PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Peabody Mayor Edward Bettencourt prepares to take a swing for the Peabody firefighter team.
By Anne Marie Tobin
PEABODY — The 5th-annual Jim Rice Memorial One-Pitch Softball Tournament took place Saturday under picture perfect weather conditions at O’Connor and Marrs fields.
Sixteen teams from several neighboring communities, including Lynn Police and Fire, Lynnfield Fire/Police, Revere Fire, Chelsea Fire and Swampscott Fire, participated in the event. Peabody fielded three teams — the Peabody Champions, a.k.a. “Jimmy’s team,” Peabody Fire and Peabody Police. Thirteen different communities were represented in the tournament along with Atlantic/Cataldo Ambulance.
The tournament is an all-day, double-elimination affair, which began at 9 a.m. and concluded approximately 12 hours later.
By the time the dust settled, Revere Fire defended its 2015 title with a win over Lynn Fire in the final. The win was the third for Revere Fire in five years, which also won the inaugural event in 2012. Lynn won back-to-back titles in 2013-2014.
“We all play together all year long in that we are working with other fire departments every day on the job, so it’s a little different now that we are adversaries,” Revere Lt. Kevin O’Hara said. “It all comes down to a bunch of egos who all want to win this because it’s such a special day.”
This year’s tournament marked the final one for tournament director, Lt. Tracy Collins, who is handing over the tournament reins to Brian L’Italien.
“It’s time, time for some new ideas and some younger bones,” said Collins, who pitched and batted leadoff for Peabody Fire. “We start preparing in May and don’t wrap things up until six months later, so there is a lot of work, but I am sure that Brian will do a great job. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped the cause – our sponsors have been tremendously generous and obviously I am so grateful to every team that plays.”
Whether you are a casual player or a serious one, the one thing every participant has in common is a shared desire to come together for a very worthy cause.
An avid softball player, Rice was a 41-year-old Peabody firefighter who died on Dec. 23, 2011 from injuries suffered while fighting a house fire on Hancock Street in Peabody.
The tournament was organized in 2012 to honor his memory and raise money for the Rice Memorial Foundation, which benefits Rice’s widow, Amy, and their three children Alyssa, Ryan and Katelyn.