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Dick Sullivan Executive of the Year Award

03/09/2006 2:51 PM

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for immediate release: 9 March, 2006

Cape Cod Baseball League Announces
Dick Sullivan Executive of the Year Award

CAPE COD, Mass. – Presented by league commissioner Paul Galop, the Cape Cod Baseball League Executive Committee unanimously voted on the formation of the CCBL Richard (Dick) Sullivan Executive of the Year Award. 

     The Sullivan Award will be presented annually for distinguished service, which includes franchise and/or league management participation, outstanding leadership qualities enhancing the franchise and/or league reputation and success, professional behavior, timeliness of required reporting mechanisms, proactive guidance for student-athletes, and overall performance that exceeds expectations by going above and beyond the call of duty. 

     Those eligible for this award include franchise executive committee members, team general managers, presidents, directors or CCBL officials.

     The award is named after current CCBL Deputy Commissioner Dick Sullivan of Chatham, who has served the league with distinction in various capacities, including past commissioner, president and vice president. Sullivan is also current chair of the league’s field improvements committee, which has successfully gained $600,000 in grants from the Yawkey Foundation over the past three years to enhance playing fields in Bourne, Brewster, Falmouth and Hyannis.

Hyannis Mets announce return of lights to Mckeon Park
     The Hyannis Mets, in cooperation with Pope John Paul II High School, announce the return of lights to McKeon Park in downtown Hyannis, subject to Conservation Commission approval.
     The lighting project is valued at more than $300,000 and is the first of many improvements in the works for the athletic fields behind the renovated building housing the new school at 120 High School Road in downtown Hyannis. The Pope John Paul II High School baseball team will also play its home games at McKeon Park.
     Installation of the system is scheduled to be completed by early June, in time for the 2006 Hyannis Mets season. Funding for the lights was secured through Pope John Paul II High School, the Hyannis Mets and a matching grant from the Yawkey Foundation. Installation is being funded and coordinated by an anonymous donor. 
     The lighting system will be considered suitable for television broadcasting, on par with major college programs across the country. 
     The Mets hosted the 2005 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game, which was broadcasted nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV). For more information, contact project coordinator Peter Scarafile, Hyannis Mets VP, at 508-362-3036.

Dick Bresciani selected for Red Sox Hall of Fame
     Former Cape League Public Relations Director and inaugural CCBL Hall of Famer Dick Bresciani is one of seven people selected for induction into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. 
     “It was a great surprise when I was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame,” said Bresciani, a member of the CCBL Hall of Fame Advisory Committee. “To be placed in the company of the previously non-uniformed selections such as Mrs. Yawkey, Dick O'Connell, John Harrington, Haywood Sullivan, Lou Gorman, Ben Mondor, Ken Coleman and Ned Martin is a terrific, but humbling honor. They all accomplished so much and were giants in professional baseball. The induction ceremony in November will be the most memorable personal moment of my Red Sox career.”
     The Red Sox Hall of Fame Class of 2006 includes current Red Sox Vice President Bresciani, infielder Vern Stephens (1948-52), right-hander Ellis Kinder (1948-55), second baseman and current NESN color analyst Jerry Remy (1978-84), first baseman George (The Boomer) Scott (1966-71, 1977-79) and managers Joe Morgan (1988-91) and Dick Williams (1967-69). Dave Roberts' stolen base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees was chosen for recognition as a Memorable Moment in Red Sox History. 
     Bresciani, the Red Sox' VP/Publications & Archives joined the organization in May of 1972 as Assistant PR Director. He was elevated to Director of PR in 1984 and has been a VP since 1987. He was the 1997 winner of the Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence in Major League Baseball. Under his coordination, the Red Sox instituted a retiring of numbers policy in 1984, the Tony Conigliaro Award in 1990 and the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995. 
     The Red Sox Hall of Fame includes 57 players, managers and executives. 
     The 2006 induction dinner will be held Nov. 9 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center with net proceeds benefiting the Red Sox Foundation and its charitable programs.

Cape League VP Peter Ford named to Harwich Hall of Fame
     CCBL Vice President Peter Ford has been elected to the Harwich High School Hall of Fame and will be inducted in a ceremony scheduled for June 9 at the Old Jailhouse Tavern in Orleans.


Peter Ford at the Orleans playoffs
CCBL/2005

     Along with Ford, the second class of inductees includes current Harwich High coaches Cheryl Poore and former Cape Leaguer Fred Thacher, state representative Shirley Gomes and former school art teacher Marion Eckhardt. 
     Ford has been an officer of the Cape League for four years and is the only active member of the league hierarchy who played in the Cape League. He pitched for Harwich from 1964-68 and was a two-time CCBL All-Star.
     A 1964 graduate of Harwich High, Ford was an honor student and a three-sport star in soccer, basketball and baseball for the Rough Riders. He graduated from Boston College with a degree in economics and pitched the Eagles into the College World Series. He played professionally in the Baltimore Orioles system before going into education for 12 years and then private business.
     The Harwich High Hall of Fame also includes the late Fred Ebbett, former Harwich AD and commissioner of the Cape League.
     The public is invited to the induction ceremony, which will include a reception and banquet. Tickets are $50 and will be available at the high school.

MLB Stats presented to Executive Board
     CCBL statistician John Wylde of the Wareham Gatemen presented his annual statistical report of Cape League players currently performing in the major leagues. Of the total of 198 alumni currently in the major leagues, 193 actually played in an MLB game with the other five placed on the disabled list during the season. Of the 518 four-year college players who performed in MLB last year, 37.26% played in the Cape League. Of the 1,237 total major leaguers, 15.60% were Cape League alumni. Of the top 30 prospects in each organization according to Baseball America, a total of 148 (16.44%) played in the CCBL.

Ned Monthie named new Brewster Whitecaps GM
     Ned Monthie has been named the new general manager of the Brewster Whitecaps, replacing Dave Porter. The Latham, N.Y., native has a summer home in Brewster and has been a member of the Whitecaps’ board of directors for the past two years. He also served as co-director of their highly successful youth clinic in 2005, working closely with the Brewster coaching staff.

Cape League raises money for March of Dimes Telethon
     Cape League volunteers raised $4,733 during the final hour in the 36th annual Cape Cod and the Islands March of Dimes Telethon on February 19 at Cape Cod Community College. Overall, the telethon raised a record $62,690 to help battle birth defects. The Rowdy Hour, a nickname the league has earned for its enthusiasm in raising money in the late hours, has been one of the most successful groups for the telethon. Eye Health Services CEO Randy Shepard hosted the hour with the Cape League. In addition, Peg Rose coordinated volunteers to man the phones and sell pledges. Dick Sullivan and Matt Pitta of AP in Boston once again emceed the event

Around The Horn:
     The next Military Game Committee meeting will be held March 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Comfort Inn/Hyannis.
     The Merchandise Committee met and approved 29 CCBL items that will be sold at the ballparks this summer, including golf shirts, tee-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, jackets, visors, hats, tote bags and bibs.
     The Cape League will be a partial benefactor and host an information booth at the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce BizWiz on March 14 at the Four Points Sheraton Hyannis. League volunteers will wear team jerseys, sell 50/50 raffle tickets, point people to the silent auction, man a batting cage and a pitching station with a radar gun. Volunteers include Kim Wolfe, chair; Peter Ford, Bill Bussiere, Phil Edwards, Paul Galop, Bill Reed, Tom Fink, Diane Troy, Peg Rose, Mary Henderson, Jim Higgins, and Nancy Woodworth. Dick Sullivan and John Garner will serve as emcees and Dr. Charles Steinberg of the Boston Red Sox will be the keynote speaker.
     The Hyannis Mets celebrated "spring training" March 5 at the Roadhouse Cafe in Hyannis. GM John Howitt presented the roster for the 2006 season and discussed field improvements and the Yawkey Foundation grant.
     The next CCBL Hall of Fame Committee meeting is March 22 at 5 p.m. at the Comfort Inn. Nominations are due by March 31 to committee chair Phil Edwards.
     The next league executive committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m. at the Comfort Inn on Rt. 132 in Hyannis.
 

John Garner, Jr.
Director of Public Relations & Broadcasting
(508) 790-0394 [email protected] 

Will Bussiere
Web Editor
[email protected]