WooSox and Boys & Girls Club celebrate 72 years of making World Series dreams come true
WORCESTER — A special guest made an historical appearance Friday at Polar Park.
The mascot of the Pawtucket Red Sox, Paws, came out of hibernation to help the WooSox carry on an important tradition. For 72 years, children from the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, have attended Major League Baseball’s World Series.
Pawtucket native and American League umpire Hank Soar began the tradition in 1950. The PawSox joined forces with the Boys & Girls Club in 1991 for the annual event that sends two youngsters (and a parent of each) on an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Series.
Boys & Girls Club CEO Jim Hoyt, along with athletic coordinator Matt Bergeron stood on the field Friday at Polar Park to announce this year’s winners. Paws stood near the dugout, took off his PawSox cap as a pile of names were poured into his oversized hat.
Longtime PawSox President Mike Tamburro stood close as Nallah Goss, 10, of Pawtucket, and Nolan Myers, 9, of East Providence, Rhode Island, won the trip of a lifetime.
The kids were ecstatic as current WooSox players congratulated the two winners.
“When we were going through the transition process of leaving Pawtucket and moving to Worcester, one of the things we promised was that we’d continue to show our support for so many of the Rhode Island community partners and nonprofits that we have built long-standing relationships with over the years,” WooSox Vice President of Baseball Operations and Community Relations Joe Bradlee said.
This was another example of how the WooSox are continuing that support that thrived for 50 years in Pawtucket.
Living up to promise
“We’re living up to our promise,” Bradlee said. “It’s hard to believe that 2022 marks the 72nd year. It was great to have Jim Hoyt, the CEO, and the 10 kids at Polar Park the other night.”
The other finalists included Gianni Ceceri, Michael Campanella, Manuel Basilio, Eli Quackenbush, Greighan Brown, Jeremiah Figueroa, Phillip Zabala Castilla and Gabriel Ferreira.
“They’re so excited,” Bradlee said of past and present winners of the trip. “A lot of times these are kids who have barely left the New England area. When we sent those two kids to Atlanta last fall they were just over the moon.”
Once the kids return from their World Series trip their relationship with the PawSox/WooSox continues. In fact, current Rhode Island state Rep, Carlos Tobon, of Pawtucket, won the trip to the 1992 World Series in Atlanta.
Tobon returned for the PawSox Heritage Night recently at Polar Park and thanked the organization for continuing the Boys & Girls Club tradition.
“It’s been nice how a lot of the kids, and the people who we send still feel that connection to the organization. We want that to continue even if we’re now playing 45 minutes up Route 146,” Bradlee said.
Soar died in 2001. He was 87. He played for the New York Football Giants and later became a major league umpire. In fact, he was the first-base umpire when Don Larsen pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.
He’s considered one of the greatest athletes to come from Rhode Island and his legacy now lives on in Worcester.
“As one of the biggest influencers in my life, it’s great to know that my great uncle Hank's legacy is still alive,” said Tom Crowley.
Contact Joe McDonald at JMcDonald2@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@JoeyMacHockey.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Red Sox and Boys & Girls Club celebrate 72 years of making World Series dreams come true
