Legendary Jack Addison passes away
August 29, 2009
Oak Ridge, TN
Legendary fastpitch fan, reporter Jack Addison passed away
From Bob Tomlinson – Fastpitch Chronicle/Wisconsin Sports Network
I lost a trusted friend today, one of my very best friends. He was a friend who stuck with me throughout the years.
The legendary Jack Addison of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, one of men’s fastpitch softball’s most legendary personalities passed away around midnight this morning.
Finding people who you can call a trusted friend is not an easy thing to do. They are few and far between. Many people never find such a friend in their entire life. Trust, you see, is one of the most difficult things to find and hang on to. It’s one of life’s intangible things that is built and nurtured over time. It endures when other aspects of a friendship deteriorate. It endures through thick and thin.
In the world of men’s fastpitch softball trust is too often a characteristic that gets tossed aside, lost in the shuffle of people’s words, promises and commitments.
Jack Addison was a rock in the world of men’s fastpitch softball. His involvement dates way back into the 40s and 50s when he was known as “Lefty.” as a player and manager. People in Tennessee and neighboring states knew of him and knew him personally long before I did.
Longtime fans of the ISC world tournament and the ASA men’s major tournament knew him well. Subscribers and readers of The Fastpitch News Bulletin and the Fastpitch Chronicle Newspaper and Website eagerly awaited each issue to read the stories, articles and reports and thoughts about which Jack wrote. Jack is one of the people Jeremy Spear interviewed for his documentary movie, “Fastpitch, the Movie” and appears in that documentary.
Many of Jack’s fastpitch friends preceded him in death but for those that remain, his absence at the recent ISC world tournament was felt and will be felt in the future.
He attended the most recent ASA Men’s Major National tournament along with Raymond Rich, son of one those longtime friends, He and Raymond had plans to attend the ISC world tournament in the Quad Cities. However, just a few days before the tournament was to start, Jack’s health took a turn for the worse. He never recovered.
I sat for many hours with Jack, usually somewhere on a lawn chair parked outside the outfield fence and listened to his many stories. We watched games long into the early morning hours at ball yards from coast to coast. Jack had played against, coached against and watched most of the game’s legendary players and legendary games.
In 2007 in Kitchener, Jack was at the table with us when the ISC inducted Tim Wahl, Peter Meredith, Lloyd Simpson, Larry Lynch and myself into the Hall of Fame. It was an honor to have Jack sitting next to me at that ceremony and hearing him say, “Nice job Boss,” when I returned to the table after giving an acceptance speech.
I chatted with Jack, briefly, on the night that he passed away. His voice was weak and his words were short. He thanked me for calling and wished me good luck. I promised to call him back today. That’s when I learned of his passing.
I will surely miss my conversations with Jack but I will cherish the memories of our friendship forever.
There will be a visitation on Saturday evening from 6 till 8 at the Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The funeral will be at noon on Sunday with burial at 3:00 PM.
To send cards mail to: Family of Jack Addison, 116 Taylor Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
The family asks that you send memorials in leu of flowers. All Memorial money will be donated to the Boys Club of Oak Ridge.
