Senior Still Plays Softball 4 Nights A Week

NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- Bev Graber is such an avid softball player; she can be found on a field in North Canton almost every night of the week.

But in this week's Successful Aging report, NewsChannel5's Sue Ann Robak reported that when you hear Graber's age, you might be a little surprised.

Graber plays softball four nights a week. That is a lot of games, especially at age 72.

"I like it," she said. "I like to pitch, get them to strike out."

Graber started playing at the tender age of 43. When her husband's team was a player short at a game, Graber was nominated to fill in. The rest, as they say, is history.

Despite the fact that many of her teammates are young enough to be her granddaughters -- in fact, she plays with two of her grandchildren -- Graber holds her own, and then some.

"She's quite in demand with other teams," said Tom Graber, Bev's husband. "She's good at that, as you've probably noticed."

"There was a senior league; I pitch for them," Bev Graber said.

Bev Graber is not sure how long she will continue playing.

"I keep saying this will be the last year, (but my) doctor keeps telling me to keep doing what (I'm) doing," she said.

"Every year she says (it's the last)," her husband said. "(When she's in a) wheelchair she'll be pitching."

"I don't feel old," Bev Graber said. "As long as I do this, I feel young."

For more information on the "Successful Aging Initiative" or available resources, write NewsChannel5, 3001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114, or log onto our special section on aging.