COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Some came out of friendship, while others had a sense of duty. They had promised, as much to themselves as to Wade Boggs, that they would be there if this day ever came -- his day to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
That day was Sunday.
They were with him from the start, in many cases. They saw the things the cameras never could, the drive and strength of will.
This day belonged to them as much as Wade.
So we ask, what did this day look like through their eyes?
They answer.
THE FATHER: Imagine it was your son back there, fretting behind the enormous stage at the Clark Sports Center. Imagine your son pacing, as Wade did, growing more nervous by the minute as he waited for the ceremony to start -- so nervous that at one point he looked at fellow inductee Ryne Sandberg and suggested a game of H-O-R-S-E in the gym, just to break the tension.
Win Boggs can tell you what it's like.
"My heart's goin' about a mile a minute right now," he said. "It's hard not to tear up just thinking about it. The night he got his 3,000th hit, I didn't see a damn thing -- nothin' but water. It's getting that way already now."
Win read Wade's speech several times before Sunday. Now it was time to deliver.
His son's speech was efficient -- lasting just 12 minutes, 29 seconds -- heartfelt, and honest.
"Daddy, I wouldn't be up here without you. I owe everything to you, my mentor, my idol. Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that's why I call you dad, because you are so special to me."
Win Boggs, a leather-tough 80-year-old man, dabbed at tears as Wade spoke.
Owns A Baseball Lineage
THE SISTER: Ann Ashton is the poet in the family. She has a gift for words, for saying the right thing and knowing the perfect metaphors for the moment. Not surprisingly, she found the right one for this occasion.
"Wade is a direct descendent of Abner Doubleday," she said. "My grandmother's niece did the research on the family genealogy, and when Miss Hattie -- our mother's mother -- found out that Wade is a direct descendent of Abner Doubleday, she told everybody in Tampa, Fla., that she knew why Wade was able to play baseball."
"The one dream that every Little Leaguer shares is making it to the big leagues," Wade told the crowd, estimated at 28,000.
She had to be there with him, and never mind that she is confined to a wheelchair as she battles multiple sclerosis.
"I am here because I want my brother to know how much I love him, how proud I am of him, how much I want to support him," she said. "He's my brother."
THE IN-LAWS: Little more than a month ago, David Bertucelli nearly died. The primary vessel bringing blood to his heart was completely blocked -- doctors call it the "widowmaker" -- but nothing was going to keep him back home in Florida.
David's sister, Debbie, is Wade's wife. How could he miss this?
"It's the day of a lifetime," David said. "If they had to carry me in here, I was going to be here. Doctors had to do a stress test to make sure I could fly, and one doctor tried to talk me out of coming, but nothing was going to keep me from being here."
Wade continued to speak.
"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but how we react to what happens, not by what life brings us but the attitude we bring to life."
Greg Gordon, a copy editor in The Tampa Tribune sports department, is Wade's brother-in-law. The night Wade was drafted by Boston in 1976, Greg relayed the news to him by telephone. His love of baseball runs deep.
On Saturday night, during a reception at the Hall, Wade took Greg to the basement and showed him the museum's private stash -- gear belonging to Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and so on.
"Now this has kind of come full circle," Gordon said.
'We Had To Be Here'
FRIENDS AND COACHES: USF baseball coach Eddie Cardieri, a close friend, brought his wife, Kim, and their sons Nick and Joel to watch because they needed to share the experience, too.
In their room at the Best Western, just before leaving for the ceremony, they watched a televised replay of the game six years ago at Tropicana Field where Wade got his 3,000th hit with a home run.
"A long time ago, our whole group of friends talked that if this day ever came, we had to be here," Cardieri said.
Craig Cooley was one of those. He used to catch batting practice at Plant when Wade was there; he's an attorney now in Orlando. Nothing would have kept him away. Tampa Bay Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli was there, too, smiling and relaxed.
"I'm here as a friend," he said. "I knew Wade before I got into baseball."
Wade didn't forget the friend who later became his boss.
"I'd like to thank you for giving me that opportunity to come home and play in front of my family and friends. It was a special time for me."
There were others, like longtime friends T.J. Ferlita and Doug Shields. Doug drove to Cooperstown with his father, Bill -- Wade's former American Legion coach. There was a group from Bayshore Little League, where Wade played. So many people, so many reasons to be here.
No one gets this far on his own, and at the moment his baseball journey stood complete, Wade Boggs understood that. He belongs to the world now, but he is never far from that kid who grew up on Davis Islands.
Nor are the people who knew him when far from him. Yes, it was Wade's day, but it belonged to them all.
They couldn't stay away.
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