2009 Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament

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.