James Bulawa joined the local gay softball league in 1990 and also participated in his first Gay Softball World Series that summer, when it was held in Pittsburgh. His memories from that tournament still stand strong—sadly.
His team advanced to the championship game with an undefeated record and led the San Francisco Uncle Berts Bombers 8-3 in the sixth inning. Bulawa was pulled from left field to allow a veteran left fielder to play as Bulawa was a pickup player for that Chicago team.
"I will never forget this. … We had the game in hand. There were two outs and we led 8-3," Bulawa said. "A ball was hit to [the] left fielder who replaced me and he dropped [it]. We wound up losing that game, and then lost the [deciding] if-game, too.
"It seemed as if all the air left our team after that drop in the first game.
"I often wonder if I was not pulled whether we would have won the A-Division championship that year.
"We almost won it again a few years later, but never could quite punch through. I [later] moved down to the B-Division and we again came close a couple of years and nearly won it in 2006."
However, it was famine instead of feast for Bulawa—until 2009, when he played for the B-Division champions, the Chicago Spin Cougars.
He was back in the B-Division at the 2010 Series, and his team finished ninth.
"Not too disappointing considering we had a new group of guys with only five playing together previously," said Bulawa, 47, who lives in Andersonville. He is the director for U.S. sales for a $50 million portable power solution firm based in Lisle.
The 2011 Gay Softball World Series will be played in the Chicago area, starting Aug. 29.
"Finally, [the Series] has come back to Chicago after we last hosted the 1983 Series," Bulawa said. "I was not in the league or playing at that time, but I heard from many of my former teammates that it was a blast. I expect nothing less for Chicago hosting the 2011 Series. I was on the committee to bring the Series to Chicago in 2009, but we fell a bit short on votes and the bid was awarded to Milwaukee. I must say they hosted a great tournament.
"I have played in every [Gay Softball] World Series since 1990. I have been fortunate to always be on winning teams and Chicago will be my 20th Series in a row. The most memorable [Series] was winning the B-Division championship in 2009.
"The Series is special because the elite teams are the only ones that make it. You know you are one of the best teams by winning your bid to play in the Series. You develop great friendships along the way, so every year since 1990 has grown to become a big part of my life."
More James Bulawa:
—Favorite baseball team: Chicago Cubs
—Favorite baseball player: Todd Helton
—Softball quote: "I hope more young players continue to join the league, learn the game and move up in divisions," he said. "It is so nice to see new players come into the league, start out in the lower divisions and after a few years move up and become very good softball players. The league has been, and continues to be, a great social networking tool. In fact, I met the love of my life through softball. I would encourage everyone to come out in 2011 and register to play ball; you will have a tremendous time and make many new friends along the way."
