For some people, sports are just a game. For others, like Dennis Crawley Jr., they’re woven into the fabric of who they are.
"My daughter always says baseball first, family second," Crawley joked while sitting on his sofa in his West Seneca home.
While that’s said in jest, Crawley’s been involved in baseball as a player and a coach for most of his life.
"I’ve played it for so long, been coaching for a while. I just love the game. All the little things involved in the game," he said.
So when he took over as the varsity head coach at Depew High School six years ago, he had some lofty goals, like winning a state championship.
"I wanted to take the Depew job because I felt they had pretty good teams over the years and just never did get over that hump. When I took it over I had expectations of eventually winning it, but you never know," he said.
Life has a way of reminding us that nothing is guaranteed. It was two years ago when Dennis, 54, a husband and father of two adult children, learned he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a progressive neurological disease that leads to muscular paralysis. It’s eventually fatal and incurable.
"When I got diagnosed, it was like a gut punch, but I was ready. Back of my mind I always kind of thought I was going to get it. I was hoping later," he said.
The brutal diagnosis was always a possibility for Dennis. More than 30 members of his family have suffered with ALS.
"My mom died when I was very young. My sister, cousins, aunts, uncles. It doesn’t make sense to me. Why so many people in one family?" he wondered.
The disease is taking its toll. Physically, Dennis is getting weaker and uses a cane or crutches to get around. His voice is weakening. He and his wife Jennifer had to sell their home and move into a one-story ranch because of his mobility issues. Dennis had to sell his truck for a smaller vehicle because he could no longer climb into it.
He is unable to work or do many of the things he used to enjoy — but through it all — baseball has been a constant.
"You can sit there and think about it all the time you got nuts," he said. "So I try to stay busy as much as I can. That’s why I’m still coaching. To get me out of the house and do stuff. But there ain’t nothing you can do about it. ALS is undefeated."
With their head coach hobbled but as passionate as ever, the Depew baseball team went on a run this past spring that will long be remembered.
"It was a family," he said. "Everybody did their part."
The Wildcats passed every test on their way to capturing the New York Class B State Championship that Dennis predicted years ago — the first in any sport in school history.
"The emotions, honestly I say it all the time, and people will be like OK whatever, I was happy for the kids," he said. "Am I happy for myself? Sure. But the kids absolutely. They did everything. We coach them at the beginning of the year, and they do it all through the year. That’s how I looked at it.
Dennis is quick to point out the help his players gave him throughout the season, along with his assistant coach, Tony Sekuterski, who retired after Depew's championship charge.
A remarkable ending to an unforgettable season — one that takes on greater significance given the courageous battle Coach Crawley fought every day just to be on the field.
"I think in little ways it helped us out," he said. "The boys see what I’m going through, realizing it ain’t that bad. We’re just playing a game."
A game that Dennis plans to keep coaching as long as his body will let him. Along with duties at Depew, he also coaches travel baseball.
Experimental treatments have likely helped him live longer with the disease than others in his family — precious time with those he loves, including his wife, son and daughter, whom he has leaned on for support through the toughest of times.
"Hopefully, they figure something out for my kids’ kids," he said. "It’s too late for me. Hopefully, it’s not too late for my kids. That’s how I look at it. My kids’ kids. My grandchildren. Hopefully, they find something."
