Ed Lucas
Encyclopedia
Edward Lucas is a blind sports writer, broadcaster and motivational speaker.
As a reporter for the New York Mets
and the New York Yankees
, Lucas has covered the playoffs, the World Series and the All Star games. He has interviewed hundred of sports figures and celebrities over his fifty-five-year career. Ed has worked as a syndicated radio personality and columnist and has been inducted into the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. In 2008 Seton Hall University
with the support of WCBS 880 AM — the Yankees Radio Network created Strikeouts for Scholarships, a scholarship program for disabled students in honor of Ed Lucas.
defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League Pennant, Ed Lucas, a boy of twelve, went out to play baseball with his friends. He was struck in face by a line drive and subsequently lost his sight. Depressed and scared about his future as a blind person, Ed pictured himself as a helpless soul standing on the corner with a cup and a cane selling pencils. His mother did two things that changed his life. First, she enrolled him in Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind, a revolutionary institute run by disciplinarian nuns who believed that blind people could do anything they set out to do if they could learn to be independent and have self confidence. A “no cup or cane” mentality was instilled.
At the same time, his mother wrote letters to Leo Durocher
, the manager of the NY Giants, and to Bobby Thomson
, the home run hero, explaining what had happened to Ed, and how his love of baseball was the only thing lifting his spirits. Durocher invited Ed to be his guest at the Polo Grounds
for the 1952 season. Yankees star Phil Rizzuto
, who worked at a New Jersey clothing shop in the off season, heard about Ed’s story, and also befriended him. This friendship lasted a lifetime, until Phil Rizzuto's death in 2007.
After graduating from Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind, Ed attended the New York Institute for the Blind
where he organized a baseball club called the “Diamond Dusters”. Major League stars such as Jackie Robinson
and Lindy McDaniel
visited the school to talk baseball and to read the sports pages to the students.
Ed Lucas enrolled in Seton Hall University
, earning a degree in communications in 1962. He was one of the first blind students in the country to do so. While at Seton Hall Ed started writing about baseball. He also attended games in New York, lugging a reel-to-reel tape recorder to interview players. In college, he had his own radio show, “Around the Bases With Ed Lucas.”
- were born. In 1972, his wife walked out on the marriage, leaving him alone with two little boys to raise. Luckily, Ed had a loving and supportive family who pitched in and helped him with the housekeeping and child rearing duties. At the same time, the New York Yankees
were starting to regain prominence, and his workload became heavier. Ed still managed to balance both lives, while buying a larger house for his boys, his mother and sister.
In September 1979, after seven years, Ed’s ex-wife came back and announced that she was seeking full and complete custody of the boys. Ed went to court to and fought a long custody battle, as the case made its way up to the New Jersey Supreme Court
. Witness after witness, friends and famous people alike, came forward to testify that he had done a good job raising his sons alone for seven years.
On September 25, 1980, history was made when Ed Lucas was awarded full and complete custody of his children. No male in New Jersey had ever won full custody from a female, and no disabled person in the United States had ever won full custody from a non-disabled spouse. Newspapers all over the globe carried his story as an example of the ways disabled people can achieve great things in society.
Ed has had the opportunity to interview many athletes and sports figures including Joe Dimaggio
, Mickey Mantle
, Ron Guidry
, Lindy McDaniel
, Dave Righetti
, Monte Irvin
, Alvin Dark
, Bobby Thomson
, Willie Mays
, Tommy Lasorda
, Jorge Posada
, Frank Robinson
, Orel Hershiser
, Thurman Munson
, Darryl Strawberry
, Willie Randolph
, Ray Negron among many others. Ed has also interviewed celebrities and politicians including Rudy Giuliani
, President Bill Clinton
, Gov. Brendan Byrne
, Robin Williams
, Ron Howard
, Penny Marshall
, and Gov. Jon Corzine
.
He has had articles published in a wide range of newspapers and magazines and his commentary and interviews have been broadcast on syndicated radio. More recently his interviews have also been featured on YouTube.
Ed Lucas has also worked in the insurance industry. In 1985, Ed became the first layperson to be appointed to the board of St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, where he worked tirelessly to raise funds for the completion of a state of the art 21st century facility. Together with his longtime friend Phil Rizzuto
, Ed has helped to raise millions of dollars towards that cause, thanks largely in part to their annual celebrity golf tournament. In recent years Ed has served as director of development and public education for Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind.
to Allison Pfeifle, his florist, who was also legally blind. After a long courtship, Ed married Allison at home plate in Yankee Stadium
on March 10, 2006. This was the first time that anyone was allowed to be married in that hallowed spot, and the wedding made news all over the globe and was featured in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/18NJCol.html?_r=1&ex=1175140800&en=16a1c76f6d2e2a58&ei=5070&oref=slogin, the Today Show http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12271170/from/RSS, the Yes Network and MSNBC. The coverage of the wedding by the YES Network
was nominated for an Emmy Award
. Director Penny Marshall
was a guest at the wedding, and has expressed an interest in bringing Ed’s life story to the silver screen. Ed's sons and their families were in attendance. Ed’s two sons now have families of their own, and he is blessed with three grandchildren.
and Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Doby
. In 2001, Ed was honored to be chosen, along with his sons, as one of the inspirational people to carry the Olympic flame through the streets of New York City on its way to the 2002 Winter Olympics
.
The Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center in conjunction at Seton Hall University
sponsored an exhibit of photographs and memorabilia from Ed's career in the Walsh Library Arcade from August to November 2007.http://www.shupirates.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12600&ATCLID=1212171
Seton Hall University
with the support of WCBS 880 AM — the Yankees Radio Network created Strikeouts for Scholarships, a scholarship program for disabled students in honor of Ed Lucas.
In 2008-2009, Lucas won an Emmy Award for his work with YESNetwork.com. Ed has a show with the network's website, called the Ed Lucas Show in which he discusses stories of adversity with different players and celebrities.
On July 7, 2009, Ed Lucas was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame
, along with longtime Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley
, broadcaster Vin Scully
, sluggers Steve Garvey
and Paul O'Neill, and umpire Jim Joyce
. Also in attendance will be Eddie's favorite nephew Eamon Nally. Eamon along with Eddie works to raise money for St. Joe's School for the Blind every year. Eamon a Police Officer with the Jersey City Police Department's "Gang Unit" often jokes with Eddie saying that he (Eamon) will be his personal security detail as he keeps growing in popularity.
As a reporter for the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
and the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, Lucas has covered the playoffs, the World Series and the All Star games. He has interviewed hundred of sports figures and celebrities over his fifty-five-year career. Ed has worked as a syndicated radio personality and columnist and has been inducted into the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. In 2008 Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
with the support of WCBS 880 AM — the Yankees Radio Network created Strikeouts for Scholarships, a scholarship program for disabled students in honor of Ed Lucas.
Early years and education
On October 3, 1951, after watching the New York GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League Pennant, Ed Lucas, a boy of twelve, went out to play baseball with his friends. He was struck in face by a line drive and subsequently lost his sight. Depressed and scared about his future as a blind person, Ed pictured himself as a helpless soul standing on the corner with a cup and a cane selling pencils. His mother did two things that changed his life. First, she enrolled him in Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind, a revolutionary institute run by disciplinarian nuns who believed that blind people could do anything they set out to do if they could learn to be independent and have self confidence. A “no cup or cane” mentality was instilled.
At the same time, his mother wrote letters to Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
, the manager of the NY Giants, and to Bobby Thomson
Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
, the home run hero, explaining what had happened to Ed, and how his love of baseball was the only thing lifting his spirits. Durocher invited Ed to be his guest at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
for the 1952 season. Yankees star Phil Rizzuto
Phil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, who worked at a New Jersey clothing shop in the off season, heard about Ed’s story, and also befriended him. This friendship lasted a lifetime, until Phil Rizzuto's death in 2007.
After graduating from Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind, Ed attended the New York Institute for the Blind
New York Institute for the Blind
The New York Institute for the Blind was founded in 1831 as a school for blind children by Samuel Wood, a Quaker philanthropist, Samuel Akerly, a physician, and John Dennison Russ, a philanthropist and physician....
where he organized a baseball club called the “Diamond Dusters”. Major League stars such as Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
and Lindy McDaniel
Lindy McDaniel
Lyndall Dale McDaniel, known as Lindy is a right-handed former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had a 21-year career from 1955 to 1975. During McDaniel's career he witnessed approximately 3,500 major league games , had more than 300 teammates, and played under eight different managers...
visited the school to talk baseball and to read the sports pages to the students.
Ed Lucas enrolled in Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
, earning a degree in communications in 1962. He was one of the first blind students in the country to do so. While at Seton Hall Ed started writing about baseball. He also attended games in New York, lugging a reel-to-reel tape recorder to interview players. In college, he had his own radio show, “Around the Bases With Ed Lucas.”
Marriage, fatherhood, and custody battle
In October 1965, Lucas got married. Shortly after that, two sons - Edward M. Lucas and Christopher LucasChristopher Lucas
Christopher Lucas commonly known as Chris Lucas, is a veteran actor. He voiced Grand Theft Auto: Vice Cities Congressman Alex Shrub as well as other assorted characters in the Grand Theft Auto series and many local and national commercials and TV shows, including MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch...
- were born. In 1972, his wife walked out on the marriage, leaving him alone with two little boys to raise. Luckily, Ed had a loving and supportive family who pitched in and helped him with the housekeeping and child rearing duties. At the same time, the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
were starting to regain prominence, and his workload became heavier. Ed still managed to balance both lives, while buying a larger house for his boys, his mother and sister.
In September 1979, after seven years, Ed’s ex-wife came back and announced that she was seeking full and complete custody of the boys. Ed went to court to and fought a long custody battle, as the case made its way up to the New Jersey Supreme Court
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
. Witness after witness, friends and famous people alike, came forward to testify that he had done a good job raising his sons alone for seven years.
On September 25, 1980, history was made when Ed Lucas was awarded full and complete custody of his children. No male in New Jersey had ever won full custody from a female, and no disabled person in the United States had ever won full custody from a non-disabled spouse. Newspapers all over the globe carried his story as an example of the ways disabled people can achieve great things in society.
Career
After graduating from college Ed was able to land coveted print and broadcast jobs covering the major league teams in New York City. As a blind baseball reporter Ed Lucas faced many challenges. He developed an ability to determine where a hit ball will go just by the sound it makes coming off of the bat. Ed typically sat in the press box and listened to the local radio broadcast of the game. Then after the game he went on to the field, to the locker room or press area and interviewed players about what happened during the game – perhaps an extraordinary play or call or any incident that may have been out of the ordinary.Ed has had the opportunity to interview many athletes and sports figures including Joe Dimaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
, Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
, Ron Guidry
Ron Guidry
Ronald Ames Guidry , nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, Lindy McDaniel
Lindy McDaniel
Lyndall Dale McDaniel, known as Lindy is a right-handed former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had a 21-year career from 1955 to 1975. During McDaniel's career he witnessed approximately 3,500 major league games , had more than 300 teammates, and played under eight different managers...
, Dave Righetti
Dave Righetti
David Allan Righetti is a former left-handed pitcher for various Major League Baseball teams, primarily the New York Yankees. He is currently the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants and was the first player in history to both pitch a no-hitter and also lead the league in saves in his career...
, Monte Irvin
Monte Irvin
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin is a former left fielder and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles , New York Giants and Chicago Cubs .-Biography:Although born in Haleburg, Alabama, Irvin grew up in Orange, New Jersey, one of five...
, Alvin Dark
Alvin Dark
Alvin Ralph Dark , nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves when he batted .322...
, Bobby Thomson
Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
, Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
, Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
, Jorge Posada
Jorge Posada
Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta is a Major League Baseball player who is currently a free agent and has played his entire career for the New York Yankees. He served as the Yankees primary catcher for most of his career, though following off-season knee surgery, he was moved to designated hitter for...
, Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
, Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
, Thurman Munson
Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played his entire 11-year career for the New York Yankees...
, Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Eugene Strawberry is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder who is well-known both for his play on the field and for his controversial behavior off it...
, Willie Randolph
Willie Randolph
Willie Larry Randolph is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and manager, most recently the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles...
, Ray Negron among many others. Ed has also interviewed celebrities and politicians including Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Gov. Brendan Byrne
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne is an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey, from 1974 to 1982.-Early life and education:...
, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
, and Gov. Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
.
He has had articles published in a wide range of newspapers and magazines and his commentary and interviews have been broadcast on syndicated radio. More recently his interviews have also been featured on YouTube.
Ed Lucas has also worked in the insurance industry. In 1985, Ed became the first layperson to be appointed to the board of St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, where he worked tirelessly to raise funds for the completion of a state of the art 21st century facility. Together with his longtime friend Phil Rizzuto
Phil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, Ed has helped to raise millions of dollars towards that cause, thanks largely in part to their annual celebrity golf tournament. In recent years Ed has served as director of development and public education for Saint Joseph’s School for the Blind.
Marriage at home plate in Yankee Stadium
In the late 1980s, Ed was introduced by Phil RizzutoPhil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
to Allison Pfeifle, his florist, who was also legally blind. After a long courtship, Ed married Allison at home plate in Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
on March 10, 2006. This was the first time that anyone was allowed to be married in that hallowed spot, and the wedding made news all over the globe and was featured in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/18NJCol.html?_r=1&ex=1175140800&en=16a1c76f6d2e2a58&ei=5070&oref=slogin, the Today Show http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12271170/from/RSS, the Yes Network and MSNBC. The coverage of the wedding by the YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. Director Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
was a guest at the wedding, and has expressed an interest in bringing Ed’s life story to the silver screen. Ed's sons and their families were in attendance. Ed’s two sons now have families of their own, and he is blessed with three grandchildren.
Honors and recognition
In 1995, Ed was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame, alongside a class that included Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe TheismannJoe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
and Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Doby
Larry Doby
Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....
. In 2001, Ed was honored to be chosen, along with his sons, as one of the inspirational people to carry the Olympic flame through the streets of New York City on its way to the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
.
The Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center in conjunction at Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
sponsored an exhibit of photographs and memorabilia from Ed's career in the Walsh Library Arcade from August to November 2007.http://www.shupirates.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12600&ATCLID=1212171
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
with the support of WCBS 880 AM — the Yankees Radio Network created Strikeouts for Scholarships, a scholarship program for disabled students in honor of Ed Lucas.
In 2008-2009, Lucas won an Emmy Award for his work with YESNetwork.com. Ed has a show with the network's website, called the Ed Lucas Show in which he discusses stories of adversity with different players and celebrities.
On July 7, 2009, Ed Lucas was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame
Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame
The Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame was established in 2008. It is located at Foley's NY Pub & Restaurant, 18 West 33rd Street, New York, New York ....
, along with longtime Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley
Walter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from to . He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in...
, broadcaster Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
, sluggers Steve Garvey
Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...
and Paul O'Neill, and umpire Jim Joyce
Jim Joyce
James A. "Jim" Joyce III is a Major League Baseball umpire who has worked in the American League from 1987 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He wears uniform number 66...
. Also in attendance will be Eddie's favorite nephew Eamon Nally. Eamon along with Eddie works to raise money for St. Joe's School for the Blind every year. Eamon a Police Officer with the Jersey City Police Department's "Gang Unit" often jokes with Eddie saying that he (Eamon) will be his personal security detail as he keeps growing in popularity.