Ah, October. As the days oxymoronically grow shorter, sports fans hasten their steps home through the crinkling leaves to catch that most distinctly American spectacle, the World Series. The contemporary efforts of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals inevitably invoke nostalgia. No montage of World Series memories is complete, however, without a clip of Kirk Gibson pumping his fist as he hobbles around the bases. In that immortal moment 31 years ago, the injured Gibson was a surprise pinch hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they trailed the Oaklans A's 3-4 in the ninth inning of game one. Gibson worked the count full before hitting a two-run walk-off homer to win game one, 5-4. It would be his only plate appearance of the series, but the momentum (and Orel Hershiser's pitching) carried the Dodgers to a 4-1 win. It was the second World Series championship of Gibson's career, the first four years earlier with his native Detroit. Now reunited with his home team as a commentator, Gibson is facing what he calls "the greatest challenge of my life": his 2015 diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. Ever a team player, Gibson does not have to face this battle alone. His Kirk Gibson Foundation, created in 1996 to provide scholarships to Michigan students, has since expanded to join the fight against Parkinson's Disease. This October 30, the foundation will be hosting a star-studded fundraiser at Detroit's Shinola Hotel. In addition to Gibson, a number of other local luminaries will light up the stage. Headlining the gala will be Motor City natives Alice Cooper and Jack White. While white will do an acoustic set and auction off memorabilia, Cooper will be manning the ping-pong table. Or will he? The event website advertises "the opportunity to play a ping pong match with Alice Cooper and/or Kirk Gibson." While Cooper is famed for his prowess in striking a stationary ball on the golf course, he may be out of his league with tracking the curveballs that come flying over the net. In that case, with the signature October scent of dead leaves on the dirty ground, will Gibson once again be called upon to pinch-hit?

More at The Detroit Metro Times