Todd Spoth

SERIES: THE GOOD LOSER

Born into a meager means in the small town of Mayfield, Kentucky, Wilker Harrison "Mickey" Stubblefield penned a 1947 contract making him the first African-American ever to play Kitty League Baseball. Its been 60 years since Stubblefield graced the mound amidst constant fervor of racial tension, yet still he receives about 10 letters a week praising him of his accomplishments on and off the diamond. But for Stubblefield's greatest accomplishment he would receive no letters.

Stubblefield, 82, has been raising 2 young girls since their birth, and while they call him "daddy", their bond not biological, it is emotional. Both girls know little of their mother who is incarcerated in a nearby prison, or of the illegal substances she ingested during her pregnancies, which continue affect the girls' development. After a life of violent racial clash, breaking baseball barriers, and countless other accolades, being both a father and a mother to his girls might be the most challenging and the most rewarding feat in his lifetime.

Mickey spends most of his days slowly and aimlessly cruising the familiar streets of Mayfield, disobeying traffic laws. Every face he passes is greeted by a friendly honk and a ,"Hello". Besides his two girls who attend a local school, Mickey, retired, has no real friends to occupy his time.
   
His eldest daughter, 12-year-old Keyja, has been diagnosed with ADHD and has problems behaving in school. She has been repeatedly kicked out of local schools and placed in alternative schools. Against Mickey's orders, Keyja attempts to drive the family van. "She sure is a handful, but I love her."
  
After picking up Keyja from school, Mickey takes her by a local clinic to see her psychiatrist. It is a growing challenge for Mickey to find the energy to keep up with his two girls. With the right amount of pleading the girls usually have their way.
     
  
At the clinic Mickey is greeted warmly, by a receptionist who tells him that Keyja's appointment is not until next week. "Here Mickey, Ill write it down for you," she says. "The girls will be teenagers soon, and I am 82. This isn't getting any easier."
   
Keyja waits for her 10-year-old sister, Keisha, to arrive home on the bus every afternoon. The sisters share a special bond and spend most of their time at home together. Mickey strictly forbids the girls from wandering far from the house as local gangs and drug dealers are known to frequent the area.
   
Mickey blames Keyja's developmental problems on their mother who was addicted to crack cocaine and other drugs while pregnant with the girls. Keyja is often in her own world, whimsically dancing, alone, without a care in the world.
     
  
Keisha admittedly looks up to her older sister, but does not share her sister's ADHD condition. Keisha is quiet and contained, a star in the church choir. Other members of the church congregation empathize with Mickey's constant struggle to feed the girls and offer up a hot meal after choir practice.
   
Keyja quietly listens to music, alone. She has dreams of leaving rural Kentucky and becoming a singer in Hollywood. Mickey has high hopes for his girls as well. He has 10 biological children of his own in Nebraska, but he would do anything for Keyja and Keisha, "I know what it takes to be a mother, because I've been a mother to these girls, and a father too.
   
MICKEY STUBBLEFIELD / MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY, USA