Andy Pearce
Articles
Andy Pearce Carried A Big Stick, Big Bat And Even Bigger Smile
In his short life Andrew ‘Andy’ Pearce carried a big
stick in hockey, a bigger bat in baseball and an even bigger smile off and on the various
fields of play that attracted him.
The 26 year old Georgetown native, long-time Burlington resident and
multi-sport athlete, died in a single vehicle crash Tuesday, April 28, in Narrows,
Virginia.
A memorial service in Georgetown Sunday attracted more than
100 mourning friends and family.
Pearce was well-known in Burlington sporting circles for his prowess in
a hockey arena and on a ball diamond.
He was a member of the M.M. Robinson Rams high school baseball team
that is still the only Halton Region winner of the Blue Jays/Prentice Cup. He was the
strong-armed, power-hitting catcher and team MVP on the 1990 Ontario champs; he also
played on the ‘91 provincial runners-up from MMR.
Pearce was a solid left winger for the Jr. B Burlington Cougars from
1989-91. In 1993, he and two of his best friends from MMR, Ryan Hilton and Don Cottam,
started up the Grand Slam Baseball Camp locally, teaching baseball basics to young
players.
He concentrated his athletic pursuits on baseball as a young adult; he
was the backbone of the senior men Burlington Brants’ infield from 1994-96.
Bruce Evans, Pearce’s coach with the Jr. and Sr. Brants, the
juvenile reps and , in hockey at the AAA peewee/midget levels, said Andy was special.
"In baseball, there wasn’t any fence he couldn’t clear.
As a person, he had the ability to make you smile. He was an open book-he always gave you
an honest answer," said Evans.
Long-time Robinson phys. ed. Department head Leo McAdam remembers
Pearce as being an accessible individual. He recalled the time when, as a young teenager,
Andy brought in a video of his heart surgery and talked to classmates about it.
"It was an unbelievable sight," said McAdam. "He
explained everything to them and answered their questions."
At his untimely death, Pearce was approaching the first anniversary of
his marriage to his wife Stephanie, a Virginia native. It was also almost one year to the
day that he graduated from Bluefield College in Virginia.
Pearce worked as a distribution manager for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph newspaper and
was also a volunteer firefighter with the town of Tazewell.
Ballplayer's Death Shocks Community
By Larry Moko
The Spectator
Veteran players and coaches of the Burlington Brants
are shocked and saddened by the recent death of one of their popular former teammates.
Andy Pearce, who played four seasons with Burlington’s senior
Central Ontario Baseball Association club, died April 28 from injuries sustained in a
single-vehicle accident near Narrows, VA. He was 26.
Virginia State Police say Pearce was alone in a pickup truck at 4:45
a.m. when it went off the left side of the road then struck an embankment and tree before
over-turning. He died at the scene.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
A 1991 graduate of M.M. Robinson High School, Pearce played for the
Bluefied College Rams baseball team. He graduated from that Virginia school last year with
a Bachelor of Science degree in Wellness and Fitness/Cardiac Rehabilitation. Pearce got
married last spring and was living in Tazewell, VA.
At the time of the accident, he was District Circulation Manager for
the Daily Telegraph in Bluefield. On the morning of the accident, officials of that
newspaper called the Volunteer Fire Department, where Pearce often served, wondering why
he had not completed his delivery route run. "I was floored when we got the news
about Andy," Brants’ manager Bruce Evans said. "It was quite a
shocker."
A memorial service was held in Georgetown Sunday-Pearce’s place of
birth. Burial was conducted Wednesday at Grandview Memorial Gardens in Bluefield.
HIGHLY REGARDED
John Tresch, former athletic director at Bluefield,
said Pearce was a leader who was highly regarded by teammates and the entire student body.
"He did a great job," Tresch said. "He was one of the first of the Canadian
contingent to play baseball for us."
Evans had a long association with Pearce on the diamond, watching him
progress through the midget, juvenile and junior rep ranks in baseball.
"He was an excellent offensive player," Evans recalled.
"Andy could hit for power and average. And he had pretty good speed for a stocky guy.
He caught for the Brants and had a cannon of an arm to second base."
Pearce, who also played for Junior B and Major Junior A hockey teams in
Burlington and Hamilton, led the Brants in home runs in 1994 (11) and had a .370 batting
average.
He did all that after recovering from open heart surgery in 1987.
Pearce as a teenager suffered from Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a myocardial
irregularity that causes a racing heart.
A special presentation will be made later this season by the club to
Pearce’s parents, Mary and Ernie, at a Brants’ home game.
IN MEMORY OF ANDY PEARCE
No one can predict to what heights you can soar. Even you will
not know, until you spread your wings.
God much have needed a catcher in Heaven that could hit a curve ball!
I got to know Andy in Georgetown when he was only 10 years old. He was
trying out for a hockey team I was coaching. Along with talent and hard work, he became
very good. His parents’ basement walls, garage door and pieces of plywood propped up
against their fence outside would attest to his strength and puck shooting ability. You
never had to worry about Andy being late for a game or a practice. I would arrive at the
arena an hour beforehand and guess whose gear would be outside the dressing room door?
Andy moved to Burlington and moved up through the hockey ranks until
he reached Major Junior "A". How proud we were to go to Copps Coliseum
and watch him play - but...... Baseball was his love. Because of his talent as a
ballplayer he received scholarships to the two American Colleges he attended. The end
result of this was receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree from Bluefield College in
Virginia last Spring.
Andy was very competitive whether it was the next at bat,
pick-off at second base, the next shift, the next game or the next challenge. He was always
ready.
I think Andy found a special place in Virginia with a girl he loved
and married. There were always places for him to fish and hunt and be outdoors, which
he loved so very much. He had even picked up a southern accent!
Andy had a special talent for making and keeping friends. It was quite
obvious by the people that made the trip to Virginia for Andy and Stephanie’s wedding
last May - especially the young men in the wedding party who have all been friends since
school in Burlington.
There was a special brotherly bond between Rooster and
Andy, although sometimes there were bloody noses along the way. That bond extended to
Andy’s Mom, Mary, and Dad Ernie, who were always so supportive and loving. Then there
was Boots and Ernie Sr., the granddads who were Andy’s greatest fans.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Andy became a Volunteer
Firefighter in Tazewell, Virginia and another group of friendships began.
If you close your eyes you can picture him laughing, whether it
be with you or at you if you did something stupid.
In Andy’s 26 years of life he lived it to the fullest. As
his Dad said, "Andy accomplished most things he set out to do. The only
thing he did not do was grow old."
-EULOGY-
Delivered by Charlie Hanman (long time family friend and hockey coach)
Sunday, May 3, 1998, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada