When Chuck Cox's daughter, Tracey, asked him to help pay for his grandchildren's Little League fees last year, the baseball lifer from DeWitt was appalled.

"I said, you've got to pay to play baseball in DeWitt?" Cox recalled. "I played baseball in DeWitt for 40 years, I never had to pay. So I'm going to do something about that."

After last summer's successful fundraising effort that brought in $2,500 to sponsor 66 Little Leaguers, Cox has set higher goals.

And to assist with his encore, Cox is calling upon a longtime friend: Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins.

Jenkins and fellow former Cub Bobby Dernier will take part in a day-long fundraiser Saturday, which will include batting practice thrown by Jenkins, a pitching and hitting clinic and opportunities for pictures and autographs.

"Any time you can help youngsters with their baseball or sporting program, I think that's a big plus," Jenkins said in a phone interview from the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Mary's, Ontario.

"I'm happy to be a part of it, and we'll try to do that this coming weekend."

The event costs $10, with all proceeds going to DeWitt Boys and Girls Park and Rec baseball teams. The big-ticket event, "Five Pitches from Fergie," grants anybody who donates $31 - matching Jenkins' jersey number in Chicago - the chance to hit batting practice off the 1971 Cy Young winner.

"Kids start playing Little League baseball at a young age, before high school and college where's there's a possibility for a scholarship," Jenkins said. "It's a stepping stone to better things for them."

Jenkins and Cox met in 1965, the year Jenkins began an 18-year career that was highlighted by three All-Star games and 284 victories.

With a day that begins at a field at Westbrook Park and ends with a raffle and silent auction in town, Cox is hoping to raise over $5,000 for DeWitt youth baseball.

"There's only 55 living legends (in the Hall of Fame) out there right now," Cox said. "I mean, for one to come to DeWitt to rub elbows (with Little Leaguers), I think that would be the greatest thing in the world."