St. John's University Athletics
Third Annual Baseball Bullpen Winter Banquet To Feature John Franco
12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 19, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - The third annual St. John's Baseball Bullpen Winter Banquet will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 21 and will feature St. John's alum and four-time all-star John Franco. The event will be held at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan and will begin with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
In addition to the reception and dinner, an auction will be held with the chance to bid on a variety of priceless items. All proceeds from the evening's activities will directly benefit the Red Storm baseball program.
Tickets for the event are priced at $250 and tables of ten are available for $2,500. For more information and to order tickets, contact Mary Pat Beirne at beirnem@stjohns.edu or at 718-990-1873. Due to the success of the first two bullpen banquets, tickets are expected to go quickly.
A four-time MLB all-star, Franco pitched for St. John's from 1979-81 and helped lead the team to the 1980 College World Series as well as three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The lefty was a two-time NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year (1988, 1990) and was also the recipient of the 2001 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. Franco made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds before spending 14 seasons with the New York Mets and finishing his major league career with the Houston Astros. The reliever led the NL in saves three times and his 424 career saves remain the most by a lefty in major league history.
St. John's will also honor the legacy of Howie Gershberg as part of the evening's events. Gershberg spent 12 seasons as the St. John's pitching coach and helped develop the likes of Franco and Frank Viola. In 1988 St. John's began presenting the Howie Gershberg Award annually to the team's most outstanding pitcher. After St. John's, Gershbeg spent 19 seasons as a pitching coach in the Angels' organization teaching players such as Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez.
The St. John's baseball team begins the 2009 campaign on Feb. 20 against Penn State as part of the BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge. The Red Storm will also play Iowa (Feb. 21) and Michigan (Feb. 22) as part of the inaugural conference challenge that will be played at various minor league complexes in the Tampa area. St. John's opens play at home against Albany on March 13.
