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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t have any tickets.<\/p>\n
Stokes said a cameraman invited him to pose as a member of a movie newsreel crew, getting them onto the field at Crosley Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a camera man from a movie newsreel, he said, \u2018Come with me, you can be part of my crew,\u2019\u201d Stokes recalled. \u201cAnd so we go down on the field \u2026 and all the players start coming out, and I\u2019m standing there with my mouth open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once on the field, Stokes began collecting autographs from some of baseball\u2019s biggest names. Among them was legendary pitcher Satchel Paige.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Decades later, the surviving footage resurfaced in an MLB-produced video and was eventually featured on Apple TV\u2019s \u201cTed Lasso.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy kids called me up and said, \u2018Oh my God, you\u2019re famous, you\u2019re on the biggest TV show running,\u2019\u201d Stokes said.<\/p>\n
The unexpected baseball adventure came near the beginning of a life that would be filled with stories.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s people, outdoors and everyday life.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrimarily, 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,\u201d Stokes said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Stokes also received several honors for his work, including the Scripps-Howard Ernie Pyle Award.<\/p>\n
Retirement from newspapers did not mean retirement from writing.<\/p>\n
Stokes is celebrating 10 years of writing a satirical blog and recently published his latest novel, \u201cAh, The Women!\u201d He has also written other books and worked with his granddaughter, Sarah, on a play.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Now, with his 95th birthday approaching, Stokes has no desire to slow down.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a heck of a life,\u201d Stokes said. \u201cAnd I just want it to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n