We would like to start by saying this has been a sad week for the SSL as one of our own has succumbed to cancer. So, it would be remiss of us if we didn’t take the time to write about Big Ed who passed away this morning.
「I met Ed during my second year in Shanghai as my first did not revolve much around expat life. Not really knowing any one at the time, I tended to gravitate to the Big Bamboo on Nanyang lu as it was ahaven for the huddled masses. Big Ed would enter the bar room, shout at the myriad of waitstaff 「Cocktails」 and sign up for pool. No one flinched except for this newbie who was taken aback by the brusqueness of his tone accompanied by the cut of his jib.
Naturally, I enquired as to who was this rapscallion. To which those in the know responded 「Big Ed」. As per usual, he was gearing up fora big night. After getting my ass kicked in pool by him a number of times, he asked if I played softball. Naturally, not only did I play but I was excellent at it (insert joke here). So that following Sunday, bright and early, off we went to the corner expanses of Shanghai to play ball on what the players considered to be their field of dreams. But to me, it looked more like an old military parade ground with huge divots in the field and of all things a hot dog vendor at the mouth to this decaying edifice.
There it was, Jiangwan stadium in all it’s glory. Built in 1934 under the Greater Shanghai plan, the stadium was indeed used to promote cultural leanings; but in this case the game of softball. I came to understand that these Sundays Ed held sacred and he took softball quite serious having fathered teams like the Axiom of Evil, the Beavers and the Drunken Dragons. At one time he was a member of the Barbeerians where he has a bobblehead that I swear looked more akin to Steve Garvey than Ed. Anyway, I played for the Beavers with Ed and each Sunday brought with it new adventures and stories not for the faint of heart.」 - Owen Ayre
「He's the only guy I ever saw get thrown out of a Shanghai softball game; that was when we had Chinese umps. We played on the same team at the time and I ended up having to draft an apology email that he sent to the league the next day. Rip roaring drunk on the mound and abusing the players and the umps. That was the Big Ed way!」 -Joel Forrest
」One of my favorite Big Ed stories was the first season I played in the league. We weren't at San Lin at that point and Sandy was several months pregnant. She comes running past me with Ed walking behind, beer in one hand, smoke in the other. All of a sudden Sandy starts climbing over a spiked fence. I'm watching this for a moment thinking 『how's Ed gonna play this』? As he walks past me he stops, looks at me and says 『geez, she's like 6 months pregnant, that's not so smart.』 He then takes a swig of beer, a puff on the cigarette, turns around and walks back the other way. Classic Ed.」 -Colin Dizengoff
」One time I ordered a pizza at Bubba’s and went outside to play cornhole. While I was playing my pizza came out and May just put it on the corner of the bar. I did not know the pizza was done and ready to be eaten. About 10 minutes after the pizza came out, Big Ed comes strolling out of Bubba’s with a big smile and says 『see ya later Timmy』, hails a cab and turns as he gets in and says 『thanks for the pizza』. I ran inside and sure as shit he fucking ate 3/4's of my pizza. But I got even real quick. I dunked his hat he left behind in the deep fryer and lit it on fire outside. He was a wonderful and strange human being.」 -Matt Erickson
「We are all in this crazy city for different reasons and are employed by a wide array of industries and organizations. But no matter where we come from and what we do for a living, each weekend we come together as a softball family, and today we have lost a very important member, and it hurts. But be certain of this…Ed loved this league and loved competing against each team in it. I’m sure everyone has been told at some point to stop taking beer-league softball games so seriously. But we all know, and Ed definitely knew, softball is bigger than the games we play. It is getting heated with the opposing team during the game and then giving them a hearty cheers after. It is waking up early on a Sunday, hungover, barely able to walk, then blasting a line-drive to left and trying to leg out a double without puking. Most importantly, it is the camaraderie that you have with your teammates and never wanting to let them down…and when you do screw up, knowing that all the shit-talking you』ll get on the bus ride home is cathartic and means that everything is forgiven.
The Dragons (formerly the Brew Crew and the Drunken Dragons), suffered through some pretty tough seasons early on in their existence. Losing so many games is tough, but our core, led by Ed, stuck it out and kept at it. Something special started to happen during the Spring 2013 season. The Dragons started to come together. Under Ed’s guidance we started to build a proper team culture, a culture that prided itself on hard work, a team first attitude, and resiliency. The surprise run that the Dragons had to winning the inaugural CJ Cup, was not a surprise to any of the Dragon players, because we had all bought into the mentality that Ed had built. The elation that all of us experienced on that early Sunday morning was amazing and as we tore The Big Bamboo a new one with our 10 hour after-party, there was no person happier than Ed. It was his team playing the style of ball that he envisioned, no superstars, just guys willing to work hard as a group and step-up when it was their time came. We have played the last 3 seasons without Big Ed, but we see his attitude in every Dragon that knew him and every new player that has joined us since – tough, resilient, determined, team-first, and stubborn to lose. Ed would love the current incarnation of our team, because it is based around the clubhouse culture and mentality that he had wanted. We are proud to be Big Ed’s Team…we are proud to be Dragons.
Ed would』ve been too stubborn and too proud to let any of us feel sad today…he』d probably tell us all to 『Suck it up and play your ass off on Saturday. Get out there and fuckin』 win!』. So Shanghai Softball League…take on that challenge…play your asses off this weekend. Do the Big Guy proud and play hard-nosed, wild-eyed, gritty softball this weekend, because dammit, we all know that he would.」 -Brendan Newman
Well said Brendan, perfectly stated! Thank you to those who chipped in (Joel, Colin, Matt) with your stories helping this writer through this difficult writeup. Ed you will be missed and this one’s for you... Carlos Danger