Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, and The Late Ben Mondor to be Inducted Friday, July 29 as Inaugural Members of the New Pawsox Hall of Fame

Two Baseball Hall of Famers will Meet Fans and Be Enshrined in Pre-Game Ceremonies

July 6, 2016

Wade Boggs and Jim Rice have agreed to be at McCoy Stadium Friday, July 29 when they, along with the late Ben Mondor, are inducted as the inaugural class of the PawSox Hall of Fame. Madeleine Mondor, the widow of the beloved owner, will represent her husband in the enshrinement ceremony.

A pre-game barbeque in the PawSox Pavilion near the Red Tent will give fans in that group an exclusive opportunity to meet the honorees from 4:30-6 p.m.

The ceremony is expected to begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. before the 7:05 p.m. game versus Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the Triple A Affiliate of the New York Yankees.

Rice and Boggs will take photos with fans at the PawSox Fan Center 7:30-8:30 p.m. during the game.

Tickets to the pre-game party are $50 apiece, and can be purchased at the box office, on-line, or by calling 401-724-7300. Admission not only includes a game ticket and access to the Hall of Famers, but an unlimited barbeque.

The inductees were chosen this past March by a 15-person panel, which included print and broadcast media members, long-time fans, historians, and club officials.

Ben Mondor, who passed away in October of 2010 at the age of 85, will forever be known as the man who saved professional baseball in the State of Rhode Island. At the time of his passing, Mr. Mondor, who is survived by his wife Madeleine, had just completed his 34^th year as PawSox owner.

In 1977, after having retired from the corporate business world, Ben acquired the "Rhode Island" Red Sox, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, by the National Association of Professional Baseball. The organization was bankrupt and had been deprived of its membership in professional baseball.

During the next 34 years, Mondor, who teamed with current PawSox Vice Chairman Mike Tamburro, turned what was once one of the worst franchises in minor league baseball into one of the most successful in all of baseball as over 14 and a half million fans attended home games under his ownership.

Jim Rice is the only player in the last 44 years to win the International League Triple Crown when he hit .337 along with 25 HR and 93 RBI in just 117 games for the 1974 PawSox to lead the league in all three categories. He is one of only six players to capture the IL Triple Crown in the 132 years of the International League. Rice, who is Pawtucket's all-time hitting leader with a .340 average, joined the PawSox late in the 1973 season (at the age of 20) and helped lead the club to the Governors' Cup Championship and the Junior World Series title. He was the IL MVP in 1974 despite being promoted to Boston in mid-August.

Rice ranks among the all-time Boston Red Sox leaders in at-bats (3^rd), runs (4^th), hits (3^rd), doubles (6^th), triples (6^th), HR (3^rd), RBI (3^rd), walks (8^th), slugging pct. (8^th), and total bases (3^rd) among others. An 8-time American League All-Star outfielder (1977-80, 83-86), Jim was enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2009. He was also a member of the first class of Red Sox Hall of Fame inductees in 1995 and was elected to the International League Hall of Fame in 2008.

Wade Boggs is the last PawSox player to win the International League batting title when he hit .335 in 1981. In his first (and only other) season with Pawtucket in 1980, at the age of 21, he hit .306 and lost the batting title by less than a point when he grounded out in his final at-bat of the season. His other claim to fame with the PawSox came during the Longest Game in Professional Baseball history in 1981 when his RBI single in the bottom of the 21^st inning extended the game that the PawSox eventually won in 33-innings, 3-2. He was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2011.

Wade was Major League Baseball's best hitter during his 11-year Red Sox career. He was inducted in the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, and had his uniform number 26 retired by the Red Sox this past May 26.

Wade's .338 career batting average with the Red Sox is second only to Ted Williams (.344). A 12-time American League All-Star overall, Boggs was an 8-time All-Star during his 11 seasons with Boston from 1982-92 trailing only Carl Yastrzemski (18) and Williams (17) for most in franchise history.