Guzzlers look back at their small base origins at CFAC

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Le McNeill | COMMANDER, FLEET ACTIVITIES CHINHAE, South Korea - U.S. personnel assigned to CFAC, Camp Humphreys, Camp Walker, Camp Carroll, and Camp Henry compete in the Wooden Bat Tournament hosted in CFAC, Apr 9, 2022, to raise morale. (U.S. Navy photo by Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Le McNeill)  

COMMANDER, FLEET ACTIVITIES CHINHAE, SOUTH KOREA

06.01.2022

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Le McNeill 

Commander, Fleet Activities Chinhae

The friendly rivalry between the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy is ingrained in the culture of the two service branches and it brings out the competitive nature on the sports field.

The Wood Bat Softball tournament has a history with Commander, Fleet Activities Chinhae (CFAC) since 1988. An insurance salesman named Chuck “Papa Guzzler” Poloky had a fascination for softball. He started playing recreational softball when he was in Guam with a team called “Guzzlers.” Their goal was to have fun, enjoy refreshments and play ball. Poloky loved the concept and brought it back to South Korea to form his own Guzzler team at CFAC. The Guzzlers originally organized scrimmages until they grew and spread out around the world to form more teams. Today there are approximately fifteen teams around the world and an international team, coached by Tom Costello.

Costello had begun coaching the Chinhae Guzzlers in 1996. Back then there were tournaments hosted twice a year called Cherry Blossom Tournament in the spring and Monsoon Tournament in the fall. Serving as the team’s coach, he shared his thoughts over the tournament.

“It’s always a great feeling knowing we’re coming home to where we were founded, especially after all the lockdowns from the pandemic,” said Costello. “It’s amazing to see the Guzzlers grew as big as they have. The hospitality from Chinhae has been very welcoming and was astounding to see the Commanding Officer kicking off the ball game.”

When asked about how hard it was to organize and coordinate for the tournament as the pandemic subsided, Navy Region Korea Fleet and Family Readiness Director, Paul Kemmet, had this to say, “It was not difficult at all, the coaches and teams jumped at the chance and were excited for the opportunity to come down and compete at this unique event where the Guzzlers played in their first organized tournament.”

The tournament consisted of five teams: Guzzlers Black and Guzzlers Gold from Camp Humphreys, Team Daegu from Camp Walker, Camp Carroll, and Camp Henry, Chinhae 1 and Chinhae 2 from CFAC and U.S. Naval Forces Korea in Busan.

The Guzzlers Black ended up undefeated in the tournament taking home first place with their sister team, Guzzler Gold taking second place, Team Daegu third and Chinhae 2 finishing in fourth place.

Sgt. 1st Class Dann Rogers was one of the players from Guzzler Black, who had attended multiple softball tournaments in CFAC and was enthusiastic to be back. “These tournaments are good opportunities for service members to get away from daily grind and to have fun with friendly rivalry. It’s amazing that Chinhae has kept this going all these years. It’s really positive for mental health.”

“The tournament was organized to bring teams of all services together here in Korea,” remarked Anthony “Popeye” Krusely. “Chinhae has history within the softball community, it is the love of the game and the love of taking care of the community which is the ultimate drive. This also entails bringing everyone together for some competitiveness and most importantly overall fun.”

There are plans to host another Wood Bat Tournament in the fall, rebranding the ‘Monsoon Tournament’ to be ‘Oktoberfest Tournament’. “What good is a beautiful field if you don’t use it and invite those who share the same passion as you?” Krusely stated.

• Date Taken: 06.01.2022
• Date Posted: 06.03.2022 03:22
• Story ID: 421910
• Location: COMMANDER, FLEET ACTIVITIES CHINHAE, KR