Wichita ? Marc Knowles asked his father to send some baseball gear to Kuwait so the soldier from Wichita could play ball with his friends to pass the time in the desert.

His dad, Steve Knowles, sent word out on kansas.theinsiders.com, a Web site for Kansas Jayhawk fans, and the response has been phenomenal.

The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission has asked every minor league baseball team in the country for any gear it can spare, and U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., plans to seek support from Major League Baseball.

Last week, Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench agreed to endorse what has been dubbed “Operation Home Run.”

Besides equipment for adults, youth baseball gear is being collected with an eye toward teaching the sport to children in the Persian Gulf. Steve Knowles sees it as a form of diamond diplomacy.

“We are at a crucial point in our history,” he said. “I think we can do so much in getting the kids to realize over there we’re not the big bad wolf. We have a tremendous chance to start winning the hearts and minds over there.”

Tim Daniel, a Coleman Co. vice president who is on the sports commission board, read a story in The Wichita Eagle about Knowles’ project and thought, “We should get involved in this.”

Bob Hanson, the commission’s president and chief executive, had the same reaction.

“It kind of touched our hearts,” he said.

Tiahrt also was sold on the effort.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “Baseball’s as American as you can get.

“I’m looking at this as a quality-of-life issue. They’re going to be over there for a year. … They can play a lot of baseball.”

The project is capturing the imagination of people all over the United States. The commander of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Wyoming wants to spread the word to every post in the state. Boy Scouts in California also are helping.

Fans at last month’s National Baseball Congress tournament at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium contributed more than $5,000 worth of equipment and $500 in cash.

An elderly man called Hanson and asked him to stop by because he had some baseballs he wanted to donate.

“He had 15 dozen baseballs that he had caught as foul balls at Wranglers games over the years, including four dozen that he’d had autographed,” Hanson said.

A picnic and rally at the city park in Kingman last week filled two pickup trucks with equipment, and more events are in the works. The Kansas Air National Guard and family readiness groups with the Army National Guard also have been collecting equipment.

“It just seemed like just a small thing to do for these guys who are over there doing such a big thing for us,” Daniel said.