Legendary radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey, often entertained and informed his listeners with show segments he would entitle as ‘the rest of the story.’ Such is the case for me today.

In a column penned at the conclusion of this year’s Little League Baseball World Series (Schreppel’s Strike), I referenced the occasion of South Williamsport resident George Schreppel throwing out the first pitch on the opening day of the Series. Schreppel, who is battling ALS, is a huge baseball fan whose youthful baseball roots were sprouted in the Original League and later played college baseball at Mansfield University.

Twelve-year-old Noah Culpepper, a catcher for the South Riding Little League team from Loudon, Virginia, received his pitch that day. In presenting the ball to Schreppel, the youngster simply said, “Here you go.” What followed is the rest of the story.

Following the first pitch, as the other field ceremonies proceeded, Virginia team manager Alan Bowden used the pre-game moments to enlighten his young squad about the importance of what had just taken place.

There in the Lamade Stadium first base dugout, Bowden knew his team was not aware of how nasty this disease is and what it does to the human body. He told his kids the story of New York Yankees’ great Lou Gehrig, who retired from baseball at the age of 36 and died two years later of the disease that now is referenced by his name. He made it very clear to his players how fortunate we have it, and how fortunate the people that are healthy have it and are free from this disease.

Weeks after the World Series had concluded, the Virginia team Uncles, Chuck Snyder and Rick Smith received an invitation to take part in a team recognition event. The County of Loudon was going to have a proclamation honoring the World Series team, and the Uncles were invited to come down as a surprise to the players to take part in the festivities.

“The league’s 9 & 10-year-old team had won the Virginia State Tournament, so the ceremonies they had were for both teams,” added Uncle Chuck. “They had a parade through town, a 35-minute ceremony, a bunch of games, and things to do for the kids. There were a couple thousand people on hand to greet them. After those events concluded, we went to a restaurant, and they broke out the signed baseball and a Southeast World Series jersey that the kids had signed for George. They entrusted us to bring back the mementos and make sure George got them. We brought them back and gave them to Barb Hoover, who knew the Schreppels.

“Noah Culpepper’s mother had gotten hold of my daughter, Brittany, and asked if we could send the ball down so the team could autograph it, George Schreppel explained. “We sent it down, but it wasn’t coming back. I said to my wife, Tammy, ‘maybe they put it in regular mail rather than overnight. I couldn’t understand why it was taking so long.”

All this unbeknownst to George, one evening, Barb showed up at the Schreppel home with a goody bag in hand. In the bag was the baseball autographed by the Virginia team, and very much to his surprise was a World Series game jersey, which all the kids on the team had signed for him.

When asked how he liked the surprise, George responded, “Yes, surprises are nice, especially these days. When I saw that jersey, I had a huge smile on my face. I thought it was really, really nice for them to think of me in this way. We are going to have the jersey framed and hang it on the wall.

“This whole experience since the World Series has been mind-boggling. Every time I think about it, I just get a big smile on my face. At the time Noah presented me the ball after the first pitch, I wanted him to know that someday he will be older and just remember the fun times he was now having playing baseball. I am just very thankful I have the baseball.”

For Uncle Rick Smith, the benefits Little League experience goes well beyond the confines of the playing field.

“Little League is not just about the game played on the field. Many days Coach Bowden would pull the kids aside and give them a life experience moment. It’s not just playing baseball. It’s interacting with the other kids, parents, the fans, and all those people you meet. It’s all connected, on the field and off the field, and South Louden Little League definitely knew what was expected of them off the field. The experience they now share with George Schreppel was certainly one of those life experiences for the players.”

The players at the Little League World Series played the game under the rules published in the rulebook. That is as it should be, but we all should be aware of the three rules George Schreppel has for the game he has loved since childhood.

According to George’s, those rules are 1) Always have fun; 2) Remember, it’s just a game; and 3) Never, never take a called strike three!

George included those very rules in the thank you letter he sent to the Virginia team.

So there you have the rest of the story!