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He stakes claim as tee ball's father

An estimated 2.2-million kids play it. But did a Snell Isle man invent it? The consensus seems to be: The origins are fuzzy.

By JON WILSON
Published April 6, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - He doesn't go to many games these days, but when John Zareas thinks of a tiny player joyfully whacking a baseball off a tee, his heart soars.

Tee ball, the Snell Isle resident says, is "one of my top three achievements," right behind his family and a 24-year military career.

As an Air Force youth activities leader, Zareas said he developed tee ball in 1960 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.

The game gives players, ages 5 through 7, a chance to bat without facing the possible intimidation of a pitched ball. Instead, the kids learn the art of hitting by swinging at a baseball perched atop a tee about waist high. Even Major League players have used the device to improve their swings.

But it's difficult to determine who actually invented the game. Zareas certainly played a role, yet others say they have a stake in tee ball's origin, too.

A few weeks ago, a physician Zareas knows challenged the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel's claim to the game. Browsing the Internet, the doctor found the name of another man credited with developing tee ball, Zareas said.

"I don't want to be made to feel I'm a liar," said Zareas, 75.

His credentials as a tee ball pioneer are secure.

Zareas published a copyrighted tee ball rules book for youngsters in 1965. A copy resides in the Baseball Hall of Fame library in Cooperstown, N.Y., reference librarian Claudette Burke said.

Copies of Zareas' service records reflect his effort. The governor of New Hampshire nominated him for a presidential Point of Light award during former President George Bush's administration. Newspaper articles and television reports have discussed his role in the development of a game now played by an estimated 2.2-million youngsters nationwide.

"The older I get, the prouder I get," Zareas said.

But a minister in Milton, the Rev. Dayton Hobbs, said he began a local tee ball program 46 years ago. The Hall of Fame also has a newspaper article saying an Albion, Mich., man began the game there in 1956, librarian Burke said.

Bing Broido is president of Tee Ball USA, a 12-year-old nonprofit support group for youth organizations. Broido said Branch Rickey, owner of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, had his players use a tee in the 1940s. Later, Broido said, some Canadian players put a ball atop a cow-milking device on a flexible tube.

"If you hit the stick instead of the ball, you wouldn't ruin yourself," Broido said.

Who should get credit for inventing the game is a tough call, he said.

"Over the years, I've had eight or nine or 10 notices that they thought their great-uncle invented it," Broido said. "Nobody's ever been able to pin it down."

Zareas continued to promote tee ball when the Air Force assigned him to Japan, which was where he wrote down rules.

It cost $20 to copyright them, he said. From Japan, the game gradually spread among service families to Hawaii, Southern California, across the southern United States, then to New York and New England, he said.

Money is not an issue in tee ball.

"I never took a dime for this sport," Zareas said. His reward comes from reflecting on his role in bringing some fun to youngsters and in occasionally autographing copies of the rule book he wrote.

Tee Ball USA doesn't charge to belong and sponsors no leagues.

Hobbs, 80, has been pastor at Milton's Grace Bible Church for 54 years. He said he got the idea to use a tee while reading about college coaching techniques in California. He first used a tee to help a teen team practice its hitting, then started using the tee for the youngest players as a safety measure.

He said he registered a tee ball trademark with the federal government in the early 1970s. "It's become general because we couldn't make any claims to tee ball," he said, crediting the Navy with spreading the game.

"I've never made any claim. I don't argue with them. I know when we did it. If someone did it before that, it doesn't matter," Hobbs said.

At its core, tee ball officials and pioneers agree, the game is about one thing: children playing a sport and enjoying it.

[Last modified April 6, 2005, 01:07:18]