INDIANAPOLIS — Fans witnessed a special moment at Victory Field on Saturday that had almost nothing to do with baseball, and it was 60 years in the making.
You’ve heard “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and you might’ve even brought a date to a game. But few can say they’ve sealed the deal and gotten married right on the field.
“This was my life,” Jack Crist said. “My heart was always with baseball.”
Crist, 77, now shares his heart with 78-year-old Janette Thompson — his best friend from high school. But it took six decades for the couple to get there.
“I was her go-to,” Jack said. “She was my go-to. We goofed around together every day in school. No romantic feelings ever.”
The pair lost contact after graduation when Jack was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1966. He played six seasons as a minor league infielder, including four with the Braves’ Triple-A International League affiliate in Richmond.
Jack and Janette led separate lives until they reconnected nine months ago. Now, the rest is history.
“I was literally flabbergasted that I felt the way I did and then found out she felt the way she did,” Jack said. “It was like two magnets that turned around and started attracting each other. I drove 2,100 miles to get here to be with her.”
The couple says it just made sense to tie the knot.
“The amount of time that we’ve been together, people will say is not a long amount of time,” Jack said. “But we have history. It’s just fine.”
A ceremony in front of the dugout before an Indianapolis Indians game was a no-brainer for the couple.
“We’re just really happy that things have turned out this way,” Janette said. “We’re looking forward to the rest of our lives together.”
“If you feel what I did, what she did, and what we do now – you’d know it when you feel it,” Jack said. “I knew it immediately, so did she. Go for it.”
Another piece of advice from the happy couple — if you have a shot at love, take a swing at it, you just might hit a home run.
