I played at a decent level," said Masur, who is still active as a semipro player in the metropolitan area, "and it has helped me develop a sound team, technically and tactically.

And by Mr. Feliciano, a bank administrator during the week and a semipro player on weekends, keeping his arm in tune playing evening softball.

Big Daddy pointed the three players toward the lively club competition in Brooklyn, where they met Ralph Bavaro, a former Italian semipro player and a well-known coach and referee.

They came from 5 states, 322 of them, semipro players, former college stars, and even two 14-year-olds from nearby Hudson Catholic High School.

Skoufis, a former Long Island University and semipro player, invited Bishop to a workout.

While Bocek was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he became a fairly prominent summer amateur and semipro player in baseball and softball.

The police were indiscriminate: they broke up midweek pickup games between 10-year-olds as well as weekend doubleheaders between organized teams of virtual semipro players.

He said he worked out with semipro players at his recreational center, and that after his Summer Groove charity game on Sunday, he knew he was not yet in game shape.

As a semipro player, under the name Johnny Ross, Mr. Rosenblatt faced Satchel Paige, the famed Negro League pitcher.

In order to protect the feelings of his striking players, who were coming off a Super Bowl season, Giants General Manager George Young loaded the team with semipro players from Connecticut.