I, King of All Jewish Baseball, leader and ruler of THE GREAT KINGDOM OF JEWISH BASEBALL, to be completely honest in my divine, genius communications, shamefully must tell you, there is… another man– nay, not another King of Jewish Baseball, for, clearly, as just covered, there is one and I am him, but there is a man so large, so powerful, he warrants mention here, King and Ruler of his own Kingdom, that is to say, the Kingdom of Jewish Softball, Ladies and Geetle Juices, I, here and now, proudly dub thee, David Blackburn, King of All Jewish Softball.
I met Dave in 2005. We were teammates on the Open Mens Fastpitch Softball Team aka THE GREATEST ALL JEWISH SOFTBALL TEAM OF ALL TIME OF THE GREAT AND WELL-KNOWN 2005 MACCABI GAMES – a perfect team, with a perfect record, 12 wins, 0 losses. At the conclusion of the tournament we were, naturally, awarded the Little Golden Medal of Ultimate Bravery and Intelligence, and were the sovereign Holders, for 4 years at least, of the Snow Globe of Jewish Softball.
The 2005 Gold Medal Team USA. That’s me with the afro holding the flag (#9). Dave is the giant to my left (#7).
Dave was our #1 pitcher, the only #1 pitcher the USA had ever had in the Maccabi Games. Dave had pitched for the team since their first Games in 1985. I was just a young warrior looking for his place in the World of Jewish Baseball, or Softball, in this case, and he was a legend. He was competing in his 5th Maccabi Games. And he had the calves of an adolescent Rhino. He had already won 2 gold medals. There is, you must know, a rule in the Maccabi Game that says athletes can only compete 3 times. But Dave got an exemption because, well, it’s hard to find good Jewish Softball pitchers, and his calves, and, frankly, because he is, after all, the King of All Jewish Softball.
In his life, Dave has thrown 70 no hitters, 4 of them in the Maccabi Games. One of his no-hitter balls is in the Maccabiah Hall of Fame. He is the only non-Israeli in the Israel Softball Hall of Fame. He is in the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. And last summer he was inducted into the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame, softballs equivalent to Cooperstown. All together, Dave has 4 gold medals, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. This year, for the first time, Dave did not medal. He lost to 3 superior Israeli Para-Olympic athletes in Wheelchair Table Tennis.
Dave playing table tennis.
3 years ago, Dave was in a car accident on the way to a tournament in Prescott, Arizona. Some of the guys from our 2005 team entered a Maccabi team into– no, shockingly, not an all-Jewish competition, but the the 40-and-over National Tournament with some of the top fastpitch softball teams in the USA. On the way, the car Dave was in, along with 2 of our teammates, was in a head-on collision. No one was killed. But Dave wound up in a coma for 54 days and has since lost the lower half of his famous, gigantic right leg, and his ability to walk.
The team decided to continue on in Prescott despite not knowing if Dave would live. At night, they went the hospital. During the day, they played softball, and that year, in Arizona, with their Giant Jewish Friend, not to mention, best pitcher, in the hospital, using only the power of Love, and Black Jewish Softball Magic, of course, the 40+ Maccabi USA Softball Team won a National Championship.
This is the 1st time I’ve seen Dave since the accident. He is here to compete in Table Tennis, and he was announced as a flag bearer for the United States delegation at opening ceremonies. It is Dave’s 7th Maccabi Games, the most any athlete has competed in.
In softball, the USA plays their final games of the tournament tonight. They play Mexico at 7, if they win, they play for gold at 9.
Dave will be there.
Big Dave Blackburn, for always and forever, under the sun, the King of All Jewish Softball
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Dave Is working on a film project, The King and Me.
Visit, http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-king-and-me, to see more…