When the St. Louis Rams named Jeff Fisher as their Head Coach before last season, the St. Louis area gained a great charity event. For 11 years in Nashville, Fisher put on the a charity softball game to benefit local charities. Coach often brought current and former players from the Titans as well as local celebrities and friends of his out to play.

This year’s event takes place this Sunday in Sauget, Illinois.

1,500 fans attended last year’s game, although reports suggested 3,500 tickets were sold to the game. I fondly remember seeing the St. Louis Blues Alumni softball games back in the mid-’90s with my dad so I was gung-ho to see this event last year. It was a great event with lots of players and local celebrities in attendance.  The game is preceded by a Home Run Derby. Rams linebacker Josh Hull hit a couple absolute moonshots and ended up winning the derby. James Laurinaitis hit two home-runs in the actual game and it was the first time I got to see just how quick Cortland Finnegan really is.

This year’s event will take place this Sunday, June 9. It will again be held at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois, the home of the Gateway Grizzlies. Jeff Fisher will again coach the Blue team and Brian Schottenheimer, the Rams’ Offensive Coordinator, will coach the White. Hull, Finnegan and Laurinaitis are all again scheduled to attend, as well as many other current players, such as Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Robert Quinn and Harvey Dahl. Former MLBers Ozzie Smith and J.T. Snow will be on Fisher’s team. J.T. Snow’s charity, which benefits Wolfram syndrome research, is one of the charities benefited by the event. Expect other local celebrities to be late additions to the rosters.

Along with the Snow charity, Backstoppers, Mercy Ministries, the Wounded Warrior Project and Catch-A-Dream Foundation will all benefit from the event. In its years in Nashville, the event raised over $350,000 for various charities.

Much like I first saw Finnegan’s speed at last year’s event, Tavon Austin is schedule to play for the White team this year. Austin, who was drafted 8th overall by the Rams in the recent draft, is considered one of the most dynamic players to be come out of college this past year. If you listen to the media hype, he very well may be able to turn a bloop double into an inside-the-park home run on Sunday night.

Festivities on Sunday will start at 4 pm with a game between Special Olympics teams representing Illinois and Missouri. The Home Run Derby will start at 5:15 pm and the game will start at 6:30 pm. A fireworks display is scheduled for after the game.

General admission tickets start at $10 and can be purchased online through the Grizzlies or at the event.

Here’s some video from last year’s event.

Featured image from StadiumJourney.com

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