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Fact Box

In a Miracle League Game ...

- Every player bats once
each inning
- All players are safe on the
bases
- Every player scores a run
before the inning is over,
and the last one up gets a
home run
- Community children and
volunteers serve as
‘buddies’ to assist the players
- Each team and each player
wins every game

WHEELING — Lorraine McCardle is a big believer in miracles.

As the mother to Austin, a 9-year-old who suffers from Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, a genetic condition that requires him to use a walker, McCardle experiences the miracles of his life and that of her daughter, Megan, every day. And now, through her efforts and the support of others including the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic and Pirates Charities, she will be bringing a new “Miracle” to Wheeling.

During a news conference this morning at Easter Seals in Wheeling, McCardle joined officials from the Ogden 20K Classic, Pirates Charities and other local dignitaries in announcing the creation of a “Miracle League” ballfield in the city. This field, which will be built at the Chambers Interstate 470 ballfield complex, is designed with a synthetic playing surface to allow those children in wheelchairs and walkers and those with other special needs to safely enjoy the game of baseball.

Children participating at the field will be part of 10-player teams, with each team and each player being a winner. McCardle hopes to have thousands of children from the local region participating in the league.

Ground should be broken for the field this spring, McCardle said, with plans to have it up-and-running by fall.

“We are so excited and so appreciative to those who helped make this possible today,” she said.

A local organization that has stepped forward to help establish the Miracle League field is the Ogden 20K Classic. The 20K is partnering with the Miracle Field by donating the proceeds from this year’s race, set for May 28-29 in Wheeling.

Perry Nardo, general manager of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, said supporting the Miracle League field is a natural next step for the race, which has become the premier family event in the Ohio Valley.

“When the Ogden Newspapers became involved with the race, our goal was to make it a family-oriented event, and donating the proceeds from this year’s Ogden 20K to the Miracle League field is just another opportunity for us to give back to the local community,” Nardo said.

McCardle’s work to bring a Miracle field to Wheeling has been ongoing since early 2008 when, during that year’s Super Bowl, Austin remarked to his father, Brad, following a penalty, “When I play football, I’ll never make that mistake.’’

That led McCardle to discover the Miracle League, which originated in Conyers, Ga., and begin her efforts to bring a field to Wheeling. Presently, the closest Miracle League fields are in Cranberry, Pa. and Morgantown.

“When I first saw the Miracle League field, I thought ‘that’s amazing,’” she said. “Then I started looking to see if they had one anywhere like Wheeling, and I discovered the field in Morgantown at Mylan Park. If Morgantown has one, surely we can get one here in Wheeling.”

McCardle, with the support of Easter Seals, even formed several local teams that traveled to Morgantown to play at that field. Thirty players participated in 2008 and 51 in 2009, she said. Those players also participated in several local games at various fields.

But the task of raising both public support and finances for a local Miracle League field was not easy, McCardle soon learned.

A story in the Wheeling News-Register on McCardle’s work to build a field locally prompted Robert Nutting, chief executive officer of the Ogden Newspapers Inc. and chairman of Pirates Charities, to get involved. Nutting experienced the opening of The Pirates Charities Miracle League field in Cranberry in May and offered his assistance and that of the Pirates Charities, which is the charitable arm of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Mike Sherry, president of The Pirates Charities Miracle League field in Cranberry.

“When I had the chance to see the Miracle League field project come to life in Cranberry, it gave me a clear insight into how much impact this type of facility can have on kids who are told their whole life that ‘you cannot play, you have limitations,’” Nutting said. “This field gives them the opportunity to say ‘yes we can, we can play.’ And this will be their turn to participate.

“I can’t begin to describe what it was like watching the kids’ faces when we opened the facility in Cranberry. This is so important to them and had such a big impact on their lives. I can’t wait for the children of the Ohio Valley to experience the same joy.

“It also is personally fulfilling for me to see multiple organizations that I am involved with collaborate so effectively. To see the impact of the Ogden 20K Classic and the impact of Pirates Charities coming together on a really important project for our community is very satisfying.”

McCardle said the field is estimated to cost $500,000. The city of Wheeling has donated the land while the Miracle League of the Ohio Valley also has received a matching grant from the J.B. Chambers Foundation, significant support from the Nutting Family Fund at the Community Foundation of the Ohio Valley and other local support.

William Nutting, vice president of Ogden Newspapers Inc. and a director for the Community Foundation, said that organization understands the Miracle League field’s impact and is proud to offer its financial support.

“Through my service on the Community Foundation board, I realize and see the tremendous impact that the foundation has on so many organizations throughout our community. We are proud to be able to continue our support with this great cause,” William Nutting said.

Nardo said the Ogden 20K’s support is made possible by those who help make the race a success each year — the runners, walkers, volunteers and sponsors.

Ogden 20K Classic Race Director Robert “Scat” Scatterday echoed Nardo’s sentiments.

“With our commitment to the Miracle League field, the efforts of those involved with the Ogden 20K Classic — from the sponsors to the volunteers to the participants — will go beyond the traditional four-day weekend to a year-round involvement with the community in this new field and the Miracle League program. We are proud to be able to give back ... and we hope our efforts spur other local organizations to donate to the field.”

The Pirates Charities will be partnering with the local Miracle League field to assist with planning and fundraising. The organization also will work with local officials and Easter Seals to help raise awareness within the community.

“Pirates Charities is extremely proud to partner with Easter Seals to help build a Miracle League field in the Ohio Valley,” said Pittsburgh Pirates President Frank Coonelly. “We have enthusiastically supported this Miracle League project because the nature of the cause is so special and the commitment of the community is so extraordinary.

“We have seen from our partnership with the Miracle League of Southwestern Pennsylvania the sheer joy and sense of accomplishment that children receive from being able to play baseball.  We are excited to share our experience and expertise in building a Miracle League Field with our partners on this project.”

Mike Sherry, president of The Pirates Charities Miracle League field of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Cranberry, also will be called upon to offer assistance, Nutting said.

Sherry said his work will be to assist “the great group of people assembled in Wheeling to build a ballfield that’s as first-class as it can be to serve these special needs children.”

“We will take the experiences we’ve learned from building the field here ... so the people of Wheeling will have a wonderful complex,” he said.

Sherry said more than 200 children participated at the Miracle League field in Cranberry during its inaugural season. “For many of these kids, this was their first time playing baseball. We had a very successful first year.”

That’s nothing but good news for McCardle, who sees a bright future for the Miracle League of the Ohio Valley.

“What I see in the very near future is this: Friday night games, a full day of games on Saturdays, even adults teams taking advantage of the Miracle field. There’s not a doubt in my mind that this will be great for the Ohio Valley. It will be a plus for the economy. People will travel here. They will eat dinner. They will shop. I have players from Hancock County to Tyler County,” she said.

“I also just want to say how thankful we are for the Pirates Charities to come on board with us to help us realize this dream of our Miracle League field right here in the Ohio Valley. It’s going to be great.”