It was the end of the 1960s. My friend's father let us sell parking spaces at his business in downtown Traverse City during the Cherry Festival. We took the proceeds, bought a large amount of Stroh's Beer, and headed to the field on the corner of Smokey Hollow Road and Boursaw Road. On this Sunday afternoon, we decided to have a softball game. After a few innings, we determined that the field was too rough, so I suggested we move to Bowers Harbor Park, which had a perfect ball diamond. Thus began a Sunday afternoon tradition that spanned the late 1960s through the 1970s and beyond.

Every Sunday, Old Mission Peninsula friends played ball among ourselves or against similar teams, from Traverse City to Glen Arbor. Being the nature of the times and the fact that the games were always held on Sunday afternoons after very long Saturday nights, the team earned the name "The Peninsula (Penini) Redeyes." Here's your chance to become an honorary member of the Peninsula Redeyes, whose history as a neighborhood baseball team exemplifies the strength of Peninsula friendships, camaraderie, and the joy of living on the Old Mission Peninsula. - Tim Boursaw