The smile on retired U.S. Army Vietnam veteran Steve Collier of Fort Benning, Georgia, could be seen 50 yards away, shining brightly as the sun over Waterfront Park Tuesday afternoon.
Collier was sitting on the pedestal of the sculpture, “Put Me in Coach,” as his companion Wanda “Sunshine” Johnson snapped a photo, even as I stopped to snap their photo before I could get out of my vehicle upon seeing the scene. Collier kept his hand on the bat even after Johnson finished her photos and began to walk to a nearby bench, where I caught up with them to chat.
When I approached and introduced myself to the couple, who were part of a 38-member bus tour that stopped in Ludington for lunch after a morning on dune rides, Collier greeted me, saying, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play, today.”
Those words are part of the lyrics of the John Fogerty song, “Centerfield,” released in 1985 and for decades a song played at many ballparks, including Truist Field in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Braves, a team Collier follows. He said for the past 40 years, the song has been played before each Braves home game. Wikipedia concurs, noting the song is played as the Braves take their positions for the start of each game. The crowd performs the opening hand claps until the song begins playing.
“I’m a big baseball fan,” Collier said, asking why the sculpture is in the park.
It’s one of nine bronze sculptures related to Ludington’s heritage. The “Put Me in Coach” sculpture was created by Loveland, Colorado, artist Mark Lundeen and pays homage to the Ludington Mariners, a minor league baseball team in Ludington starting in 1912 and logging seven seasons here.
According to the script for the online tour of the Mason County Sculpture Trail, “Of the five Mariners who were purchased by major league teams and subsequently played at that level, the most accomplished was pitcher Eddie Wells, a Kansas native who pitched for Detroit and the New York Yankees and was a teammate of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. Ludington’s own Dave Claire briefly became a member of the Tigers, too, in 1920, playing shortstop in the same lineup with Cobb.
“The 1921 season was the most memorable in Mariner history when Ludington won the Central League pennant and played for a postseason championship against a team from London, Ontario. This talented team had six .300 hitters in its starting lineup and also boasted three 20-game winning pitchers.”
Collier played baseball as a youth and in a church league in his 40s before giving up playing.
He dubbed Wanda Johnson “Sunshine,” and the pair talked briefly about their tour, which is taking them along Lake Michigan from Chicago through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was headed to Mackinac after the stop in Ludington. They will return later and cross the lake on Lake Express from Muskegon to Milwaukee.
Collier, who sported a Vietnam Veteran cap, said he was pleased by the reception people in these parts gave him due to the hat, saying they commented and thanked him for his service. At home at Fort Benning, he said veterans and military people are more commonplace and less celebrated.
As he and his “Sunshine” walked away, hand in hand, he smiled anew, saying, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play.”