Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

For Linda Strong, the Altoona Curve hasn’t just been a second family, they have been her first family since their inception in 1999. When she along with John Austin, Jim Ross, Duane Bordell got together in August of 2004 and started proactively trying to put together a booster club for the fans of the Altoona Curve, she had already dedicated herself to many of the young men, far from home and family, who were members of the Altoona Curve family. In addition to having several members of the Curve team stay with Linda and her husband Larry during each baseball season, every year since 2000, Linda thought more was needed for the comfort of the young men who were staying in Altoona and surrounding area from April through each September.
“At our first meeting in Feb. 2005, we had over 100 people come and show an interest in a booster club,” remembered Strong. “We officially got the club started with a board of directors, made up of four officers and six directors. I was honored to be chosen as the first secretary of the group. Since then, the booster club grew to have 414 members in the first year. This year, currently, we have 381 members.”
Mrs. Strong has been involved with taking the minutes for all the meetings, and typing up copies for all the directors, writing thank you notes to all the people who have been our speakers at the meetings, and keeping track of all the odds and ends that the president has asked her to.
Linda Strong has also been active in the membership committee as that committee’s chairmen for both of the years of the club’s existence.
“In that capacity, I periodically have a table on the concourse at Blair County Ballpark, where memberships are available, any questions that people have about the Booster Club can be answered, people can be signed up and get their membership cards, so they are ready to go.” said Mrs. Strong.
Curve players often have to go to places such as to doctors, or have family, wives, girl friends come and visit, or need to go to other cities. The second committee that Linda Strong is a member of is the transportation committee, a very important committee when the Curve players need to have transportation for them or a loved one, and don’t have a way, or the time with their schedules.
“The other committee that Larry and I have been involved with, is the transportation committee,” explained Linda, “which I think is one of the coolest things the Booster Club does. We have a list of 18 drivers who have volunteered and are available anytime a player, his family or friends need to go in or out of town. We take them to airports, for players to doctors’ appointments. We organize that on a rotating basis, going through the list to see who is available for a particular trip. Larry has made three trips this year, all to the Pittsburgh airport or back from Pittsburgh. That has been a really great thing to help the Curve personnel not have to take time away from their work to run those trips. The people we have picked up and brought back and forth have been very appreciative also, for not having to rent a car, or the player wondering ‘how in the world am I going to get there with my schedule’? That has been a real joy.”
One other task Strong does for the Booster Club is to serve as the “Card Lady,” who gets a list of all the birthdays of all the Curve front office and Curve players and team personnel and then sends birthday cards, anniversary cards, baby cards, whatever is appropriate for whatever goes on throughout the year. “I have been in charge of that and really enjoy doing it,” said Strong.
“Being involved in the booster club grew out of being a host family for the Curve, which we have done since 2000,” explained Linda. On August 9, Simon Pond became the Strong’s 24th player who has stayed with Linda and Larry since 2000. “Simon had been staying at Nittany Point for most of the summer, but had to vacate so they could get ready for the Penn State students to come back. Simon asked Brant Ust, who also is staying with the Strongs, if he could move in for the rest of the year. We also have Rafael Alverez and Brian Bixler staying with us,” informed Strong.
“That has been a real exciting part of being a Curve fan, having had those 24 young men stay with us over the past seven years. What makes it really special, is that right now, we have five of ‘our boys’ who play in the big leagues for the Pirates-Chris Duffy, Nate McLouth, Matt Capps, Mike Gonzalez and Humberta Cota. That makes it exciting to watch the Pirates as well.”
The Altoona Curve Boosters Club has monthly meetings and a monthly news letter, a private picnic with the team and a holiday party in December. They send food and drink on the bus for all the away trips for all the players, using some of the money brought in from members dues. Club members help Curve players find housing or furnishings if they need that.
“We just try to make ourselves available to do anything we can, so that somewhere down the road when somebody asks these players ‘what was your best year in baseball?’” explained Strong, “they will say ‘the year I was with the Altoona Curve.’ That’s our main goal.”
On last thing the booster club does is through Duane Bordell, arrange bus trips to other Eastern League and National League cities, so Curve fans get a chance to go out and see what it’s like in other ballparks around the Eastern League and some of the National League parks.
“This year the big trip was a two-day trip to Bowie to see the Curve and then on to the Washington Nationals and see Tony Beasley, former manager of the Curve He spent about a half hour talking with the people who made the trip, rehashing old times and filling them in on what it was like to be in the big leagues,” said Strong. “Our final trip this year will be a day trip at the end of this month, to Harrisburg.”
If you would like more information about the Altoona Curve Boosters Club, contact Larry and Linda Strong at 684-1622, or write to Altoona Curve Booster Club PO Box 231, Altoona, PA 16603.

By Rick