By Cary Shuman
rededication ceremony.
The Town of Winthrop rededicated a baseball field in memory of World War II veteran, professional baseball player, and Winthrop Police officer Charles A. “Charlie” DeMinico.
Winthrop Veterans Officer Phil Ronan, master of ceremonies for the program, said he received a phone call from Olympic gold medalist Mike Eruzione, who proposed the idea of rededicating the field in Mr. DeMinico’s honor.
“Mike said the field was dedicated to Mr. DeMinico many years ago, and so we moved on it and got the approval to have the field rededicated as it should have been,” said Ronan.
Eruzione, the ceremony’s featured speaker, told the gathering that he was in attendance when the field (then located behind the old Winthrop Middle School) was originally dedicated to Mr. DeMinico.
“We used to play baseball here, and I remember when they dedicated the field to Charlie,” said Eruzione. “And then they built the rink and everybody forgot about the field and they forgot about Charlie.”
Eruzione said he always remembered Charlie DeMinico as “a police officer standing in the middle of the street in Winthrop Center directing traffic.”
“Charlie was a character. He was always laughing and joking and causing controversy in a great way,” recalled Eruzione. “He was just a happy man, and nobody knew that he played professional baseball and Hall of Famer Warren Spahn was his roommate. When that field was dedicated that day, everybody knew all about him, not only as a police officer and a serviceman, but more importantly as a great baseball player.”
Eruzione thanked the gathering for being part of “a very special tribute to a great man.”
Police Chief John Goodwin praised Mr. DeMinico as “a guy who was completely dedicated to the community.”
Deputy Police Chief Steve Rogers recalled his positive interactions and fond memories of Mr. DeMinico. Rogers also noted a conversation he had with Lt. Tim Callinan, who said, ‘my father-in-law (Mike Eruzione) wants to talk to you.’ So I looked at my wife and I said, ‘It’s Mike Eruzione, I have to take this call.’ ’’
“Mr. DeMinico became a police officer and served in the town he was born and loved, which was Winthrop,” said Rogers. “He was known as the Center beat cop and I have proof of that. We have a brick that was down the Center, and we’re going to be putting it back down there dedicated to him. He used to do the crossing at Lincoln and Walden, and we all walked to St. John’s School. He always had a friendly, upbeat smile wishing you a good day.”
Rogers said the Winthrop Police Department sponsors scholarships for high school seniors in Mr. DeMinico’s name.
Rogers thanked Ronan and Eruzione for making the rededication possible “and Charlie’s family for keeping his memory and legacy alive.”
Barbara Survilas, niece of the late Charlie DeMinico, thanked the Town of Winthrop for the impressive tribute to her uncle, who was a hero during World War II.
“My uncle, Charlie, was an All-Scholastic in high school and a roommate of Warren Spahn,” said Survilas. “I grew up hearing the stories of how my mother would cook for Warren Spahn and [Congressman] Torby MacDonald because they played baseball together. My uncle also drove for the Kennedys when they came to Winthrop for the summers on Washington Avenue. He was a great guy. The most important thing that we should all remember is the impact that he did make on the youth as a Winthrop police officer. He had a great career.”