By MIKE KERN, Daily News Sports Writer
Until his freshman year at Penn Charter High, baseball always had been J.R. Castle’s spring pastime. Then he had an opportunity to watch the Philadelphia Wings of the old National Lacrosse League practice at the school.
Quicker than you can say cross-check, Castle traded in his glove for a stick.
“I fell in love with the fast pace and the competitiveness,” said Castle, now a member of the new Wings of the Eagle League. “It involves a unique skill.
“I’d played football, and it does incorporate some things from that, but basically there’s really nothing else like it.”
Perhaps that explains why a 29-year-old man of presumably sound mind and body still is playing the sport. Most guys would have been content with a career that included two seasons each at North Carolina State and Drexel, and has continued on a part-time basis at the club level in this area.
Yet Castle remains hooked. And when the Wings approached him about playing, he was only too happy to respond.
“My wife thinks I’m crazy,” said Castle, who works for a Canadian financial company as a regional wholesale representative. “I’ve already got two busted fingers to show for it. This is three times rougher than anything I’ve ever played before. It almost seems like legalized assault.”
Castle, whose wife gave birth to a boy – the couple’s first child – last Thursday, celebrated two days later by scoring his first two goals of the season. That “outburst” helped the Wings rally from a 9-2 deficit to defeat the Washington Wave, 15-12, and even their record at 2-2.
“I guess I should become a father every week,” said Castle, whose younger brother, David, was an All-America at Johns Hopkins but was unable to play in this league because of business commitments.
The Wings play their third and final home game at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Spectrum against the Baltimore Thunder. So far the Wings have received a warm reception, and Castle is anticipating another large crowd this time.
“I can’t explain the thrill of playing in front of so many people in my hometown,” he said. “Looking back, I think the timing of the original league was premature. The interest and development of the game in the 10 years (since the NLL folded) has been tenfold.
“When I was in (high) school, there were only seven or eight other teams playing the sport. Now, there must be at least 20 to 30 in the greater Philadelphia area. It’s become a classic sport, with the exception of the inner city.”
Though Castle never will be mistaken for the most dangerous forward on the club, he is one of the more diligent.
“He does all the little things that the fans and the press might not notice,” said Wings general manager-coach Dave Huntley. “He’s the first guy going into the corner for the ball, and even though he might not always come up with it, he’s the one willing to take the shot (hit) to get it.”
In other words, a mucker.
“Hey, I’m playing with the best, so I have to do what I can,” said Castle, who plans on playing several more years – the league willing – before taking off his pads for good. “Just to be able to compete at this level is very gratifying. It’s been rewarding in the sense that I’m playing with a lot of people I always dreamed about playing with.
“In this game, everything usually gets broken down into roles. There are checkers and scorers. If I can mesh somewhere in between, then that’s pretty much where I probably belong. A lot of times, it’s just a matter of waiting for an opportunity to arise.”
WINGING IT: Baltimore (1-3) beat the Wings last month in overtime, 20-19 . . . The New Jersey Saints (5-1) have clinched the regular-season title and a home date for one of the playoff semifinals. The Wings, who are all alone in second place, could just about wrap up the other host slot with a win either tomorrow or next Wednesday in the finale at Washington.
(Philadelphia Daily News, February 20, 1987)