Wiffleball is as American as apple pie. Across the country, kids play wiffleball in backyards, vacant city lots, and school fields. Those who continue playing into their mid-20s, however, are a rare breed.

Tommy Loftus and Brendan Boas, DPT students at Neumann, are part of this adult Wiffleball culture. They started playing the sport as youngsters in 2009 and transformed their rag-tag games into the Ridley Park Wiffleball League as teenagers in 2016.

Today, the league boasts 40 players (10 four-man teams), uniforms, a three-month schedule of games, a travel team, and a championship trophy.

How serious are these young men about the kids’ game they still play? The league has a radar gun to measure the speed of pitches.

“Brendan and I can pitch at 100 miles an hour,” says Loftus, who has the evidence to prove it. For comparison, Major League Baseball players who can pitch at 98 to 102 mph are considered elite.

Of course, a game played with a hollow plastic ball has a different flavor than hardball. There are only two fielders behind the pitcher, the pitcher’s mound is just 48 feet from home plate (closer than MLB’s 60 feet six inches), games last five innings, and there’s no such thing as a hit-by-pitch free pass to first base “unless you’re hit in the noggin,” jokes Loftus.

Videos of game action are available on Instagram @rp_wiffleball.

The Ridley Park Wiffleballers have umpires for big games; otherwise, they’re self-governing. According to Loftus, “It’s a gentleman’s game. The arguments we have are hilarious, and if teams can’t reach an agreement, they just re-pitch.”

The Delco players measure up well against competition from across the country. Their travel team, the Longballers, won the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Wiffle Championship Tournament in September.

“We’re pretty good,” boasts Loftus. “We joke with each other that we’re the best second-place team around. When we travel, we almost always make the championship game but have won only two or three times.”

Teams from as far away as Florida have contacted the league to ask if they can recruit a Ridley Park player for a regional tournament. Boas, this year’s league MVP and Cy Young winner, is a popular target.

“Years ago, a team from New York recruited me,” Loftus confesses. “I was flown out to Texas to play in a tournament with a grand prize of $10,000.”

The game seems to be growing in popularity. On July 20, ESPN+ nationally televised a tournament that included both DPT students. With professional careers just around the corner, how long will lifelong pals Loftus and Boas continue to spin Wiffleballs at 100 mph?

“As future physical therapists,” Loftus grins, “we plan on keeping our arms in shape and sticking around.”