Playing Kickball on Roosevelt Island

It’s likely that you’ve already heard about Bill Murray crashing a kickball game on Roosevelt Island last weekend. I sure did – after receiving a bunch of messages from some of the participants. Thanks Laura, Marina, and Hailey!

Via Marina’s Tumblr

The following account is from Hailey:

I play kickball on Roosevelt Island on Sundays and a team playing after our game needed some extra players. Some of my teammates and I felt the need for more kickball, so we said ‘Sure! Why not!’ Little did we know what an excellent choice it would be. We played a few innings and were having a blast before the ref interrupted the kicking team’s line up to ask if this homeless looking man could play. We just figured he was someone’s dad on the other team and kept playing, NBD.

The man kicked the ball and ran pretty well to first base, trying to round to second, but one of my teammates chased him back to first, deciding not to attempt to peg the man. That was when everyone on my team realized who he was… BILL MURRAY DECIDED TO PLAY KICKBALL WITH US! The next kicker on the opposing team had a pretty decent kick and Bill made it to second base.

Being a seasoned second baseman, I casually congratulated him on making it to second base and wished him luck getting to third as not many people make it. He laughed and play resumed. The next ball ended up being a foul ball, so I beckoned Mr. Murray back to second. Then, a line drive in the air a few feet past second base. Bill started running to third, I chased the ball, grabbing it out of the air… it was a race back to second between me and Bill.

As awesome as it was to be playing with the legend, I couldn’t let him best me at my game and I touched him out by an inch to get the double play. He was a great sport and quite the athlete, playing with 20-somethings in a school yard game! After the inning, we were able to snag some awesome pictures and Bill congratulated me on the double play. It was by far the best day of all of our lives!

This is what Laura sent:

I played kickball with Bill Murray yesterday! Our team was playing Kickball in NYC yesterday when a man walked up and asked to play. To our surprise, we turned and saw that it was Bill Murray! He kicked and even ran a few bases for us. He was a great sport and talked to us for a few minutes after the game, happily taking photos.

And I totally agree with Marina (who interviewed a guy who was there!):

Kick ball with Bill Murray. Living the dream.

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