The History (reprinted from the 1993 Souvenir Program)

Aaron Holcombe loves baseball like most other 11 year old kids. But unlike most kids, Aaron cannot hear the sounds of the game because...Aaron is deaf. Dr. Richard Holcombe explained to his son, Aaron, that at his age it would be too difficult to participate in organized league baseball because of his hearing impairment. His father, Rick, is the pastor of Mid Rivers Chapel. When he told members of the congregation about Aaron not having a place to play, Ed Watkins took action. Together with other volunteers, they set out to build Aaron and all deaf children in the St. Louis area their own personal Field of Dreams.

"If you build it, they will come." In the summer of 1991, Mid-Rivers Chapel hosted the first annual Celebrity Fantasy Baseball Camp for the Hearing Impaired on their new Field of Dreams. Over 30 kids came in ‘91, 40 in ‘92 and the 1993 camp was officially opened nationally with 50 kids participating. This has all been made possible thanks to the commitment of participants like Mike Bush, Stan Musial, Bing Devine, Joe Torre, Joe Coleman, Bucky Dent, Roger Wehrli, Joe Micheletti, Ron Caron , Bruce Affleck, Jeff Gordon, Tom Wheatley, Deanne Lane, Rick Edlund, Ozzie Smith and many others.

Since that time, due to the tireless dedication of Mike Bush, the camp name was changed to The Mike Bush Fantasy Baseball Camp for the Hearing Impaired.

Some of the other Cardinal greats that have visited the camp included Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Andy Benes, Mike Timlin and Mike Matheny.

On our 17th year, we celebrate over 1100 campers!

In 2007 the Watkins Family turned the camp over to Disabled Athlete Sports Association (DASA). It seemed like a great fit as DASA provides programs and camps geared to specific needs of children of different abilities. DASA's mission is that cognitively age appropriate children who are physically or visually disabled, deaf, or hard of hearing will  will be given the opportunity to participate in sports and fitness activities designed to improve self-esteem and to promote growth and well-being while instilling family values. The children of DASA will be encouraged to continually seek their highest level of independence and become inolved to the greatest extend with their non-disabled peers and their community as a whole.