How a Major League Baseball star's visit saved a young paralyzed player

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - NOT A 'FIELD OF DREAMS':

On a sun-drenched June afternoon, David Lery slowly moves his powered wheelchair toward the East Carter High School baseball field in Grayson, Kentucky.

While he had stopped by the field to get a quick glimpse a couple of years ago, this was the first time David ventured back onto this diamond since his catastrophic collision at home plate here 35 years ago.

"It's not what I would call my field of dreams," David said as he inched forward to the diamond where his life forever changed.

In 1989, David was a hard-charging 17-year-old baseball star at Lewis County High School, and he was having a great game against East Carter on April 1.

"I went three-for-three that day, with a couple of RBIs," David said, recalling how he played so well that day. "I was looking forward to moving on with my career in baseball."

As he talked, David recalled the hits and steals, rolling through the bases on his powered wheelchair that he ran to and through 35 years ago.

His last at-bat was a single. He stole second, and a hit advanced him to third. Then, another teammate connected, sending a slow-rolling grounder to the shortstop.

"I broke as soon as he hit it because I knew it was going slow," David recalled, flashing back to the moment when he took off for home plate to try and score.

"I figured I could make it," David said, glancing down at the plate where a head-first slide and collision with the catcher caused his neck to break.

"I don't think I ever made it to the plate," David said as he glanced down at the home plate. "I tried, and I remember everything going numb."

Morris Shearer, who was an assistant coach for East Carter High School, watched it happen and said he knew immediately just how bad it was.

"He wasn't moving at all," Shearer said, with the pain of that moment still reflected in his eyes.

David severed his spinal cord at the C4 and C5 vertebrae, near the base of his neck. He was paralyzed as a result. In the hospital, his body was now numb.

Still, he was sure he would recover, telling himself, "You're going to be down for a little bit. It might take a few months, but you're going to hop right back up and go right at it again."

Then, a doctor delivered a dose of reality.

David Lery: "The doctor looked at me and said, 'What's your expectation?' I said to walk again. He said, 'You need to be realistic.' He said, 'That's never going to happen.'"

Duane Pohlman: "Did that hit you hard?"

David Lery: "Yeah, and that's when you start getting depressed."

He said the depression turned dark, as his thoughts turned to suicide.

Duane Pohlman: "You thought about it?"

David Lery: "Oh, yeah."

He said his paralysis prevented him from doing it.

"I think the only thing that probably saved me was it being a C4, C5 break, you can't move your fingers," David said. "There's no cure for spinal cord injury."

A STAR APPEARS:

With virtually everything, including the game he loved, now out of reach, darkness continued to consume David during those long days in the hospital.

Then a star appeared at his bedside.

"I looked up, and Al Oliver came in," David said with a smile, recalling the moment the legendary MLB slugger came to visit, just weeks after his injury.

Oliver had been a star on the then-dominant Pittsburgh Pirates, helping the team win division titles as well as the 1971 World Series. After playing 10 years in Pittsburgh, Oliver bounced through six teams in eight years before retiring from baseball and returning to his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio, where he became a minister.

On the day he met David, Oliver said he was making rounds at the hospital, visiting people he knew and offering comfort. But to this day, he can't say why he went into David's room.

"I didn't know he was there," Oliver said, adding that he had no idea that a young, paralyzed baseball player was suffering inside the door he was opening.

"It was just God leading me to his room," Oliver said, his eyes widening as he remembered the moment.

David saved the grainy, slightly out-of-focus, black-and-white photo from the day he met Oliver.

He said Oliver's visit saved his life.

"I kept holding on to it, you know? Oliver came to see me, and he said, 'Never give up," David said. "So, that kind of helped me push on."

David kept the Pirates cap that Oliver handed him that day.

Under the brim, Oliver's signature appeared, along with a simple message to "stay positive."

From that day forward, Oliver continued to visit David and encourage him, handing him dozens of signed photos and baseball cards.

While it took years to pull himself out of the depression of being paralyzed, David said Oliver's push of positivity ultimately led him to something extraordinary: a purpose. And that purpose would bring David back to the game he loved.

a nonprofit dedicated to funding spinal cord research and educating young boys and girls on safer ways to play baseball.

Dozens of videos and photos on the David Lery Foundation's Facebook page capture David talking to hundreds of young boys and girls about safety.

"We do this so you guys won't make the same mistake."

(AND SOFTBALL) INJURIES:

that baseball and softball players in America were sent to emergency rooms more than 136,000 times in 2022.

"baseball had the highest rate of face and head injuries," finding that those injuries in baseball were "more than 15% higher than any other sport."

While spinal cord injuries are rare, David focuses much of his lessons on avoiding the slide that broke his neck.

"Are you saying never, ever slide headfirst?" said Duane Pohlman.

"Yes. And especially (at) home plate," said David Lery.

Big names in baseball have long supported David, including former pitchers Kip Gross and Jose Rijo, who were part of the 1990 World Series' Champion Cincinnati Reds.

At a recent fundraiser, both Gross and Rijo signed baseballs and cards to help raise money for David's foundation.

"I would do anything for Dave," Rijo said, emphasizing his commitment by repeating, "Anything!"

The Cincinnati Reds organization embraces David, too.

Charley Frank, the Executive Director of the Reds' Community Fund, was among the first to meet David, solidifying a relationship with the foundation and naming David and his foundation many times over the past decade.

"He's an extraordinary person, and that goes well beyond his physical limitations," Frank said during a recent interview.

CAPTAIN FOR THE DAY:

On May 25, David Lery rolled onto the field at Great American Ball Park before a game against the Dodgers. He was honored by the Reds as Captain of the Day, the eighth time he's been honored with that title since 2013.

By his side was his old friend and legend, Al Oliver, who was about to be honored, too. The Reds selected Oliver to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

At 77, Oliver needed Kip Gross to roll him out to the mound in his own wheelchair.

"If I get it there, I'll be satisfied," Oliver said before this moment, worrying his throw wouldn't make it to the catcher.

When he arrived, Oliver stood up to a round of applause and threw a ball that wobbled but made it to the waiting glove. For both old friends, it was a remarkable day, full of major league moments.

SETTLING A SCORE:

Away from the crowds and bright lights, David's return to the small baseball field in Grayson was equally memorable.

On the diamond where he retraced that day in 1989, when a catastrophic injury changed his trajectory in life, David stopped his chair short of home plate, recalling how he never got to score that day.

"I was still trying to reach for the home plate, but couldn't," David recalled.

It led to a simple suggestion.

"Why don't we touch the plate today with your chair?" said Duane Pohlman.

As David rolled forward, the wheels of his chair touched home. At that moment, David realized a decades-old score had finally been settled.

"It took 35 years, but we made it," David said, with a smile that recognized what just happened.