A tradition that lasts long after the flavor is gone: the Bubble Gum Lady

A tradition that lasts long after the flavor is gone: the Bubble Gum Lady

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Rice alumni and fans have come to Omaha for the College World Series to see the baseball team and one special lady.

“Hey Bubble Gum Lady, remember me?” a 6-year-old boy in a Rice T-shirt asks, as he races toward a woman with Owl earrings and a baseball jersey.

TOMMY LAVERGNE

Top: Joyce Pounds Hardy walks to the dug out with Thad Ware. Bottom: Joyce Pounds Hardy gets a hug and gives the bubble gum to Catcher Travis Reagan.

“Of course I remember you,” Joyce Pounds Hardy ’45 responds. “We saw that five-hour track meet together. The one after the five-hour baseball game and five-hour commencement.”

He gives her a hug and she gives him two pieces of bubble gum, reminding him that he can rub them for good luck during the baseball game. This is not the first time the boy, or any Rice baseball fan, has heard about the bubble gum.

Call it a legend, a ritual or a superstition, the tradition dates back to a 1975 baseball game when Hardy became the Bubble Gum Lady. She was bringing gum for her son Larry ’77 and his Rice Owls teammates, because she and her husband didn’t want them chewing tobacco.

Even after Larry graduated, Hardy continued to go to the baseball games, cheering for the Owls and giving them something to chew on.

“My husband said that I could have endowed a scholarship for what I’ve spent on bubblegum over the years,” Hardy said. “But that wouldn’t have been as fun and I wouldn’t have gotten as many hugs.”

Before the baseball game begins, Hardy makes her way down to the dugout to give the players their bubble gum. One of the players will run up and greet her. In exchange for a hug, she’ll give him the gum to be distributed among his teammates.

“When she gives out that gum, good things start to happen for that player,” said Thad Ware ’85. “That player will always have a good game.”

Ware and his wife, Wendi ’91, sit in Hardy’s section at Reckling Park along with Ann Bixby ’93 and her family.

“It’s wonderful to go to the games and see Joyce,” Bixby said. “She is always happy to see everyone. Her warmth and friendliness draw people in.”

Because of Hardy, their section gets a considerable amount of traffic.

“Before the game, everyone wants to find Joyce and give her a hug,” Wendi Ware said. “Players that have long since graduated will come by to see her and introduce her to their children. She has been like a parent or grandparent to so many people.”

With Hardy as the matriarch of the cheering section, it has become an extended family for the Wares. There was no hesitation when they invited Hardy to travel with them for the long drive to Omaha. Also joining the trip was Jessica Cannon MA ’06, who is pursuing her doctorate at Rice.

“Joyce is the heart and soul of the team,” Cannon said. “She brings cohesion to the baseball team and all the fans. She’s an inspiration because despite all of her health challenges, she makes it to every game possible. She makes a commitment to who is important to her and she honors that commitment.”

Earlier this year, Hardy was told by her doctor to cancel all her spring and summer travel plans. She firmly told him that if the Owls were in Omaha, she would be there too. When the doctor tried to talk her out of it, her son intervened and told him to give up on that; his mother wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Omaha wouldn’t be right without the Bubble Gum Lady,” said Owls catcher Travis Reagan. “Joyce means so much to the team. We are honored that she calls us her boys. She has invested so much time and energy into making every game special that we want to play well for her. She inspires us.”

Reagan said that players often compete for the privilege of giving Hardy the hug that gets the gum. Center fielder Tyler Henley has been one such player.

“It really means a lot to have someone there that makes such sacrifices for the team,” Henley said. “She’s always there and always inspires us to do our best.”

Baseball fan Blair DeSesa ’06 agreed. DeSesa won the 2006 Joyce Pounds Hardy Award, which honors the outstanding female athlete each year.

“Joyce’s enthusiasm is contagious,” DeSesa said. “She gets people excited. Despite any of her health issues, she makes it out to the games. By her example, she teaches the athletes to give 100 percent. Joyce is definitely someone to aspire to be.”