Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Cammarata, a
firefighter who died in the World Trade Center collapse, will be
inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence.
Both Giuliani and Cammarata played Little League as children.
Steve Keener, president of Little League Inc., said Cammarata would
be the first person posthumously inducted into the Hall of
Excellence, in South Williamsport, Pa.
"That is a great honor," Cammarata's older brother, Joe
Cammarata, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's
the American pastime, baseball, and especially Little League,
because people love it so much, and my brother loved it so much.
It's an absolute honor to get recognized by the greatest sport in
the world."
Cammarata reached the Little League World Series as a right
fielder for the South Shore Little League of Staten Island, N.Y.,
in 1991. The team, which also included Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason
Marquis, finished as U.S. runner-up and third place overall.
Cammarata was sworn in by the New York Fire Department last May,
and the 22-year-old was with Ladder Company 11, based in Lower
Manhattan, when it was called to the World Trade Center on the
morning of Sept. 11. He was last seen going into the Mariott hotel
between the World Trade Center towers. He was declared dead Monday.
"We have a very wide range of people who have been very
successful and have been graduates of our program," Keener said.
"But we thought there ought to be a place in that Hall of
Excellence to recognize people who go about their lives in
anonymity until called upon. We see this as a way to honor all
people like Michael Cammarata, who rise to the level of courage and
heroism that he did."
Giuliani presented Cammarata's family with his diploma from the
fire department training academy -- one of many leadership roles he
took on after attacks.
"One of the qualities that we hope is instilled in Little
Leaguers is leadership, and certainly he demonstrated the highest
quality of leadership during this crisis, the tragedy of Sept.
11," Keener said. "Leadership, compassion, courage -- all those
things he demonstrated certainly are qualities that we want Little
Leaguers to emulate."
As a child on Long Island, Giuliani played for Garden City South
Little League.
Past Hall of Excellence inductees include President George W.
Bush; former Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J.; columnists George Will and
Dave Barry; astronaut Story Musgrave; and several major league
baseball players.
Little League also has designated May 4, 2002, as Hometown
Heroes Day in all 104 countries where Little League Baseball is
played. Each league will be welcome to honor law enforcement
officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, military
personnel or others they deem to be hometown heroes.
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