Photo from the Cleveland Indians who paid tribute to Hamilton’s Eric Snell. Snell was a Hamilton West grad that was killed in combat.
This past Memorial Day, the Cleveland Indians paid tribute to the late Sgt Eric Snell, a former Hamilton High baseball and football standout in the late 1980s, who was killed in action. The following is an email sent from Nick Francona, son of Indians manager Terry Francona to Marty Flynn, former Hamilton West Baseball Coach and current Hamilton Township Director.
EMAIL:
Mr. Flynn,
I wanted to share a photo and link with you about a tribute the Cleveland Indians recently did for Sgt. Eric Snell on Memorial Day. My father is the manager of the Indians and we have been working to get MLB to take a more meaningful approach to Memorial Day and honor individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I was able to put together a more thorough program with the Mets this year, where I worked and did some smaller scale stuff with my dad at the last minute to include some individuals with connections to the Indians. In my research, I came across Eric Snell and read his story. I found your name when you were interviewed in an article about him. The story really resonated with me, as I grew playing against Hamilton when I was at Lawrenceville.
The Indians’ President of Baseball Operations, Chris Antonetti, wore the bracelet with Eric’s name. I have attached a picture that Chris sent to me. Please feel free to pass this along to his family and friends. I have tried to track down some of his relatives but have had a tough time getting in touch with them.
Sincerely,
Nick Francona
https://923thefan.radio.com/articles/terry-francona-indians-honor-fallen-soldiers-wristbands