Love of Softball Fights Cancer

Sept. 1, 2021

Donald Deaton

During the first session of the 2021 Senior Softball World Championships, Claremont Property Co. (OH) finished in third place in the 40-team Men’s 60 AAA Division.

The team went 6-2 in the tournament, fueled in large part by an inspirational teammate.

Donald Deaton, of Sidney, Ohio, fiercely competed in the Worlds despite his current diagnosis of Stage Four Pancreatic Cancer.

“Donnie has already surpassed the initial prognosis, and we all know that it is his love of softball and his desire to continue playing that has been a huge motivation,” said Barb Williams, a wife of one of Deaton’s teammates. “He is truly an inspiration and his story is worth retelling.”

Deaton’s story was recently featured in the Dayton Daily News, Softball is tonic for toughest time, written by Tom Archdeacon.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

Deaton, a 2019 inductee into the Dayton Amateur Softball Hall of Fame, and a 2021 inductee into the Greater Dayton Softball “Legends of the Game”, earned All-Tournament honors at the Worlds for his play and determination.