Cape Coral resident Ray Tibbs didn't start playing softball until he was 57, but he's been at it for nearly a quarter of a century. Tibbs is 81 and making up for lost softball years, playing in night leagues, morning leagues, practicing on weekends and playing in tournaments.

He'll be pitching this week for Lawson Products in the 70-plus age division of the Senior Softball Winter Nationals, a 155-team softball extravaganza already under way on ballfields in Lee and Collier counties.

Tibbs began playing softball seven years after he retired from owning a printing company in Cincinnati.

"It was something to do," Tibbs said. "I got hooked on softball. Can't get rid of it."
There are, of course, worse things to be hooked on than playing softball. Playing ball is also about the camaraderie.

"I enjoy being out there, the activities and the friends," Tibbs said Thursday night before a 50-plus league game at the Cape Coral Sports Complex. "You make friends.''

Tibbs also plays occasionally in an open league where some players are in their 20s. He doesn't pitch against those youngsters.

"They hit it too hard, so I gave it up," Tibbs said.

That isn't as much of a problem when he plays against men close to his own age. Not many are as old. He's the oldest member of his league and tournament teams. The years have taken a toll on Tibbs' speed.

"I got more doubles than anybody on this team and the reason is because I don't run fast," Tibbs said. "I have to hit a home run to the fence to get a double. I tell the guys all the time I stretch home runs into doubles.''

Other players are impressed by Tibbs.

"I hope when I'm that age I can do half the things that he can do," said Glen Moser, a 57-year-old umpire and player.

Larry Coblentz, 69, plays on league and tournament teams with Tibbs.

"He's the wonder of the whole league," Coblentz said. "He is truly the wonder of the whole league. He's hitting .605. He is fantastic and a lot of those doubles would have been home runs if he could run."

Coblentz believes Tibbs' commitment to fitness contributes to his ability to play at 81.
"His fitness is a part of why he is where he is," Coblentz said. "He is beyond the normal for anybody. I got people much younger than him that are not playing even close to his level."