Washington Park to rename baseball field after Roger Bidwell
Apr. 26—GROTON — Legendary UConn Avery Point baseball coach and athletic director Roger Bidwell will be honored Sunday when the baseball field at Washington Park is named "Roger Bidwell Field."
The dedication ceremony will take place at 11:50 a.m., prior to the noon start of a doubleheader between Avery Point and Northern Essex Community College.
Bidwell was Avery Point's head coach for 34 seasons, taking over as a 25-year-old in 1982 and guiding the Pointers until retiring in 2015. He finished with 1,007 career wins, leading Avery Point to 13 NJCAA Region 21 Division II championships and six appearances in the NJCAA Division II World Series, including a runner-up finish in 2010 when the Pointers went 41-10.
He was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2017 and retired as Avery Point's athletic director in 2018.
Bidwell, a Ledyard High School graduate, would send more than 150 players to four-year colleges with 34 going on the play professionally. Two former players are currently coaching in Major League Baseball — East Lyme graduate Pete Walker is pitching coach of the Toronto Blue Jays and Old Lyme graduate Ryan Fuller is a hitting coach with the Baltimore Orioles.
In addition, Bidwell was named Connecticut American Legion College Coach of the Year twice (2004 and 2011), he was inducted into the Niantic American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 and received a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance during its 70th annual event in 2011.
