Couple retires after 40 years with Florida Little League District 13

The thousands of players and parents who have spent a significant amount of time at Bloomingdale Little League over the last 40 years have probably run into Gene and Gladys Will at some point.

"They're a fixture in the community," said Cal Lieble, district administrator for Florida Little League District 13. "Everyone knows who they are."

The Wills recently retired as assistant district administrators for District 13, which is comprised of nine Little League baseball and softball programs in southeast Hillsborough.

"It's getting kind of hard to get around these days," said Gene, 77.

"I used to be able to do two or three things at once and not get them mixed up, but I just can't do that as easily anymore," added Gladys, 73.

The Wills — who have been married 52 years — have lived in their Brandon home for 45 years.

They first became involved with Bloomingdale Little League in the early 1970s when their son, Eugene, signed up to play baseball.

"That first year when our son played, we mostly just watched," Gene said.

"Maybe you just watched," Gladys said. "I worked in the concession stand, helped maintain the field and a bunch of other stuff."

Gene started working as a player agent for the league, which involved hosting tryouts, organizing drafts and other administrative duties.

However, the Wills first major impact on the league came in 1976 when their daughter, Marie, was 12 and wanted to play ball.

"At that time, there were a lot of Little League programs that didn't offer softball, but I noticed during that first week of tryouts that there were quite a few girls coming through," Gene said.

The Wills helped spearhead the softball program, which is still a part of Bloomingdale Little League.

"I remember them saying, 'We'll do it for one year, but we don't want it to interfere with the baseball program,'" Gene said. "I told them, 'If we're doing it, then it's here for good.'"

Gladys says one of the proudest moments of her decades-long affiliation with District 13 was the fact that Marie earned a softball scholarship to Erskine College in South Carolina.

Both Gene — who worked for Florida Steel for 33 years — and Gladys — who worked with Provident Life Insurance for more than 30 years — served as assistant district administrators for District 13 in subsequent years.

Their responsibilities included scheduling tournaments, working with kids in a particular age division and acting as a liaison between the Little League programs within the district.

The Wills say their favorite part was traveling across the state to attend various tournaments.

Lieble said Gene and Gladys will be honored at one of next season's tournaments.

Meanwhile, the Wills won't exactly be strangers around the ballpark just because they're retired.

"We're pretty close to Bloomingdale and South Brandon Little League," Gladys said. "I'm pretty sure we'll still go to games."