He, his son Steve Leep and several volunteers have worked with Lowe’s and LWS Tax Service to convert the field into a miniature Fenway Park — Green Monster wall included.
John Leep began “Stevie’s World of Wiffleball” tournament in 1984, the year his son was born, as a way for them to bond, and kept it going for the next 12 years. John Leep said over $20,000 was donated during that time to charities serving children in the community.
He said he put the tournament on hold as his family got more involved in activities and schedules became harder to align. But 17 years later, Steve Leep encouraged his dad to bring the tournament back to the community.
Steve Leep said his memories and the opportunity to give back to the community inspired him to restart the tourney.
“Growing up as a kid, I was known as the kid who had this dad who held the one big wiffleball tournament,” Steve Leep said. He added that just seeing the kids’ faces “light up when they can see they get to play a wiffleball tournament with their dad” was a motivating force as well.
Steve Leep admits that since the tourney hasn’t happened in almost 20 years, it’s not as familiar to the community this time around. Still, he said the event could bring over 1,000 people to the park this weekend.
John Leep said 250 participants age 9 to 90 make up 32 tournament teams.
The tourney is scheduled to open with a ceremony 6 p.m. today, followed by an all-star game and a home-run derby. One player from each team will don a Major League Baseball souvenir helmet and represent one of the major league teams in the all-star game, played this year in honor of the late Larry Hall.
Hall worked for Jeff Wyler’s auto dealership and died in a motorcycle accident coming home from work this spring. John Leep, who’s wife works with Hall’s wife, said Hall loved baseball and coached the little league baseball team Hall’s son, Seth, was a part of.
“It was nothing for Larry to have a wiffleball game in his backyard with the baseball team that he coached with his good friend Tim Bobst,” John Leep said.
The tournament will continue 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
John Leep said the tourney’s theme resembles a statement from the movie “Field of Dreams.”
“If you build it, they will come,” he said. “And we built it. It’s out there, it’s built right now.”
He added that “we” is key to his motto.
“It’s not what you do to people,” he said, “it’s what you do for people.”
Steve Leep said the bond with his dad that wiffleball provides is what stirs the duo’s excitement for this weekend’s tournament.
“Here when I was 10 years old, I was playing with my dad — playing wiffleball — and here I’m 30 years old now, and I’m doing it with him now, too,” he said. “Wiffleball’s a game that it doesn’t really matter how old you are. At any age you can have fun.”
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