Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association Announces Lifetime Achievement Award honorees for 2013 Legends for Youth Dinner
Colorado Springs, CO – The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) is pleased to announce that Bobby Richardson and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith will be honored with the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 14th Annual Legends for Youth Dinner in New York City.
The event, which will take place on Tuesday, November 19 at the New York Marriott Marquis, aims to recognize former Major League players for their accomplishments on the diamond coupled with their off-the-field contributions to communities across the nation. Joining Smith and Richardson in attendance will be Hall of Famers, Tony Perez and Brooks Robinson, as well as Benny Ayala, Fred Cambria, Frank Catalonotto, John Doherty, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Rich Hand, Oreste Marrero, Mike Myers, Eddie Robinson, Rusty Staub, Mike Torrez, Jose Valdivielso, Fred Valentine and Carl Warwick. More attendees will be announced in coming weeks.
Smith, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, was a fifteen-time All-Star and thirteen-time Gold Glove winner over his 19-year career, and still holds the record for most assists at shortstop in a season. He also won a Silver Slugger Award in 1987, the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1989, the Branch Rickey Award in 1994, and the Roberto Clemente Award in 1995, due to his involvement in childrens charities, including the Ronald McDonald House, the Annie Malone Children’s Home, the Boys Club of St. Louis, and Kids in the Middle. Smith played for the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals, winning a World Series with the 1982 Cardinals.
The second honoree, Richardson, played for the New York Yankees for the entirety of his 12-year career. As a second baseman for the Yankees, Richardson earned three World Series championship rings in 1958, 1961, and 1962. Named the World Series MVP in 1960, he remains the only player from a losing team to ever receive that honor. Richardson was involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the American Tract Society, and South Carolina’s tuberculosis campaign. An eight-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, Richardson also won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1963 for his on and off-field contributions.
The MLBPAA allocates proceeds from the dinner to the Legends for Youth Baseball Clinic series. The Legends for Youth program is a series of free baseball clinics designed to provide children with positive role models, teach young players baseball fundamentals and promote the game of baseball. Former players, such as George Foster, Bobby Grich, Ferguson Jenkins, Phil Niekro, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Orlando Cepeda and Tom Seaver, have participated in past clinics.
The Brooks Robinson Community Service Award and the Heart and Hustle Award will be presented at the Legends for Youth Dinner.
To purchase a table or tickets for the Legends for Youth Dinner, please contact Nikki Warner, Director of Communications, at nikki@mlbpaa.com or visit www.baseballalumni.com.
*Photos courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum and Library
About The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA)
MLBPAA was founded in 1982 with the mission of promoting baseball, raising money for charity, and protecting the dignity of the game through its Alumni players. The MLBPAA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado with a membership of 6,400, of which approximately 5,300 are Alumni and current players. Alumni players find the MLBPAA to be a vital tool to become involved in charity and community philanthropy.
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