Brainerd Park Softball Field Named In Honor of Eddie Lapponese

One of Enfield's finest sportsmen was recognized Saturday for the many contributions he made to town athletics during his lifetime.

Eddie Lapponese, longtime owner of Eddie's Sporting Goods who was involved in numerous athletic endeavors in town, was unofficially known as "The Mayor of Brainerd Park." On Saturday, the large softball field on the east end of the park was dedicated as the Eddie Lapponese Softball Field.

Members of Lapponese's family unveiled a plaque near the flagpole beyond the center field fence. The plaque reads:

"Eddie Lapponese Softball Field - Dedicated in loving memory of Edward "Eddie" Lapponese, long-time advocate of Enfield athletics and often referred to as "The Mayor of Brainerd Park" - June 30, 2012"

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Lapponese's name is almost synonymous with Enfield sports. He was involved for many years with the Enfield Parents Sports Association, coaching girls softball, basketball and the Enfield Americans youth football team. He was a founding member of the Enfield Flag Football League, and served as its commissioner for six years. He also organized and ran the Brian Fisher Memorial Softball Tournaments for many years, which raised scholarship money for high school students.

"The reason we're here today is because this is what Eddie did - he took care of things," Town Councilman Pat Crowley said. "He just kind of made sure things flowed smoothly. When we had two separate softball leagues here in town, Eddie had the idea that we were going to merge both leagues. Eddie got in there, and when we walked out of the room, we had one league and it was fantastic. He oversaw the league and anything that happened, Eddie took care of. He did the same thing with flag football."

"How my father loved this park," said Lapponese's daughter, Lynn. "He would rush home and my mom would have dinner ready. He would eat and go right over to Brainerd Park. I didn't know who was happier - my father going to Brainerd, or my mom because she had the whole house and TV to herself...Some people rent out a beach house to get away, some people will rent out a cabin by the lake. For my father, this was his oasis, his vacation, his heaven."

Lapponese opened Eddie's Sporting Goods in 1978, and for 16 years, he helped outfit Enfield's youth with their sporting needs.

""I remember going into Eddie's Sporting Goods and seeing something I wanted, and Eddie would just say 'take it'," Crowley said. "I didn't have the money for it, but Eddie would just say 'come see me when you can.' That was the way Eddie operated; if some kid wanted something, they got it. That was so important to all of us as youths; when you'd go out to see Eddie, things would be taken care of."

Lapponese served on the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame board of directors for many years. In 1999, the Hall of Fame honored him for his years of dedication to Enfield athletics by presenting him the George Daly Special Recognition Award, given in memory of another original committee member.

Lapponese passed away unexpectedly in 2010, and the Hall of Fame paid tribute to him for his years of volunteering at the organization's annual golf tournament by naming the closest to the pin award after him.

Fittingly, as Lapponese's children unveiled the plaque, the onlookers included a softball team that had held up its tournament game on the field to participate in the tribute to one of Enfield's most generous and beloved sportsmen.