BURNSVILLE, Miss. - - - Saturday, August 17, 2024 was a big day in sports. No, the ESPN crew did not come down from Bristol, Connecticut nor did ABC, NBC, Fox, or CBS come down. There was no giant press conference, or a ticker tape parade, but it was significant nonetheless.

My Dad, Richard Russo, Senior, ended an almost 5-Decade run as an Open League Softball Player. While there is No Cooperstown or Hall of Fame for players like my Dad, we have something much more important, we have a lifetime of great experiences and memories that money cannot buy. His career has seen the likes of the Burnsville Smurfs, coaching the McDonalds Women Team in Corinth, the Burnsville Mafia, Russo Construction, or giving back to St. Jude and Little Jennifer Huff's Tournament. There were trips to Tupelo, the Bufford Pusser Tournament, Blackland, Panama City Beach, or all over the Southeast, many times dragging Beverly Russo, me, my "MacDaddyz" friends, or Lucas Russo in tow. His career gave epic nights like taking a rag tag group and upsetting a stacked Southern Tree team in a one-in-a-million chance during the Iuka open League.

In his career he has played with the likes of Steve Philbun, Joey Poindexter, David Crum, Ronnie Joslin, David Russo, Rudy Russo, Chad Marlar, Kevin Grimes, Greg Feltman, Danny W. Bullard, Tommy Ligon, Bebo Ligon, Allen Lyles, Ricki Barnett, Ronnie Joslin, Skeet Jackson, and Ducum Lovelace just to name a few. There were so many, many more "brothers" along the years. In his career he took the TCHS Girls' 1995 Slow Pitch Softball Team captained by Christy Glidewell and put a knot on a bunch of the TCHS Football players' heads. During his career, he has given back to Freed Hardeman and the #LiveLikeLucas Memorial Tournament. You see, my Dad feels the way about the Diamond that I do about the GridIron, and it is our special place.

So yesterday, with his glove in hand, bat over his shoulder, and a tear in his eye, Richard Russo, Senior walked off the same field he started on in 1975 in Burnsville and walked off the open league diamond for the last time. Yes, he will stay playing in the Senior Corinth league, but yesterday was truly an important date in sports history. Thank you for the memories Dad!