PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. –- An old glove, game schedules, and pictures lined the windows at a local bar for a reunion 50 years in the making.
The 1959 Canteen little league baseball team gathered from across the country to meet at Johnny’s Tavern in Prairie Village Saturday night.
Dave Pfanmiller is among the players and organized the reunion.
"We contacted a total of 18 guys and 15 of them came," said Pfanmiller.
One by one, the players filed into the bar, filled out a name tag and started looking for a familiar face.
The former little leaguers had no problem finding themselves in the pictures but admitted they had to reintroduce themselves after being apart for more than 50 years.
“This is a group of guys I spent about eight years every summer with,” says Jim Pearch, former little league player. “I haven't seen most of them since about 1969.”
"It was our whole life,” said Pfanmiller. “We would practice two or three times a week and play games twice a week.”
From Washington D.C. to Dallas and a few places in between, some of the men traveled hundreds of miles to take this walk down memory lane.
Pfanmiller says he organized for someone who couldn't attend.
"This is kind of a tribute to my dad,” he said.
Along with being the founder of the team, Pfanmiller’s father was also the coach.
“He's passed now. I wish I would have done this when he was alive but I didn't,” Pfanmiller said. “We're just tickled dad's having a good time tonight too.”
