The Field of Angels baseball league made dreams come true for special needs children at Oliver Park in Calera on opening day Saturday, Aug. 7.

The league aims to give special needs children the opportunity to play baseball and have fun, and to get recognition from the community.

League founder Chris Bunn, whose son Noah participated for the red team, wanted to give his son and other special needs kids the same opportunity other kids enjoy.

“It’s all about the kids,” Bunn said. “Everybody gets to hit, and everybody scores.”

The opening day of the inaugural season saw a large turnout from the Shelby County community.

Bunn was even surprised by the crowd.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but folks did a great job spreading the word and wanting to make a difference,” Bunn said.

The league is split into four teams in Red, Orange, Green and Blue. Each team will play each other over the course of the season.

“We have kids all the way from Prattville to Helena to Hoover,” Bunn said. “Kids from all over.”

The league hopes to one day play on a synthetic field, like the fields in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, and are raising money through T-shirt and snack sales to do so.

But that’s just a side project, according to Bunn. The real goal is to let the kids have fun.

The Field of Angels will continue its season through Sept. 18, with games every Saturday.