Wednesday – October 16th – birthday. The thirtieth birthday of baseball for the blind, the sport invented by Alfredo Meli, carefully curated by Umberto Calzolari and Alberto Mazzanti, who dreams of reaching the Paralympics. This discipline took hold in Italy, starting from Bologna, but to conquer the five-ring Games, you need to reach the other continents and this is why Mazzanti, Stefano Malaguti, Eva Trevisan and company are working to spread this practice.
The anniversary of baseball for the blind officially dates back to 16 October 1994 because on that day, at the Rino Veronesi in Casalecchio, the first Bxc game (acronym for baseball for the blind) was played over the distance of seven rounds. Even in this case, the world of baseball for the blind has proven to see far. On that October 16th the Aquilone Empoli Red Sox beat the Bologna White Sox 15-11. Thirty years of history that have a thousand connections with culture and comics. Perhaps not everyone knows that the first cartoon, linked to the first game, was drawn, with great originality, by Benito Jacovitti. And a few years later, another comic book legend, Charles Schulz, sent an original cartoon featuring Charlie Brown. Finished here? No, Francesco Altan was also among those who questioned, with their art, the world of baseball for the blind.
At Italian level – one of the main fields is the Leoni di Casteldebole – every year there are championships, Italian Cup, Home Run Derby and All Star Game. Not only that. After the death of Alfredo Meli, the founder, one of the most assiduous friends in the world of baseball for the blind was the professor, born Umberto Calzolari, Fortitudo icon, who also passed away.
And after winning so much with the Fortitudo shirt, another legend, Riccardo Matteucci, approached baseball for the blind. Finished here? Nope: those in baseball for the blind don’t stop for a moment. Thus, the initial association has become a full-fledged league and exceptional results have been achieved. From the twinning with Fortitudo Baseball to climbing the world stage, to be accredited in the eyes of the international federation and lay the foundations for an Olympic future.
Between one international conference and another, we arrived in London, for the second edition of the Wbsc Blind Baseball International Cup. In the United Kingdom, in addition to the hosts, there were Italy, Holland, United States, China, Cuba, Hungary and Pakistan. The seed planted by Alfredo Meli continues to flourish and the goal of landing at the Games – Los Angeles, where baseball will return, is still too close, temporally speaking – is not that far away.
