professional edit of my story and to "Beyond the Scoreboard" for publishing it.