Thu, May 09, 2002 page15

• Long live the Kings, last of the expat softball teams

  AWAY GAME Taiwan's national pastime of softball was developed by US soldiers in the 1960s who were stationed in the country. Now only one foreign team remains

  • By Jules Quartly / CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Zooming in on the softball action in the Sanchung district of Taipei last weekend a pair of student film makers struck gold.

  They had found the Budweiser Kings.

  

  The Budweister Kings come out to play in Sanchung, Taipei, last Sunday. The Kings are the only team of foreigners left playing softball in Taiwan.

  PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

  To some they're the last of the expats, the only foreign softball team left in Taiwan. For others they're the last of the pioneers, the final players in what used to be a US-led sporting tradition.

  

  Student filmmakers capture Budweiser Kings footage.

  PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

  In the 1960s, when the US military had a strong presence in Taiwan and the capital city's Combat Zone overflowed with bars and soldiers, there were so many softball teams the US military formed a foreigner's league, the first of its kind.

  The league expanded to include civilians and eventually, when the US pulled out its troops, it became all expatriates.

  Then, as softball in Taiwan became popular and the number of foreign players decreased, local players joined the expat teams and leagues.

  According to the Budweiser King's captain and manager Rick France, "Four years ago, tournaments were all there was. The only organized league with a set schedule of teams and games was the ex-pat Taipei Men's Softball League (TMSL) at the Taipei American School (TAS)."

  "Many of the Taiwanese involved in the organization of softball became involved in the TMSL and eventually adapted the idea of organizing their own leagues."

  Now, under the auspices of the Chinese Slow-Pitch Softball Association, there are leagues dotted all over the country, with 6,000 registered clubs and around 4,000 others. But there is only one foreign team left, the Kings.

  They have persevered and tried to preserve the game. "It's a little piece of America, playing ball, a barbecue, hamburgers and a beer on the weekend," said Paul Lanzetta, a Budweiser Kings player and businessman who has lived in Taiwan for 10 years.

  Like others on the team he has witnessed a steady decline of -- mainly -- North American influence in the nation's national pastime of softball.

  The collapse of the TMSL two years ago, which held its games at TAS in Tienmu, was the last out in the ninth inning.

  The school had become the final resting place of the foreigner's league in Taiwan, but was forced to suspend games when home runs broke too many windows and caused panic among nearby Tienmu residents.

  Mike Staudacher, a Hess English School manager, said the ban was understandable. "On a Sunday afternoon the kids couldn't even go out of the house for fear of balls falling from the sky.

  "Guys were shouting at the kids to pass the ball back in three languages."

  Baseball was banned and without a home the foreign teams broke up. Just the Kings moved on and into the Sanchung league.

  "The reason no other teams did what [the Budweiser Kings] did and go out to other places is probably due to a lack of leadership or lack of commitment," France said.

  "Simply put, it was too much work ... and certainly not as convenient and comfortable as playing at TAS."

  Staudacher, however, has another take on the decline of softball in the foreign community. "People play rugby, soccer and other sports now, there are other things to do."

  Even so, the future of the Kings looks assured. Beer-giant Anheuser-Busch is the team's sponsor and Jim Wong (黃崇輝), Director of Southeast Asia markets, said his company was looking to expand sponsorship of the game.

  He said the reason Budweiser backed the Kings was because "it's an American sport and fits in with our brand."

  On the home-field front TAS has put up a net that is said to have cost around NT$1 million, so that baseball and softball can once again be played.

  "We hope the league will get started for the fall and plan to have a teachers team," TAS' Bob Ferran told the Taipei Times in an e-mail last week.

  The Budweiser Kings currently play in tournaments and the Sanchung league. They also play international games in the Philippines and elsewhere. For further information contact: Rick France at rfrance@gcn.net.tw
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Central bank announces banknote redesign plans

  • 2

    Japan deploys long-range missiles close to China

  • 3

    CDC reports COVID-19 variant case

  • 4

    KMT chair accepts trip invite from Xi Jinping

  • 5

    New streamlined Taiwan Pass to go on sale today