StratfordBraketteshonor late general manager Bob Baird
Jul. 9—Baird, cracking wise while raising money to keep the Brakettes going: perfect.
"Whatever Bob Baird did, he made it a success, and he made it a lot better," said former Brakettes manager and longtime Baird friend John Stratton.
Baird died New Year's Eve at 75. He'd beaten leukemia for a second time but was suffering from interstitial lung disease.
The team he ran for over a third of its legendary history honored him Saturday night before a doubleheader against the Massachusetts Drifters. Many of his six children and 15 grandchildren were on the field as well as his wife, Diana Joy Baird.
"It wasn't an official tribute until the Brakettes held it for him," said Rob Baird, who followed his father into the GM role, " and this is where he'd want it."
Stratton, a USA Softball Hall of Famer himself, said Baird deserved that national honor as well.
"There was nobody in the country, nobody in the country, any team, that had a general manager like Bob Baird," Stratton said.
Baird's career included a long stint in newspapers, covering the Brakettes for the Bridgeport Telegram and Post, the Connecticut Post's ancestors.
"He put softball in Connecticut every single day in the newspaper," Stratton said. "Slowpitch, fastpitch, modified, it didn't make any difference. He put it in there."
Baird coached and was athletic director at Stratford High for two decades; the Brakettes raised money Saturday night through the 50/50 raffle for a scholarship fund in Baird's name for Stratford students. (The winner gave his prize back.)
And after jokes that one could usually find Baird at the ice cream stand, Stratford High softball players passed out free ice cream to the fans.
Former Brakettes sent tributes that the team played over the public-address system, and so did Bo Vicendese, coach of the Maryland Chill, a regular Brakettes opponent.
"He made every trip that the Chill took up to Stratford a special trip," Vicendese said. "The girls who played in the tournaments, the parents, everybody said it was definitely their favorite, and that was all due to Bob.
"It was a labor of love," he added. "I don't think a lot of people understand how much time and effort and love and energy he put into things. The last time we were there in June, I could still feel his spirit, which is a good thing."
Baird helped keep the Brakettes going after the loss of several major sponsors, doing whatever it took to keep softball in Stratford alive.
Stratton told the infamous story of the 2008 ASA Women's Major Fastpitch national tournament outside Buffalo, N.Y., when the last day was cut short because of weather over the Brakettes' objections. That led Baird to begin the WMS tournament that the Brakettes still hold every year, and the ASA tournament was never played again.
"Teams from the northeast that who would never go to a national tournament came here and enjoyed it," Stratton said.
Stratton met Baird over 60 years ago, when a 12-year-old Baird would bum rides to softball games from Stratton. They worked together with the Brakettes for decades.
"Softball is going to miss Bob Baird for a long time," Stratton said. "I'm going to miss Bob Baird for a long time."
