Son of NBC sports chairman honored with ballsfields dedication
BOSTON --On the day his son would have turned 16, NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol joined Boston dignitaries in a simultaneously joyous and tearful dedication of three new baseball fields as "Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields."
With his wife, actress Susan Saint James by his side Saturday, Ebersol thanked state officials and the Boston Red Sox for working jointly to honor his son, who died in a plane crash in Colorado on Nov. 28, 2004 at the age of 14.
Ebersol, whose son was a rabid Red Sox fan, said he was overwhelmed by the naming of the youth league fields along the Charles River in his son's honor.
"The idea that for the rest of Susan's life, and the rest of mine, we can come here and see children enjoying themselves on these fields is incredible," Ebersol said.
He said his family will donate $500,000 to help maintain the pristine new baseball diamonds.
The Ebersols live in Litchfield, Conn. The longtime head of NBC sports is an ardent New York Yankees fan, but Saint James is a Red Sox fan, and Teddy Ebersol rooted for Boston, as well. Ebersol said his son delighted in the rivalry between them. On Saturday, he paid tribute to his son by donning a Red Sox cap and jacket, something he said he son would have liked seeing.
"Other than his driver's license, Teddy would have wanted this more than anything for his birthday," he said.
Dick Ebersol and another son, Charlie, survived the crash of an executive jet during takeoff in light snow, fog and freezing temperatures at Montrose Regional Airport.
The fields were built as part of a public-private partnership, but the Red Sox paid the bulk of the costs.
The project was the brainchild of Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, a close friend of the Ebersol family, who noted that Teddy Ebersol loved the Sox so much that he was buried wearing a team jersey. As recently as a week ago, Werner said, a David Ortiz bobblehead doll adorned the boy's grave in Connecticut.
U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, for whom young Ebersol was named, said, "It's his birthday today, and I'm sure he's smiling because his name will be forever linked with the team he loved. Creating these fields is a perfect way to honor him."
Among others in attendance were Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and past and present Red Sox players, Curt Schilling, Mike Timlin, Lenny DiNardo, Jim Rice, Luis Tiant and Jerry Remy, who hosted the event.
