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Travis Roy Foundation Tournament starts Aug. 13 By Jeff Morton, Essex Reporter Staff
ESSEX -- The Third Annual Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament will be held Friday, Aug. 13 through Sunday, Aug. 15 at Little Fenway in Essex. The proceeds from the event go directly to victims of spinal cord injury and help to support spinal cord research. Tournament events scheduled throughout the weekend are free and open to the public. Little Fenway is a replica of the major league stadium in Boston and is privately owned by Pat O'Connor. The baseball field is located O'Connor's back yard on Hanley Lane in Essex. For the past three years, the Travis Roy Foundation has been holding its annual tournament at Little Fenway Park to raise money for spinal cord injury survivors and research. This year, 12 teams including teams comprised of local business employees and community members, as well as the Staten Island Yankees from New York and three teams from Boston will come together and support the Travis Roy Foundation. The Travis Roy Foundation, which was established in 1997, began after Travis Roy, a hockey player at Boston University, was injured only 11 seconds into his first college hockey game in October 1995. Roy's dreams were cut short as he shattered his fourth cervical vertebra, which severely damaged his spinal cord. Roy has since been a quadriplegic but continues his fight to raise money for spinal cord injury survivors and research. With determination and optimism, Roy has become a popular motivational speaker. A book -- Eleven Seconds -- was published in 1998 about his ordeal. Roy lives in Mallets Bay in Colchester during the summer months and resides in Boston during the winter. Since graduating from Boston University with a degree in public relations, Roy has become actively involved in the Travis Roy Foundation and made his debut as a television college hockey analyst. Today, half of the money that is raised by the foundation goes to spinal cord injury research while the other half goes directly toward aiding victims of spinal cord injuries. O'Connor, a diehard Red Sox fan, became involved with the Travis Roy Foundation after reading Roy's book. O'Connor said that the book was "very inspirational." He said that after reading the touching book, he realized how much he wanted to do something to give back to the foundation and the community through the use of the baseball field that he built. O'Connor built the replica of Fenway Park back in 2001. The pint-sized park comes complete with a mini-Green Monster in left field. There are no monster seats, but the familiar net above the wall is there. The bullpens are there and there are dugouts. The signature Citgo sign looms over the left field wall, just like in the real Fenway. The Citgo Company sent O'Connor the sign for the field. "O'Connor's replica was originally built for family and friends, but has become an attraction throughout the community. O'Connor also built a packed gravel path down to the baseball field to make it easy for anyone in a wheel chair. While O’Connor said the Travis Roy Foundation may not be as well-known as some of the other spinal cord injury foundations such as the one that Christopher Reeve set up, the Travis Roy Foundation's mission to help injury survivors is the same and the work that the Travis Roy Foundation does is more special to O'Connor because of his involvement with the foundation and his relationship with Roy. "I didn't realize it would grow into something this big." O'Connor said. 'This tournament brings out the best in the community. The players really get into this." O'Connor said that the "foundation has already surpassed last years fundraising goal of $8,400 for the wiffle ball tournament. This year, O'Connor said the foundation's goal is $15,000. The money for the foundation is raised from a $500 entry fee for the teams playing as well as from donated raffle prizes, large silent auction prizes, private donations from community members who attend the weekend festivities and profits from the bake sale that is held from donated baked goods. Proceeds from the home run derby also go to benefit the foundation. Throughout the weekend, there will be a bake sale, food vendors, raffles, a silent auction, and a concert by the Zambonis. There will also be a home run derby pitched by former Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette and a celebrity vs. sponsors game featuring local baseball, hockey and media celebrities, as well as a guest appearance by the Vermont Expos mascot, Champ. Vermont singer Tammy Fletcher will also sing the national anthem at the opening ceremonies on Friday evening. Tournament organizers encourage the public to get out and support the foundation and are asking to bring lawn chairs when attending because there are no bleacher or stadium seats. "People are impassioned about supporting this event," said Jane Kennedy O'Neil, a Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament volunteer. "It's a labor of love for everybody who has been there." Marge Oppold, the Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament event organizer said that she has had a tremendous amount of fun planning and organizing the weekend long event. "I've had a blast working on this project," she said. While the project has taken a lot of planning, Oppold said that it has given her "tremendous satisfaction." "Everyone associated with the Foundation and the wiffle ball tournament are volunteers. They are extremely talented, dedicated, and a lot of fun to work with," Oppold said. For more information, visit the Travis Roy Foundation website at: http://www.travisroyfoundation.org.
Appeared in Essex Reporter - August 12, 2004 |
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