The George "Sneaker" McDonald Monument Dedication ceremony took place on April 15, 2024, in Fall River, Massachusetts, celebrating George "Sneaker" McDonald and his wife Evelyn McDonald. The event, which was two and a half years in the making, honored their more than 60 years of service to the community, particularly their dedication to the Junior Twilight League. The ceremony began with an opening prayer by Father Madic, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by John Lynch, and the National Anthem sung by Michael D'Almea. John Lynch, the event organizer, acknowledged numerous individuals and organizations for their support, including Mayor Paul Coogan, state delegation members Senator Michael Rodricks, Representative Alan Sylvia, and Representative Paul Schmidt, as well as city department heads and major contributors like Axis Bat (Lou Leo), Thomas and Beverly Chase, Dunny's, Fall River Police Relief Association, Graphics Plus Printing (Roger Lelle), Jim and Janice Carum, Michael and Jenna McKenry, Tim and Jen Melow, VFW Post 250, Jeff Mllck, and Lou and Beth Godlo. Mayor Coogan, Michael Canell (a close friend and umpire), and Jeff Mllck (Sneaker's nephew) delivered speeches, highlighting Sneaker's 30 years as a police officer (winning Officer of the Year in 1986) and his and Evelyn's tireless efforts in youth baseball. The monument, featuring a picture of Sneaker and Evelyn, was then unveiled. The ceremony concluded with Michael D'Almea leading the attendees in singing "God Bless America."
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well hello everyone it's good to see everyone it's been two and a half years in the making but I think we waited for the perfect day and I'm guessing that sneaker might have had something to do with it I'm just guessing thank you all for showing up at this time we have our anag Gods posted I would like to call up father madic give the opening prayer
0:41please my friends let us pray almighty God we praise you and thank you for all of your gifts and blessings today as we come together family members and Friends of George sneer MacDonald and his beautiful wife we praise you and thank you for the gift that they have contributed to our community in here in Fall River for so many years Evelyn and sneaker were the All-American couple always seeking to
1:15serve others uh to make life better for others especially young people so today Lord we we thank you for their service for their example for the love they shared with so many in their lives and we hope and pray pray that our gathering today honoring them once again will be an inspiration for all of us to work with young people to help them grow and come to know and understand all the
1:41blessings that can be theirs in this life today we ask you to hold sneaker and Evelyn in the palm of your hand we ask that you inspire people in this day and age especially here in our city of Fall River to be of service to young people to be an example to them to help them learn and grow to live in the good and just way so bless all of us who have
2:07come here to celebrate and in a special way we ask you to continue to hold snea and Evelyn in the palm of your hand amen amen thank you Father at this time I will lead everyone in the plead uh Pledge of Allegiance if we can face the honor God I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and
2:45justice for all at this time I'd like to call up Michael D almea for our national anthem
3:07oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the Twilight last gleaming who broad stripes and bright stars through the per F all the rain parts we watch were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air G proof through the night that a flag was still there oh say do that star spangled B with or the land of the free and the home of the
4:51brave if I had a voice like that I wouldn't have to crawl into fire buildings for 36 years great job my great job at this time I'd like to introduce some very very important people hopefully I won't forget anybody because it's quite the crowd we have here but I try to write down people's names as I saw them but this is impressive very impressive the first person I'd like to acknowledge is his honor the mayor Paul
5:25kougan there may has been a a support of this since day one when I first had an idea about it I went to him and he told me he would give me money and that's big from him our state delegation who I am a big fan of because they're big representatives of this great city of Fall River starting with Senator Michael Rodricks we have representative Alan Sylvia representative Paul Schmidt is there anybody here
6:17representing Carol
6:26Fiola and we have a special guest is something that is going to bring a little more sunshine to this ceremony and that is Miss fo River Lillian jezal and her manager Joanne ker marks thank you very much I'd also like to acknowledge the fire chief Jeff bacon and the F uh police chief Mr gin who also helped out meny with this and I I have a lot of thanks to go
7:09around so bear with me because two and a half years of this ordeal took a lot of people to pull this off and the first person I would like to thank is Nancy Smith director of the park Department Nancy when I first came to her she was the very first and proposed what I had in mind she says absolutely she says I loved sneak up he was such a good friend to
7:42me that anything you want John I'll help you do and through this whole thing Nancy's been a great supporter I want to thank her parkboard also because could have been a hindrance but they weren't they were big supporters I would like to thank ny's Cruz who came out here and get things ready I mean look at this feel I feel like going out there with my glove if I had it with
8:15me thank God those days are over right Kell I want to thank the depart meia Community maintenance and the crews also they took care of the park I'd like to thank the police the fire and the Vietnam vet onard for showing up here let's give them a big round of applause and as you well know after this ceremony there's going to be a very important game on that field out
8:48there and I would like to thank the dery and Diamond athletic departments and both baseball teams for putting this on for us and I hope therey notices I'm sporting my colors no offense to Diamond we want to thank the diamond grounds crew who came out here small and got the bases ready and the field primed a little bit better thank them I don't know if Bob broer is here if Bob broer is here you're going to
9:28notice when we unveil this Monument there's a picture of sneaker and Evelyn and Bob broer had the the few pictures that we could get of sneaker so we owe him that that the beautiful picture on this monent is because Bob Brer had Sav pictures of sneaker and Evelyn so Bob are you here
9:59Ryan Hogan here from Warren Monument he's not here but Ryan monent has been working on his project for two and a half years quite the ordeal but I think that when you see this Monument unveiled you're going to say all good things are worth waiting for because I was surprised at how well it came out it came out amazing now for you people that have your programs if you go
10:34to the major contributors I like to run down the line and if you're here please raise your hand be acknowledged axis bat Lou Leo is Lou here Lou also donated two bats to the diamond team and the dery team thank you Thomas and Beverly Chase I know Tommy's not here because he had the Umpire game down the cape is Beverly here Bob Curran hand for Bob Curran you here Bob and a friend of mine from
11:32dunnies dunny's donated the hall where we had the big fundraiser they prepared all the food for us they helped out in so many ways so it's my pleasure to thank the dunny's crew Jerry Donovan Amanda and Chris
11:57dunan everybody knows J that sneaker was a police officer and a damn good one and he was well supported by the for police relief Association so we have to thank them for their donations all their help and all their support so thank you the next person if you look at these nice programs we owe it all to him all the posters all the tickets all the support and that's Roger lelle from Graphics plus printing
12:42Roger we have Jim and Janice
12:53carum Michael and Jenna McKenry Tim and Jen melow we have VFW Post 250 and Jeff mlck sneak his nephew and last but not least somebody who's always been a big support of Youth baseball youth ining in Fall River a longtime friend of mine I have a great nickname for him I call him the Rattler but he's the nicest guy and one of the most generous people that I know and that would be Lou godlo and
13:53Beth gono
14:01thank you L and last but not least you should all give yourselves a hand of Applause because without all of you even major contributors could not have given us enough money to pull this off so give yourselves a hand sneaker would be proud
14:34I'm going to say very few words about sneaker because there are so many people that knew him better and will be speaking later on and be more eloquent all I will say is that sneaker and Evelyn with the unassuming humble people they did it not with an expectation to be seen or heard acknowledged so I always wonder how sneaker would feel about this if he was still alive and I came to the
15:09conclusion that sneaker would be proud of it and he would be proud of it certain reasons number one it brought all you here his friends his former ball players umpires coaches all together on this great day and that would make make him happy the other thing that would make him happy and I think when this is unveiled and you see it I think that he would think like me that maybe someday somebody strolling through this
15:46park will come across this monument and be inspired by it and say you know what I think that I can start us a a baseball league here I can resurrect a junior Twilight league and I think that would be very important to sneaker that someday there's another League here because that's what we need so many people talk about bad for River it's not bad at all but we need to
16:19provide more we grew up in a good ERA we had people like sneak and McDonald ran this league with Evelyn and we should be thanking them for 60 plus years and last but not least I think sneaker would be proud when he sees these great baseball teams young good ball players out on his Field playing the game that he loved and I think that's most important of all so let's give everybody a hand
17:02at this time I'd like to call up his honor mayor Paul Coogan for one of his famous short speeches I knew this was going to be a success when we had that fundraiser and we were all worried about the committee are we're going to raise enough money but when the mayor himself came up to me and he says I broke into my first Community money to buy two tickets I says we're good thank you
17:38Mr I just thank God John Lynch retired I do want to say a few things about sneaker though let let's face it he was Fall River through and through from his 30 years on the police department and in 86 winning the officer of the year award to think of this 61 years running the junior Twilight League that's over six decades he and his wife committed to making sure kids had a
18:02place to go someone that cared about them and they were able to participate in a port uh a sport that taught them the life skills they'll need for the rest of their lives um this is a fitting tribute to this gentleman being out here where he loved it so much it's going to it's going to last for a very long time and I want to thank Chief Lynch and the entire committee that went out of their
18:21ways to put this together it's a special place to a special man and thank you everybody for coming out today thank you thank God I retired because uh I'm already starting to slip a little because he just reminded me the most important people here besides yourselves I forgot to mention which is the sneaker McDonald and Evelyn McDonald committee whose tireless efforts hours and hours of work
18:56designing this picking a SP for it running fundraises and everything so I have to acknowledge them cuz in all honesty nothing would have happened without them first of all councilwoman Linda Pera Michael Heron so Michael pushed me along when I first had an idea about about it was just an idea and I was sitting down with him having a beer and he says that's a great idea and then we started brainstorming and he
19:38pushed me along so thank you Michael you set things in motion and here we are today unfortunately Chuck t-bo is laid up he hurt his back he's he can't even walk but Chuck also was a great driving force behind this he was supposed to speak we're going to try and bring him on uh FaceTime and maybe you'll be able to hear him but let's give a hand for Chuck also we have Donnie roachford on a disa
20:14list over there Donnie Donnie and I played together many years for sneaker Columbus little league and he's still a good ball player now he's into this thing called uh what is it pickle ball and my good friend many years on the fire department with great organizer a great guy with great ideas always a common influence you know when I lose my head Tommy's always there to Cal it down Tommy Chippendale
21:03the next speaker was very close to sneaking McDonald very close with a junior Twilight League Michael canell Michael come on Michael thank you for allowing me the honor to speak for a few moments today my name is Michael canel although sneaker when I was 13 referred to me as the tie man and for my many years of umpiring with a tie so I knew I had to put one on for him today on Friday February 21st
21:442020 I had a scheduled day off from work just planning to do some errands around the house and then on the drive home after picking up my coffee I experienced a feeling that I can't really describe and one that I'll always trust again if if it happens sneaker was suddenly on my mind and I had the strong feeling I needed to go see him and I don't know why so I drove over to Clifton in
22:10Somerset and I went up to his room and when I saw him my heart dropped I turned and I asked the nurse how much longer he had and she told me not long just minutes and then she exited the room I held his hand and I let let him know I was there and there was a small flicker of movement in his eye and I sat down next to
22:35him when the nurse came back in the room only a few minutes later she checked him and he was gone I had never been with someone at the moment they left this life before and I was devastated to have lost my friend of almost 25 years that day Fall River lost their Hometown hero from 1997 and I'm humbled that I had the honor of being by the side of such a great man as
23:03he took his final breath sneaker and Evelyn left this world in a better place having touched so many lives and this Memorial is a testament to that everywhere he went he filled the world with kindness one Mint or candy at a time dropping them off for tellers at nut Dame Credit Union or to my co-workers that he had never met when he dropped off something for me he sent birthday cards sympathy cards
23:31encouragement cards and thank you cards to everyone a mix of handwritten and typed with this classic typewriter once you met sneaker and Evelyn once they were your friends for life even if you didn't realize it at the time I served as sneaker's right-hand man at Junior Twilight League banquet for about 15 years and before every banquet sneaker provided me with an advanced copy of his speaking notes that
23:58he typed on his typewriter and it seemed like every year there were more and more pages I remember the year sneaker introduced the sportsmanship and ability trophy in honor of his late wife who had also served as the longtime League Treasurer and uniform swer who had just passed he watched all season long amongst the talent out on the field to find someone that reminded him of his caring wife's heart serving as the
24:26league treasur it was one of the trophies he offered and asked me to present right after you heard the crack in his voice every time he said his wife's name it wasn't until I was a little older and going through the boxes in my basement that I finally realized that sneakers Banquets of 20 30 and at the end 40 pages were more than just recognizing talent and champions from the recent baseball season his entire
24:51speech was dedicated to remembering individuals who passed away and keeping their memory alive he told their story one trophy at a time he always arranged to make sure a family or friend could present that trophy too if that was possible his script kept getting longer because he kept on losing so many friends who had given so much to the league and the community and there were more people he
25:18wanted remember and today we are here with this beautiful Monument to ensure that sneaker and Evelyn's memory are forever kept alive here at the field that he dedicated his life to In The Same Spirit that he did at the banquet each year for so many others I know that sneaker is out there today rake in hand getting the field ready for the game today there have been movies made About
25:47Angels in the Outfield but they have nothing like we have in Fall River who will forever have angels in Lafayette Park here at the George sneaker McDonald and Evelyn McDonald baseball diamond thank
26:14you our next speaker actually represents sneaker's family his nephew Jeff mlck
26:29on behalf of sneakers family I want to thank everyone for I want to thank everyone for coming out today and I want to thank the committee John and and the entire committee for for the concept for all the work that got put into this I think you know you mentioned my uncle was a very humble man and um uh so he wouldn't he would be bashful about the attention but I know that this is something that
26:51uh he would really uh appreciate and and would it's a tremendous honor and what a worthy uh and and well-deserved recognition for my uncle and his 60 years of dedication to this city um and to the Youth of this city uh and to the to the lives he touched it truly was an extraordinary life for those of you that knew him a Wonderful Life it it was about service it was about contributions
27:14to others uh he grew up in this city at a time when everyone had a nickname he had many lifelong friends here he served his country in Korea came back and served his his City uh and served served the people of this city through 30 years in the police force and and uh I think Mr uh Chief Lynch mentioned this you know a lot of awards and recognition for his police work and for his detail
27:36downtown he knew everybody uh and his life was built around service to others and and including this league he was a baseball man uh he played baseball in the sand lots and Fall River growing up um he had a try out with the a famous tryy out with the Red Sox and and uh got assigned to a minor league team and for those of you that heard the story he dislocated his shoulder playing football
27:56on this field uh and and never and and then dedicated his life to uh helping others through baseball in this league One of a Kind greatest Generation uh service through served his country served his City and served the youth in the city of Fall River and he did everything for this league those of you that knew him first one here and and a great speech Mike canel as well you know
28:18he he raak the field he was 88 years old raking the field in the morning putting the lines down for the game he was the first one he put the lights on he shut him off at the end of the night uh he did everything he he was 88 years old he was an Umpire he couldn't see they would you would hear you would hear him say sneaker what are you blind and he would
28:34say you know only in one eye my other eyes good so he he did everything he could for as long as he and it kept him going when my my aunt Evelyn died uh it also kept him going to have that purpose uh and and I think that's one of that's his legacy the contribution the service the purpose through service to others and he was the light in everyone's day a
28:53positive story for everyone a joke for everyone kind words for everyone um um and just kind of thoughtful that you know he was not a rich man uh but uh in the life that he lived and the wonderful life that he had the extraordinary life that he had he was he was the richest man in town so I want to thank everyone again for for this and for the time and
29:13effort put into it and and I I guess I'll turn it back over uh to the team but thank you
29:49W bro could you come up please
30:06they ask for a little help I volunteer
30:28it'll go right over it'll go right over all right
30:45ready stand people pictures Bobby there so people take pictures of
31:03I encourage everyone to come up after the ceremony take pictures and also look at the back side of this Monument because that's the side that has sneaker and Evelyn picture on it
31:22also at this time I want to ask Michael D Alia to come up he's going to lead us in God Bless America just for a moment in your minds think of one of the greatest sports moment for you in history maybe it was when Jim Craig and his Olympic team won that that gold medal maybe it was even when Bucky Dent hit that home run I'm not quite sure but for me especially today on
31:57Marathon Monday and being a singer and singing the National Anthem and the song means so much to me and those that fought for my freedom that I can express whatever I want to do in my life those who laid down their lies people like sneaker who spent and his wife 60 years 60 years what an amazing feat for me it was when after the Marathon bombing when Renee Rancor stepped back and let that whole stadium
32:29sing the national anthem that was my greatest moment in sports for me and I think that would be such a great touch if we all sing as Chief said I'm just going to lead you in God Bless America and let our voices get raised up to the heavens so sneaker and Evelyn and all those who have given so much to this city can hear us God bless America that I love stand beside her and guide her
33:07through the night with the light from above from the mountain to the prair to the ocean white with God bless America my home sweet home God bless America my home sweet home