Two young baseball teams played a game over the weekend that served as a true lesson in sportsmanship. When it was all over, each team wanted the other to have the championship trophy.
The matchup between 9-year-old all-stars from Norwood and Randolph was organized at the initiative of Norwood Nationals coach Wayne Headley.
His team had won a tournament in Norwood the previous week, but the victory was technically tainted because a different Norwood team had previously refused to play when Randolph showed up with only ten players—two fewer than tournament rules required—resulting in Randolph being eliminated on a forfeit.
Feeling sorry for the Randolph players and determined not to let Norwood teams be branded as bad sports, Wayne Headley invited Randolph to a rematch.
The teams met on Saturday at Oberlander Field, where Randolph secured a 16-4 victory.
“This game was one of the best I’ve seen all season at any age level and division”, said Joe Roche, tournament director for the North Randolph Little League. “Norwood was extremely gracious about the entire thing. This is a kids’ game, and we’re here for the kids to play”. Randolph assistant coach Leo McCormick agreed, calling it a wonderful gesture, while Randolph coach Kevin Sullivan initially refused to accept the tournament trophy until Wayne Headley insisted.
Although Norwood team members were naturally disappointed to relinquish the trophy they had held for just a week, they acknowledged that Randolph had earned it on the field. “We should’ve played a lot better. We just made a lot of mistakes on the field”, admitted Brian Headley, a Norwood pitcher, third baseman, and son of the coach. Conversely, some Randolph players, such as pitcher Russell McCormick, felt Norwood still deserved credit since they hadn’t played the full tournament bracket.
Parents in the bleachers also praised the encounter, with Robert Stoddard, whose son Jamie Stoddard played for Norwood, admitting he was initially apprehensive about how tensions might flare but was pleasantly surprised when Randolph parents cheered for Norwood, fostering a profound new spirit of goodwill between the two towns.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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