PORTLAND — Sometime after the teams are introduced before tonight’s Portland Sea Dogs home opener, a moment of silence will be held for the late Dan Burke.
That will be followed by a video tribute to Burke, the man who brought professional baseball back to Portland.
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Plus, the Sea Dogs will wear Burke’s initials, DBB, on their uniforms this year.
So much attention for Dan Burke.
May he forgive everyone involved.
Somewhere, high up in the ultimate sky boxes, Dan Burke is cringing.
“It’s funny,” said Bill Burke, 45, Dan’s son and the chairman of the Sea Dogs. “You tend to say, ‘What would my dad want?’ My dad would want nothing.”
Burke founded a pro franchise for Portland and created an atmosphere at Hadlock, where friends and family gather for an evening of baseball – enduring the chills of spring before delighting in the summer nights at the ballpark.
Dan Burke died last Oct. 26 at the age of 82.
Ignoring Burke’s passing, as well as his contributions, was not an option for the Sea Dogs. A video was put together, citing his accomplishments.
“Charlie (Eshbach, team president) said, ‘We can’t do nothing,’ “ Bill Burke said. “I can picture my dad sitting there rolling his eyes while the tape is playing, saying ‘Let’s get this game started.’
“Balancing the desire to do something versus the fact that my dad would do nothing has been the trick.”
Deflecting attention was a Dan Burke specialty, when he was the CEO of Capital Cities/ABC and, when retired, as the Sea Dogs’ owner.
When a sports writer referred to the lighthouse that rises beyond the wall in center field as “Burke’s Beacon,” he politely requested that the reference end.
And a stroll through Hadlock Field will find no reference to Burke – although that will likely change – even though he is the founding owner.
“Interesting that when my dad passed away and everything was written about him, all my friends knew he was involved in the Sea Dogs – but so many people thought the Sea Dogs had always been here, and that he bought them from someone else,” Bill Burke said. “Part of the reason is that it’s not Burke’s Beacon, or Burke Field. He wasn’t doing it for the attention, that’s for sure.”
He did it for baseball, which he loved, and baseball fans; and he did it for family, including his wife, Bunny, four children and 14 grandchildren. Dan and Bunny were at every game, with several family members joining them during the summer.
The 2006 season began with a change. Dan Burke was not there, having broken his hip in the offseason. He returned in May, using a walker and, eventually a cane.
That year, Burke talked briefly about the future of the Sea Dogs, saying he was not sure if anyone in the family wanted to take over his role.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Burke said then.
Bill Burke, who had his own career in television – heading up Turner Broadcasting System and other Turner ventures, as well as the Weather Channel – moved his family to Cape Elizabeth in 2004. He planned to take in several Sea Dogs games, but not play an active part.
But Bill Burke became more and more involved as his father spent less time in Maine remaining in their Rye, N.Y., home until May every year.
Before the 2009 season, Bill Burke was named chairman of the franchise. His sister, Sally McNamara, was named treasurer.
This past spring training, a Burke contingent descended on Fort Myers, visiting the Red Sox and Sea Dogs’ camps. The group included Bunny, along with Bill and Sally, with their spouses and most of their children.
When Red Sox General Manager Ben Cherington talks about his team’s strong ties with Portland, he used to always begin by citing Dan Burke. Now he simply refers to “the Burke family.”
And it’s business as usual.
“One of his legacies – someone once said that good leaders don’t just produce followers, they produce more good leaders. With my dad, the continuity has already been there,” Bill Burke said. “There’s Charlie (Eshbach). There’s Geoff (Iacuessa, the general manager). A lot of that is continuity so that when you go to Hadlock Field, it feels like the same ballpark you were at last year.
“We always talk abut treating every fan like it’s their first time there.”
That is how Dan Burke would want it.
Not sure if he would appreciate tonight’s video – which is narrated by ABC pal Charles Gibson.
And Dan Burke will most likely be honored again later in the season when the new members of the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame are inducted. The 2012 inductees have not been announced, but a nonplayer is usually inducted each year, based on their contributions to the franchise.
“I think he’s a cinch. First ballot,” Bill Burke said with a laugh.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: ClearTheBases
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