Winning Beyond Winning's 2009 Gil Hodges Legacy Dinner Recap

Winning Beyond Winning held their annual Gil Hodges Legacy Dinner this past week at the Chateau Briand in Long Island. Winning Beyond Winning is an charity organization headed by former New York Yankee Rusty Torres and Tom Sabellico that prepares athletes for their careers after their sports participation and provides outreach to school-aged children on the benefits of healthy living that can be achieved through participation in sports. Over 200 supporters turned out for the evening's festivities.

1969 Mets Reunion Photo / N. Diunte

This year's Gil Hodges Dinner was a tribute to the 1969 New York Mets, and featured appearances by Bud Harrelson, Ed Charles, Cleon Jones, Joe Pignatano, Ron Swoboda, Mrs. Maxcine Agee, Gil Hodges Jr. and Joan Hodges. Mrs. Hodges received a standing round of applause for her riveting speech in delivering the Gil Hodges Lifetime Achievement Award.

Roland Hemond was given the Great American's Awards for his nearly 50 years as an executive in Major League Baseball. Hemond has served as the General Manager for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. Current New York Mets coach Howard Johnson was honored with the 2009 Winner's Circle Award. Johnson stated,"I feel proud to carry on the traditions of the Mets that came before him, and to pass what I have learned on to the new generation of Mets players."

The 2009 Gil Hodges Legacy Dinner proved to be a successful event to further Winning Beyond Winning's outreach in the community to encourage clean youth participation in athletics and assist athletes transitioning from the field into the next phase of their careers.

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Wallace 'Bucky' Williams, 102, Former Negro League Pittsburgh Crawfords

The second oldest living Negro League player, Bucky Williams passed away on November 16, 2009 at the age of 102. Williams played infield for the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1927-1932, and then with the Homestead Grays in the late 1930's, playing with and against many baseball luminaries including: Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Judy Johnson, Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell, Martin Dihigo and Smokey Joe Williams. He retired in 1971 from Edgar Thomson Steel Works and moved to Penn Hills after his wife passed away in 1977. He was a fixture at the Josh Gibson Foundation dinners in recent years. He is only surpassed by 103 year old Puerto Rican Milito Navarro who played for the Cuban Stars in 1928-1929. Click here to view his entire obituary from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

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Feller, Perry and Perez Headline the 2009 MLBPAA Legends for Youth Dinner

The longest standing member of the Hall of Fame Bob Feller stood on the podium 91 years young, a veteran of World War II, addressing a crowd of 250 former players and aficionados Friday at the Hilton Hotel in New York City. Feller, looking ever spry, expressed his affection for the supporters of the MLBPAA, and vowed to be a fixture at the annual reunion dinner for years to come. He introduced the 2009 Alumni Achievement Award honoree, Gaylord Perry, who was being honored for his service to the association. Perry is extremely active with the Legends for Youth Baseball Clinics, where he and other retired MLB players give clinics around the country for young aspiring ballplayers. Fellow Hall of Famer Tony Perez was on hand to announce the 2009 Heart and Hustle Award recipient, which was Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Following the awards, the fans were treated to a round-table where Perry, Feller, Dennis Leonard, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Tommy John, Rick Cerone, Jeff Cirillo, Mike Torrez, Billy Sample, John Franco, Orestes Destrade and Jimmy Wynn spoke on their favorite MLB experiences. All of the alumni spoke candidly about their travels in the Majors, and showed a genuine appreciation for being able to share them with the fans. "Mudcat" Grant captivated the crowd with an entertaining story of how early in his career he got revenge on an umpire who he believed was "squeezing" him. Grant dipped the unsuspecting umpire's mask in manure, and in the 100 degree heat, the oblivious umpire swore the catcher had soiled himself during the game. The umpire was none the wiser to Grant's prank. Grant also went out of his way to recognize the efforts of Feller for helping to ease baseball's integration by touring with Jackie Robinson's All-Stars in 1946, playing with Larry Doby in 1947 and honorably serving in WWII. Feller graciously accepted Grant's acknowledgment to a standing ovation from the crowd.

To keep up with MLBPAA sponsored events and clinics, check out their website at BaseballAlumni.com

To view additional photos from the event, watch the slideshow below.

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Hideki Matsui's World Series Performance Evokes Memories of Dusty Rhodes 55 Years Earlier

Hideki Matsui earning the 2009 World Series MVP as a designated and pinch hitter drums up memories of another New York World Series hero. A year before the World Series MVP award was created, and over 20 years before the emergence of the designated hitter, James "Dusty" Rhodes terrorized the pitching of the American League champions, the Cleveland Indians. Rhodes hit a pinch-hit homer off of Bob Lemon in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series with two runners on in the 10th inning to win the game 5-2. In game 2, he had a pinch hit single off of Early Wynn in the 5th inning, and then followed it up with another homerun off of Wynn in the 7th. In game 3, he had a pinch-hit single that drove in two runs in a 6-2 Giants victory. In the 3 games he played, he was 4-6 with 2 homeruns and 7 RBI. The Giants swept the series in 4 games over the Cleveland Indians.

Matsui had a homerun, a single and 2 RBI as a pinch-hitter, and was 8-13 overall as a DH / PH en route to his award winning performance. While many remember the 1954 World Series for Willie Mays' catch of Vic Wertz's smash; if a World Series MVP had existed in 1954, it would have gone to Rhodes for his timely hitting off of the bench for the Giants. The parallel to Matsui, plays out similar in their roles of "professional hitter" for their respective teams in World Series victory.

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MLBPAA Legends for Youth Dinner Friday November 6, 2009 List of Expected Guests and Schedule

2009 Legends for Youth Dinner
Friday, November 6, 2009
New York Hilton
Avenue of the Americas

6:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception (Rendezvous/Petit Trianon)
6:45 p.m. Call to Dinner Program
7:00 p.m. Awards Dinner (Trianon Room)
9:45 p.m. Dinner Program Ends

**Dress is Business Attire/Semi-Formal/Coat & Tie

Please be aware of the MLBPAA autograph policy for the event. Limit the items you bring to the event to items that fit in your pocket. Bags, bats, or other large items are not permitted.

List of Confirmed Guests as of October 28, 2009

Gaylord Perry – Honoree
Bob Feller
Tony Perez
Craig Anderson
Tony Balsamo
Fred Cambria
Rick Cerone
Ed Charles
Jeff Cirillo
Don DeMola
Orestes Destrade
John Doherty
John Franco
Oscar Gamble
Jim “Mudcat” Grant
Jim Hannan
Paul Hartzell
Tommy John
Brian Johnson
Joe Lahoud
Tim Leary
Al Leiter
Dennis Leonard
Phil Linz
Skip Lockwood
Bob Miller
Jerry Moses
Jim Poole
Dennis Rasmussen
Ron Robinson
Steve Rogers
Will Royster
Billy Sample
Steve Shillet
Charles Smith (NBA)
Craig Skok
Gary Thorne – Master of Ceremonies
Frank Tepedino
Rusty Torres
Mike Torrez
Jose Valdivielso
Jimmy Wynn

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