Bonnie Goodhart delivered her first pitch just over four years ago, a few hours after what seemed like her umpteenth round of chemotherapy.

She wanted to help others … others, like her and so many of her friends, who were fighting cancer.

No one ever said it with such passion, or with such conviction.

Lymphoma leukemia may have robbed her of the happy and healthy life she had been so blessed with, the happy and healthy life she had cherished and shared with her husband, Jim, two daughters and three sons. But four long years, four exhaustive years of going here and there for treatments and medical advice – from the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center’s Cancer Unit, to the Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania Hospital and Temple University Hospital down in Philadelphia, and all the way out to the Hershey Cancer Center up to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York – didn’t rob Bonnie Goodhart’s zest for life.

Or her desire to help so many others who’ve been tortured by cancer, both mentally and physically.

And financially.

“I had the opportunity through the years to be in various cancer centers and see the other needs people have,” Goodhart said recently. “Those other needs are help with their bills.”

Goodhart, along with some hints and guidance from her husband, came up with Baseball For Life – a one-pitch, slow-pitch softball tournament. To say it was a hit from the inaugural event back in 2008 would be an understatement. Its popularity has grown, evidenced by the number of teams participating each year since.

The bulk of the revenue from the tournament comes from registration – $25 per player or $250 per team. Not bad for what has always proven to be a fun-filled day of softball at Ringing Rocks Park. There are also 50-50 raffles to generate a few more dollars. And there’s plenty of food for everyone under the pavilion, just up the path from the playing field.

But the bottom line, and one that brings a big genuine smile to Goodhart’s face, is the amount of money raised … and where it’s gone.

“We’ve always given a portion of the money we’ve raised to Relay for Life,” Goodhart said. “We’ve given about $3,000 to Relay, and we’ve spent (from Baseball For Life) somewhere around $7,000 helping others.”

Goodhart gets very emotional when talking about the number of cancer patients who are unable to pay certain bills because of limited insurance coverage. There are also those cancer patients, or their spouses, who are out of work, which more often than not translates into no insurance coverage whatsoever.

Baseball For Life, she explained, simply cannot hit that grand slam for everyone. In other words, there obviously aren’t enough funds to make mortgage and car payments.

“We all get the big, big bills from the hospitals, cancer centers and doctors,” Goodhart said. “There are some associations out there that can help people with those type of bills. We’re not here to pay the big, big bills.

“But we are here to help people who, because of a number of reasons, are struggling to pay their electric or oil bills, their rent. We’re also here to help those people who can’t afford to go out and buy the medications they need to fight cancer.”

Goodhart has been able to get the names of those in need from representatives of neighboring hospitals, specifically Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. She would also like to hear from someone from Phoenixville Hospital’s Cancer Center, if indeed anyone there needs help.

“There are people who go in for treatments every day who can’t afford to pay certain bills,” Goodhart said. “We’ve even seen people panicking because they don’t even have the money to pay for their medicine.

“There are people out there who don’t ask for a thing, who don’t ask for anything, but they need help. That’s why we’re here. And what makes us a little different is that we will try to do everything we can to get those people the help they need right away.”

Baseball For Life isn’t an open-checkbook, mind you. Goodhart will write a check directly to the electric company or to the pharmacy, for example. No cash is exchanged, and no checks are written out to individuals.

“Again, we want to hear from the nurses and doctors, or even from the relatives of people who need the help,” Goodhart added. “No one should be embarrassed to ask us for help. No one should ever be pushed aside, and we certainly will not push anyone aside.”

The one thing Bonnie Goodhart will push, though, is her tournament.

And for one very inspiring young lady, this one will be the most fun. After nearly eight full years of fighting lymphoma leukemia – and beating what seemed to unbeatable odds – she is in total remission … cancer-free.

“We would love to have more teams sign up, and we’d love to see more people come out to watch the games and support Baseball For Life,” she said.

This year’s tournament gets under way 8 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 28 at the Ringing Rocks Park facility. Individuals as well as teams, which are guaranteed a minimum of three games, can still register to participate in the event by calling Jim Goodhart at 610-327-4844. The deadline to register is Monday, Aug. 22. … Pottsgrove High School graduate and longtime Pottstown-area resident Lew Hoffman’s ballclub, The Spikes, has committed once again and will be looking to defend their title. … Anyone wishing to make donations may do so writing Baseball For Life, 1407 Glasgow St., Pottstown, Pa. 19464.

Bonnie Goodhart sat up in her chair, put her elbows on the picnic table, rested her chin in her cupped hands, and stared deep into the darkened woods some 20-30 yards away.

It was early evening and, except for an occasional bzzz-and-bite from mosquitoes, an engaging one with close friends seated around the table. She listened carefully as everyone talked. For some strange reason, though, she didn't have much to add to the conversations, which ranged from politics to the price of gas and seemed to have covered everything in between.

But when the topic of discussion turned to cancer, Bonnie Goodhart dropped her arms to the table in front of her and sat back in her chair ... innocently commanding everyone's attention.

Bonnie Goodhart, in an often painful day-to-day battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia for five years now, finally had something to say.

Everyone listened, too.

"I just wish there was a way we could help others (with cancer)," she said, a tinge of frustration in her voice. "I just wish there was some way, even if in a very small way it helps people who have to deal with this (cancer)."

Bonnie Goodhart, who has gone well beyond the call of duty in helping raise money for Pottstown's Relay For Life through her own Looking Up relay team, wanted to put her personal touch to something, though.

"And it has to be fun for everyone involved," she added.

In a matter of minutes, Bonnie Goodhart - with some help from her husband Jim, a former baseball standout at Pottstown and longtime American Legion and AAU coach - came up with a game plan.

Actually a game.

A softball game, Baseball For Life, as she's called it.

"We want everyone to help us hit a home run against cancer," her husband said.

The all-day, one-pitch tournament - which costs just $25 to be part of - will be held morning, noon and night Saturday, Oct. 11 at Ringing Rocks Park.

And, as Bonnie Goodhart reminds anyone willing to listen, it is a day for everyone.

So, forget about your age, you're invited. If you're able to stroll to the plate, you're invited. If you're strong enough to swing a bat, you're invited. If you're capable of walking, strutting, jogging or running to first base, you're invited.

If you're willing to keep your pride under wraps after every hit and willing to smile or even laugh after every miss, you're invited.

And invited with open arms.

Yes, teams are invited, and individuals wanting to play will be placed on teams. Everyone will be guaranteed at least two games and, yes, some hardware will be presented to the winning (or luckiest) team.

This won't be a day defined by hits, runs and errors, though.

Sure, you can bring your own bat and glove, if you wish. You are encouraged to bring your own beverages and refreshments, perhaps an extra dish or two (and the recipe, of course) to share with others under the pavilion throughout the day.

But what Bonnie Goodhart wants you to bring more than anything else is a big smile, enthusiasm ... and the determination to make this the one day you want your family and all your friends to circle on the calendar every year.

* * *

No one is more serious or more determined to fight cancer than Bonnie Goodhart.

Back in December of 2003, her Christmas present was a doctor's diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). That's just another big word or another strange form of cancer for people whose own lives or family and friends lives haven't been affected by cancer. It's just another big word or strange form of cancer for people who can't even begin to comprehend the pain, sickness and torture cancer inflicts on its victims.

Other than her husband and a couple of close friends, hardly anyone knows that Bonnie Goodhart has fought through an assortment of aches and pain as well as sickness almost every day since being diagnosed with CLL.

Four times she has been forced to undergo a nauseating chemotherapy arrangement - 6-8 hours a day over a three-day period for eight straight weeks. She has had a number of six-week radiation treatments. And she gets very uncomfortable reactions to the medications prescribed to help her through the sickness and pain.

Her fight is waged primarily at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. But she's been forced to go round after round with it at Fox Chase, University of Pennsylvania and Temple hospitals in Philadelphia, and also at Sloan-Kettering cancer centers throughout the tri-state area.

The medical bills mount well beyond what most could conceive.

"Outrageous," her husband said. "We have a pretty good insurance plan, and even though (the bills) still mount up they don't hit us nearly as hard as they do most people. That's what concerns Bonnie, and that's another reason we hope this will be a success so we can help cancer victims with their finances in addition to the giving money to Relay For Life."

Every little bit helps ... and helping others is all Bonnie Goodhart wants to do.

* * *

If Bonnie Goodhart could take a baseball bat and beat cancer to a gruesome death, she would. Others, who have waged their own battles and endured a pathetic quality of life to survive as well as those who have lost family and friends to cancer, would gladly join her.

Instead, she's hoping to form her own swat team(s). She's hoping people will be willing to put up $25, pick up a softball bat and hit a home run against cancer.

Just by word of mouth over the past week, many have already shown their willingness to do just that. Some you'll know, some you won't ... but you'll get to know by day's end.

Some will surely bring some drama to the games, others (off the record, of course) will bring humor.

The Cotellese Clan, which has unloaded its share of long balls through the years, is coming. A few people from PMMC's Cancer Center and Brookside Family Restaurant are cooking up teams.

Then there is the real over-the-hill gang ... which one can only wonder who'll be kind enough to put them in their lineup. Lew Hoffman, a player-coach out of the Casey Stengel mold with his 55-and-Over teams, is lining up a team or two. Southpaw Barry Peterman, who still pitches in an Over-50 baseball league up in Allentown, is expected to throw (though his off-speed arc to the plate is questionable). A couple of his old (only 58 years old, that is) Pottstown teammates - Fred Faison and Jeff Jackowski - will be there. Faison still runs like the wind (then gasps for wind when he gets to where he's going), while Jackowski reportedly hopes to get a little help from the wind during his dash down the line. St. Pius X boys basketball coach Randy Reber, also 58, should be able to grab a weak grounder or two after surviving all the tracers served up by Paul Favinger when the two played for Pottsgrove back in the late 60s.

Word around town is that The Hill School girls softball team is trying to get into the scheme of things, too. Hmmm... wonder if Kevin Kirby and his Owen J. Roberts girls or Tim Hughes and his Spring-Ford girls know about that (hint, hint)?

"We've gotten a lot of responses already just by word of mouth," Jim Goodhart said. "Hey, if we get too many people or teams, we'll find a second field, a third one if we have to."

"Isn't it exciting," Bonnie Goodhart added.

It is.

And, God willing, it will continue to be for Bonnie Goodhart, who is determined to stick around and see her Baseball For Life produce countless home runs against cancer.

* * *

Registration forms for Baseball For Life are available by writing Bonnie Goodhart at 1407 Glasgow Street, Pottstown, Pa. 19464, or by e-mail at bonniegoodhart@verizon.net. The deadline to register is Sept. 27.

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Don Seeley is the sports editor of The Mercury ... and a cancer survivor.