Jim Flannigan honored by Batavia Youth Baseball players

"You guys play hard. Try your best to win," Jim Flannigan told a group of Batavia Youth Baseball players Saturday morning, as he shook their hands on an infield at Bollow Field off Route 31.

That's the kind of advice Flannigan used to dispense while organizing sandlot baseball games for Batavia youth in the 1950s and 1960s.

Many of Flannigan's former players attended Saturday's event to watch the city dedicate the field after him and name an access road Jim Flannigan Drive

Permanent signs proclaiming "Flannigan's Dream - Thanks Jim" honored the man who helped many children before the town had organized youth sports.

Starting with the phrase "I don't know if you remember me, but ..." former players introduced their wives and children to the man who used to take a sickle to tall weeds to carve out a place for them to play.

The ceremony was organized by Steve Burnham, Steve Wilson, Pete Donat and Tom Skea, and Batavia Township Trustee John West.

"You get to an age where you start taking a look at people who made a difference in your life," Burnham said, noting that Flannigan has had some health issues (head injury and a broken hip) and is due to move to a group home in St. Charles. "It meant an awful lot to us."

Flannigan taught more than baseball. He showed the town how a disabled person could be part of the community, long before the days of mandated inclusion in public schools or accessibility rights. Flannigan has a severe speech impediment, as he is missing part of his tongue, and other disabilities. But kids always understood him enough, as he walked around town getting up games. He raised money for bats, balls and bases by selling greeting cards door to door.

He has remained a familiar sight, whether he was working at an east side convenience store stocking shelves or walking across town to watch games at Batavia High School.

He also showed, by example, how important volunteerism is, said Peacottio Woods of Aurora, who didn't play baseball for Flannigan but lived next door to him while growing up in Batavia in the 1970s. He recalled Flannigan coming to his games at BHS, and his cheerful spirit despite difficulties.

"I remember him as being always excited about life," said Woods, who brought his wife, Paula, and son David out to meet Flannigan.

"He affected an awful lot of kids back then," Burnham said.

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke presented Flannigan with a trophy and a ball cap marked "Flannigan's Ballhawks." That was the name of a team that used to go play teams from other towns. He told the crowd how Flannigan made sure every kid who showed up got to play.

And as Schielke reared back and wound up to throw a pitch to a young catcher, he joked to Flannigan: "Just like you taught me."

Schielke, 61, is a lifelong Batavian. He recalled how the city would mow the field once a year to make room for a one-day circus. That inspired Flannigan to start mowing the field for baseball - and also touch football - games. He also took care of a field in the Colonial Village subdivision west of Route 31.

"Many of the great Batavia athletes of the last 50 years got their start down here chasing balls with you," Schielke said.