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Circle of Friends
Photo
Former Steelers defensive end LC Greenwood, left, watches as Eric Folsom putts on No. 10 at Monday’s Circle of Friends Celebrity Golf Classic at the Lake Club in Poland. At right, Rob Folsom looks on.
By Tom Williams
POLAND
Monday’s 27th annual Children’s Mental Health Circle of Friends Foundation golf scramble was the site of a major-league reunion.
Austintown’s Wally Bell was the first base umpire for Sunday’s Reds-Padres game in San Diego. After a red-eye flight to Cleveland, Bell was ready to tee off at 11:30 a.m. at The Lake Club fundraiser.
Among those greeting him was Poland’s John Hirschbeck, who was Bell’s crew chief for the past 11 seasons before being diagnosed with cancer in February. After 26 chemotherapy sessions, Hirschbeck was declared cancer-free in early June and is pondering his future.
“I don’t have my strength back and I’m on blood thinners, so I can’t take the chance to get hit,” said Hirschbeck who became an American League umpire in 1984. “I’m probably done for the season.
“I guess the big thing is I’ve got make a choice whether I will retire or work two more seasons.”
Told Bell says he misses him, Hirschbeck laughed.
“He might,” Hirschbeck said. “We always had a good time. We weren’t going to be together [this season] but we had a lot of fun in 11 years, a lot of fun.”
Hirschbeck and Bell were among the two dozens sports celebrities who participated in the tournament whose major sponsors were John and Cathy Pelusi and Ed Muransky. Others included former Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood, former Browns running back Kevin Mack, Browns offensive lineman John Greco (Boardman High), Bills wide receiver Brad Smith (Chaney), Colts offensive lineman Mike McGlynn (Fitch) and Eagles defensive backs coach Michael Zordich (Chaney).
Greg Cvetkovic, Circle of Friends president, estimated the tournament’s receipts will total $50,000. Most of it will be donated and beneficiaries include D&E Counseling Center and the United Way.
“I’ve played this tournament for several years and they do a great job,” Bell said. “Any time I get a chance to play for a charity like this, I’m gonna play.”
Greco welcomed a chance to give back.
“This is an opportunity to do something for a good cause and have some fun while you’re doing it,” said Greco who recently signed a two-year contract to remain in Cleveland. “You meet a lot of great people from the area and people who have played or are giving their time for a good cause.”
No one was happier to be golfing than Hirschbeck, who said he was in Florida in January when his back began bothering him. When he returned to Poland in February, bloodwork results sent him to the Cleveland Clinic.
“I felt terrible and had no idea,” said the 57-year-old umpire who suffered testicular cancer in 2009. “My kidneys were about to shut down because the tumor was pushing on my kidneys.”
Instead of traveling south to prepare for the baseball season, Hirschbeck spent the rest of winter and spring undergoing chemotherapy.
“I would spend a week at the Cleveland Clinic having chemo, then come home for two weeks and be sick,” Hirschbeck said of his treatment.
Then when he began to “feel halfway decent,” he would go back for more treatments.
“It was a tough couple of months but I’ve had the support of family and friends and got through it,” Hirschbeck said.
Hirschbeck said he misses being with his fellow umpires.
“I miss the guys most of all,” Hirschbeck said. “I had a great crew, some guys that I am very close to that I was going to be working with this year.”
He also longs for the games.
“The on-the-field part, I would say I miss that, I enjoy it,” Hirschbeck said. “At this stage of my life, it’s pretty easy.
“The hard part, of course, is the travel and the hotels and the restaurants — I don’t miss that at all. After 37 years, that part I don’t miss. And they won’t play in Poland so you’ve got to go on the road.”
Bell estimated he slept for about an hour after flying from San Diego to San Francisco to Cleveland. He’s off for the All-Star break until Friday when he’ll be back in San Francisco behind the plate for the Astros-Giants game.
Later Monday, Bell watched his 11-year-old daughter, Lindsay, play softball in an all-star tournament. He’ll also have a chance to see his 12-year-old son Jason play football before returning to the road.