NEW CASTLE —
Jimmy Carter went from peanut farmer to president of the United States to ...
Sandlot softball player?
Chuck Fiorante and his softball teammates from Baileyville, near State College, thought they were seeing things that summer day in 1983 when Carter, just two years removed from his term at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., walked onto the field, donned a Baileyville Grangers uniform and came out to pitch.
“All we were told was that a special guest was coming to play with us,” said the star quarterback for the 1970 New Castle High football team.
The squad is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its memorable unbeaten season in which a Gardner Points snafu caused it to sit out the WPIAL playoffs.
“We see a series of black luxury vehicles pull up and Secret Service guys get out. They walked around and checked things out and next thing you know, Jimmy Carter was walking onto the field.”
Turns out Carter, an avid fisherman, was testing the trout waters in the area and had a hankering to play some softball. The nation’s 39th president was an acquaintance of the owner of the field that the Baileyville team played on, so he asked if he could join in.
“This place was really off the beaten path,” Fiorante said, adding with a chuckle, “we sometimes fended off bears.”
Carter was given a uniform and pitched a complete game.
“We won, probably because the opposition didn’t want to offend Jimmy Carter,” Fiorante said. “He seemed please, though.
“He wasn’t bad defensively but had a poor stick.”
Interestingly enough, Carter was accompanied by his brother, Billy, who was an avid drinker. The field’s owner waived his no-drinking policy so Billy could partake of some beer while watching the game.
Afterward, the personable Fiorante asked if he might get a photo taken with the one-time commander in chief.
“I figured, ‘Hey, I’ll never get this chance again. I might as well go for it,’ ” he said. “So I asked if he would let my wife, Linda, snap a quick picture.
“He said OK, but motioned for the Secret Service to take a look at Linda’s camera. They examined it, then gave her the go-ahead to snap a picture.”
Fiorante, 57 — whose first name is really Andrew, something he said many of his classmates never knew — has been employed in pharmaceutical sales for more than 20 years. He is married to the former Linda Klasic, a Reynolds High graduate, and has two sons.
He said while he hasn’t been to Baileyville in years, the uniform Carter wore hung in the grange hall.
“It was something I’ll never forget,” he said. “How many people can say they played softball with a former president?”
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Former New Castle High quarterback Chuck Fiorante had his photo taken with President Jimmy Carter during a 1983 softball game.
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Presidential Pitch: Former ’Canes’ star reflects on softball game with Jimmy Carter
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