Wade Boggs: Hall of Fame 2005

Tampa turns out in force for its hero

By DAVE SCHEIBER
Published August 1, 2005

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - When a jittery Wade Boggs gazed from the stage at the Clark Sports Center on Sunday afternoon, ready to make the biggest speech of his life, he saw a welcome sight - a sea of old friends from Tampa who had come to share in the momentous event.

They traveled nearly 1,300 miles to watch their longtime friend take his place among baseball immortals in the Hall of Fame - former Little League teammates, high school buddies, ex-coaches among them. It was a journey none would have missed for the world.

All told, more than 150 friends and relatives comprised the Boggs contingent directly in front of the stage. One Tampa pal, Jeff Cathey, a naval officer, brought a baseball signed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as a gift to Boggs.

Then there was Cathi Leonard, sister of the Boggs' former babysitter and best friend of Debbie Boggs. She made and distributed 200 signs and 100 T-shirts with Red Sox lettering reading "Hall of Fame 2005" on the front with Boggs' name and his No.26 on the back.

"We wanted to do something special for him, and you can't get him anything because he's got everything, so we just wanted him to see our pride for him," she said.

But there was the inner circle, some 30 of Boggs' closest friends he calls his "goombahs." Like T.J. Ferlita, 45, who went to Plant High with Boggs.

"We've been friends since high school and I've spent my whole life with the guy," Ferlita said. "... It's unbelievable to be here now, surreal."

Ferlita got to join Boggs in a golf invitational Saturday and attended various functions with him, making the experience even more memorable.

"I'll tell you, Wade is probably the most generous person that I know," Ferlita said. "His friends mean the world to him, and he's about as loyal a friend as you can have."

Lou Fusco, 46, echoed a similar sentiment, though he only met Boggs 10 years ago when their sons played on the same youth baseball team.

"When we got here the first day, the bus with the Hall of Famers pulled up and he gets off the bus," Fusco said. "He's walking in with Willie McCovey and Eddie Murray and I'm going, "Wow,' but he turns to me and says, "Hey, let's go get some lunch.' I say, "Not with me! Go with them!' But he said, "No, let's go,' and we did. It was amazing. He'd rather be with his friends."

Randy Martinez, 46, played baseball against Boggs in high school, but they never fell out of touch, often sharing fishing trips to the Florida Keys. Boggs and his wife are the godparents of Martinez's daughter, Christina.

"Even when he made it to the big leagues, he just never forgot about his friends," Martinez said. "We were close from the beginning and close now. To be here, it's just bringing goose bumps to me right now."

Then there were two of his former coaches in the second row. Bill Fischer pitched batting practice to Boggs in Boston.

"Well, Wade won five batting titles in Boston, so I guess the reason he invited me here is because he liked my batting practice pitching so much," Fischer said, laughing. "He looks great, like he could play right now."

Dick Berardino was Boggs' manager at Boston's Class A team in Elmira, N.Y.

"It's such a thrill because Wade is the first player I managed who's in the Hall of Fame," he said. "The thing that was impressive back then was he had a great work ethic. But at 17, I thought everything else was pretty average, as far as fielding, throwing, power, that type of thing.

"And we always laugh about this, but I never projected him for Triple A or as a fringe major-leaguer. I'd like to sit here and say I knew all along, but he deserves all the credit for what he did with his ability to get to where he is today."

In the end, Boggs' friends said he hit a home run with his speech. And Boggs talked to the media about what it meant to get such great hometown love.

"There were a lot of people from Tampa that I'd grown up with," he said, "and it was very special for them to enjoy this day with me."

[Last modified August 1, 2005, 01:18:13]