Heroes Cup Baseball in Manchester August 3rd
Police versus Fire Baseball Game to Benefit Special Olympics
Concord, NH (July 29, 2024) – Police personnel and fire personnel from across New Hampshire will take to the diamond at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester this Saturday, August 3rd at 1:35pm. This will mark the 13th annual contest between law enforcement and firefighters since this game began in 2011 originally as a fundraising effort for Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.
The athletes of Special Olympics New Hampshire (SONH) have always had enormous admiration for members of law enforcement in the Granite State. This year the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) celebrates 40 years in New Hampshire. That respect has extended to firefighting personnel since the game became a fundraiser for SONH last year. Most recently that interaction was evident at the 2024 State Summer Games at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Police and firefighters attended the Summer Games, spent time with SONH athletes and volunteers, and played a scrimmage game.
Steve Case is a sergeant with the New Boston Police Department and one of the coaches for Team Police. He’s looking forward to the 2024 contest saying, “We have a lot of new players this year and they’re excited to be part of Special Olympics. They met athletes for the first time at the scrimmage and were able to hand out some of their player baseball cards. We’re hoping that we can interact with the athletes even more.”
Last year’s game ended in a tie between Team Fire and Team Police, the Heroes Cup Trophy spent several months on display at the Division of Fire Standards and Training and was recently moved to Police Standards and Training as the two teams shared the trophy in 2023. We expect competition to be fierce this year to identify our first Heroes Cup winner!
Manchester Fire Department Lieutenant Jon Lopez coaches Team Fire and he says they are ready to bring the heat. “I’m really looking forward to a great game that won’t end in a tie,” he notes.
“While the contest between these two teams isn’t new, as an event it was new to us in 2023,” says SONH President and CEO Mary Conroy. “We’re looking forward to putting everything we learned last year into practice to make this game the experience that these two teams, their families and fans can enjoy and celebrate,” she continued.
The Heroes Cup Baseball Game to benefit Special Olympics New Hampshire is scheduled for this Saturday, August 3rd at 1:35pm at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. Join us as New Hampshire’s Bravest take on the state’s Finest. Like last year, admission to the game will be a donation at the gate to Special Olympics New Hampshire. The suggested donation is $20 per ticket but donations in any amount will be accepted at the Heroes Cup event.
The Heroes Cup Baseball Game is sponsored in part by the Attainable Savings Plan, Buffalo Wild Wings Foundation, Friendly Beaver Campground and the Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust.
More information about the Heroes Cup can be found online at www.SONH.org.
For questions about the Bravest vs. Finest Baseball Cup please email Mark Ericson at MarkE@sonh.org. More information about Special Olympics New Hampshire is available at www.SONH.org.
About SONH:
Special Olympics New Hampshire (SONH) is an accredited program of Special Olympics International (SOI) and is part of an international global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance.