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Tommy Lasorda wins 2006 Branch Rickey award

Contributed by: Jennifer Fitzpatrick on 5/18/2006

To mark the 15th anniversary of the Branch Rickey Award, the Rotary Club of Denver announced that a first-ever Lifetime Community Service Achievement Award will be presented to Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Announced at Coors Field prior to Monday's Dodgers-Rockies game, Lasorda will receive the 2006 Branch Rickey Award during a banquet on Saturday, November 11 at the Marriott City Center Hotel.

Lasorda will be inducted as the 15th member of the Baseball Humanitarians Hall of Fame.

Created in 1991 by the Rotary Club of Denver, the Branch Rickey Award honors individuals in baseball who contribute unselfishly to their communities and who are strong role models for young people. All of the winners personify Rotary International's motto, "Service Above Self."

Lasorda joined the Dodgers in 1949. Like Branch Rickey, he served as manager the Dodgers. In his 20 seasons as manager, Lasorda's teams won two World Championships, four National League pennants and eight division titles. In 2000, he managed the Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympic Baseball team.

Regarded by many as baseball's most popular ambassador, Lasorda is in his 57th year with the Dodger organization. He currently serves as the Dodger's senior vice president and special advisor to the chairman. Besides scouting, evaluating and teaching minor league players, Lasorda spreads baseball goodwill to thousands through more than 100 speeches and appearances each year. Some of his recent appearances include: Columbus Day Parade in New York to benefit the police department, grand marshal of the Yorba Linda, CA Parade, Nevada Cancer Center "Rock for a Cure" dinner, commencement address at the University of Hawaii (earning his sixth honorary doctorate degree), emcee of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation annual gala, emcee of a Candlelight Dinner at the 55th Presidential Inauguration, Reviving Baseball in the Inner-cities (RBI) annual dinner, Air Force Academy motivational speeches and many more.

His community service endeavors are legendary, raising millions of dollars for local and national charities. During last year's Nevada Cancer Institute event, Lasorda auctioned off a dinner and Dodger game with him. It sold for $180,000. Last November, the Tom Lasorda Heart Institute opened at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California.

In 1997, Lasorda was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in his first year of eligibility.

The Rotary Club of Denver does not envision bestowing this special Lifetime Community Service Achievement Award again for another 10 years.

The annual Branch Rickey Award event is presented by the Rotary Club of Denver to benefit Denver Kids, Inc., a counseling and mentoring program for at-risk students in Denver Public Schools. Last year, 91 percent of the seniors in Denver Kids graduated from high school vs. less than 65 percent for all DPS seniors.

Known to millions as "Mr. Baseball," the late Branch Rickey is credited with breaking the color barrier in the Major Leagues in 1945 by signing Jackie Robinson, the first modern day African-American player.

Rickey also helped develop the farm system in baseball and stimulated the sport's expansion into more cities. Always an advocate for underprivileged children, he spearheaded the development of the famous "Knot Hole Gang," to allow kids to attend big league games.

Previous recipients of the Branch Rickey Award and members of the Baseball Humanitarians Hall of Fame include: Dave Winfield, Toronto Blue Jays; Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins; Ozzie Smith, St. Louis Cardinals; Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres; Brett Butler, Los Angeles Dodgers; Craig Biggio, Houston Astros; Paul Molitor, Minnesota Twins; Al Leiter, New York Mets; Todd Stottlemyre, Arizona Diamondbacks; Curt Schilling, Arizona Diamondbacks; Bobby Valentine, New York Mets; Roland Hemond, Chicago White Sox; Jamie Moyer of the Seattle Mariners; and last year's winner, Luis Gonzalez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Winfield, Puckett, Smith and Molitor, as well as Branch Rickey, have also been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Branch Rickey Award is a 24-inch bronze sculpture, The Player, created by internationally prominent sculptor George Lundeen. A 13-foot tall bronze sculpture of The Player was dedicated in front of Coors Field at 20th and Blake on June 2, 2005 in celebration of Rotary International's Centennial Year.

For more information about the Branch Rickey Award, visit www.branchrickeyaward.org.


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Jennifer Fitzpatrick has posted 3 stories and 0 comments since joining on 5/4/2006. Jennifer Fitzpatrick 's average story rating is 0.
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