27 June 2007

Braves ballpark to be dedicated July 8

GateHouse News Service
Wed Jun 27, 2007, 03:17 PM EDT 

Bourne - The dedication of Doran Park will be prior to the Bourne Braves baseball game against the Hyannis Mets Sunday, July 8. The ballpark, home to the Bourne Braves and Upper Cape Tech Rams, is being named in honor of George Doran, Sr., a long-time Sagamore Beach resident and avid baseball fan. 

    There will be two new signs, one at the entrance to Upper Cape Tech School on Sandwich Road and one at the entrance to the newly landscaped ballpark, and a stone memorial honoring the generous contributions from the Doran Family Foundation, which supported the naming of the ballpark after George Doran Sr. The sign at the entrance to the ballpark will be unveiled immediately prior to the dedication ceremony.

    An avid baseball fan, Doran rooted for the Red Sox along with several Cape Cod Baseball League teams. He first followed the Sagamore Clouters, then the Sagamore Canalmen (which became the Bourne Braves) at Keith Field in Sagamore. 

    Doran instilled in his children a strong love of amateur as well major league baseball in his children. “Watching games at Keith Field on cool summer evenings was a big family event that I looked forward to with great anticipation every year,” said John Doran of Sagamore Beach and Wellesley. “My brother, sister and I have continued this family tradition by bringing our own children to baseball games in Boston, Sagamore and, most recently, here in Bourne.”

    When the elder Doran died in 1994, John knew he wanted to find a way to publicly honor his father’s memory. With the Bourne Braves move to Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, John saw the perfect opportunity. Working with Kevin Farr, superintendent of Upper Cape Tech, and Tom Fink, president of the Bourne Braves Board of Directors, John’s vision quickly became a reality. 

    The gift from the Doran Family Foundation will be used to purchase and install lights so both the Bourne Braves and Upper Cape Tech Rams can play night games beginning with the 2008 baseball season.

    “The Upper Cape Tech school community is proud to name our baseball field ‘Doran Park.’ It has been a pleasure working with John Doran during this process,” said Farr. “As the centerpiece of the entire Barry J. Motta Athletic Complex, Doran Park will serve as the model for many of the Cape League fields in the future.”

    The event will start at 12:30 p.m. with the sign unveiling at 1:30 p.m. and the park dedication at 1:40 p.m.