If you’ve been to Mike E. Sansone Park in the month of March in the last few years, chances are you’ve spotted Dave Townsend.
Townsend can be found sitting in a foldable armchair and wearing his favorite Panama Jack or Tommy Bahama hat. He’s taking in the sights and sounds of college club baseball spring training, which has called Plant City home since 2010.
“I found it by accident,” Townsend said.
A self-proclaimed baseball and athletic junkie, Townsend got his first taste of college club baseball when he was out watching Little League games.
“I saw teams down at one of the fields that were of older age, so I walked over and investigated,” he said. “I found club baseball, and I was hooked.”
Townsend has attended dozens of games since. In fact, he can be found watching the games more often than not throughout each March, when club teams from colleges around the country spend their spring breaks in Plant City and play free exhibition games.
“The price is right, and it’s just a great thing to see,” he said.
SPORTS FAMILY
Sports have been a big part of Townsend’s life. He played baseball, football and basketball at Taylor University, near his hometown in Indiana, and later played baseball and basketball in the United States Army.
His son, Dave Jr., was also a three-sport athlete, and Townsend regularly attended his Little League games when the family lived in Pennsylvania.
After retiring from a human resources job for a glass-manufacturing company, Dave and Connie, his wife of nearly 55 years, moved in 1994, from Oklahoma to Plant City. Dave Jr. had been working in Tampa after transferring, and his father had former coworkers and friends who found homes in Plant City.
“We always said that we were going to retire in South Carolina and never in Florida,” Townsend said. “Here we are since 1994, loving every minute of it.”
Townsend’s grandson, Cameron, played Little League here in Plant City. Now 17, Cameron helps with local Little League teams and with baseball camps at the University of South Florida.
After a life spent around sports, Connie lets her husband take in the club games on his own.
“She said she’s had enough of sports during her lifetime with family,” Townsend said, laughing.
But for Townsend, it never gets old.
“If they played 24 hours a day, you’d probably see me here for a good part of that day if not all day,” he said.
LOVE OF THE GAME
Townsend had no knowledge of club baseball before stumbling on it four years ago. Confused at first, thinking the teams were NCAA representatives, Townsend learned they were non-scholarship student-athletes whose teams were not necessarily sponsored or funded by the schools branded across their chests.
“I love baseball, but the thing that impresses me the most is that these young men love baseball the way they do,” he said, noting that some of the teams make 20-plus hour trips to Plant City by van or bus to play the game they love.
“The way down is the good news,” he said. “The bad news is having to make that trip back.”
Townsend also said he admires the dedication and passion he sees in the young athletes.
“They’re not paid money; they play it for the love of the game,” he said. “I’m impressed by the caliber and quality of the professionalism I see out here. They’re just good, wholesome kids. The way they carry themselves, mom and dad would be proud of them.”
Speaking of moms and dads, Townsend has met plenty of parents and grandparents of club players in the last four years. One moment that stands out for Townsend is when he met a couple from Indianapolis. They instantly connected with the Indiana ties, only to find out that connection went even deeper.
Not only had the couple heard of Townsend’s hometown of Upland, but the gentleman, Lou, does business there with his engineering company and has Townsend’s niece, Jane Rockwell, as a contact in that area.
“From that relationship, I see them every year when they come back,” Townsend said. “Unfortunately, their son is a senior this year and isn’t playing on the club team anymore.”
PLANT CITY LIAISON
Director of Spring Training Operations Savannah Harp noticed Townsend four years ago during a game.
“The very first year, I noticed him with his chair, going around to the different games, so I assumed he wasn’t specifically with one of the teams,” Harp said.
A year or two later, Harp recognized him again, and they struck up a conversation.
“He asked me if he could get a printed schedule, and I went in and printed him one,” she said. “Now, every year, on the first day, I hand him a full, printed schedule.”
The schedule helps Townsend plan out his weeks during March. If there is at least one game to take in, chances are he will plan to be there.
“He’s really good about striking up conversations with parents, and then they’ll learn that he’s from Plant City and ask him questions — like where to get the best barbecue and where the best places to eat are,” Harp said.
With the two-year contract up in 2013, Harp said the city and CollClubSports have agreed upon another year, making 2014 the fifth consecutive year spring training will be held in Plant City. The event coincides with the NCBA World Series, which has been held recently at the University of Tampa in May.
Townsend hopes spring training will continue in Plant City for years to come.
“Selfishly, I hope it never leaves,” he said. “I look forward to it every year.”
Harp said she hopes Townsend will inspire other locals to take in games.
“We want this to be a community event and would love for more locals to come out,” Harp said. “When we’re out here and Little League games are going on, the teams will walk over and see how big the players are and then realize, ‘Wow, that’s Indiana,’ or, ‘Look, there’s Ohio State.’ You see their faces light up, and that’s what I really enjoy out of it.”
SPRING TRAINING
WHEN: Through March 28
WHERE: Mike E. Sansone Community Park and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center
UPCOMING TEAMS: Iowa, UCF, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Missouri, Colorado and others are all set to hold their spring training in Plant City in the coming weeks.
SCHEDULE: For a complete schedule, visit springtraining.clubbaseball.org/schedules.asp