"It all began with Coach Eddie [Bagwell]," said Diane Alford, one of the founders of Miracle League and its current executive director. "He coached a T-ball team in Conyers, which is near Atlanta, and he noticed this kid in a wheelchair who came to every practice, every game, to watch his brother play.

"Finally, he put the kid on the team. And then 35 other disabled kids came out, and we formed four teams, even though we were afraid of what might happen on a regulation field. And that's what happened, wheelchairs toppled and some got stuck in the dirt around second base.

"My brother Dean was a Georgia Tech graduate with a background in engineering. He got together with architects to create a flat, rubberized, safe field for those kids. Through the Rotary Club, they raised a million dollars and built the field. And now there are 220 of those fields, including one in Puerto Rico and one in Canada."

Plus the one on the drawing board in Northampton Township. The one that will cost $750,000 to build, a daunting number. Corporate sponsors are needed, even in this wobbly economy.

"We reached out to the Rich Ashburn Foundation, and they responded," said Debbi Katz, a leader of the Miracle League of Northampton Township group. "We hope the Phillies will get involved. In Pittsburgh, the Pirates contributed $250,000 to build a field."

Katz has a background as an occupational therapist. She has a brother with Down syndrome, and that led her to get involved with the Special Olympics.

"Access to fields, that's hard," she sighed. "There are 850 kids in sports programs in Northampton Township. The special-needs kids were scheduled from 5:30 to 7 on Sunday nights, and nobody was watching.

"And then Joe Hand Jr. showed up at the township meeting, when the discussion involved what to do with the piece of land adjoining two existing fields. Bill Gannon was there, with the same idea."

"It was 2 years ago," said Hand, a vital force in his dad's company, which promotes boxing matches and has branched out into mixed martial arts closed-circuit action. "The parks and recreation department told us we could have the land, but we would have to raise the money to build the field.

"We joined the national Miracle League organization. Diane Alford has been terrific, offering encouragement. She's coming to visit on June 22 to help us plan the fundraising, recruiting volunteers, spreading the word.

"Meanwhile, we plan to talk to Comcast, to UPS, to the Phillies. There are lots of construction guys who live in the area. They've offered bulldozers when the time comes. Meanwhile, when Cole Hamels got his Camaro as the World Series MVP, the Chevy dealers gave us $8,500 in his name.

"We held a beef-and-beer night that raised $12,000. We're selling bricks with people's names on them. We'll have T-shirts. We're selling tickets to a Trenton Thunder game on July 19. With private donations, we're up to $50,000."

No Iowa cornfield has to be leveled, no otherworldly voice has to command, "Build it and they will come." It can be the quintessential field of dreams.

"In the past," Alford said, "it took an average of 18 months from organizing to Opening Day. Now, it's taking 24 months. With the economy the way it is, you just have to think longer, work harder."

"It's a challenge," Katz said bluntly. "Right now, we need more awareness. The outfield fence will be portable, so that the field can be used for soccer, for lacrosse. And it's not just for Bucks County kids, it's for Montgomery County, Delaware County, Chester County.

"These kids struggle day to day, to take a shower, to brush their teeth, to follow directions. When they're out there, on the field, they feel good, they feel happy.

"I'm extremely optimistic. I just can't imagine we're not going to do it." *

Send e-mail to stanrhoch@comcast.net.