John Wilson's story is not a new one. The tale of the 50-something college baseball player has been around for a few years and was just revisited by USA Today and a number of sports Web sites but considering the events of recent days and months regarding baseball and drugs, this seemed like a particularly good time to bring this one to your attention if you hadn't heard it.

Wilson, now 53, was a drug and alcohol abuser from Pittsburgh whose bad choices landed him in rehab facilities.  Along the long road of his recovery, Wilson went from client to counselor.  And baseball, in this case, turned out to be a balm for illegal drug use rather than an excuse to indulge in it.

You can read Wilson's story here but the short version is that Wilson got involved in a summer adult rec baseball league and one of his baseball buddies became the coach at the local college, Penn State-Altoona.  Altoona is one of those western Pennsylvania towns still trying to get some economic traction in the aftermath of the evaporation of heavy industry in that part of the world.

So a few years ago, Wilson enrolled at Penn State-Altoona to earn a degree that will help him with his social services career and at 50, he tried out for the team.  Admittedly, he's a borderline roster guy and his stats are thin. But the kids who get to be around Wilson have an opportunity to learn a little about how a person can get caught up in the vortex of drug use and how one mistake can lead to another.  So I'm guessing that Wilson -- now in his senior year at Penn State-Altoona -- has made some significant contributions to his team that don't show up in any box score.

Photo credit:  Penn State-Altoona Website.