Anthony “Tony” King knows the importance of being involved in community matters.
His love and devotion to his beloved Savin Hill neighborhood is as refreshing as a cold drink on a hot summer’s night. He has lived in Savin Hill his entire life and knows the importance of being involved in his community. He has focused his energy on the future — that being the youth that live there — by being active in their sports programs.
His name is Anthony “Tony” King.
King, 24, has been the Commissioner of Savin Hill Baseball for the past four seasons. He has coached the Little League (age) All-Star team for seven years. As far as King is concerned, baseball is the focal point of sports in Savin Hill, and he just wants to make sure the program keeps on thriving. And he knows that he couldn’t do so without the ever-present assistance of his partners in sports, Mike Christopher and Ryan Woods.
However, he would like to see more parents and others involved in this program.
“I know it’s a cliché, but I got involved in sports because I wanted to give back to my neighborhood,” said King. “I get a great feeling when I see the kids and work with them. I love this neighborhood and all of the people. It’s a great place to live and I want to see it stay that way. And so with that said… I would like to call upon more parents and others in the neighborhood to get involved in our sports programs. A few people can’t do it all. We need others to help out so that we can continue to work with our youth and build for the future.”
King is also the president and founder of the Richard P. Pacitti Memorial Baseball Tournament, which has been held in Savin Hill’s McConnell Park in August for the last five summers. Little League teams from the Greater Boston area participate in this two-day event.
This past summer, the event was expanded to include two girls’ softball teams in memory of recently deceased Richard “Dick” Finnigan.
Six one-thousand-dollar scholarships are given out each year. Five are dedicated to the memory of Richard Pacitti and one in the name of Dick Finnigan. These annual scholarships, which are to be used for school-related purposes, are open to boys and girls in the fifth through eighth grade. The winners are chosen by essays submitted by them as requested by tournament officials.
“I remember Richard telling me to get off of the corner and go play some hockey,” said King. “I looked up to him and admired his optimism and dedication to the community. Dick Finnigan was another guy who loved Savin Hill. He just made it a better place in which to live because he was involved… and he cared just like Richard did.”
This past year, King has been involved with coordinating various sports clinics at the request of Project Deep founder Brendan McDonough.
King organized an eight-week basketball clinic (July through September on Sundays) at the Savin Hill hoops courts. He also organized a week-long baseball clinic at McConnell Park, and coordinated a one-week all-recreational sports clinic held in Savin Hill.
As a young boy growing up, King was an avid hockey player. He played hockey in the local youth leagues and then was a standout varsity hockey player at Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury.
Two years ago, he represented the Team USA in-line hockey squad that won the gold medal in Italy.
In 2008, King was approached by Chrissy Rahe from the Mayor’s Office to run a two-week inline hockey clinic at Garvey Park, which he gladly did. And then last winter, King got back onto the ice rink and coached a midget travel team in the Dorchester Youth Hockey League.
To top off his busy schedule, King coordinated a pre-season flag football clinic last May, which was held in a local Dorchester Park, and is also involved in Beantown Athletics, a store he recently bought along with his partner Paul McAleer.
He is certainly a busy young man who, in his own words, “truly loves and cares about his neighborhood.”
Roger Croke, a lifelong Savin Hill resident and community activist (who King affectionately refers to as Uncle Roger), has nothing but praise for King’s dedication to his community.
“Tony King is a mature, likeable young man,” said Croke. “He has great organizational skills and the ability to bring people together. He has athletic ability, coaching knowledge, and is a tremendous role model for the kids growing up in Dorchester. For such a young person, he has already done so much for his community… but is certainly on the fast track to accomplishing more in the years to come.”
Source: King of the Hill | South Boston Online by Kevin Devlin