MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – More than 70 years after a Madison man snuck his way into the 1953 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, footage from that day has found its way onto the screen.
Bill Stokes was just 21 years old and serving in the U.S. Army when a friend convinced him to head to Cincinnati for the game. There was just one problem: they didn’t have any tickets.
Stokes said a cameraman invited him to pose as a member of a movie newsreel crew, getting them onto the field at Crosley Field.
“And a camera man from a movie newsreel, he said, ‘Come with me, you can be part of my crew,’” Stokes recalled. “And so we go down on the field … and all the players start coming out, and I’m standing there with my mouth open.”
Once on the field, Stokes began collecting autographs from some of baseball’s biggest names. Among them was legendary pitcher Satchel Paige.
Stokes said Paige had already signed his program when a nearby photographer asked the pitcher for another picture. Paige turned the page and signed it again, leaving Stokes with two Paige autographs, and Stokes still has the program today.
Decades later, the surviving footage resurfaced in an MLB-produced video and was eventually featured on Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso.”
“My kids called me up and said, ‘Oh my God, you’re famous, you’re on the biggest TV show running,’” Stokes said.
The unexpected baseball adventure came near the beginning of a life that would be filled with stories.
While serving in the Army, including a year in Korea, Stokes started a regimental newspaper. He later attended the University of Wisconsin to study journalism and went on to spend about 35 years working for newspapers.
His career included stops at the Stevens Point Journal, Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Chicago Tribune. Stokes mainly wrote columns, but also wrote hard news and features, often chronicling Wisconsin’s people, outdoors and everyday life.
“Primarily, it was a case of writing about whatever I ran across or whatever I was feeling or whatever was going on in nature. And it was a wonderful job,” Stokes said.
His work also put him in the path of some notable figures. Over the years, Stokes encountered people including former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, actress Elizabeth Taylor and the infamous Ed Gein.
Stokes also received several honors for his work, including the Scripps-Howard Ernie Pyle Award.
Retirement from newspapers did not mean retirement from writing.
Stokes is celebrating 10 years of writing a satirical blog and recently published his latest novel, “Ah, The Women!” He has also written other books and worked with his granddaughter, Sarah, on a play.
Writing even played a role in his personal life. His wife, Phyllis, discovered his work online and began following his columns. Eventually, she reached out, the two met and later married around 7 years ago.
Now, with his 95th birthday approaching, Stokes has no desire to slow down.
“It’s been a heck of a life,” Stokes said. “And I just want it to keep going.”
Click here to download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2026 WMTV. All rights reserved.