A pair of Niles players will be heading to Florida next week to take part in the 24th Roy Hobbs Baseball Tournament.

Tad Dickerson and Tod Moorhead, who play for the South Bend Cardinals, will be making their 10th trip to the Hobbs tourney, which is for players age 48-plus.

The tournament, held in Fort Meyers, Fla., will run from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3.

The Cardinals, managed by Tommy Hollabaugh, are comprised of players from South Bend, Niles, Elkhart, Plymouth, Chicago and Boston.

Among the Boston players are former Red Sox Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, who will pitch the opener for the Cardinals.

Both Dickerson and Moorhead have both earned Most Valuable Player awards while participating in the tournament and will be receiving Roy Hobbs 10th Anniversary pins recognizing them for their “ageless dedication to the tournament,” according to Moorhead.

“Baseball has been a part of my life for 43 years and I am fortunate to still be able to participate against college age players in our Michiana leagues as well as other leagues of various ages and provide solid competitive performances on the mound as well as in the infield,” he said.

“Accepting my 10 year anniversary award means a great deal. Being able to participate at this age and be a better than average player gives me the confidence to do it again the next year when our week is over.”

Teams from all over the country take part in the tournament. Many ex-major and minor league players participate in the various teams.

The Cardinals will play in the Masters Division.

They are scheduled to compete against the Texas A’s in their opening game Sunday. South Bend will also take on the Sacramento Royals, Port City Admirals and the DuPage Indians in pool play.

“Overall, the tournament is so well supervised and managed, that it is hard not to have a great time and being able to participate on major league fields (Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins facilities) is awesome,” Moorhead said. “I aways say, I took ground balls where Nomar Garciaparra did with a big smile.

“I’ve had the great opportunity to play with against Major League talent, both from the highest level to an easier level and all players are there for the game of baseball and enjoy the friendships that have been built with other players over the years. It really is all about the camaraderie.”

The Cardinals are part of the Northern Indiana Adult Baseball League. This year South Bend went 13-3 during the regular season, but finished second in the year-end tournament.