Little Fenway Tournament Statistics

• 2003 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament
• 2004 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament
• 2005 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament
• 2006 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament
• 2007 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament
• 2008 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament
• 2009 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament

Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament history:

2002:

It started as a one-day experiment on June 22, 2002. Seven teams played a round-robin event at Little Fenway for charity. It rained all day but that did not stop the players from having fun. HOTDAM defeated the Staten Island Yankees in the championship game to claim the trophy. They were led by team captain, Mario Fontana, and his six-year old nephew, Kirk Fontana. Mario set the tone for the tournament by hitting a dramatic walk-off home run to defeat The Curse 9-8 in extra innings in the first tournament game ever played at Little Fenway. $4000 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2003:

The tournament was changed to the 2nd weekend in August and has remained on that weekend ever since. Ten teams competed in beautiful weather and, in the end, HOTDAM had defended their title by beating The Curse in the championship game. Bill "Spaceman" Lee was a special guest. He pitched and hit the Men-In-Blue to a victory in their first tournament game. John Welch hit the longest home run ever hit at Little Fenway, a tape measure shot of 152 feet. Larry Riegert was named the tournament MVP by umpiring all 21 games. $10,500 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2004:

The tournament was expanded to 12 teams (three divisions of four teams) and lights were added to provide night games. A talented team from Massachusetts, the Comets Express, combined strong pitching with timely hitting and solid defense to lay claim to the Wiffle ball title. Scott Trahan led the charge in both hitting and fundraising as he was named the MVP. The Comets Express set the bar by orchestrating the most team fundraising. Garrett Burgess, their team captain, provided the inspirational leadership. Entertainment was provided by The Zambonis, a band from Bridgeport, CT, who played their hit single The Hockey Monkey. $27,000 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2005:

The tournament was expanded to 16 teams. Inspired by the Zambonis, a team of local high school athletes named the Hockey Monkeys were the underdog coming into the 2005 event. They had lost all of their games the previous year. The Hockey Monkeys were led by pitcher and team captain Scotty Willson. They quickly became the sentimental favorite. Although nobody expected the Hockey Monkeys to make the playoffs, they not only made the playoffs, they found themselves in the championship game against the defending champion Comets Express. With the crowd on their side, the Hockey Monkeys stunned the Comets Express 5-4 to win the championship. Cinderella had arrived at Little Fenway. Scotty Willson was named the MVP. $44,000 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2006:

Billy Doyle, a tall, lanky left-handed pitcher for the Boston Beef is a legend in Wiffle ball circles. Many consider him the best Wiffle ball pitcher east of the Mississippi. Others claim that he can't win the big one. From 2002-2005, Billy Doyle registered more strikeouts than any pitcher and carried the Boston Beef to multiple playoff berths. However, once he got into the playoffs he was lit up for home runs and the Beef failed to make it to the championship game. Many considered 2006 as the make-or-break year for Billy Doyle.

As it turned out, Billy Doyle erased any doubts about his ability to win the big one. He hit and pitched the Boston Beef to a decisive victory in the 5th annual Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle ball tournament. They out-performed 15 other teams. Billy Doyle was named the MVP and his teammate Andrew Sullivan helped set a high bar for team fundraising. $70,000 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2007:

This year marked the Grand Opening of Little Wrigley. The size of the tournament was increased to 24 teams. Jim Bergstrom, from Indiana, traveled the farthest to lead his team called the Banana Hammocks. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Little Wrigley before the sponsors/celebrities game. The weather was beautiful all weekend and fans enjoyed having two games going on simultaneously. The Curse, which had re-named their team to The Curse Lifted after the Red Sox broke their curse and won the World Series in 2004, were desperate to win it all this year. They were one of the original 7 teams. They were getting older and knew that if they did not win the title soon, chances were likely that time would get the better of them.

The Curse Lifted won a dramatic semi-final game at Little Wrigley on a walk-off home run, while the Comets Express rallied from a three-run deficit in the last inning of their semi-final game against the Blue Bulls at Little Fenway. Then, in the championship game at Little Fenway, captain Tom Downs led The Curse Lifted to victory. Garret Burgess was named the tournament MVP. The Terriers smashed the all-time record for team fundraising by raising $30,000. Over $151,000 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2008:

On the opening night of the tournament, the Rock of Champions was unveiled at Little Fenway. Etched in the rock are the winners of this tournament since 2002. At the bottom of The Rock was a quote from Travis Roy:

"There are times in our life when we choose our challenges and other times when the challenges simply choose us. It is what we do in the face of those challenges that defines who we are, and more importantly, who we can and will become."

No one expected the Jack Hammers to advance to the playoffs. They had only won a few games in their previous trips to Vermont. This time was different. The Jack Hammers shocked the teams in their division by cruising past all of them to earn a top seed in the playoffs. Next they proceeded to win their quarter-final and semi-final games to land in the championship game against the Nite Feeders. Captain Jack Shadduck was all smiles as he awaited the big game. Jack has been paralyzed for approximately 5 years, but that has not stopped him from leading his team from the sidelines. He successfully motivated his team to play their best and never give up. Despite being behind in the sixth inning, the Jack Hammers rallied on a three-run home run to claim the championship. The team mobbed Jack on the diamond. Moments later they took their team photo with Travis next to the Rock of Champions. Jack Shadduck was named the MVP. Over $185,000 was raised for the Travis Roy Foundation.

2009:

Twenty four teams descended on Little Fenway and Little Wrigley in August, 2009, for the 8th annual Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle ball tournament. Ben & Jerry threw out the first pitch to catcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee. Many other special guests attended the Opening Game including Capt. Richard Phillips, Lt. Governor Brian Dubie, Ashley Wheeler, Taylor Coppenrath, and Mike Gilligan. The defending champion, Jack Hammers, were knocked out of the tournament in a thrilling overtime game with The Crusaders. An exciting new lottery system, based on amount of fundraising, was used to fill the 8th playoff spot and that was won by the Vermont Turfmonsters, who upset Hotdam to reach the final four.

The finals pitted Joe Tirone and his Staten Island Yankees against tournamnet MVP Art Page and his Boston Beef. The Yankees had not reached the finals since the opening year in 2002. The Beef won the tournament in 2006. The Beef jumped out to a big lead thanks in part to a home run that barely eluded Eric Long in right field. The Yankees fought back but, in the end, their rally fell short and the Beef became the 2nd two-time winner of the Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle ball tournament. The Boston Beef were also the leading undraising team at over $43,000. Chris Sleeper was the individual fundraising champion raising over $14,000. The 1st Tommy Long Sportsmanship award was won by Tom Downs, a unanimous selection by the tournament committee. A big thanks to all sponsors, donors, players, volunteers, and TRF supporters. Over $231,000 was raised for the event bringing the 8 year total to over $720,000.