SYDNEY — For Perry Ashley, it would have been easy to quit playing the sport he loved after an unfortunate accident left him with a partially amputated left arm.
“It’s too easy to say ‘no’,” said the 53-year-old fastball pitcher. “If you decide that you can’t do it, you never will do it.”
Ashley lost his hand and half of his forearm as the result of a hunting accident in November of 1993 just outside of Mooseland, N.S., located northwest of Sheet Harbour. He was about four kilometres into the woods when his firearm discharged when he jumped over a ditch in pursuit of a pheasant. He was shot through the wrist and had to trek back to his car by himself and drive to the nearest village for help.
Six months later, his left hand just wouldn’t heal properly and the decision was made to amputate halfway up his forearm. But Ashley was determined to live life no different than before and, two weeks later, he returned to the mound with his stitches still fresh from surgery.
He said the hardest adjustment was using his catching glove with his prosthesis, mainly to knock down hit balls to make a play. It also means a lot of bare-handed plays to throw out runners.
“I never thought I couldn’t do it,” said Ashley, who works as an assistant manager at Home Depot. “There’s not too much I don’t do. I play hockey, I golf, I fish. I lost my hand in a hunting accident and I still hunt. As a matter of fact, I just got picked for the moose draw.”
Ashley moved to Sydney in 2000 for work and actually quit playing fastball in 2002. But the New Waterford Hawks came calling last year and he joined the team to play in the intermediate ‘D’ provincials held in Antigonish, where the squad finished third.
The main reason Ashley came out of retirement was his wife, Wanda. They’ve only been together three years and were married in May 2010, so she never saw him play.
“She heard all kinds of stories, especially from my mom. And she went out to bought me all new ball equipment, so I had no choice,” he joked.
Hawks head coach Buddy Penney said Ashley is a quiet leader on his team who gives it his all each time he takes the field. The bench boss noted Ashley’s opening game at provincials with the Hawks last year, where he tossed a two-hit shutout for the win.
“When Perry says something, the guys will listen and that’s strange on softball teams these days,” he said. “The guys love him. He’s a great guy all around. Quiet, but vocal at times when he wants to be.
“He’s very hard on himself. If he’s not doing well, I find he takes it on himself and nobody else.”
Ashley and the Hawks compete in the New Waterford and District Bud Light Fastball League that plays against teams from Sydney, Scotchtown, Glace Bay and Membertou.
“Everybody, even the guys you play against, they all seem to respect you,” he said. “It’s really good.”
