Sheila Cornell

Dot Richardson gets all the headlines: "Shortstop With a Surgeon's Hands." "Doctor Trades Scalpel for Glove, Bat and Ball." "Doctor Has Dreams of Olympics, Own Practice." "What Softball Ordered: A Doctor at Shortstop." "Operation Softball." As you page through the U.S. softball team's file of newspaper clippings, you wonder if there is anyone else on the team. Quietly, politely, deferentially, first baseman Sheila Cornell wonders too. "I wouldn't call it resentment," Cornell says.

At 38, Sheila Cornell Douty is the grande dame of the U.S. Olympic softball team. Few Olympic athletes are older. And Douty's young, good-natured teammates never let her forget it. "Every once in a while I get, 'Hey, Grandma,' " she said. Yet, it's a moniker the power-hitting first baseman doesn't seem to mind. She inherited the nickname when she married Joel Douty of Diamond Bar on New Year's Eve 1997. Sheila Douty instantly became stepmother to Joel's three teenagers and later . . .

Nearly a year has passed since Team USA won the first gold medal in softball at the Olympic Games, but Sheila Cornell Douty is still living the dream. The message on her answering machine is proof enough: "Hi, you've reached [phone number], phone of former Olympic gold medalist Sheila Cornell Douty. . . . " It took Cornell 34 years to realize a dream of playing softball in the Olympics. And it may take her another 34 to come down off the emotional high.

Father Time is pulling on her ponytail but Sheila Cornell Douty doesn't seem to notice. She is still hitting screwballs out of the yard with a swift, jack-hammer swing and driving in runs at about the same rate as she always has in her illustrious 27-year career. Cornell Douty, a power-hitting first baseman who grew up playing softball at Shoup Park in Woodland Hills and graduated from Taft High in 1980, will be 38 when she suits up next fall in Sydney for a second Olympic Games with the U.S.

The years pass, but Sheila Cornell stays at the top of her game. Cornell, 33, from Burbank, was a member of two national championship UCLA teams more than a decade ago. She got right into the swing of things on the first day of Olympic Festival softball, getting two hits and a run batted in to help the South to a 2-0 victory over the East at the Kennedy Softball Complex. Christa Williams, a 17-year-old high school pitcher from Houston, threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts.

Had there been more media coverage of softball in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Sheila Cornell would have been as recognizable a name as Kerri Strug or Amy van Dyken. But, certainly, Cornell's efforts were no less heroic, leading Team USA to a gold medal in the sport's first Olympic Games. Cornell, a power-hitting first baseman who grew up in Woodland Hills and graduated from Taft High in 1980, led Team USA with a .393 (11 for 28) batting average and nine runs batted in.

At 38, Sheila Cornell Douty is the grande dame of the U.S. Olympic softball team. Few Olympic athletes are older. And Douty's young, good-natured teammates never let her forget it. "Every once in a while I get, 'Hey, Grandma,' " she said. Yet, it's a moniker the power-hitting first baseman doesn't seem to mind. She inherited the nickname when she married Joel Douty of Diamond Bar on New Year's Eve 1997. Sheila Douty instantly became stepmother to Joel's three teenagers and later . . .

Father Time is pulling on her ponytail but Sheila Cornell Douty doesn't seem to notice. She is still hitting screwballs out of the yard with a swift, jack-hammer swing and driving in runs at about the same rate as she always has in her illustrious 27-year career. Cornell Douty, a power-hitting first baseman who grew up playing softball at Shoup Park in Woodland Hills and graduated from Taft High in 1980, will be 38 when she suits up next fall in Sydney for a second Olympic Games with the U.S.

Sheila Cornell Douty, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and first baseman of the U.S. Olympic Women's Softball Team, will speak about her career and sign autographs Thursday at the City of Brea Gallery. Douty's visit is part of the "Art and Sport: Images to Herald the Olympic Games" exhibit on display through Sunday. The exhibit includes torches, programs and uniforms. Douty will speak at 6:30 p.m.; admission is free. The Gallery is at 1 Civic Center Circle. Information: (714) 990-7730.

Two Olympians will help launch the 1997 season for the Moorpark Girls Softball Assn. today. Julie Smith and Sheila Cornell, who won gold medals as members of the American women's softball team in last summer's Olympics, will meet players and parents at the opening day celebrations, beginning at 9 a.m. at both Mountain Meadows School and the adjacent park. "These are the women at the top of the game," association President Tom Murray said.

Nearly a year has passed since Team USA won the first gold medal in softball at the Olympic Games, but Sheila Cornell Douty is still living the dream. The message on her answering machine is proof enough: "Hi, you've reached [phone number], phone of former Olympic gold medalist Sheila Cornell Douty. . . . " It took Cornell 34 years to realize a dream of playing softball in the Olympics. And it may take her another 34 to come down off the emotional high.

Had there been more media coverage of softball in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Sheila Cornell would have been as recognizable a name as Kerri Strug or Amy van Dyken. But, certainly, Cornell's efforts were no less heroic, leading Team USA to a gold medal in the sport's first Olympic Games. Cornell, a power-hitting first baseman who grew up in Woodland Hills and graduated from Taft High in 1980, led Team USA with a .393 (11 for 28) batting average and nine runs batted in.

Dot Richardson gets all the headlines: "Shortstop With a Surgeon's Hands." "Doctor Trades Scalpel for Glove, Bat and Ball." "Doctor Has Dreams of Olympics, Own Practice." "What Softball Ordered: A Doctor at Shortstop." "Operation Softball." As you page through the U.S. softball team's file of newspaper clippings, you wonder if there is anyone else on the team. Quietly, politely, deferentially, first baseman Sheila Cornell wonders too. "I wouldn't call it resentment," Cornell says.

The years pass, but Sheila Cornell stays at the top of her game. Cornell, 33, from Burbank, was a member of two national championship UCLA teams more than a decade ago. She got right into the swing of things on the first day of Olympic Festival softball, getting two hits and a run batted in to help the South to a 2-0 victory over the East at the Kennedy Softball Complex. Christa Williams, a 17-year-old high school pitcher from Houston, threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts.

Lori Harrigan pitched a two-hitter and Sheila Cornell hit a two-run homer as the United States remained the only unbeaten team with a 4-0 victory over Taiwan at Columbus, Ga. U.S. pitchers have allowed only one run in four games. Harrigan struck out five and walked none against Taiwan (1-3). Cornell homered to left field in the third inning. It was her second homer in three games and gave her a team-leading six runs batted in.

That was a close call for Amy Fuller and the U.S. women's eight crew in the repechage Wednesday. Fuller, who graduated from Westlake High, and her teammates waited until the last 100 meters before making their move and catching Canada to win the repechage and reach the finals on Sunday. The Americans, who beat the Canadians by .32 of a second, are the favorites to win their first gold medal at a boycott-free Olympics.