Baseball teams embrace McGraw Foundation All of state’s high school programs to raise funds
Salesianum outfielder Tom Visk is among many players who will help raise funds for the McGraw Foundation
In Mike Flanagan’s view, Delaware’s high school baseball teams are like the most reliable leadoff hitters. They get on base and set the tone for a prolific inning.
But something much more important than runs is being produced.
Their hustle, Flanagan said, is raising money and awareness, which is a victory for the Tug McGraw Foundation and the thousands of people affected by brain tumors, such as the one that cost the former Phillies relief pitcher his life in 2004.
“These Delaware boys are really pioneers,” said Flanagan, a Landenberg, Pa., resident who serves on the Tug McGraw Foundation board of directors. “Delaware is the first state in the country to take part on a statewide basis. This will set the tone for a national campaign.” Last spring, Catholic Conference rivals Salesianum School and St. Mark’s High ignited a movement, inspired by the plight of Jimmy McKeon. The 9-year-old from nearby Landenberg was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July 2004. He has undergone surgery and many different types of therapy, some required to help restore basic motor functions, while maintaining an upbeat nature and positive outlook, said his father, Jim. “Every day is a blessing,” Jim McKeon said. Jimmy McKeon threw out the first pitch at a Salesianum-St. Mark’s game last year. Players from the schools passed out pledge forms to friends, neighbors, classmates and relatives, or encouraged them to visit the Tug McGraw Foundation’s Web site. Those efforts raised $15,000. The money goes toward research addressing the quality of life for brain tumor patients, as well as their families and caregivers, Flanagan said.
This year, all 45 Delaware high school baseball teams are taking part in similar fashion—an appropriate number, Flanagan pointed out, because it was on McGraw’s jersey. The program is called “Hits for Tug’s Team.” “What’s happening in Delaware is really overwhelming,” Jim McKeon said. “When somebody gets sick, you never want to find out in life how many people love you. It’s really humbling. What happened last year was just really terrific. I think some of the Sallies and St. Mark’s kids thought it was a moving experience. They were very genuine in their care and affection and in wanting to give something. “And meeting Jimmy made it personal for them. They saw what could happen, if not to them, to a sister or brother or other family member. It’s such an insidious disease.”
But the Tug McGraw Foundation isn’t the only beneficiary. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, which has received proceeds from the Blue-Gold Senior All-Star High School Baseball Game for 17 years, also is tied in. This year’s game is June 8 at Frawley Stadium, where Tug McGraw Foundation activities culminate. The Delaware High School Baseball Coaches Association hopes to create a scholarship fund through the program, as well.
The players also will ultimately benefit, Flanagan said, by realizing how satisfying and rewarding it can be “to show youths in the community can make a huge difference.”
The Piedmont baseball and softball leagues, which involve roughly 1,000 boys and girls age 5 to 18, also are operating a fundraising program to benefit the Tug McGraw Foundation. Jimmy McKeon plays in Piedmont’s coach-pitch baseball division, said league president Mike McCord, who touted the program as an “enrichment experience for kids in the league.”
And the Blue Rocks have scheduled a Tug McGraw Foundation promotion in which Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children is taking part. It will be June 2 at Frawley Stadium.
Having watched the positive way his players reacted to their involvement last year, Salesianum coach Doug Nowell was pleased to note that it became more than just a fundraising effort.
“It’s about awareness and knowing about the effects of the disease, wanting to prolong a life or having things go smoother for families,” Nowell said. “I guess I have a biased opinion,” he added, “but St. Mark’s and Sallies guys are special. We take things to heart. We didn’t have to push [the players]. They took it and ran with it. As a baseball player, you always want to ‘set the table.’ I’d like to think we and they kind of set the table for this and, hopefully, everybody else will get involved because it’s so meaningful.”
Nowell and St. Mark’s coach Matt Smith, along with Flanagan, pitched the idea of going statewide with the program to Bob Colburn, executive director of the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association.
Colburn, the St. Andrew’s coach, thought it would re-energize the group’s longtime relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware. Other coaches around the state agreed, Colburn said.
“We thought it was very important to get behind it,” Colburn said. “It’s easy to do. And we didn’t feel we were doing a good job with the Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser and wanted to do a little more.”
Joe Duffy, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters Delaware, called the new arrangement “a total enhancement” and a “win-win-win” for everyone involved. That includes the players, many of whom have spent their lives doing various fundraisers to defray costs for leagues or teams but have never been engaged in something quite like this, said Salesianum senior Tom Visk.
“It’s really the prefect fund-raiser for baseball and a great cause to rally around,” Visk said. It truly hit home, Visk added, when he and teammates spent time with Jimmy McKeon, whose love of baseball, fighting spirit and outgoing nature opened their eyes and their hearts.
“That made it personal,” Visk said. “I don’t see how something like this couldn’t work [as a statewide project]. It’s so rewarding.”
