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Phillies’ Youth HR Derby part of Play Ball weekend
- Updated: May 15, 2016
PHILADELPHIA — In 1971, Philadelphia resident Jack Bradley took an idea to the Phillies: Let’s hold a community youth home run derby. It would be open to children 7-12 from all over the Delaware Valley and the finals would take place at Veterans Stadium.
Frank Sullivan, then the director of promotion, and the Phillies loved it. They’d make it an annual tradition.
It has also become a family operation. Jack’s son, Paul, has helped out since the inaugural edition — he was 12 in 1971 — but he took over as president when he graduated college. This year marks the 46th Home Run Derby, and the 40th Paul has been in charge of.
• Complete Youth Baseball coverage
Over the past four decades, Bradley has pitched to the preteen incarnations of Mike Trout, Jamie Moyer and Mike Scioscia. More than a dozen professional ballplayers have come through the Derby.
“Probably the only one I saw coming was Trout,” Bradley said. “As a 12-year-old, he hit the ball over a 290-foot fence.”
Trout didn’t even make the …
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