In the end, Jordy Nelson won the game. The native of Riley, Kansas, and former Kansas State walk-on and NFL star, belted a three-run home run off the Brandeberry Indoor Complex behind the right center wall, and Nelson's team won 29-27 in an extra-inning affair during the second-annual Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game on Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium.
The softball classic raised money for numerous causes and featured a star-studded cast.
They came from California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma to be a part of this special K-State weekend, and a part of a special day to raise money.
Seven players on the roster are in the Ring of Honor — David Allen, Michael Bishop, Arthur Brown, Jaime Mendez, Nelson, Terence Newman and Mark Simoneau. Shalee Lehning's women's basketball jersey number hangs in the rafters at Bramlage Coliseum. Robert Streb has won two PGA Tour events. Blair DeBord was a First Team All-Big 12 catcher as a member of the 2013 Big 12 Championship team. The list went on and on.
They came together for a good cause. A portion of the money raised went to the Ahearn Fund to fund a K-State football scholarship for a walk-on — junior linebacker Austin Moore.
"Congratulations to you, Austin," Nelson said. "I'm proud of you carrying on the tradition."
"It means a lot playing Division I football," Moore told Nelson. "When you finally get to do it, it's a great experience."
Moore didn't arrive at Manhattan with hype. He didn't have many recruiting stars next to his name. In fact, he didn't have any stars. His tale began in the northeast Kansas town of Louisburg, which has about 5,000 people, and he was an all-state running back and an all-league linebacker. As a senior, he helped the Louisburg Wildcats to an 11-2 record and a berth in the 2018 state playoffs.
K-State offered Moore a chance to walk-on. Moore eagerly obliged. Although Moore admits he spent his younger years a KU fan — his mother is a KU alum — Moore's allegiance slowly shifted to purple and white, and he had long been a fan of K-State's walk-on tradition.
"I knew it was a group of guys that were hard workers and maybe not the most highly-recruited people," Moore says, "but they came to work every day and proved themselves on the field."
Some of them even became legends.
"It's just a fun time to get a bunch of guys together and have some fans come out and see some former players without helmets on and in a different atmosphere," Nelson said. "I know the players enjoy getting a bunch of guys together that haven't seen each other in a while. It's a great way and a fun way to raise some money for some local organizations here in town that our foundation will give to after the game is over.
"Obviously, with my history here at K-State and how I walked-on here as well as Jon McGraw, I give him all the credit in the world, because if he wouldn't have done it, I probably wouldn't have done it. He graduated and walked-on here and I followed in his path. It's a different journey to take, it's a journey that K-State has had a great tradition with through Coach Snyder's time here and now Coach Klieman is carrying it on. It's a great thing to give back to the university as well and honor those guys who've taken the long road and bet on themselves and come out on the other end."
McGraw is a second-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, who finished his career as special teams captain for the Kansas City Chiefs. McGraw, also native of Riley, Kansas, brought heightened attention to the K-State walk-on tradition during his successful career.
"There were guys at Riley County, guys in the community, and a great walk-on tradition at K-State that created the dream for me," McGraw said. "If you don't have the dream, it's not going to start. I had other people who went before me who helped me to believe it was possible. Then knowing that I could maybe take it one step further and maybe pave the way for those behind me, it was a really meaningful part of my career, to look back and see people like Jordy say it helped him."
Now McGraw returned to Manhattan to help lend a hand to Nelson and his charitable causes.
"I love Jordy and Emily and the family, so if they ask for something I'm going to do everything to help out," McGraw said. "It's a great cause and we have quite a few former walk-ons here who've been able to continue to support other future walk-ons feels really good. It's a great way to give back to Manhattan community and the K-State family, which adopted me early on, even before I got to K-State. It's a very meaningful community to be a part of. To come back and see familiar faces and reconnect is a really special feeling."
The specialness wafted throughout the stadium.
"Jordy, his name speaks for itself, with all the great things Jordy did when he was here, away from the game, in the NFL, and doing it here," Bishop said. "This is a great opportunity for guys like myself to come back and see the people and see other former players. It's always a great environment. Everybody who comes back here have had an amazing impact on K-State football and K-State nation. Whenever you get a chance to be around people like that, it brightens up your day.
"This is a special group, and this is a special day. It's absolutely amazing."
It certainly seemed amazing to Lehning, a native of Sublette, Kansas, who came to K-State in 2005 and finished her career in 2009 as the only player in Big 12 history to reach 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 700 assists.
"It's an honor to be a part of this day," Lehning said. "I was just telling somebody earlier that it's super fun to be playing alongside some of the K-State greats. A lot of these football players are guys I looked up to when I was a lot younger. It feels good to be home. K-State has always been fun to me. You never really miss a beat.
"K-Staters are family. I love them. I felt nothing but just supported and really encouraged throughout not only my career but just in life. I'm thankful to be a part of the K-State family."
That goes for DeBord, who won the Home Run Derby by hitting 19 homers out of the park. DeBord, a Manhattan native, wasn't highly recruited, and stayed home to play baseball at K-State. He became a First Team All-Big 12 performer.
"This is pretty cool," said DeBord, who is now an Associate Athletics Director at Memphis, said. "I was already coming back for the 10th anniversary of our Big 12 Championship this weekend, and I got a call from a 785 number and the voicemail said, 'Hey, this is Jordy Nelson.' As a K-State guy growing up that was pretty cool. Growing up in Manhattan, we have multiple generations of K-Staters in my family. For me, K-State really is family. It was pretty special to play here. It just meant a little bit more to me."
That also goes for Newman, a Salina native, who wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school, yet found a home at K-State. Although Newman hadn't been in Manhattan for several years, it felt like home.
"It's such a great feeling to be back and see so many different faces that I haven't seen over the years and see a lot of the things that a lot of people from before my time and after my time have put into place with all the new developments around the athletic facilities and on campus," Newman said. "It's great to be able to come back and see our alma mater and also be able to contribute and give back to charity as well and organizations within Manhattan. It's important, especially when you're able to be as fortunate as a lot of us, to be able to give back, and to help wherever you can, and a lot of guys have come from a lot of different places to do that. It's amazing that we're all on that same wavelength that we want to do our part."
Memories were thick as Newman looked out at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"This is where a lot of guys come as boys and grew up to be men," he said. "A lot of our careers have started here. It's amazing to be back and just get a chance to speak with some of the guys that I've idolized or admired and who spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears here."
Sunday was about having fun.
"This is a blast for me," Nelson said. "A lot of these guys, I grew up watching living here locally and having season tickets when I was a kid, so I grew up watching these guys play. It's a blast to have them all together and share some stories."
And there will be more stories and memories to come as the softball classic continues to take offs.
Nelson's challenge? For an even greater attendance at next year's softball classic.
"These guys come from a long way, and we enjoy doing it," Nelson said. "Hopefully, we'll continue to add people in the stands, and they have a good time. Enjoy it, spread the word, and we'll keep doing it."
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