Gates opened at 3 p.m. with games for kids and a concert by the Air Force Night Wing band. The Ghost Players comedy routine gave several children the opportunity to intermingle with the ball team and have more fun than they imagined. The Ghost Players kept their record of not getting an out in 20 years clean as no batter, no matter where the ball was hit, was called out.
The opening flag ceremony with the Military All Stars and Dyersville American Legion Post 137 was impressive, culminating with the Tri-State Skydivers Club, from Lancaster, Wis., arriving with the ball for the first pitch, although Roland Sardeson, the final skydiver, didn't quite make it to the baseball field and landed between the baseball diamond and the Dyersville Family Aquatic Center.
Before the ballgame, Karl Seiter, a retired sergeant with the U.S. Army Rangers, said the Military All Stars brought 16 ballplayers to Dyersville.
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The evening brought people from all over the world, literally. Larry Osterhaus, from rural Jamberoo, Australia, stopped to watch the game and visit with old friends. Osterhaus is a former Dyersville resident who is back in the United States to promote his cow lifter, a device he invented to help lift up cows that are sick, or injured.
Darrin Butland, of Stanfordville, NY., drove 20 hours to watch the Ghost Players. He said this is his fourth time to see them play. "I love the Ghost Players and I'm a big fan of baseball and a big fan of the 'Field of Dreams' movie," he said.
Butland said he ran into Joe Scherrman and Ron "Hank" Lucas at the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY., and when he heard about the show, he made up his mind he would come to Dyersville, again. "I promised Joe I would help him out with filming the event," he said.
Ron Eberhard and his wife, Toni, came from Grove City, Ohio. He publishes "Dream Weaving," a newsletter about business and estate planning. Ron said he has been coming to see the Ghost Players since they started. "I came to Dyersville just to see the Ghost Players and honor them," Ron said. He said this is the 30th event he has seen with the Ghost Players and laughed as he added, "It's a shame to watch Marv Maiers grow old."