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July 11, 2007
72, And Living The Good Life
From the Albuquerque Tribune -
Before they let Howard and Jean Neal cross the Canadian border into the United States, customs agents have to know one thing.
Which baseball games are the Neals seeing?
Well ...
Tonight, the retired couple from Calgary, Alberta, will take in the Triple-A All-Star Game at Isotopes Park.
Then, it's off to Colorado Springs to see the Sky Sox.
Then to Salt Lake City.
Then to Montana.
"If we're going somewhere," said the 72-year-old Howard. "We're going to see baseball."
They've been touring America's pastime for nearly a decade. Armed with what Jean calls her Baseball Bible (a collection of stadium maps), a camera, autograph binders, scorebooks and photo albums, the Neals hop into their white Dodge truck with its baseball hitch mount and go.
Howard and Jean often spend about 180 days on the road -- as many as they are allowed by the government as visitors -- bouncing from obscure Single-A parks to the extravagant Major League Baseball palaces to the Arizona Fall League to spring training.
As unique as the Neals' retirement life has been, you could see it coming.
Jean, 72, is as devoted to the sport as any fan you'll find. Howard calls her a "baseball encyclopedia." Calgary Cannons players used to call her Mom.
"She would bake them birthday cakes, cookies," said John Traub, who worked in the Cannons front office before moving with the team to Albuquerque in 2003. "She was always there."
In the 17 years the franchise operated in Calgary, Jean missed eight games.
On Tuesday, Jean and Howard roamed the Isotopes Park concourses with hundreds of other fans, gathering autographs from the Triple-A All-Stars. Howard held most of the materials. Jean led the way to players sitting, in groups of two, at several tables.
Just as she's done for years, Jean smiled with the players and gave many of them hugs before securing her autographs. The Neals often take photos and make two prints: one for them, one for the player.
Jean's motherly rapport with players and team brass forged manifold friendships. It's gotten the couple free admission into games. Jean says she exchanges holiday cards with 75 former Calgary players, including Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees.
"We've gotten to meet so many people," Jean said.
Very cool of A-Rod to exchange holiday cards with this couple. Very cool, indeed. It's nice to hear a story like this one.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at July 11, 2007 12:17 PM