Marilyn Wittstock: Volunteer makes field of dreams come true for disabled kids

Marilyn Wittstock saw the developmentally disabled children struggling on the traditional baseball diamond and said, "We need to build our own field."

Some of the kids, members of the Challenger program of the Clinton Valley Little League, are in wheelchairs. Others use walkers. Some have Down syndrome. But all love to play baseball.

"We had to play our games on school fields, which were usually just dirt and rocks," Wittstock says. "The dugouts were very small. Wheelchairs couldn't get in. The conditions just weren't the best."

She petitioned the Clinton Township Board of Trustees for permission to build a custom baseball field inside a township park. The trustees gave their blessing -- provided Wittstock came up with the tens of thousands of dollars necessary to build such a field.

She dealt with permits, contractors, township officials and hustled donations.

Two years and $120,000 in donations later, the "Norm Hott Field" at the township's Neil Reid Park opened. The six-team, 80-member league finally had a field of dreams of its own.

"It's a wonderful addition to the facilities we have here in Clinton Township," says Carlos Santia, township planning director. "She just made it happen. She's really someone to look up to and admire."

The pitcher's mound is closer to home base. The field has shorter baselines. Recycled rubber lines the base paths, which are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. And best of all, the Challenger league members can play on it whenever they want.

Wittstock says it never would have happened if it weren't for the generosity of others. The late Tony Filippis, a past Detroit News Michiganian of the Year and owner of Wright & Filippis Inc., a local prosthetic, orthotic and home medical supply company, opened his Rolodex and tapped donors. The township's Kiwanis and Knights of Columbus organizations collected thousands. Meijer and Wal-Mart donated, too. The Detroit Tigers Foundation gave $10,000. Former Tiger first baseman Sean Casey and his wife, Mandi, gave $10,000 last August.

The field is named after Mandi's late grandfather.

"If it wasn't for her enthusiasm and her perseverance, that baseball field wouldn't have been built," says Ken Dumais of the St. Isodore Knights of Columbus.

As the Challenger program looks forward to its first full season this summer, the fundraising efforts continue for landscaping work, roofs to assemble and other projects.

Wittstock admits there were times that she didn't think she could pull it off, when the task seemed impossible. "Believe me, I prayed a lot," Wittstock says. "And when one door closed, another one opened. It always was my dream for the kids to have their own place to play. It truly is a dream come true."

Steve Pardo / The Detroit News