He starts in Miami on April 4 and ends in Pittsburgh on June 19, with small breaks in between and longer stays in certain cities. While it is not unheard of for baseball lovers to travel to several stadiums in short periods of time, it is certainly unique to do every single one in a 77 day time period.
“I thought about it the past few years,” Dave said. “I just figured I’d jump in and get it done.”
His interest in baseball began as a young boy when he would attend games with his father seeing famous figures like Ted Williams and Yogi Berra play the game. Interestingly enough, his two favorite teams are the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox (the two teams are infamous rivals), evident in his office which is decorated with baseball memorabilia including commemorative coins from each Yankees’ world championship win.
Along with enjoying the travel and fun of attending each game, Dave also has plans to support two charities during his endeavor. He has invited family and close friends to attend games with him and asked that each participant make a donation to one or both organizations. Some of the baseball teams are contributing complimentary tickets and making donations to the charities as well. The two organizations include a local charity in Melbourne that he and his wife and his company have supported for over 18 years, The Space Coast Early Intervention Center. As a national cause, he selected the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Donors can alternatively select any amount to pledge for every home run that is hit during the 30 games. All money raised will be made as a direct contribution to the charity.
“It is a two-fold effort,” he said. “I’d like to see if we can’t raise a lot of money for charity and I’d love to see the community get involved.”
Because of his baseball enthusiasm, his company, Climatic Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, has supported baseball locally by sponsoring the Washington Nationals’ Spring Training season and the Brevard County Manatees. Climatic also provided funds to support the building of the tiki bar at the Space Coast Stadium.
Though he is on a tight travel schedule, overall, he’s looking forward to visiting some places he hasn’t been in many years and the places he’s never visited.
Dave will be constantly updating followers through his website, Facebook and Twitter accounts with scores, updates and other information during his travels. Visit 30 OnTheRoad.com to make a donation or see the full game schedule.
Dave Johnson will turn 65 this month; to celebrate his birthday and his lifelong interest in baseball, he plans to complete a 30 game road trip visiting all of the Major League Baseball stadiums starting in April and finishing the trip in June.
