Memorial Plaque Unveiled at Pittsfield's Buddy Pellerin Field
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A local baseball legend is now immortalized at Clapp Park with a plaque marking his memorial field.
Family, friends, and trainees of George "Buddy" Pellerin gathered at the West Housatonic Street ballfield on Saturday for the unveiling.
Parks Commissioner and former player Cliff Nilan said there wasn't a day when Pellerin didn't give coaching a thought. He joked that if they passed kids playing baseball on the side of the road, the late coach would drop everything and teach them how to throw.
"He was always thinking about coaching," Nilan said. "Whether it was coming up with a better batting technique or how to make a player hit better, throw better. He was constantly coaching."
Pellerin was head coach of the Pittsfield High baseball team for 19 years, leading the team to the state title in 1966 and taking the team to the 1974 title game. He also served as athletic director and head softball coach during his time at PHS.
He handed over the reins of the baseball team in 1982 but remained active in the sport. He went on to coach softball at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the former St. Joseph's High as well as for the city's Babe Ruth League all-star team. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1988.
About seven years ago, the baseball field at Clapp Park was renamed Buddy Pellerin Field after he passed away at the age of 77.
This was his wife Anne Pellerin's first time seeing the plaque.
"It's so exciting," she said.
His grandson Ryan Robbins said it is a very well-deserved tribute to him and that the family is happy future generations will be able to see it. His mother, Renee Robbins, is glad that the younger athletes will come to the park and hear stories about her father.
The plaque is just behind home plate on the backstop behind the walking track and was a collaborative effort between many who understood Pellerin's impact.
The park has seen major improvements after the city partnered with the Rotary Club and the Buddy Pellerin Field Committee on a state grant.
Nilan and other members of the 1966 champion team attended the unveiling. Former players Tom Grieve, drafted by the Texas Rangers, and Paul Pierce, drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and former team manager Dan Ford spoke about Pellerin with gratitude and respect.
"What we're doing here today after naming the field after Coach Pellerin, we've got a story which he deserves," Pierce said. "He did a lot for all of us."
Ford said Pellerin was an excellent coach but an even better human being.
"One thing that sticks out in my mind was his commitment to excellence," he said. "He inspired so many of us to be the best we could be."
Though Ford was a team manager, he said Pellerin treated him the same way as the guys who were playing and that made him feel like an important team member.
He added that the coach made him the best manager that he could be in the same way that he inspired players to be the best they could be and that he was respected by all.
Grieve said every moment played for Pellerin was exciting because you were always on your toes, citing a time when he had players catch ground balls on a slick gym floor during tryouts.
"He explained to us afterward that he had to find out as quick as he could which kids were serious about trying out for the team and I guess he was able to do that," he said.
"No one in my life ever taught me more about baseball than Buddy Pellerin. No one every inspired me, motivated me, pushed me more than he did and I don't think I ever had a coach or a manager who I ever tried harder to please than Buddy."
He said the memorial is also the players' tribute to him and generations can pass by, read the inscription, and learn about a great man who inspired them, made them better players, made them honorable young men, and meant so much in their lives.
Grieve told Pellerin's family that he can only imagine what Buddy meant to them as a husband, a father, and a grandfather.
Pellerin was also the founder of the Rip City Training Center in Pittsfield, which had games scheduled for that day and team members gathered at the unveiling to honor him.
Nilan thanked the work of the Pittsfield Parks Department and Building Maintenance Department for supplying the rock for the plaque and mounting it, Jones Trophies for the plaque, the Pellerin family, and the 1966 state championship team for its effort.
Tags: ballfield, memorial, unveiling,
