A pair of baseball Hall of Fame members and 18 other former big-leaguers, including members of the legendary Swingin’ A’s of the 1970s, will be in Redding this weekend to hobnob, play a round of golf and raise some money for the Redding Colt 45s baseball team and the Luis Miramontes Memorial Foundation.
Rollie Fingers.
Fergie Jenkins.
Rollie Fingers, an ace reliever with the A’s during their three-peat heyday, and Fergie Jenkins, a hard-throwing Canadian who had seven 20-game winning seasons, are the two Hall of Fame members taking part in the second annual Swing with the Legends event.
Fingers and Jenkins will join Blue Moon Odom and Gene Tenace, both former A’s stars, Redding’s own Rick Bosetti and Cottonwood’s Mark Parent, as well as 2006 St. Louis Cardinals World Series champion Aaron Miles, Bob Ayrault, Dennis Burtt, Mike Felder, Dave Meads, Butch Metzger, Rance Mulliniks, Nate Oliver, Mark Souza, Tom Urbani and Matt Walbeck.
“They’re all good guys. This should really be a lot of fun,” said Bosetti, a former Redding mayor and the general manager of the Colt 45s.
Members of the public are invited to join the players at a dinner and auction Sunday at Win-River Resort & Casino and then for a Monday round of golf at Riverview Golf & Country Club.
Tickets for Sunday’s meet-and-greet with players, dinner and auction are $75 apiece or $125 per couple; a table for 10, which includes seating with a former player, is $1,000. Hundreds of pieces of baseball memorabilia will be up for auction, as well as vacation packages.
Monday’s golf is $125 per person or $500 for a foursome that will include a former major leaguer.
As an added feature for the golf event, professional long-drive competitor Tommy Hug will be stationed at Riverview’s iconic No. 1 tee and, for a $20 contribution, will hit a drive for any interested team. If a player manages to hole out with his or her second shot on the par-5 hole, he or she will win $5,000 and an expense-paid trip for two to Monterey for rounds of golf at Pebble Beach, Spyglass and Spanish Bay.
Proceeds from the day will benefit the Colt 45s, a collegiate summer league team that plays at Redding’s Tiger Field, and the Luis Miramontes Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to improve cancer care in the north state through investments in state-of-the-art technology.
For tickets or more information, call (530) 227-4443.
For information on the two organizations, visit www.lmmf.net or www.reddingcolt45s.com
