After 40 years away, she came back to softball — as the only woman in a men’s league

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Debbie Dunn played lots of softball from age 8 until about age 31, then took what she termed a 40-year vacation from the game while working and raising a family. But she found a way back into the game she loves through the Metro Parks 70-and-over league.

A few years ago, Dunn wasn't feeling very good about a certain birthday which led to her unlikely return to softball.

"My 70th birthday, that was the big one," said Dunn. "I got depressed thinking this is probably the last decade of my life."

So she called Metro Parks and learned there was a 70-and-over softball league and when she found out she was on a team, it was both good and not so good.

"I'm on cloud nine, bouncing off the walls," said Dunn. "I asked the coach, 'how many other women are on your team?' He said 'none.' I said 'how many women are in the league?' He said 'none.' I was horrified, horrified, oh my gosh."

She decided to give it a go anyway and two years and two new knees later, Dunn is awful glad she did.

"Gosh, it's breathed new life into me," she said. "I look forward to it every week."

The wife and mother of two and grandmother of four even practices at home.

"I have a net now, a rebound net and a T-Ball stand," she said with a hearty laugh. "Granny has a T-Ball stand, you know."

And she hopes to keep going as long as she can.

"I would never have signed up for a men's league," said Dunn. "It's just a serendipitous accident, and I'm glad I'm here."

There are now two other women in the league. Dunn said they stay in touch, boosting each other's morale. She said her husband, kids and grandkids all think she's a little crazy, but at 72, and with two new knees, she hopes to have a lot more softball years left.

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