For the last twelve years I have had the honor of being a board member of the Ted Williams Hall of Fame. In 2006, I had the honor of being acknowledged for my community service.
If you know any thing about Ted Williams then you know that community service was very important to him. It was a subject that he shared with George Steinbrenner. When Ted first opened the museum, the Boss was one of his very first guests.
As a board member, I have the thrill of nominating and being involved in the selection process of the inductees. Last year, I had the pleasure of selecting my childhood hero Gene Michael. After the event Gene made me cry when he told me that it was one of the biggest moments of his baseball career.
The year before, museum president, Dave McCarthy asked me about the great pitcher that had recently retired, Roy Halladay. I remember calling my good friend and Halladay’s former manager of the Phillies, Charlie Manuel. I asked him about Roy’s character as a person. Charlie said he was all that and more. An Incredible team mate and his work ethic was like no one else. He also said that more than a player he was a hall of fame person. I reported this to Dave Mccarthy and he said that was all that we needed to hear. I will never forget that after the ceremony Roy said that being inducted into the Ted Williams Hall of Fame and receiving Ted’s signed bat was an incredible thrill. He was very quiet with the exception of how many times he had said thank you. The other thing that impressed me about Roy Halladay was that he came back to the ceremony the next two years to honor the former players that were to be inducted. Very classy act by a very classy man.
I didn’t really know Roy the person with the exception of the time spent with him at the Ted Williams Museum. I feel great pain for his beautiful young family, wife Brandy and his two young sons. To say that it reminds me of my wonderful friend Thurman Munson, who we lost in 1979 at the age of 32 because of an airplane accident, would be an understatement.
I just want to say that the Ted Williams Hall of Fame will never forget the beautiful moments that Roy Halladay gave us. We will miss you and Gene Michael so very much. Thank you Roy for the nice humble person that you were. The kids that idolized you will forever be better people because of it.
A special thank you to Ted Williams daughter, Claudia, for always keeping her dad’s dream alive.
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