MOUNT PEARL, N.L. — As their seasons start to grow late, athletes of just about any skill level, in just about any sport, will all start to sound pretty similar. From the brightest lights of the highest competitions to the Mount Pearl Men’s Slo-Pitch Softball League, athletes tend to be driven by the same thing. “That’s our goal. Play as long as we can into October. And that’s it,” said Al Health, co-captain of the Tutor Doctor softball team that’s been on the receiving end of some international attention over the past few days. That universal goal might mean just a little bit more for the team’s 80-year-old catcher, Nelson Bradbury, who is motivated to keep his team, his group of friends, and his softball career going for as long as he can. “They mean a lot more to me than I mean to them, that’s the way I look at it,” he said from the bleachers Monday, before his team played a game in their semi-final series in their league playoffs. “I mean, I got 14 new friends, I got almost 200 new friends because I’m playing here with different teams,” he said. “I don’t know how many 80-year-olds got as many 45-year-old friends as I do.” Earlier this month, on the eve of an important round-robin game for Tutor Doctor, Nelson wrote an early-morning message that’s now been seen around the world. He texted his teammates at 2:30 a.m., telling them just how grateful he was for the time he spent on the team this year. “I don’t know if I will get another year in the league or not,” he wrote. “I don’t even buy green bananas anymore. But I do know, this will be the year of ball play I will remember. All because of 14 great people.” His message of thanks went everywhere thanks to Sam Evans, who saw the message on her husband’s phone and posted it to TikTok shortly afterwards. “He’s just so inspiring. He has such a positive outlook. He’s inspired me to continue to pursue things,” she said. “I think the message is ‘go buy the yellow bananas,’ like, go do it now. What are you waiting for?” The Mount Pearl league includes some adaptions for older players, to keep the men involved in the sport as they age. Bradbury gets a pass to first base if he hits the grass on a fly ball — but if he hits the dirt, he has to leg it out, just like everyone else. He’s fallen a few times in recent days while trying to run to first base. But each time, he’s gotten back up. “He hits better than half the people on the team,” Health said. “He’s 80 years old, I hope I’m playing at 80 years old.” Bradbury started in the league 11 years ago, when he was 69. It was during his wife’s cancer treatments that he drove by a “players wanted” ad near the softball field. He hadn’t played since he was about 35. His wife looked at him with disbelief when he proposed a comeback. “She said ‘go away you old fool! You can’t go playing softball!’ and I said, ‘I can, and I’m going to register tonight’.” The rest, he said, is history. There are a few other players in the league in their 70s, but he’s now the league’s eldest statesman at 80-years of age. Lately, there’s been a lot of interviews. His story has been picked up by aggregators and publications around the world. The attention was nice, but Bradbury admits it’s getting a little tiresome. He’s trying to stay focused on winning and extending his season. “I shouldn’t say it don’t mean anything to me. It means something to me. It means that obviously I’ve touched a lot of people, but all I wanted to do was touch my teammates.”
