Friends of Baseball holds 31st annual Breakfast of Champions
Photo courtesy of Padres Public
Friends of Baseball holds 31st annual Breakfast of Champions
By Adam Ide
The Friends of
Baseball held their 31st annual Breakfast of Champions Saturday at
Island Grove Regional Park.
Speakers included
former Colorado Rockies third baseman Vinny Castilla and former Denver Broncos
wide receiver Mark Jackson.
The event helps
raise money for youth baseball in Greeley, with sports memorabilia being
auctioned and raffled off throughout the morning.
The event was
emceed by former Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh.
University of
Northern Colorado baseball coach Carl Iwasaki spoke at the event, and UNC
baseball players helped out, selling raffle tickets and walking auction items
around the room.
Jackson followed
Iwasaki, and spoke about the time he almost quit football.
One day in 1986,
after he had been drafted by the Broncos in the sixth round, the team went to
watch film after a long day of practice.
“I waited for
everybody to leave, tip-toed down the back stairwell and started walking toward
my car,” Jackson said. “I was done with football. It was just too much.”
Jackson was
holding back tears as he was telling the story.
Broncos employee
Bill Angel stopped Jackson and convinced him to continue playing football,
saying how it was an honor to play for the Denver Broncos.
Jackson decided to
continue playing football, and the rest is history.
“Destiny is not a
matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice,” Jackson said.
Friends of
Baseball then honored three people with their annual awards, including the Bill
Dressor, Gary Harper and Bennett Anderson awards.
The Bill Dressor
award is in recognition of long time commitment, service and dedication to
youth baseball.
The Gary Harper
award is given to the player who exemplifies exceptional spirit, enthusiasm and
love for the game.
The Bennett
Anderson award is in recognition of success on the field and for outstanding
service to one’s baseball program.
The first half of
the live auction followed, highlighted by an autographed Buck O’Neil Negro
Leagues shirt. O’Neil was the featured speaker in 2003 and 2005.
Up next was
Castilla, who took questions from the audience. He was asked who he looked up
to as a kid in Mexico.
“Fernando
Valenzuela inspired me a lot,” Castilla said. Valenzuela was a major league
pitcher for 17 years, mainly for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He was asked if he
had any advice for youth baseball players.
“If you want to be
a major league player, you have to work hard and listen to your coaches,”
Castilla said. “In order to be a pro athlete, you can never be satisfied. You
have to keep working hard.”
The event
concluded with the grand prize, a spring training trip for four to Talking
Stick, Arizona, to watch the Rockies.
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