WOOSOX PRESERVE PAWTUCKET TRADITION BY SENDING
TWO KIDS FROM ITS BOYS & GIRLS CLUB TO THE WORLD SERIES
2022 marks 72nd anniversary of tradition established in 1950
by longtime American League Umpire Hank Soar
WORCESTER, MA – Continuing a Rhode Island tradition that dates back 72 years, the WooSox Foundation, in conjunction with the Worcester Red Sox, will send a pair of youngsters from the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket on an all-expense-paid trip to see Games 1 and 2 of the 2022 World Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX, this Friday and Saturday night.
Nallah Goss, 10, and Nolan Myers, 9, will attend the opening games of the World Series with their chaperones and return to Rhode Island on Sunday.
“These kids are going to remember this experience for the rest of their lives,” said Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket CEO, Jim Hoyt. “We’re grateful that the Worcester Red Sox are continuing this tradition that goes back decades, and that they haven’t forgotten about our kids in Pawtucket. It’s one of our favorite traditions.”
“We’ve had the pleasure of carrying on this amazing tradition for over three decades during my time in Pawtucket – first with the PawSox Foundation and now the WooSox Foundation,” said WooSox Vice Chairman Mike Tamburro, the longtime president of the PawSox. “Once again this year we are pleased to continue this custom in Worcester and give these Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club families a proper send-off from our new home at Polar Park.”
The two children were randomly chosen during a Boys & Girls Club outing at Polar Park this season. This year’s trip marks the 32nd year that the franchise has sent two children from the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket accompanied by adult chaperones to baseball’s Fall Classic.
It all began in 1950 when the New York Football Giants’ longtime running back, Hank Soar, became an American League baseball umpire. Soar, who grew up in Pawtucket and graduated from what is now Tolman High School, had discovered umpiring by Central Mass native Connie Mack, the legendary owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics. After Soar established the annual ritual of providing tickets to a pair of children, the City of Pawtucket assumed the responsibility before passing the torch to the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1990. After completing 50 years in Rhode Island in 2020, the club is sending the students this year for the second time as the Worcester Red Sox.
“This long standing tradition has meant so much to our children,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “We thank the WooSox for continuing to provide opportunities for youth in Pawtucket.”