DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- Fathers and sons.
It’s the story at the crux of the iconic movie Field of Dreams, with baseball serving as an unforgettably vital element, too. It’s also part of the impetus behind a journey this week for the Walsh family, a group of die-hard White Sox fans by way of Chicago, through Orland Park, Ill., and now St. Joseph’s, Mich.
Bobby Walsh purchased a special trip to the Field of Dreams baseball experience, played out Thursday night in a thrilling 9-8 White Sox victory over the Yankees. It was a perfect baseball event punctuated by Tim Anderson’s walk-off home run into the right-field corn stalks, followed by fireworks as he circled the bases.
This special trip, obtained through MasterCard’s priceless experiences, included front-row tickets near the White Sox dugout for Bobby, his brother Nick, his father Mike and Mike’s stepbrother Tom Gaynor. It also featured an overnight stay on Thursday at the original farmhouse from the set of Field of Dreams.
There was the family late on Thursday night, sitting on the house’s front porch swing as fans walked to their cars discussing the spine-tingling contest, stopped to buy T-shirts and souvenirs and took pictures while playing on the field. But that moment was the end of a great day overall.
“We got here at 1 o’clock,” Mike Walsh said. “We saw batting practice. We did it all.”
They also met White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, who took a pregame tour of the house before getting touched up for four runs in the ninth, setting up Anderson’s moment on the national stage. The Field of Dreams farmhouse was well kept, including a fully functional stove looking a bit dated. From the window seat where Amy Madigan’s character sat in the movie, the Walsh family could see the fields and the action outside.
But the best part of this whole day was the original surprise pulled off by Bobby. The family stayed Wednesday night at a hotel in Dubuque, Iowa, and was supposed to stay a second night. But as part of the plan, Bobby said there was a problem.
“I said, ‘Hey, we have a little issue with housing. I’m looking for a house for the game tomorrow night, after the game. I think I have a lead. It’s a white house, big porch, swing on the porch. It’s close to the field. You guys have any guesses?’” said Bobby with a smile. “That’s when the light bulb went off.”
“So back it up even further. A couple of weeks ago, Bobby calls me up and wants to know on my calendar, am I available August 11-13,” Mike said. “We do corporate meetings, we do production: ‘Are you available? I have an event I need some help with.’ He booked me for this event. I’m thinking we are doing this meeting and I get a calendar invite from him and on the invite it says, ‘Dyersville, Iowa.’”
MasterCard’s online Field of Dreams auction, benefitting Stand Up To Cancer, received a sizeable final charitable sum from Bobby. But Bobby had his mind set on winning this priceless experience for this memorable event.
“I was going to the game no matter what, but I really wanted this,” Bobby said. “I won the auction and told my dad a couple, probably a week later, I got tickets to the game.
“He asked how, and I said, ‘It doesn’t matter how. It’s a charity auction. They are not released to the public yet, but we are going to the game.’ That’s all I told him. Then I told my brother and uncle Tom. So I didn’t tell anybody about the full experience of what we got until yesterday on the car ride.”